The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-11-27

straction is so minute and the rate so
slow that experiments, so far, have
not detected 1t. At this time, how
ever, we have no need to consider at
! length the secondary sources of nitro
gen, all Of which element | consider
came originally from the nitrogen of
the atmosphere, as certainly does the
! element carbon; and we are interested
| in speaking of few well known
plants that are believed to be special
gatherers of nitrogen from the air, and
are valuable green fertilizers.
Professor Maxwell, at this point,
gave some extremely interesting data
showing the effect of sea spray upon
the character of the cane, and then
spoke of phosphoric acid as follows:
| PhOSphOric neutrality-suspicious., the
vital element of this acid, is con-
slant constituent of vegetable organ
| isms 1t is present in some kinds of
albuminoids and invariably, in some
| proportion, in plant oils and fats.
During the course OF long study of
the functions of phosphorus in plant
and animal life / found that the phos-
phOrus present in the mineral form
as phosphate passed into plants, where
it was chiefly found in the composition
of the vegetable fats. Further, in the
hens egg, where these phosphoric
ldlS are DTeSeuJ III iSTSe the
| phosphOrus, during the Matching of
the egg, went out OF the fats and back
again TO bone phosphate, where it was
found in the bones of the chicken.
These movements of the element in
dicate to us how vital it may be to
growth, and we, perhaps, shall not
fully appreciate the value of the phos-
phOrc acid in fertilization until we
better understand the physiological
character of it's action. l fully be-
lieve this. In concluding the report
on fertilization, Professor Maxwell
referred to the business features of the
subject as follows:
In the selection and purchase Of the
great elements of fertilization that
have been considered there are certain
purely economic or commercial con-
siderations to which word requires
to be given. Nitrogen, phosphoric
acid and potash, like sugar or iron,
have definitely understood market
values, which depend upon the COM
pounds in which these elements are
present. For example, nitrogen, per
pound may be said to be most valu-
able as ammonia sulphate, next as
nitrate, and very variable in the diff
| ferent organic manures. When fer
tilizer is purchased the amounts of
| these elements should be determined
and the data taken to calculate the
chemical value. 1t is strictly neces-
sary, however, that the formation
which these elements are contained
in mixed fertilizer should be stated
in order to assess its value, and enable
us to say the soils and climatic cOndi-
tiOns in which it should be used. The
examination our "soils" has shown us
that fertilizers must be applied; and
our present Introductory consider
atiOns on "fertilizations" indicate to
what extent the mode of application
is controlled by the season, location
and climatic conditions.
I The following new officers were
named by the board of trustees and
declared elected:
President, F. Nj. Swanzy.
Vice President, JnO. f. Hackfeld.
Secretary, G.. Bolte.
Treasurer, 2. G. Jones.