The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-04-08

the amount OF fertility necessary that the
soil has of the element il is most deficient
IN. There may be nitrogen enough in the
son, Out potash and phosphate be
ldchlns, grain and fruit crops Will be
dehcient- But If the nitrogen in the ma
hufe De IN active form it is worth much
more Tor as IL causes a ferment in the
son II noerates mineral plant food that
Is locked up in insOluble forms. II is
mistake 70 speak OF most soils that have
ever Deen fertile as being exhausted
what IS really true Of such soils is that
the available mineral plant food thar thax,
contain has been used up. What is left
y NOT soluble, and but for the fact that
sood management of the soil NAV vet
make II useful, il might as well not be
there- This can only be done gradually
Setung loose small portion each year.
~ the meantime, to produce large crops
more mineral fertility of kinds already
IN the soil must be added in soluble form
Tor immediate use
All heavy soils contain potash. II is
one OF the most important constituents
OF the rocks from which these soils are
tOrlhed' Yet potash manures may often
Oe used with great advantage on such
soils lor crops that require much potash
anu nave little power to get it There is
very great difference in plants in this re,
spsct' some are gross feeders and can
tdhe large amounts of mineral matter
rom i5oil where other plants that equally
need the same mineral starve and die.
CIoVer and the grasses help to make
h,iliei al manures soluble in the soil So
also 40 such leguminous. plants as peas
anu BEANS, though their growth is made
50 quickly that application of mineral
man ures in soluble form is often nee
esse ~ 10 hasten growth early before
the'J can begin to deeompose the sol
Ior their own benefit. This is often true
WI n clover and the grasses. If given a
sGlrt, they will take from the soil more
m neral fertility than is applied in the
m anure they receive.
II Is always the aim of farmers TO grow
more of the crops which tend to increase
soll fertility, either by making more nj
troSen in the soil or by increasing the solu-
bility of its mineral plant food. But
there Is sure to be great competition in
growing these crops, and EXCEPT in MAX
ing the soil more fertile, they do not give
the profit that is made from crops which
exhaust fertility more rapidly. The cues
tion whetherfarmers should use the min
eral manures is wholly one of the profit or
loss which such use involves In locali-
Ties far removed from market, and where
land is of little value. the slow method of
increasing fertility by growing renovating
crops Is often the only one that can be
adopted. But where markets are near and
land is valuable this slow method is more
expensive than any other A market gar
dener uses each year more per acre of
manure than would buy an acre of rich
land in less favorable locality. But he
can well afford to do this He sells the
crop sometimes for five or six hundred
dollars per acre, more than paying for all
expended in growing it, both in manure
and labor
whether farmer can use much or little
mineral fertilizer must depend on how
much he can make by it. He may use very
little, and use it on such crops that the
increased yield will not pay him. He may
use large amounts and make a proportion
ately large profit. So long as the in
creased crop pays its cost and something
in addition, the farmer cannot afford to do
without it, and If he be a shrewd farmer
he Will not attempt to do so. Mineral
manures are practical aids to soil fer
tility. They are not merely stimulants to
the crop, as used to be thought but If
they are used in connection with frequent
seeding with clover the mineral fertilizer
will as surely increase fertility as will a
dressing of stable manure. There is less
liability that the mineral fertilizer will
become soluble and be washed out of the
soil, for its tendency is to form compounds
in the soil that only the most vigorous
feeders among plants will be able to un-
lock. Wherever mineral fertilizers have
been applied year after year the growing
of clover is especially advantageous, as
this plant can reach potash and phos-
pilates that would be lost If the land were
continuously cropped with grain.