The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1895-11-28
FAR\IER AND PLANTER.
SOURCES OF PLANT FOOD.
A Subject Upoa Which the Farmer +houio
be Fully Informed.

A Subject Upon Which the Farmer -hould
be Fully Informed.
1t is not simply interesting, but is
also very helpful, for farmer to
know the sources from which his
crops get their plant food. l remem-
Der very well how much I was sur
prised when | first learned that the
soil furnished only an average Of three
pounds in 100 of growing crop and
that the atmosphere and water furn-
ished the other 81 pounds. | suppose
that had thought, like Jethrio Tull,
that the vital force of the plant
took small particles of the soil
and carried them to the part
of the plant needing growth, not know
ing that the atmosphere furnished any
thing. If we find a forest tree that
with it's body and limbs weighs 2,o0o
pounds and burn it we will have go
pounds of ashes, while the 1,940 pounds
have gone into the atmosphere from
whence they came. In this process
each department of nature seems to be
claiming its own. The 60 pounds of
ashes represent the very ingredient
that the soil gave to the growth of
that tree "Ihen shall the dust (ashes)
return to the earth as it was"
All plants, whether taken from the
garden, field or forest, are found u0On
analysis to be composed of fourteen
elementary Substances, each of a
diverse nature. The chemical names
are carbon icons picuOusly represented
in charcOaD. oxygen and nitrogen (be-
ing the two constituents of pure air),
and hydrogen tone of the two con-
stituents of pure water). These four
are fed to the growing plant through
both the root and the leaf by the at
mosphere and called organic, because
they furnish the framework of all
vegetation. These four return to the
atmosphere In volatile form when
the plant is consumed by fire or by q
slow combustion we call rotting on the
surface or under the soil.
The other ten constituents of all
plants are fed through the roots from
the ingredients of the soil and fur
vegetation. They are: potash (the
most valuable ingredient of wood
ashes), phosphorus (the chief ingre-
dent of all animal bones), silica Same
as sand), lime Tin it's several forrns)
soda and chlorine these last two are
the constituents that make common
salt), iron, su phur, magnesia and man
ganese. The last eight here mentioned
are in sufficient supply in all soils.
,,t ], nh
less deficient in most soils 1t Is these
two, together with nitrogen with some
Of it's various combinations, that make
the valuable ingredients of all com.
mercial fertilizers.
But some good working farmer
while reading this may say to himself
that it is not worth my while to trouble
my mind to learn these hard words
and the ideas they carry, because
have been and | expect to raise good
crops without mixing any boOk-farm
ing in it. TO such farmer | am very
glad to say that a good working mar
is very apt to succeed in anything h.
undertakes to do. If he does tn.
right work in the right time and il
the right way his crops will grow
whether he did this work by rote anc
in imitation of some other man o.
from knowledge of the principles 0
agricultural Chemistry. But if h
knows under what conditions nature
viii do for him her Der best work the,
he will have more successes and fewe
failures. If he knows that every gree
leaf is a lung inhaling plant FOO,
from the atmosphere, then he vii
surely try to give that leaf fresh aii
dews and sunshine. If he knows tina
every rootlet has little mouth at it
end that takes it's food in solutio
and gaseous form, then he will surel
cultivate his ground so as to give it al
spaces as we'll as moisture. Nc
air chambers made by clods, for clod
in the neighborhood of the roots {
plants are always nuisance. Blu
there is another direction in which tn
farmer may make. or rather save
money, that is, in the matter of buyin
commercial fertilizers. A little boo
learning will help him to decide wins
ingredients to buy and what not t
buy But this subject is sufficient
large and important for another MAJ
uscript, that is if | ever write.-N. |
Dudley, in Farmers Home Journal.