The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-04
The Three Elements of Value /
Commercial FertiIizers

NomAAcNNAal n GEtiAlAeEs.
The three elements of value in CONNER
cial fertilizers are nitrogen, phosphoric
acid and potash. writes F. II. Hess in
Practical Farmer. OF the seventy-fve
different elements known to the science
of agriculture. only thirteen are essential
to plant growth. The average soil CON
tains sufficient amount of these thirteen
essential elements in an available form
Tor all plant gEOwth, with the exception
OF nitrogen, phosphOric acid and potash.
They are. therefore, the only three that
need to be applied to the soil in order 10
enable it to produce rcmuneratiVe crops.
! Cfttimes there Is only one or two OF these
ton of the soil and the plants that grow
thereon will, If properly studied, enable
the farmer to determine with a reasona-
| BILE degree Of accuracy the kind and
amount of fertilizer to apply.
On the average farm, commercial fer
tilizers should be used as supplements 10
yard manure. No farmer can afford to al
low one hundred dollars worth of yard
manure go to waste, and spend fifty dol-
lars for commercial fertilizers. The yard
manure should be used in the most judi
cious manner before we attempt to in
crease the productlvenesS OF our farms
| by the use Of commercial fertilizers When
soil contains an abnormaly large
| amount of available nitrogen, the plants
that grow thereon will develop large
leaves of a very dark green color, and the
stem will be sappy and brittle. In the
case of wheat and oats it will cause lodg-
| ing properly. If a too small amount exists
in an available form, the leaves and stem
will make an imperfect growth Of a palish
color, and be rather woody IN texture.
Mucky and lOWland soils, or soils con-
tanning a large amount of vegetable MAJ
ter, or humus, are not benehted very much
by the application of nitrogen. On the
other hand, upland soils, and soils con-
tanning a small amount OF vegetable mat
ter, are usually benefited by the applica-
ton of nitrogen. In many instances the
best and most economical way OF securing
nitrogen is by means OF leguminous plants,
such as clover or peas. me nitrogen we
buy in q commercial fertilizer usually
costs us from fifteen TO eighteen cents per
pound. The legumlnous plants nave the
power, by means of the small nodules
which grow on their roots, of changing
gaseous nitrogen of the air into nitric
acid, and retaining it in the soil TO be used
/ by future crops. Therefore where a sufli-
! cient amount of these kind of plants can
| be grown, the cost or Keeping up lhe sup
| ply of available nitrogen can be very much
| decreased.
The organic forms of nitrogen, such as
/ dried blood, meat scraps, bones, cotton
| seed meal and slaughter house refuse,
| have to go through a certain amount OF
! fermentation or decomposition before
| plants are enabled to make use of the
| nitrogen they contain and should there
| fore be applied to the soil sometime be-
fore the plants will need them: For
wheat, they would better be applied in
fall at the time the wheat is sown. The
nitrogen that is found in nitrate of soda
and suphate of ammonia, is soluble in
water and can be used by the plants i'm
medately after being applied to the soil.
These two materials should therefore be
applied when the plants, to be benehted
| thereby, are in a growing condition, in
order to get the best results and prevent
teaching. Nitrate of soda is the best in
a dry season and on dry soils, and sui
phate of ammonia the best in wet seasons
and on wet soils. Where a sufficient
amount of phosphoric acid is present in
a soil the grain that grows thereon will
be plump, well developed, and will not
shrink much upon drying; 1t also hastens
the maturing of the crop. Where an in
sufficient amount is present the grain will
not fill out properly, will shriVel upon
drying, and will be slow in maturing.
The soil of a farm from which grain has
been sold without returning any fertil-
izing material excepting the straw, will,
as a rule, be found to be lacking in avail
able phosnhoric acid. Where large
quantities of yard manure have been used,
there is often deficiency of
phcsphoric acid, and the soil under
much by an application of this element.
Limestone and clay soils are usually de-
ficient in phosphoric acid, and are benefit
ed very much by an application there thereof !:
slightly superior to that in South Caro-
lima rock, but not sufficiently so TO pay
for the difference in cash, which is cents
per pound for the soluble and reverted
acid in this state (Pennsylvania).
On soils containing a large amount Of
lime, the insoluable acid produces as good
results as does the soluble. This state
melt Is based on the results obtained
from an experiment continued through
period of twelve years, where the two
forms of acid were applied side by size
on a limestone clay soil. The functions
of potash on plant growth have not been
so clearly defined as yet, but it bears
a very important part in the develop
ment of both straw and grain. 1t tends TO
stiffen the straw of the crops to which
IT is applied and plants having L
large leaf surface need a comparatively
large amount of this element for their
development 1t remains largely in the
straw, and is therefore usually returned
to the soil from which it was taken. AS a
rule it is not lacking in soils to SO large
an extent as is phosphoric acid, with the
exception of sandy soils, which are gen
therefore benefited by an application
thereof. In many soils there is an abund-
ance of nitrogen, phosphoric acid ami
potash, but 1t exists in an unavailable
form. The climatic changes, which are
constantly taking place, are very import
able to available plant food. This ac-
ton can ofttimes be FASTENED by the
use of LINE, and there are instances where
lime is the cheapest material to buy IN
order to increase the produc tiveness or
our farms, but 1t needs to be used with
considerable caution, as an improper use
Of ii may result in loss instead of a
gain. This to a great extent is also true
of commercial fertilizers. They should al
ways be bought by the unit and not by
the pound; that is, their value should
be based on the amount of nitrogen,
phosphoric acid and potash they contain
and not on their total weight, as is TOO CT
ten done by many farmers
The Otaheita Orange,
No pot plant of recent introduction has