The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-04-08

which you wish to grow corn for fodder
or silage, you will need over 200 pounds
OF potash and only about fifty to sixty
pounds of phosphoric acid. Therefore
you would want u fertilizer containing
about three and one-half pounds of pot
ash to one pound of phosphoric acid,
But the Vermont Experiment Station
Bulletin AZ, page 90, tells US that forty
seven standard brands of fertilizers
sold in the state last year averaged
little over three pounds of potash and
nearly ten and three-foui tbs pounds of
phosphoric acid in each 100 pounds.
An application of 700 pounds of such
fertilizer would supply enough available
phosphoric acid for your crop of fodder
corn, but would give you only twenty
two to twenty-five pounds of potash.
If your land is poor in potash and you
intend to put on enough common com.
mercial fertilizer to supply potash for
good crop of fodder or silage corn, you
will have to buy ouer three tons for each
acre. II you put only 600 pounds of
standard fertilizer on an acre, you
would need over 200 pounds more of
potashl Is it any wonder that you hear
so much grumbling about fertilizers
among farmers? But they don't know
how to get along without them, and
don't know why the fertilizers fail.
Probably nine-tenths of the failures in
fertilizers are due to insufficient potash.
1t has been suggest ted that one reason
why fertilizer-makers do not put more
potash into their goods is because the
potash salts are apt to make fertilizer
hard or lumpy if it is allowed to stand
long after mixing. This is especially
true of sulpbate of potash. If much of
this is used as a fertilizer it should be
used Immediately after mixing, other
wise it will become hard, or rather form
a sort of cake, not hard to crush, but
troublesome to use. Sulphate of pot
ash is considered better for potatoes
than the muriate, and as it comes from
the dealer it is as fine as ashes, while
the muriate contains many Jumps which
have to be crushed. The muriate is
the cheapest form of potash, and as
ordinarily found in the market, 100
pounds contains fifty pounds of actual
potash. In other words, 100 pounds
about 80 10, contains as much potash
cial fertilizer such as is sold in all parts
| VI IOl liz III bOllb, VI lOl oby
land needing potash, from 200 to 400
pounds of muriate of potash mixed
with ordinary fertilizer (using as much
of the latter as usuaD will be found
much more satisfactory than the latter
alone. Farmers should buy at least
small quantity of muriate or sulphate of
potash and experiment with them.
They are sold by the Bradley Company,
and probably by some of the other fer
tilizer companies.
SAVE THE BULLETINS.
| A great deal of very valuable infor-
nation about fertilizers was published
in Bulletins 45, 46 and ~ of the
Vermont Experiment Station. These
were the issues of March, April and
May, 1895. Those who kept those
pamphlets have useful handbook ON
fertilizers. The matter of home mix
ing is quite fully discussed on pages
39-46 of Bulletin AZ. Those who wish
to try home mixing should note what
is said on page 46: "The Experiment
Station stands ready to aid with advice
and analysis all who desire to try home
mixing" Those who received and
preserved these bulletins should care
fully study them this spring. And we
wish to impress upon the farmer read
ers of the WATCHMAN the necessity of
carefully preserving all of the Expert
ment Station Bulletins and Reports.
Have place for them where they will
be convenient to get and put back, and
where they will not get mixed up with
papers and carried to the attic, or used
for waste paper. When so much val.
liable information can be had without
cost, it is inexcusable negligence for
any Vermont farmer to be without
these publications; and if he receives
them, it is worse than inexcusable to
not carefully preserve them.
THE CHEAPEST SOURCE OF NITROGEN.
The farmers of Vermont pay $3.50
for the nitrogen in each ton of ferti-
lizer which they buy. That is the aver
age cost. If they buy 5000 tons an
nually, as Professor Hills estimates,
their nitrogen costs them about $44,-
600. That would be an average tax of
about $1.35 on each farm in the state.
Probably good many readers of the
WATCHMAN buy from one to three tons
OF fertilizers each year, and If they can
learn how TO save from 81 to 800 in
their fertilizer bills they will value the
paper all the more.
Crops must have nitrogen from some
source. If there is not enough sup
piled, crops will be pale, and will be
poor, stunted in growth, and their feed
ing value will be lessened. Crops need
considerable nitrogen. An acre of corn
uses on an average 146 pounds; meadow
hay, 1866 pounds; potatoes, l19 pounds;
cattle turnips, 1876 pounds. Stable ma
nure we'll cared for, 80 that the liquid
is we'll preserved, contains about ten
pounds of nitrogen in each ton, some
times rising to fifteen pounds per ton.
One benefit of feeding cottonseed meal
is the increased quantity of nitrogen in
the manure. A ton of cottonseed meal
contains about 100 pounds of nitrogen,
a ton of lnseed meal about 100 pounds,