Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1897-06-08
BEST USE OF SALT IN AGRICULTURE,
1T is AN UNCERTAIN QUANTITY As A
FERTrLIzER.--sALT SOLUTIONS DEAD
LY.-BURNING CATERPILLAR NESTS.

"Amaseur Farmer asks about the ust
Of salt on land, and how much should bt
applied to an acre.
In reply | would say that the effect OF
salt on soil is so variable that no set rule
can be given that would be safe for al
inexperienced farmer to follow, un
less II Is to let 1t entirely alone In the
way of fertilizer. In the new edition
OF Professor Storer's work about twenty y
pages are devoted to the discussion OF
the value OF salt in agriculture with the
int, oductory statement that sodium ]:
apparently not essential to the life OF
agricultural plants" and that "Crop:
can grow perfectly we'll without It," II
any Is needed they can always find a
supply in the soil or In the air. "The
old notion" he says, "that soda could
replace potash in the plant has been dis
proved" Though salt Is not direct
plant food like potash, nitrogen and
phosphoric acid, yet 1t sometimes ap-
pears to have been
OF AN INDIRECT VALUE
BY its power, under certain conditions,
Of rendering available as food, materials
already 10 the soil. Because salt appears
to be Of use In one trial II does not fol-
low that 1t will prove useful In other
cases. On the strength Of apparent sue
cess In a single experiment II has long
been recommended as being of use. but
after great many trials msde by many
different experimenters, the general ver-
dict Is unfriendly to Its use. II has often
been recommended as destroyer OF
worms In the soil. but an application
heavy enough to kill animal life will al
most surely kill vegetation also. have
lived through several "salt fever" excite
ments, some quite extensive ones. but
have failed to hear OF single farmer
who has been converted to It's use be-
yond one or two trials. Applications Of
as little as four 10 six bushels TO the
acre In some instances have apparently
increased the yield Of crops, while In
other cases results have been directly
opposite, the yield being reduced. My
advice TO Amateur Farmer" Is 10
POSTPONE EXPENSIVE EXPERIMENTS
In the use Of salt "a fertilizer till such
time as they can be made for expert
menl's sake, but not for immediate profit.
Better follow the main travelled roads In
plant feeding for the present. Make and
save all the fertilizing materials possible
on the farm by keeping stock, feeding
rich food and seeing 10 IL that nothing
in the line Of animal manures Ia allowed
to run To waste. IL other fertilizers are
needed buy such as have been tried time
..I IL, ,.,tth oh nntfnyn
Salt is deadly poison to most land
plants. Ny first notice OF Its use as
fertilizer WAS where brine from pork
barrel was poured at the roots Of large
bearing apple tree. The tree was dead
the next summer. Pitch pine trees have
tap.roots that go down deep into the
soil, but have seen large trees killed by
standing near cold storage house where
salt and ice were used to get low tenn
perature In the fruit room. IL Is rare
that land Is injured by too liberal appli-
cations OF good stable manure or stand
ard commercial fertilizers judicionsly APP
piled. | sm sorry To see In
EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS
to kill the common
tent caterpillar By burning the nests on
the trees. A nest Of csterpillars, even
when the insects are small, contains a
large proportion OF water and Is any
thing but readily combustible, and fire
that will kill the insects viii surely kill
the limb 10 which the nest Is attached.
A better way Is to cut the limb off with
pruning shears, when il Is small and be-
yond reach, and destroy the caterpillars
by crushing. The time TO do this Is
" hen the insects are first hatched or a.
soon as the first nest Is made, which Is
almost invariably upon small tvigs that
can be- easily cut off with shears attach
ed to long pole. Caterpillars are In
their nests early In the morning, and
again about noon and at night.-A. W.
Cheeyer In New England Farmer.