Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1897-06-16

duces. II the quantity that the crop
can get of any one OF them is too small
for the making of a good yield, the
yield will not be sufficient no matter
how much there may be OF all the
others. II the quantity of any one OF
them Is more than enough for goou
yield, 1t is only toolishness to supply
any more of that substance In tertll-
izers. The supply of water ana lts
constituents, and of carbon, are prac-
tically beyond the control OF the crop
grower except in so far as water may
here and there be supplied by irrlga-
tion. or may everywhere be conserved
by shallow surface tillage properly
managed. The supply OF lime Is usu-
ally large enough in ordinary arapie
soils. Therefore only nitrogen, phos-
phorlc acid and potash are LETT 10 DC
| looked AFTER these, as every consumer
of commercial fertilizers knows. are the
things that he pays for in whatever OF
these fertilizers he buys By the IN
| PRODUCTION of leguminous plants. sucn
as clover, vetch, lupine, peas. bean ana
the like, into his rotations, he may save
himself from the necessity of buying 50
much nitrogen as he might otherwise
have to get in order to preserve the
proper balance of the plant foods in his
soils. These crops, as almost every
farmer knows, can get part or their
nitrogen from the air; and they Will
in general get more OF 1t from the air
and less from the soil the poorer the
soil is in available nitrogen, and the
richer it is within certain limits In
potash and phosphorlc acid. Every
ordinary arabic soil has far more than
enough of nitrogen. phosphoric acid
and potash for the production of good
many crops; and yet there are many
such soils which will not yield paying
crops unless fertilized with Cne or more
Of these very same plant foolls. 1t may
be taken for granted that IN acre OF
every such soil contains in the upper
most twelve inches at least 1900 pounds
of nitrogen, 5000 of potash and $500
of phosphoric acid. These quantities
are from 80 to 500 times greater than
: those sold off the farm in any crop
There Is at least so times as much nj
trogen in such a soil as is sold in any
part OF any crop, and much oftener 10l
or even 200 times as much. There II
: at least 100 times as much potash as |!
/. carried off the farm in any part of {
crop sold, and oftener 500 times a!
/ much. Similar figures might be giver
for phosphoric acid. Why, then, mus
we fertilize our soils in one way or an
, other?
The one most important reason Ii
that these plant foods in the soil are fo
5 the most part In an insoluble, or al
very commonly said, unavailable form
and that they usually become available
only little by little each year Tha
they do thus become gradually avail
. able is clearly shown by some of th'
! experiments of Lawes and Gilbert, o
. England; some OF their plats hav,
g yielded crops of wheat and other GER
a eals now for fifty years and more
without any manure. X may BIZ, how
ever, that one of these foods does be
come available year by year in larg
d enough quantities to contribute it
e share towards a good yield. Of som
a crop, provided that there is enough c
e the other two, but that there is in fac
e not enough Of the other two; or II ma
be that enough of two OF the foods wi
become available fast enough each sea
g son for a good crop, but that the othe
t one will not; there will be only poe
If crop in either case.
h There are cases in which 1t would t
q only folly, with some thousands {
pounds of the one or the two foods
the soil, and in such a condition tn;
% the crop grown on 1t can get all
n needs for good yield (at least for or
1t year, and probably for the next yea
n and even for a few years more), to bu
r. these foods in commercial manure; NJ
Sc would II be the height of wisdom
r keep putting them on the soil year aft,
+ year in stable manure, since that al!
contains the three foods under consi
= Grafton, as well as other useful su
Ec stances,