The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1898-05-10
THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL FER.
TILTIERS.
Practical Farmer.

Farmer.
In II recent review in the Cream of
the Bulletins, we mentioned the sug-
gestlons made therein III regard to the
use of artificial fertilizers,
which Il space at the time prevented
notice of. The use of artificial
fertilizers is becoming 50 common that
il is important to direct attention TO
the wastefulncss that is common in
their use and to the proper methods
that should be employed IN getting he
proper value of these aids in tn I'M.
provemcnl of our soils and crops. The
bulletin OF the Department well says
that "havlng decided that the manurial
resources OF the farm need supple
mcnting, and that the use of CONNER
cial fertilizers is advisable, the con-
slant effort should be to determine the
system of application which gives the
greatest returns for the outlay in
cured" The farmer who is growing
he ordinary grain crops cannot find
profit in the lavish use OF complete
fertilizers that the market gardener
can with his higher priced products.
The great fault we have to fin with
the work reviewed III the department
Bulletin is that the directions for the
use OF fertilizers assume that every crop
planted should be either MANFRED or
lcrtlllZcd with the commercial article.
Now we contend that ii a proper short
rotation OF crops is practiccd there is
no necessity for anything of the sort.
or course the application of fertilizers
10 every rllr, llpntnl ~ ,,,u.,, ,,.;lI
usually increase the crop. but whether
This Will be a profitable increase is eli
t.roly another matter. 1t has been
SHOWN IN The experience of many far
mcrs OF Late years that where "A short
rotation OF three years for Instance.
with corn, wheat and Il lcgumc, either
peas or clover, as the crops, or III the
South with cotton, corn, oats and meas,
anti all Inc forage fed TO stock and The
manure saved and applied to the curu
crop, that there Is plant food enough
left i'll the soil from the m%anuIinu of
thc corn crop to carry through an album
dant grain crop and to leave il dc>ira-
bic only To supplement the manure
win the mineral forms of plant food
ON me Glove or peas, depending on
lhcSe to restore nitrogen to the sol
alhcd by the trienmial application of
the arm manure In this way thcr,
Will V be any need forihc purchase
OF nitrogen in any form. as the farm
manure and the lcyumcs will furnish
all that Il grain or cotton farm vii
need. We should bear in mind that i
is not always the heaviest crop tha
brings the most clear money. but in,
crop that has been grown with the lcas
:, expense. are t0Japt to bu'
: Il lcrllllIer That is advertised for Il Ger
4. tam crop or class of crops without cy
aiming rs to whether the compositio,
"i the article is such us would make i
5 ol special value to the crops named
' Ihey are easily deceived bv word,
i, statements called analyses. \ CORES
pondcnt in u Garden Department
/, recently asked about Il fertilizer recon-
mcndcd rs Il vegetable fertilizer an,
sold ut SD per ton, the published an
alysiS OF which he gave as follows
Ammonia, = ID per cent; bone pho-
phale, ~ per cent; phosphoric acid
, ; per cent; sulphatc UI potash, , pc
/, cent. Now 10 one who knows nuthIn
= about the meaning Of these terms tn
ANALYSIS conveys no information q
value. Ammonia is form of nitrogen
: and , u per cent. of ammonia show
, Il very small pcrccntag, of nitrogen fo
Il vegetable fertilizer. Then ,.bon
: phosphate" is probably intended
make the suppose that ,hcr
; Is bone III the miNturc, when in "a
t probability the stun called bone pEos
phatc IS simply pulvcrizcd phosphat
rock, in which the phosphoric acid
the only thing of value in it, is in a
mSolublc state. Then there is turtle
!, gwen : per cent. of pEosphoric acld
why more phosphoric acid il the bon
5 phosphate is in Il soluble condition
5 lhcn : per cent. of sulphatc of potash
. This would mean about | per cent. o
/ actual potash, or about one tenth @
The percentage a good vegetable fcrtil
l"cr should contain. The price is 50:
per ton. At the station Valuation
10! the plant food in it the article i
probably worth about SD per ton. a
the stations give no value to insolubl.
phosphoric acid, in which we thimkihr,
are wrong. as the acid in lloa,s doe,
become of value after a time IN IN,
soil. But l. is evident that apalysc,
'NN WV viz 'llCt plNt inc farmer nt
Correct knowledge Of what he is buy
ING, and Undue men TO pay two price,
Tor what they get. And yet thcr" ar,
hose who abuse the II. +. for advisino
farmers TO buy the chemicals and miy
their W fertilizers. But il is alsc
lruc that there arc firms engaged in
the manufacture Of commercial fer
~tlllzcrS VIII" make and sell articles that
nave Il real value, and who put truthful
analyses on their bags, never using
deceptive terms to conceal the T., nj
nature of the article. What we rIosl
need is the education of the farmers to
a knowledge Of what the essentials are
IN Il complete fertilizer, in a knowlcdr,
OF the Tact that for The ordinary fam
crops 1t Is seldom necessary to buy a
complete fertilizer at all, if the prorcr
rotation is observed and the lcoumrs
are gro "n frequently.