The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-04-24


.nnd y, ,hich he thinks my letters are
Iiro Of course it is gratifying 10
,.f these letters. The same friend
,ar~ uu TO ask some questions. hc
a.~: Il have been mixing my own
n fertilizers with very satisfactory re-
uIrs and great saving in money.
rIt there is one thing | cannot un-
Il Hnr~taud. In all the tables | see in
u ulletine Nuriate OF potash is SAID to
Il contain 80 per cent. of actual potash
Il .gG ~uDphate from 80 to 81 of potash.
4 Tine muriate Of potash that l. haze
II .a.n buNin9 is marked on the bags so
4 .r. cent and the sulphate 80 per
i cent. Does this mean that there IS
but 50 per cent. Of muriate in each
ri 9u pounds | buy? If that is the
u .~c then in buying a 200 pound sack
r 1}go and Il half cents pound J
..E 500 for 100 pounds Of muI'latf.
.IaEc been buying an inferior arti-
i -..-' The figures on the sack mean
INST what YOU say. that there is but
~u Ucr cent Of the muriate. TO make
II IL chemically pure article Wou-i
make it too costly to use as q fertllI-
1,r Your so per cent. muriate Wilf>
have 80 J6 per cent. Of potash in fora
of potassium oxide. which is potash
actual ON the other hand Il 90 per
cent sulphate would have but 4S.6 pc:
cent of actual potash. and would be
rather an inferior article. Figures
ON bags of fertilizing materials an
mixed fertilizers are often misIeadla2
10 the farmer. This is particularly the
ease with mixed fertilizers. where
they often put Il lot of figures to be
foo the farmer and to lead hlm to
think IT contains a great deal more
Il. fl,,,. I.,,, 1, q,
is the best in the country. as it re-
quires simply that the percentages OF
nitrogen phosphoric acid and potash
be stated. Fertilizer men are fond nf
putting he percentage Of nitrogen rs
ammonia. because the figures look
larger than if they gave the actual
nitrogen content. In q 200 pound sack
of muriate Of so per cent YOU Will
have 10112 pounds of actual potash.
As the commercial value Of potash
Is about ) cents per pound. YOU MIL
-rr that YOU are paving merely fair
price for the potash. The only trou-
bic is that YOU have to freight nearly
tVice as much as YOU want to get tht
potash. But this is not an interna
tional aduIteration. but simply mat
ters that cannot be gotten rid oi
without Il largely increased expense
aud Il far larger price.
\ Greensboro friend writes that ne
has taken pleasure i'm reading these
letters and as he is farmer he wish
es TO ask some questions: II believe
as Won do that the way to imprOE"
the land Of this section is to SOY
peas. feed them to stock and sell the
stock for q money crop and return
the manure to the land. But ] can
not make as good tobacco on improE-
cd land as | could before sowing peas.
AN | not make more feed, and make
il cheaper by planting late corn after
/ cat my wheat instead of sowing
peas on this land. You see peas have
cone up to over 500 per bushel anil
fertilizers have advanced in price.
making it more expensive to raise
peas | thought that | could plant
Two or three grains in a hill and cur
the corn in the roasting ear stage.
and make more feed and make it
cheaper. | usually SOW 20 to 25 acres
su peas. and at present price it viii
cu-t me about 10000 for seed AMI
fertilizer to SOW this crop. Now can
not take that 500 and buy thar
I.Hoh more feed or more?" That 25
.,nl.- of fairly good land with the
5ufIiIer YOU mention ought to make
40 least two tons Of pea hay per acre.
.r 30 tons of hay. we'll worth for
feeding $500. Then the land would
ur benefited by the growing of the
peas 10 such an extent that the sue
r.rdng crop would he better. Plant
eel i'm late corn and the corn cut for
eujlagc the same piece Of land with
ut fertilizers would be doing very
we'll to make 6 tons of green forage
.rr acre. This six tons OF sllage
..euld he worth 50 per ton or S12 per
"'.--. on $500 for the 25 acres. and the
"nd would be far worse Off thar
when the corn was planted. and Will
"ut produce anything as we'll the fcj-
.-aiug year. Then ! cannot believe
.|Ht he improvement of the so'l
Ha#r~ the tobacco crop less valuable.
."re may be an extra amount OF OF
e"N.c nitrogen in the soil immediately
".nWn9 pea crop. that may tend 10
#.ar he leaf rather coarse for bright
"'@UperS. but YOU need not put III"
tobacco Immediately after the. peas
'uI~ is the case. | know that the
.e~t kinds Of wrappers have been
."f"u ON land that has been brought
high state of cultivation through
uSe OF clover and peas and | be
.tN@ hat the notion that Il man must
....Ee ilS soil in order to grow good
'".,rro Is largely 4 mistake. And u
was true and / was the farmer. ]
"'id quit tobacco then and there and
t.'N something that | could grow on
."h lanG and make money out of II.
ann tirmiy Of the opinion that 1T
'"tliord county ! could run a rota
.."H OF corn wheat clover and cattle
" make more money out of the
n sham the men who are starvin"
r lands to keep the tobacco brieht
wing hne wrappers who makes Il
r@nct rotation for his tobacco lanG
'' 'iree lots where his tobacco grows
' makes Il three year rotation of to-
.'"o, wheat and clover He blows
."1F I'M the winter the whole growth
81. 'he clover for the tobacco. and then
''.'o"s the tobacco with wheat. AMI