The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-09-11

By FRYAN TYSON


| High grade commercial fertilizers
alone viii not permanently improve
| Tie soil. Is il time Tie hmus b,-
cones exhausted. With ,hc humu-
| exhausted the soil hecom,- ac..a and
compact; I'D this condition il IS not
capable OF sustaining crop. and e~-
! prciatlN j this the ease ~ iiusc OF c\-
| ccS>i>y Grouth. Soils deficient iii Lu-
mus Will show signs OF distress.
where rain has been withheld. much
sooner than the same Kind III land
will where humus has been property
supplied
IN the second place there iS but liz
tie or no carbCnic acid gas proauccG.
i 'fhiS Gas is i powerful solvent. and
acts on certain rebrii0uS el.wca.~ ia
the sell. reducing them 10 plant food.
Eat for the dis~olyiEg properties of
this gas said rebelioGs Substances
would remain in the soil without
change and would therefore render
no more service IN the matter Ct fer
I1ility than SO many stones.
It follows that in order 10 produce
crops pfotitablN and permanently i'm
prove the soil II the same TIME. humuS
and carbonic acid oas must be pro-
duced in proper quantities. These
two substances may he regarded rs
the iaw and the prophets in farming
and without them there can be no
profitable farming on basis Of soil
| improvement.
Having found that humus and err
bonc acid gas are Indispensable. the
next thing is TO produce them econoI-
ically.
Any green crop turned under will
| l1rD IN Inn { .h, leo ms q.
family, such as clover and COW peas
Will also. in addition to producing
said substances. gather an abundant
supply Of nitrogen from the air. II
Viii therefore BE far more economical
to employ 4 legume crop The ran
ker the growth the creator the bcnc-
fits 10 be derived. Consequently Il
will usually pay well 10 fe.tiize lib
orally.
The following ferliiize" tn7y re en-
pl0yed per acre for clover or COW
peas:
Acid Phosphat $50 TO 800 pounds
kainit. 300 to 500 pounds
Broadcast and plow in shallow, pre-
ferahly a few weeks before seeding.
From 20 to 40 pounds Of muriate Of
potash may be used in lieu Of the
kainit
The smaller quantity will usually
bring good results, but in most cases
the larger can be adNantagrouSly en-
ployed.
Where high fertilization is dcsra-
BILE, the larger quantity can seflN and
profitably be trebIed. Rut before en-
barking very largely on this scale.
some experimenting may be nccessa-
fN.
\ green crop fertilizer as above, and
turned under at maturity viii not
only furnish an abundance OF the
three necessary elements OF fertility.
nitrogen, phosphoric acid ard potash
for the succeeding crop. bur Will also
leave Il large surplus Of said elements
in the soil for the permanent enrich
; ment OF same.
will here emphasize the fact that
when commercial fertilizers are appli-
cd direct to crops in the usual way
there is butt little or no humus, and
carbonic acid gas produced. and that
consequently the soil when treated
for q number of years say tive to ten
under said plan. Will continue TO grow
poorer and poorer. however abundant
the applications may be. In PROOF oi
the position here taken | viii cite the
following:
The New York Experiment Sta
ton has made 9 ten Year experiment
along the same line Three plot
used. equal in every way. lying and
used diacent The Weld waS about
- bushels each Gf wheat per acre.
On No. j. 500 pounds OF high grade
fertilizer were used every year. On
No. : nothing was used: this plot wa
plowed and narrowed repeatedly from
the time or reaping until the time oi
: sowing IN the fail. On No. :. -four
tons or good stable manure were used
every year.
; The result was that No. ?. with no
help continued TO increase in yield
from u TO 3. bushels y eaerrc. :: (:
from II to - bushels per acre. and
made more wheat in the ten years
than either No. ! or No. 3. No. j.
with commercial fertilizers. rapidly
increased for q few years. and then
rapidly decreased, coming Cut third m
; the average Southern Cuitivator.
! Atlanta. Ga. March 18th. 1900
From the foregoing il would seem
that with deep and frequent cutiya-
, ton. fertilizers would be rendered
unnecessary. but such is MOI the case.
; The stable manure used on No 3
had at most but little capacity for
producing carbonic acid gas. this
function having been almost wholly
lost during the period OF pres ions de
composition. Consequently there Vas
r but very little hruaus or carbonic
acid gas produced.
/ But when q crop Of clover or Eoa
f vines IS burned. the oxygen Of the ar
or Of rain water combines with the
l carbon Of ,ne vegetable matter. while
deca wing. and forms carbonic acid
gas in abundance. which acts on GER
: tain rebcllous substances as already