Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1901-09-26
Some Advantage of Experiment Work
~On the Farms.

. Every farmer should have a true knowl-
edge of the needs of every piece of land
on his farm. Indeed. every successful
farmer will have this knowledge to a
greater or less extent. 1t is all very well
to study the requirements of a crop and
ascertain what fertilizer it will need to
do its best. But If you neglect to study
your soil as we'll you are still working at
a disadvantage and cannot produce your
crops in the most economical manner.
Almost all large fertilizer concerns
manufacture special fertilizers. There are
cotton fertilizers. potato growers, wheat
growers and vegetable and tobacco fertil-
izers. These goods are prepared to meet
a number of requirements. They must
meet the needs of the crop as nearly as
possible, both from the standpoint of
analysis and from that dictated by expert
ence. They must suit all soils as nearly
as can be done. and they must not be too
expensive. Most of these goods are what
is called well balanced fertilizers. that is,
they contain the three principal elements
of plant food. ammonia, phosphoric acid
and potash, in the right proportion to
supply the needs of the respective crops
for which they were prepared and the
general run of land.
You can readily see that II would be i'm
possible for these concerns to prepare a
fertilizer that would suit all the differ
emit qualities and conditions of soil. as
those vary more greatly even than the
crops themselves.
And so it is that IN using these fertil-
izers we may be paying for and applying
material which our soil already contains.
Or our soil may be so lacking in some one
element of plant food that the amount of
this element contained In the fertilizer
fails to balance the plant food in the soil,
even though 1t may be we'll balanced i'm
the fertilizer itself. The result is that
the land is capable of making with a
fertilizer which would properly balance
the plant food already contained in the
land.
1t will be understood that when we
speak of plant food as being balanced.
we mean that the three principal ele-
ments ammonia. phosphoric acid and
potash are present in the soil or fertil-
izer in the right proportion to supply the
needs of the crops we wish to grow. If
any one of these elements is present in
excess a part of II must necessarily re-
main idle and it's effect will be to produce
and unhealthy and unsymmetrical growth.
The ability of the crop to appropriate
plant food is limited by that element
which is in the smallest supply. If am
monia and phosphoric acid are plentiful
I'm the soil either naturally or put there
through fertilizer. and potash is lacking.
then the crop will be limited i'm a great
measure TO what little potash there is
present Is capable of producing. Thus
part of the phosphoric acid and ammonia
will remain unused. So also it Is with
these other elements any one OF them
being lacking the crop is limited TO that
extent
on nearly every farm there is great
variety of soil and the successful farmer
is the one VINO studies and acquaints him
self with the needs of every piece of land
I'm his possession. This Is where the value
of a little experimental work comes in.
We must go to the fields with our ques-
tiOns. They cannot be answered def