Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-03-12
MANUReS AND SOILS.
FERTILIZERS ARE PROFITABLE.

The rule is almost universal that where
there is the most liberal use of fertilizers
on the farm the crops are the most profit
able. The power of fertilizers adapted
to the soil and crop TO produce enormous
crops has hardly been fully tested. The
largest yield of corn is generally the
most profitable and this is true of all
cultivated crops. It was successful
farmer who said he never raised a max
imum crop in which there was not Il
profit, and never raised minimum crop
that did not cause loss.
The Journal of Agriculture in discuss
ing the use of fertilizers, says they are
used in liberal way by the tobacco
growers of the Connecticut Valley. lt
is very ordinary thing for farmers there
to use ton of high grade fertilizer to
the acre. Some use as much as 2oOO
pounds and some go as high as 5000
pounds. Ii is seldom that any one uses
as little as 1000 pounds TO the acre. As
the kind they use is very high grade and
costs them not less than $40 ton, it is
evident that il adds very greatly to the
cost of the crop. But it pays TO do it..
All the cost of raising poor crop is as
great as that of raising a good one, ex-
cept the cost of the fertilizer; so the ad-
ditional amount received for the crop
over and above that received for the un-
tertilized or lightly fertilizad crop is an
additional profit after deducting the
added cost of the fertilizer. Now this Is
about the way it works:
A man uses 1000 pounds Of fertilizer
and makes 1000 pounds Of tobacco, worth
about II cents pound, Sl2O per acre.
He uses 1900 pounds, makes 1900 pounds
leaf tobacco, worth about l3 cents a
pound, Sl95 He uses 2OO0 pounds OF
fertilizer, makes 2000 pounds Of tobacco,
worth II cents pound, $3.50. On the
last lot fertilizer cost $40 instead of $40,
more per acre. These New England
tobscco growers have shown in practice
that these are about the facts, and so
they are heavy users Of fertilizers.
Now, the question for the readers OF
this paper is: win the free use of fertil-
izers pay them? Will it pay on spring
crops-corn, oats, potatoes, tomatoes,
clover, etc.? We are perfectly sure that
it will. All of our observation and ex-
perience for many years convince US that
it will. On land that will make 40
bushels of corn to the acre 200 pounds of
a fertilizer, costing say 81 so for the 200
pounds, if put in or around the hills, will
be certain, in fair season, to add ten or
even as high as twenty bushels to the
acre. At only 30 cents this is So gain.
But that is not all; even such small
quantity leaves manifest Improvement
in the land that will help the crop of the
next year.
On oats to Se seeded in clover the gain
will be even more manifest and pay still
better. IL will add to the oats 20 to 90
per cent, aud it will help very greatly,
not only in getting good stand OF
clover, but in making it vigorous and
rank in growth. Some experimenters
think that it pays to use fertilizers on
clover, peas or other leguminous crops
than on crops to be sold off the ftrm
This is matter TO be tested by each one
for himself, and it is well worthy of a
careful test. The purpose OF this paper
is TO induce its readers wherever poSsi-
ble to adopt the advanced methods of
farming in which fertilizers are such an
important part, because we know that IN
that sort of farming are found the larg-
est profits.