The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-06-18
SALE CROPS AND CROP COVERS.
Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer.

money, and as money IS only made
through sale crops, we should
never lose sight of the fact
that all farm operations should
be aimed to enlarge or increase
the value of the sale crops.
There are many sides to this matter,
too many for single article, and we
will confine ourselves here to the
consideration of the fertiizing ques-
tiOn solely.
This fertilizing question, like all
other farm fproblems, is largely a
matter of dollars and cents. Money
must be paid out for plant food, and
the main point is to make a given
sum go as far as it will. IB is far
more economical in practical farm
work to fully fertilize one acre than
to half fertilize two acres. The rea-
son is, that as rule the more use
less part of a crop, such as leaf,
straw, roots, vine, etc., is grown
first, and if this exhausts the soil of
valuable plant food the seeds or
tubers, as the case may be, have to
suffer starvation. More than this, a
half crop costs quite as much in
rent, taxes, interest, plowing, seed
and many other things, as a full
crop.
Of course, farm yard manures and
/ &c - \
on long growing crops, such as corn.
This crop covers a long period of
growth, and has a powerful root
system. It can use forms of plant
food which would be quite useless to
potatoes or fruit. AS an illustration
of sale crop, we will take a rota-
tiOn of corn, followed by late pota-
toes. The cover crop in this case
crimson clover, is sown in the corn
at last working, early in August. 1t
is supposed that the corn crop has
received heavy manur1ng in rough
age or farm yard manure, supple
mented, as is the best custom, by
$50 pounds of kainit per acre.
A corn crop of 70 bushels per acre
will use actually of nitrogen, SO
pounds; potash, 55 pounds; phos-
phoric acid, 48 pounds.
AS experimental work has shown,
the potash and phosphoric acid of
this roughage is not readily avail
able, also that it is impossible to
realize more than about two-thirds
of the fertilizer applied whether in
roughage or in chemicals. Conse-
quently, for the corn crop mentioned
about 13 sons of farm yard manure
should have been used per acre, to
which was added $50 pounds of
kainit. If the yield falls below 70
bushels per acre, then we have evi-
dence that the supply of plant food
was insufficient. The probabilities
are that the corn crop must be sup
piled with sufficient plant food for
it's own use, and here is where we
must commence figuring on the
economy of the potato crop to follow
next year.
The cover crop being a legume,
will supply it's own nitrogen, if given
plenty of potash. From official ex-
perments we learn that good crop
of crimson clover contains, nitrogen,
13O pounds; potash, 14O pounds
-oho01[o~;o ooi1 hO -Orr0c Tho
potash and phosphoric acid must be
supplied to the cover crop at seeding
of same, as only twO-thirds Of the
fertilizer is found in actual crop re-
turns, the potash and phosphOric
acid necessary in the application is
21O pounds of potash and so pounds
of phosphoric acid, costing at cents
each 1880 (may be supplied as 400
pounds acid phosphate and 400
pounds mUr.ate of potash, or 1900
pounds kainit). This seems a heavy
application, but it must be remem-
bered, we are really fertilizing the
following potato crop.
In the spring, late, the cover crop
is turned under, soil thoroughly
mellowed, and the potatoes planted.
We have available, as actual plant
food for the potatoes 130 pounds
nitrogen, 14O pounds potash and 40
pounds phosphoric acid, which have
cost 1880. A crop of 400 bushels of
potatoes, and this crop should be OBJ
tanned, if soil and seed are good, re-
quires plant food as follows Nitro
gen, 90 pounds potash, 158 pounds /;
phosphoric acid, 42 pounds.
We have ample quantities of fer