The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1901-1903, 1902-09-14

this country, and more experiments
have been made witl them than
any other crop, yet the matter of ap-
plying manure or fertilizer to tne po-
tato crop IS one on which growers diff
fer materially Il is possibly the case
that many varieties. as we'll as the
EeCul.arities of soils AMI climates.
may have much to DO with the lack of
unanimity among growers, but it is
safe to claim that there is a wide field
open for work IN the use Of plant foods
for pota .oes. The same difficulty pre-
sents itself in Europe, where expert
ments have been conducted 3or years.
Professor Wright Of the Wesc
OF Scotland Agricultural college,
concludes that large crops Of potatoes
can be grown eisher witt a heavy go
tonsl dressing per acre Of barnyard
manure, or with half tAat quantity
when supplemented with fertilizers.
the usc OF fertilizers alone viii also
give large crops In this country the
use OF barnyard manure in some sec
tons induces disease among tne tu-
bers and vines. Experiments show
that the increase produced by manure
on potatoes is entirely in tubers OF
large size. the yields Of small tubers
while liglt dressings CT manure pro
duce a much greater proportionate
effect. AMI a larger local return can
be obtained from 4 limited quantity
over a given area Fertilizers when
added to large dressings of manure
are not so effective Is when added 10
small dress, nns. Heavy dressings Of
manure wi Aout fertilizers. give pcta-
toes of rather watery or inferior
quality, light dressings being less in
furious. while the use of fertilizers
with manure tends to greatly improve
the qualify but potatoes Of the best
cooking quality and possessing the
highest nutritive value can be grown
by the use of fertilizers alone
Concerning the use Of the several
forms of fertilizers on potatoes it was
demonstrated that the addition OF
potash in any forla, when applied with
barnyard manure. increased the dry
matter in starch in the tubers, and
thus improved the quality. It also in
creased materially the proportionate
yield Of large potatoes. which adds
TO the market value of the crop. The
most profitable quantity OF potash TO
apply, according TO the results OF ex-
peliments, is 81 pounds per acre, repre-
scented by about 10 pounds OF sulphate
OF potash, any increase in that amount
being no so beneficial On. profitable.
u is possible to use more potash and
secure larger yields. but the amount
mentioned will give the most profit
in proportion to expense. When fertili-
zers only are used the potash should
be given in the form Of sulphate Of
potash. In these experiments the finest
quality Of potatoes were grown with
the use Of sulphate of potash. KANT.
applied in the spring. whether given
with or without harnyord manure.
gave inferior results. both in yield and
quality of the tubers. proving some
what detrimental to the quality Mu-
riate Of potash gave good results when
used in fertilizers. but when applied
with barnyard manure it proved even
more effective than sulphate of potash
in increasing the yield, but did not pro-
duce tubers OF the highest quality. Nj
trate OF soda. applied as a top dressing
al the rate OF liz pounds per acre, and
put on Immediately after the first
wedding of the crop. produced no in
furious effects on the quality Of the
potatoes.
In the growing of potatoes the farm
er desires the largest possible yield
and the large majority Of them have
succeeded in 50 combining barnyard
manure and fertilizers as to harvest
enormous crops, but the experiments
mentioned include something more
than yields, the object being to also
observe The effect on he quality Of the
tubers. Ii is the quality that gives the
profit, as the difference in prices may
largely offset The differences in Yields.
KANT, which is a crude sulphate of
potash containing a large proportiorx
Of common salt. IS useA ca ~
tensiyely IN the manure %eap
Ia or1er to prevent the loss
of volatile matter, and Ii increases
the value of manure for some crops,
but when applied 20 potatoes it does
not improve tle quality Wood ashes.
which are rich in potash when pro-
duced from certain hardwoods. would
no doubj prove valuable for potatoes.
but. IS ashes also contain lime, the ef-
feet Ray he TO iniure the crop, as it is
not known TIA, lime is favor
able TO some diseases. and
for that reason should not be
applied. A fertilizer for potatoes
should not only contain potash, but
also nitrogen and phosphoric acid. In
some cases (he use Of superpAosphata,
and sulphate OF potash has given sat-
isfaction. the superphosphate contain
ing sufficient nitrogen if he soil is al
so fertile. Farmers should experiment
with small plots in order to test the
advantages OF the pant foods for in
creasing the quality of the tubers. as
any experiments made with certain
,-o,.o4soe o,,l IN soils 4bo+ 80 ,-: