The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1903-04-18
FARMER AND PLANTER.
MANURE AS A FERTILIZER !.
Manner in which He Returns
Plant Food to the Soil.

Tho improved growth of plants
through the use of manure is due to
the manure of three substances, MI
trogen, potash and phosphoric acid.
The plants take up these plant-food
substances and in various ways utilize
them as forces to build up their veg
etable matter. Compared with the to-
tai weight of plant material, the
actual plant food contained in crops
is very small, but this small quantity
is nevertheless absolutely essential,
for we perceive that the small guam
titles of nitrogen. potash and phos-
phoric acid in manures is very I'M
portant matter to agriculture.
The profitableness of farming is
measured by the crops or products
sold off the farm. 1t does not matter
in what form these sales are made,
every one of them removes more or
less plant food from the farm, and
this must be replaced sooner or later,
or profitable crops can not be grown.
1t is evident that the roughage of the
farm, that is, the unstable portions
of crops, can not make good these
losses, for such portions of the pro-
duce of the land are only about one
half of the total crop yields. OF
course, on stock farms, where large
quantities of stock foods are pur-
chased these conditions do not apply,
as more plant food is brought to the
soil in the form of manure than is
sold off in products.
As a matter of fact, it is now COM
monty recognized that the farmyard
manure realized on the average farm
Is insufficient to maintain the average
t rtility of the soil. AS it was known,
before this point became one of COM
mon knowledge, that the valuable
substance in manures is practically
confined to nitrogen, potash and
phosphoric acid ,intelligent farmers be-
gan early to investigate all forms of
cheap materials which contained one
or more of these substances.
1t was found that almost all forms
of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric
acid in crude materials were as avail
able az plant food as farmyard ma
nure, and in many instances more
readily controlled in its effects. This
led gradually to the establishment of
the great fertilizer manufacturing in
dustry, representing to-day an invest
ment of over SS0.0OO,O00 and produc-
ing about 100000 tons of commercial
fertilizers per year.
So extensive has this industry be-
come that we are now talking of ma
nure rs fertilizer, rather than fer
t.lizer as a manure. This grew out
of the need of correct balance for
particular crops of three elements of
plant food. At the same time t. e
plant-food composition of manures
must always hold high rank, being
practically a natural manure, and be-
ing made up of the very materials it
is desired to grow.
Stated in fertilizer language, and
supposing ten tons of farmyard M
pure are concentrated to weight of
one ton. for fertilizers are practically
concentrated manures, the analysis of
this manure fertilizer would be as
follows; Nitrogen, 5 per cent;
phosphoric acid, 4 per cent, and
potash s per cent. Practically,
where clovers are grown in rotation,
the nitrogen may be reduced to 2
per cent, and as the phosphoric acid
becomes available very slowly, it
should be increased to 5 per cent.
With this we have an ideal formula,
based on manure as fertilizer, a base
We may all hang to with safety
Midland Farmer.