The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-01-13
POISON TN YOUNG
SORGHUM SHOOTS.


show that there is very general mis-
apprehension among farmers in regard
TO these Things. Our friend wanted to
know which was the most exhaustive to
the vegetable matter in the soil. acid
phosphate from dissolved rocl. or acid
phosphate from bone black. He further
wanted to know whether carbonate of
lime makes the vegetable matter avail
able more quickly than acide phosphate
and whether the crops grown with com
mercial fertilizers are as nutritious as
those grown with barnyard manure Il
Is evident from other correspondence that
this farmer, whose questions we answer
ed briefly in the queries, represents the
ideas of large class of farmers. he
evidently regarded the acid phosphate as
sort of stimulant TO increase the pro-
ductiOn of crops by rendering matters
available that are already in the soil
Acid phosphate. whether from rock or
bone black is Simply one form Of The es-
sential plant food that crops must have
in order to grow No plant can grow at
all If it is entirely absent from he soil
Hence, the use of acid phosphate is sim
ply to supply any deficiency there may
be in the soil of available phosphorus
which plants must have in abundance to
make the best crops. To ask which is the
most exhaustive, bone black phosphate
or rock phosphate is equal to asking
whether bread in rolls or bread in light
bread @oaf viii starve a man quickest
Then he wanted to know which would
make the vegetable matter in the soil
available quicker, lime or acid phosphate
Lime, not being to the same extent plant
food or rather not usually being needed
as plant food to the same extent that
phosphorus is, has use outside Of this
and is more properly stimuiant, since
1T tends to hasten the nitrification Of the
organic matter in the soil and to promote
the activity Of the micro organisms that
are engaged in preparing nitrates for
plant food. 1t has also a mechanical eff
feet Of value on most soils. But the last
query as to the nutritiousness of plants
grown by the use of commercial fertili-
Zers shows still more plainly the misap-
prehension Of these plant foods. The only
difference between stable manure and
commercial fertilizers is that the fertili-
zers resent the same plant food that the
manure does, but in a more concentrated
and more readily available form, and
when properly made are q better
balanced manure than stable manure
which usually has an excess Of nitrogen
IL proportion TO it's phosphoric acid and
potash The only additional value the
stable manure has which commercial fer
tilizer lacks is the organic matter tend
ing to increase the humuS in the soil
and hence to, Increase its capacity for
retaining moisture. Hence, when plants
are fed with the readily available food
in the commercial fertilizers they get
the very same things they would get in
stable manure and usually in more
available form. a well grown plant has
the same nutritiVc value whether the
food is supplied from one source or the
other. In brief commercial fertilizers
are simply plant food and SO is stable
manure, and the plant food in each is the
same thing. The vegetable matter in the
soil is not exhausted by acid phosphate,
but by hard cropping and a neglect Of
a good rotation to keep up the hunIus
making material in the soil. You can
usually buy the needed plant food more
cheaply in commercial fertilizers than
you can buy it in stable manure and
if they are used as they should be to in
crease the growth of the jeGumes that
feed the soil and the stock a the same
time, they are fully as valuable as stable
manure since the organic matter they
produce in the legumes is already spread
in the soil without hauling, and land
can be improved much more cheaply
through the use of fertilizers in the
proper manner than by the purchase of
stable manure. Still, this is no argu-
ment against the making and using of all
the home made manure we can.