Fitzgerald enterprise. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1895-1912, 1905-10-24
STUDY IN PLANT-FO0D
State Chemist Writes Interest
ingly on this Subject.
TALK ON PHosPAoR!C ACID
Tells Farmers If They Expect Large
Yields From Their Lands They Must
Learn What Plant Food the Soil
teeds-Where Phospates Are Found.
Letters on Agricultural Chemistry by
the State Chemist.
LETTER NO. 8.
THE PHOGPHATES.

| II ie in the same class with nitrogen
and potash, they being the elements
found only in small quantity in most
cultivated soils, all the other elements
necessary to plant life being usually
present in profusion. Phosphoric acid
then must be added to the soil If we
expect large yield. The various
sources of phosphoric acid, then, are
of interest.
Bones were the first and earliest
form in which phosphoric acid was
applied to the soil. Bones are CON-
bination of organic and inorganic mat
ter. The organic matter in bone
consists mainly of fat and a glutinous
matter; the inorganic matter is chief
ly phosphate of lime. This dual COM
position of a bone can be demonstrate
ed very graphically by taking the leg
bone of an animal and soaking it for
quite a while in weak muriat1c acid.
This acid will dissolve away the phos-
phate of lime, which gives rightly
and stiffness to the bone, and leave
behind the glutinous flexible animal
matter of the bone, which will still
retain the shape CT the original bone.
You can now take this soft organic
matter and tie 1t into a knot, without
breaking it. This soft animal matter
of the bone is rich in nitrogen, so that
bone fertilizer is double manure,
both phosphate and heterogeneous.
Bones vary a good deal in compost
ton, according to the nature and age
OF the animal; there is not so much
phosphate in the bones Of a young
animal as in those OF an old one.
Even in the same animal, the hard
thigh bones of an OK for instance,
will contain more phosphate of lime
than softer bones from otler parts
of the anialal. Bones to be of value
should, of course, be ground, and tse
finer the grinding, the better. A
\ coarsely. crushed or ground raw bone
which has not been treated to remove
any Of its original fatty matter, will
decay with comparatively slowness in
the soil, and consequently but little
effect might be perceived from it's ap-
plication the first season.
A good raw bone will contain on an
.tI,n ,1hn
phoric acid and four per cent. of nj
| trogen. Sucn bone is quite diff
cult to grind fine, and On its fineness
depends in large measure its value as
fertilizer, But by boiling and steam
| ing much Of the fat Is removed. which
| has no value as q manure; some of
| the nitrogen is also removed in the
form Of glue and gelatine by the boil
| ing and steaming process. This treat
ment, however, enables the bone to be
ground mucn finer than the raw bone,
and where tne process has been carried
out very thoroughly, as in the manu-.
| facture Of glue, the resulting ground
bone may contain as high as so per
cen. of phosphorlc acid. but the nitro
| gen in this case will be reduced to
less than two per cent Actual eX-
ueTimepts have shawn that all the
phosphoric acid from 4 finely ground
steamed bone may become available
| in one or two seasons in the soil,
while that from q coarse ground raw
bone would not beeeMe fully available
in three OF four seasons.
The Mineral or Rock Pnospates,
| If bones were the only resource OF
| phosphoric acid, modern agriculture
would be in a distressing condition,
since bones could supply only very
small part OF the demand. The prices
of fertilizers would be Very sRQch high.
| err than they now are; the cotton crop
| of the south and the grain crops OF
the world would be very much small
| er, and the population e. tire Garlh very
! much less than it now is. So true is
1t that life itself as counted By gener-
ations rises and falls in greater or
smaller volume. IT. uRis0n~ with the
available supply of plant-food iii the
soil. A very large proportion Of the
dense population aud increased wealth
of the Old World h asaSi.-.s due to
the discovery of the :iidrf8l Bhos-
pilates. Deposits of these in greater
or less quantity have been known for
a long time in Ire Old World, but /
shall mention only tnose aNGs in this
country which are Of great commercial
Importance today The first Of these
| in point of discovery and development
we're the South Carolina phosphate
beds. These beds are in the neigh
borhosG Of the city OF Charleston, S. c.