The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1905-03-22
Tie Tricks of the Trade and The Fer
tilizer Business.

f. ttuLSb BuSiuGoos
&ecently there was sent out to the
press from Columbia piece of news
about the amount of fertilizers being
used by tho farmers of this State, that
farmers, and others, by not telling the
Whole truth about the increased sales
or fertilizer tags recently. Now, it
seems that these fellows have not told
the public that this increase of Gales Of
tags does not indicate that more fer
tiiizers are. being used for cotton, and
that this, increase may be accounted
for by q change in the law, requiring
all cotton seed meal to be tagged,
whe ther it be used for feeding OF fer
tiiizer.
Since the fertilizer companies can
redeem all tags not used, here is o
splendid opportunity for these fellows
to lend g helping hand to their neigh
bors, the cotton BEARS" by purchas-
Ing q large amount of tags, which has it's
weight in holding cotton down. This
is education In this business.
1t was, A T: Stewart, the famous
dry goods merchant in Now York, that
did In his early business have lot of
tine coaches and well-dreseed women
to make O regular business Of visiting
his establishments daily for the ex-
press purpose of demonstrating to the
fashIonable people that his place of
business was the place for these people
to trade. This was one mans way of
increasing his trade; this is educa-
tion.
a large farmer, in order to advertise
hIs snccess, standing and reputation
as large planter, loads 25 OF 30 bales
or more cotton on o train of wagons
and will move them about the streets
or his town whole day in order to
show the people that he has the ''real
stuff" The difference is, that the far
what he has, while the other two are
driving ap something In ''shadyn
way that they do no. i-.ssess. { This
ls another kind of education.
Something over thirty years ago I
found q lot Of old burnt nails and iron
in some fertilizers that we were using.
= Aa fhs .ssa. hdi COST over $50 per
ton, and did not believe our soil
could digest metalics, we traced the
thing hack e tho factory. where ne
over the country and towns to supply
this ingredient in this brand of goods;
while we farmers &C home had not yet
learned that We were throwing away
oar ashes as home and buying them at
the rate Of $50 per ton and freight
from Oharlest0n. - Is
This was paying high for education
on she Duslness side OF farming.
55. How many farmers are there to day
that are letting their wood aehes 20 70
waste on the farm and buying their
equivalent in commercial fertilizers at
the rate Of $40 to S18 per toni 80.
tE: One OF the most am E5iBg cases Of
educating the farmer on the fertilizer
jsnbject. occurred only q few years ago,
when by accident o farmer (wl,0 owned
Q small Hook Of sheeD) discovered now
round balle that had escaped the
cE1sher in the factory :. Now this FAR
mar considered himself good judge
OF che qualities OF fertilizer ss:<<a. 4. iIi i
y ss-rtasTIa1iy would insist on testing and
emelHng all goods before he eWas satis-
!; fed about it's qualities. : A little In
stlgatIon of those usually ns form
noduies OF Rnan0 aroused the old IS an,s
su5p1clcEs end he called out 10 his son:
Ohm, this iookB like sheep hnlle era
smells Ike mutton and it saAtaa Like O.
5sheep ,pen.n By tracing this back it
was discovered that this fertilizer
factory had imported a LOT OF nitrOge-
nous material from q sheer shed In
Ohio TO enpply the nitrogen i'm his fer
Ssillzer. Ihea goods anRiyzed alright,
out the thing that stuck to this farmer.
sss.5 see ny was EayanE $50
iper ton for commercial fertilizers that
was; shipped in here from Ohios while
ne allowed his homemade materiaIto
go TO waste. ~ i 81 4
Ss The Farmers Educational and Co
operative Union has fOa one OF fita OH
Jecfs the teaching of each other lessons
OF the, business side OF farming as we'll
an Racien farming Now, in order to,
be q teacher iall practical successful,
good teachers ON farming. it is not
necessary for o practical feacher, that
ne ehonid know Greek, Latin and rhet-
on the black beard Iii is bet ter for him
to tell his neighbors how TO work one
these problems OF farming on the land
Wlth the hoe and ploW, etc. as - Y