The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1905-02-15
The Lexington Dispatch.
Wednesday, February 10, 1905.
Commercial Fertilizers.

LIZ tuo CO1sO< w 0Ao AAoEo"SH-
Ia my last correspondence to the
Dispatch I promised to have some.
thing more to say on the cost and
vsioe Of commercial fertilizers.
The best and cheapest way to buy
fertilizers is to buy the different in
gradients IN raw state and do the
mixing at home. 10 m'1lng at home
we know exactly what ne have. BY
buying the ingredients separately
they can be- bought for about the
following prices Tor the amount OF
available plant food that they con
tair: available phosphoric acid five
cents per pound; potash five cents
per pouud, and Am monia fifteen
cepts per pound.
Now let Us see what ton OF s, 2
2 goods are worth ut the above prices
We will first tske the available phos
phoric acid. To 6od this we multi
ply twenty by eight and fnd that
shere is $50 pounds of available
phospbor,c acid iu one ton. Multi
ply the 16O by FIVE, the price per
pound of available acid; We fod
that the acsd is worth So Next
we will take the potash. Multiply
ing twenty by two We find forty
pounds Of potash in one ION. which
ia worth Eve cents per pound. OF
50 90 for the forty pounds. The
s~o per cent of ammonia will be
forty pounds in one ton and multi
plying this by fifteen We find that
the ammonia ia worth Sc 90, making
q total Of $1,000
The fertilizer dealers charge from
$4,000 to $21 90 per ton for this
guano.
By mixing 1000 pounds of IA per
cent acid, 700 pounds of cotton seed
meal and IS pounds of muriste OF
potash or 300 pounds of kalnit, as
good guano Can be made as the 8
2, 2 goods. I have had experience
with this work for the past two years
I would advise the use of high
grade goods except ior the ammonia.
High grade acid can be bought
cheaper in proportion to the amount
of plant food contained than low
grade can. I have been told by
local farmers that muriete OF potash
will give better results than ksiuit,
and az it contains four times as much
potash as kainit it is lot necessary
20 use only one fourth as much. Fol
ammonia use cotton seed meal as i.
is vegetable matter and what is no,
plant food will decay and make
numus. Humus is any vegetable OF
animsl matter that has decay ed and
is very important in plant growth
Lands that contain sufficient
amount of humus is always loose.
All litter, such as grass and weeds
or p,oe straw that is on the lands
should be plowed under in the fall
as 1t will then decay and supply
bumus for succeeding crops. But
the best way to supply humus and
at the same time improve lands il
to plant them to leeuminous crops
such as peas, velvet beans, or clovers
and make hay OF these crops to feed
beef cattle and then return the ma
nute from these cattle too the farm
lands. 10 this way they can supply
plant food in the most profitable
farm aud at the same time supply
Sufficient amount Of humus.
The farmer that uses only com
me1c.al fertiliz ars will drd that it il
impossible for him 10 improve biz
lands. Commercial fertilizers are
only intended to supply plant food
for the immediate crop to Which
tney are applied and not to improve
the lands.
Another mistake in using ferti
lizers is in applying large Qaaotltie:
on shallow and po,rl' prepared
lands. Such soils cannot use muck
plant food in their crop growth at
the hard pan will not permit the
roots of the growing crops to reach
down IN the land Tor moisture. Fol
these reasons the crops will dro~r
in wet weather and dry up in dry
weather. II farmer wishes to uss
large amounts OF fertilizers of any
kind he should have good deer
mellow soil for his plants to grow in
J. Lloyd Eargle.
Delmar, S C, Feb. Q, 1905.