The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-19

mercia1 fertilizers Some of them say that they are using forty and some fifty pounds per acre. When we come to in- vestigate we find that most of these farmers are using raw bone meal contain ing, as they say, 23 per cent phosphate and per cent nitrogen. Now here is 2 per cent of plant food or 131h pounds of plant food used per acre Now if tho user of these goods will figure out the number of square inches there are in an acre, then divide his 1872 pounds of plant food equally to each inch he can readily see how far his plant food will go and he will also see that it would take many years to spoil soil by administering this small amount.
 Mistake Often Made.
 Many farmers make a mistake in con cluding that more plant foods are needed or may be used on poor worn out soil than should be used on better soil The reverse is true. soil that Is in a fine mechanical condition should have more of these concentrated plant foods applied than the poor worn out soils or in other words, concentrated plant foods should be used on all soils according to the amount of organic matter that the soil containsi so that where large quantities of this vegetable matter has been sup
 
 foods may be used, as this organic mat ter will take up and hold moisture and this moisture, being retained in the soil, makes the plant food more readily avail able The roots of the plants can take up food only after it has been reduced to liquid form. So we sec that by 8 continued use of chemical plant foods on soils void of any organic matter would only tend to make bad matters worse and such soils would soon become imper- Vious and hard like a sidewalk or road. Hence the importance of the farmer sav- ing every particle of waste vegetable mat ter that can be gathered from the farm. Even the leaves from the trees should be used in the bedding for stock and then put into the compost heap. Some farm CTS seem to think that by the use of com mercial fertilizers they may be relieved of the labor of cleaning up their own barn yard and lots of fertilizers.
 For the last week l have been working where this idea seems to prevail for I have seen thousands of dollars worth of plant foods in the town going to waste Then, too, I often see farms where man ure has been allowed to accumulate for several years going to waste and yet many of the farmers who own these farms come to the meeting and say that they are buying bone meal at $50 per ton to fertiize their farms.
 Phosphorlc Acid
 Another matter that l find farmers mis- informed upon is the matter of phos- phoric acid. Farmers should know that 1t matters not from what source the phosphoric acid comes, so that it Is in an available form. The same results may be obtained from the use of phosphate rock at q cost of $l7 per ton as from the bone meal at 80 per ton
 Farmers in Missouri and Kansas use mostly bone meal for their wheat crops. One dealer in fertilizers who sells bone meal almost exclusively. when asked why he sold this to farmers for wheat and what the fhrmer expected to get, said that he did not know but the tag on ...e goods claimed % per cent phosphoric acid and 1 per cent nitrogen. Now the ques- tion is. what does the farmer get from this nitrogen when so4sn In the fall with his seed wheat? The facts are that the nitrogen when sown in the fall is leached out, exhausted by rains or the sun be- fore the wheat plant is developed so as to take 1t up and the cost of this nitro gen is clear loss.
 Now Is the time to apply nitrogen to the growing wheat, as il will take 1t ul, at once. During our past winter when we have had so much rain, this excess of water has settled the soil around the wheat plant, thus excluding air and light from the roots so that now If an appli- cation as 2 top dressing of nitrate of soda was made and the soil well har- rowed either before or after sowing the top dressing this treatment would be of permanent benefit to the crop ln many cases it would be well To use a top dress ing for wheat and clovcrs made up Of ? per cent nitrogen. per cent phoE- phorc acid and per cent potash, using from two to si2 hundred pounds per acre, |. ali and crop. This should be well narrowed in and where the soils are of n loose sandy nature good roller should follow the harrow.
 The most progressive farmers of Mis- sOuri and Kansas are beginning to rec ognize the value of the COW pea in this work of soil building and find that thousands Of bushels of these peas have been bought here this spring and many acres will be planted. When the farmer learns the use and value of the legu- mes in a rotation of soil building and uses these in connection with all the barnyard manure that can be made on the farm and hauled from the towns, then combines with these the use of con eentrated fertilizers he has then solved the question of maintaining the fertility of the soil.
 Agricultural News.
 Here in the west the weather changed all at once from winter 10 summer leav- ing spring entirely out. owing 10 the bad weather of March farmers got badly behind with their work. so now all Is rush, push and hurry. The oat crop is practically lost out in many sections. as farmers could not get the seed planted ir time. Many farmers have abandoned the sowing of oats entirely The early potato crop. too will be left ont in many sections The wheat crops have suffered much damage by being continuously wa ter soaked all winter. The losses Of other crops will necessarily cause the planting of large corn crop. The de-. nland for seed corn at this time is very unusual and nearly all growers are sold out.
 There is great shortage of farm lsbor- CTS and Inc demand for help is great. Thsra m tiv farns hare in t<anzaa