The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-05-03

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JLTON S. WHITE.


/, forest planted by nature and planted and
harvested year after year exhaustive
crops certain ones of these elements be-
come deficient In our soils The elements
are most liable to become deficient are
nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The
other elements that are enumerated above
are so very abundant in most soils that
their value as a fertilizer rs not consid-
cred OF all these elements that go to
make up plant food nitrogen Is the least
abundant and therefore most expensive,
but in nature nitrogen is a very abundant
element. Four-fifths of the air is composed
of nitrogen, but as 1t exists in the at
mosphere as a free element it cannot be
used as a plant food by any of the high
organized plants. 1t must be combined
with some other element before it can
be taken in as food by plants But nitro
gen is an element that dislikes most of
the other elements, and therefore does
not combine with them under ordinary
| conditions, and sometimes when 1t is COM
bned with some of the other elements
I under the least proyocation 1t will dis
sociate Itself from them and this in d
hurry as when gun powder explodes. But
as we all know, certain organisms or low
forms of vegetable life have the power
of using this free nitrogen as plant
food. These organisms live and multiply
In the tissues of plants belonging to the
leguminous family.
I'VE should as far as possible depend
upon these luguminous plant to supply
the nitrogen that is deficient in our Soils
Value of Alfalfa.
I'm Bulletin No. rs, of the Illinois EX-
pertinent Station, the author says From
our investigations In Illinois we have
conclusive proof that at Is cents per pound
we have obtained at least s45 worth of
notrogen from the atmosphere per acre
per annum by means or alfalfa. properly
infected with the alfalfa bacteria and
provided with suitable soil condition, free
from acidity and well supplied with the
mineral elements of plant food and the
evidence strongly indicates that even
much more nitrogen than that was OBJ
tanned from the air.
While alfalfa may do we'll only in linz
tied portion of South Carolina, it is very
certain that most of the tillable soils of
this state will grow luxuriant crops of
COW peas, vetch, Florida beggar weed
and most of our soils can be made to give
good yields of Bur clover. The cause of
failure to get these leguminous plants to
do we'll on certain types OF soil has been
found to be due to the absence of the
particular species of bacteria associated
with the crop Sometimes the soil condi-
tons are unfavorable or not a fit habitat
for that particular germ. The specific
germ that produces the nodule on the red
clover Will not produce it on the cow pea
and vice versa. 1t appears that each of
these leguminous plants has Its particular
germ. We should by all means supply
| the deficient nitrogen to our soils by
growing each leguminous plant properly
| inoculated with its associate germ.
Use Of Nitrates.
However, some good systems of farm
| management will not permit the growing
| OF leguminous crops in sufficient amount
| to produce the nitrogen required. Under
such conditions we must resort to the use
OF nitrates. Organic nitrogen is nitro
gen of animal and vegetable matter which
is chemically combined with carbon. n.y.
drogen and oxygen Some forms of or
ganic nitrogen, as that found in leather
| and peat, are comparatively insoluble
| and therefore of little value as a fertili-
ger, but other forms, as fish scrap. dried
blood, castor pumice. tobacco stems, cot
| ton seed meal and tankage are very valu-
| able fertilizers. Ammonia and nitric acid
are obtained by chemical change of the
organic nitrogen and they contain nitro
gen In It's most active form. We can
buy fertilizers rich In ammonia In the
form of sulphate of ammonia, and nitric
acid in the commercial form Of nitrate
or soda. The cost OF nitrogen is depen-
dent upon the market value of the SUBJ
stance containing it. If you want to
know the cheapest form IN which to buy
nitrogen you are recommended to tho
fertilizers department of our experiment
station
Experiments conducted at the Ken
lucky experiment station have shown
conclusivey that the limestone soils of
that state. although rich in potassium.
produce larger yields of corn. hemp and
tobacco when that element is applied as
a fertilizer and this on soils that are
in good mechanical condition. A chemical
analysis of these limestone soils shows
that they have an abundance of potas-
SUM. but 1t is locked up in an insoluble
or unavailable form, and this potash
becomes available little by little each
year. If we could put these soils in
perfect mechanical condition and supply
all the moisture necessary for producing
large crops 1t is doubtful whether there
would be enough soluble potash present
to counterbalance the abundance of the
other plant fod. Furthermore. expert
ments have shown that on these same
limestone soils an application of acid
phosphate will give no increase in the
crop yield. even on soils that are pretty
well run down by continual cultivation
and are therefore In a poor mechanical
condition.
Most of the soils Of the south respond