The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1906-06-01
NEW USES FOR GRANITE ROCK
TESTING ITS VALUE AS A FERTI-
LlZER WHEN GROUND FINE.

Inc department OF Agriculture MAX
ing Experiments Which Give Prom
BE Of Valuable Results-If Sue.
eessfui the Price Of a Common
Farming Requisite viii Be
Cheaper.
Germany, which has long had
monopoly in furnishing carbonate OF
potash fertilizer to the farmers of this
country, will hereafter, be compelled
to seek other markets for that pro-
duct, if some experiments which are
now being conducted by the Depart
ment Of Agriculture are so success
full as officials think they will be. says
the Washington correspondent OF the
New York Mail.
These experiments promise to fur'
nish new fertilizer to consumers In
the United States at price much
lower than has heretofore prevailed.
They are of immense Importance to
agricultural interests, and especially
to tobacco growers of Texas.
Oddly enough, the movement mas
its genesis In the bureau OF ROADS,
which ordinarily has nothing to DO
with such subjects as fertilizers. Last
summer, when DR.. Cushman, OF the
roads office, was testing some granite
rock material he was working In the
labatory with very finely powdered
rock.
The idea struck him, as it has
struck good many other chemists
that it was shame that this country,
with an unlimited supply of rock high
in its percentage of potash, should
have to depend on other countries
for it's potash salts. No commercial
deposits of the salts have ever been
found in this country, as in Germany.
He extracted some of the potash
by electricity, then decided that as
ground rock was very cheap 1t might
be worth while to try the experiment
of letting the plants do their own
extracting.
He made tests on his own place
and found that the powdered rock
did actually act as fertilizer, though
the potash it carried was so tied up
that it took the chemistry OF nature
10 0XLTdCL IL anu lCCu IL AAoO WV F->~
But the first trial promised well.
The work was then turned over to
the bureau of plant industry, ana
three plots of tobacco were planted IN
the greenhouse. One of these was
treated with the German fertilizer,
another was left without any fert1-
nzer and the third was fertilized with
finely ground granite. The granite
was high in potash, but it had not
been treated in any way, and If the
experiment succeeded i simply meant
that there was big new field OF
homegrown fertilizer open to the
farmer.
Recently the crops of tobacco were
cut. The imported fertilizer had pro-
duced crop green that weighed 155
pounds The powdered rock produced
a crop of 1874 pounds and the unfertl-
liked crop was spotted and ran about
100 pounds or a little under.
The crop was examined by experts,
| and. SO far as could be told the leaf
was not only just as heavy, but of just
| as good texture in the rock fertilized
patch as in that on which the I'M
ported fertilizer had been used. the
crop Is being dried now, and 1t Will
take long time before it Is all pro-
perly cured, SO that it can be made up
for smoking and finally tested.
But that was greenhouse expert
ment, and greenhouse work to field
| work Is about like laboratory expert
! ments to commercial work. What
succeeds under glass may or may not
| be a success out of doors. But the
department was so well pleased with
F.! the results that 1t has tried the new
| fertilizer on crops of tobacco In Con-
necticut, Virginia, Kentucy and Flori-
| da.
These crops are now just getting
under way, and great deal OF inter-
| est is felt in the success of the work
out of doors. The principal question
seems to be whether there will be
| enough water in the natural rain
fall to make the potash in the ground
rock available for the plants.
During anything like fairly wet
season there Is little question that
there would be water in plenty But
1t is possible that A)r very dry crop
there will have to be as much as
! tenth of imported fertilizer added to
| the native rock.
| The commercial value of the work
| Is in the fact that the imported ferti-
| lizer costs In this country about 500
ton. The ground rock, on the other
hand, can be produced for about 50
a ton, and there is so much Of it in
the country that runs high in potash
and Is available for the use that the
supply could never be cornered.