The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-04-12
F~ERr.llz,No THE CROP.

The primary object In using fertilisee
b I o produce z larger yield Of the crop
that y to be Immediately grown, or q
the Fertilizer Is 70 Be applied. As a rule.
II contains from ten to sixteen per cent.
OF moro or less promptly available plant
food. In other words, q commercial fer
tilizer contains in every hundred pounds
p~hosphoric acid. either alone, or that
amount Of phosphoric acid and potash
combined, or OF these two and NITROGEN
combined, making In the latter case. what
is called q ~'complete'' fertilizer. Now,
OF the fertilizer Is supposed to be, and
should be. practically soluble and avail
able at once, or within q week or two,
for the use OF the crop. says Virginia.
Carolina Fertilizer Almanac.
The remaining portion of the fertilizer,
OF the "a to 30 pounds in each 100 pounds,
is a mixture OF insoluble phosphate and
Eulphate OF lime, some sand, water, or
ganic matter and other things that are
necessarily incident to the manufacture,
They are Of very little immediate value
to either the crop or the soil.
So when we apply a high-grade fertil-
izer to the soil the object is to supply
the plants with soluble plant food and
grass, or whatever the crop may be.
incidentally, however, this fertilizer does
help the land, because it induces a larger
growth OF stalk, roots and foliage OF the
plants-or those parts that will be re-
turned to, and become part Of the soil.
A dose Of this fertilizer. for instance,
not only increases the yield OF seed cot
ton, but also the size OF the stalks.
the foliage, hulls and other parts that
&c Immediately back n form a part of
vegetable natter. But the principal way
to improve the soil itself, Is to add vege-
table matter to 1t In the form of stable
manure, renovating crops, rotation OF
crops, etc, in a more direct manner
1t would seem manifest, then, IL we
wish to Increase the yield Of corn, cotton
wheat, oats, grass, ETC., that the fertilizer
should contain the three elements of
plant food In the proportions hat are
best suited to the particular crop. This
is particularly true IL the purpose is to
use liberal amounts of fertilizer per acre.
in sue case the deficient supply, in the
natural soil, of any one or more Of the
three valuable" elements (~phosphoric
acid, nitrogen and potash) need not be
specially considered.
According to carefully conducted field
experiments, conducted at many Of the
experiment stations, it has been found
that cotton requires a feItilizer that con-
tains about one part each OF nitrogen and
potash and 3 1-3 parts of available phos-
phoric acid. This demand would be met
by a fertilizer containing 10 per cent.
available phosphoric acid, 3 per cent. Of
nitrogen and 3 per cent. Of potash; or,
as ordinarily expressed, a 10-3-3 fertilizer.
One Analysing 9--2.70--1.70; or ~S-2.40-2.40;
or 7-2.10-2.10, etc., would answer just a
well, provided these lower grades be ap-
Piled In heavier quantities.
So 1t has been found that corn, sugar
Gene, sorghum, grasses and other crops
belonging to the grass family respond
best to a fertilizer that shall contain 10
1n . ~ Hnay.E at a-t3 r Art- 80 tNaN
gen and 2 parts Of potash or a 10-5-2
fertilizer. The following formulas are
in precisely the same proportions, only
they are Of lower grade, and would give
practically he same results only when a
S~orresp9ndingiy larger application eo shall
840-l.0; or 7-3.50-1.40, and so on. OF
course, these lower grades can be sold
at lower prices than the high grades;
but, as a rule, the farmer will find 1t
more economical to buy the high grades,
both on account Of their cheaper price
per unit" and also the saving of freight
the latter being precisely the same, per
ton, for both high and loS grades.
APPLYING FERTILIZER WHEN
PLANTING.
While 1t is certainly true, in our ex.
p%erience, that the greater part Of the fer
before the crop is to be planted, well
mixed in the soil OF the bedding furrow
and bedded on, there are circumstances
that would Justify o farmer in making
one or more in~tercultural applications,
Including one at the actual date of plant
ing. The following are such circumstan-
ces:
a. When O. farmer has not been able
to secure the whole amount Of his fer
.tilizers before planting time.
(O When he concludes, after his crop
has been planted and is growing, that
he did not buy and apply as much as he
have lone before planting.
90 When the yellowish green color and
of vigor in the appearance of the
plants indicate that more nitrogen ls
We believe it may DE safely accepted
as a general rule that a small portion
Of Virginia Carolina Fertilizer should be
with, or near the seed, at the
time Of planting. The effect Of this small
application Is to supply. the young plants
with available food during the first stage
Of their growth, inducing prompt and
development, For this purpose
40 to so pounds per acre may be applied
Of the same fertilizer that had been bed
ded on two weeks before planting.
A second application of high-grade fer
tilizers may be made OF the second or
third blowing of cotton, or at six or eight
inches height OF the plants up to IS inch
or the middle to last of May, and the
middle to last OF June.
The intercultural applications may be
in the siding furrow, or the fer
tilizer may be strewn along in the middles
ahead of the plow or cultivator. There
Is no need to fear that the plants will
not get the benefit Of a high-grade fer
tilizer If put anyhere, on or between the
June Goth is the latest date at
the writer has ever applied fer
tilizer in his way to either corn or cot
ton. although there Is little reason to
doubt that even later applications would
the crop; but probably not enough
TO nav the cost OF fhe fertilizer.