Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-11-12
WISE USE OF FERTILIZERS.
Sensible Article on a Subject Of Great
Importance.

Sensible Article on a Subject Of Grea
Importance.
| Progressive Farmer.
l was in company a few days age
with several farmers and the topic
they were discussing was commercial
fertilizers. They were all growers OF
truck for market and use commercial
fertilizers literally.
One said: II use the Quick Grow
err" another said he had found that
the Truck Special" was the best. A
third one said that he used fish scrap
altogether. q have not given the real
names Of the two mixtures) l was
curious enough to look into the mat
ter and to try to see why these men
had preference for particular brands
of fertilizers. l found that the two
brands preferred by two different men
were both a low grade 2-8-2 fertil-
izer that sold for about $1S per ton at
that point. The third used fish scrap,
and that-while a good carrier Of nj
trCgen and little phosphoric acids
not a complete fertilizer at all and
was not especially suited to the truck
crops on the sandy soil these men were
cultivating The two first-named fer
tilizers were neither quick growers nor
specially adapted to truck crops, and
certainly not the best for these crops
on the sort Of land where these men
were working.
Name of a Fertilizer Means Nothing
But the conversation showed this
very plainly-that farmers and even
truck growers pay little attention to
the composition of the fertilizers they
use, and really do not know whether
the article they prefer is the most
economical and profitable mixture for
their soil and crops. The fertilizer men
know we'll that farmers are attracted
by taking names, and hence they use
very attractive names and often sew
eral brands on an article Of the same
identical composition. We have tried
time and again to show the farmers at
institutes the ingredients that give
value to a fertilizer mixture, and have
shown by plain figures that the low
grade article is always the most costly
for the value Of materials in it. But
the fertilizer men know well that far
mers look to the price per ton and the
attractive name they brand on the
sacks, and they are perfectly content
to put in each ton a quarter Of ton
of worthless filler so that the farmer
can think the article cheap.
$50 to $35 Fertilizer Often Cheaper
Than One at $1s to $50.
The bulletins on fertilizers issued by
the stations and the state departments
Of agriculture show hundreds Of brands
every one Of which is the same 2-S-2
article, and farmers will seriously dis
cuss the merits Of these different
brands and give their preferences,
when every one of the low-priced ar
ticles is identically the same thing.
And often two or more brands have
been sacked from the same pile, the
only difference being the brand! But
1t is hard to persuade a farmer that a
fertilizer that sells for $50 to $35 may
be cheaper than the one he buys at
$1S to 500 per ton.
Double Expense In Low Grade Goods
II he would but take the trouble to
figure on the contents the analysis
shows Of each brand he would soon
find that in the low grade article he Is
paying a far higher price for the nitro
gen, phosphoric acid and potash than
in the higher grade article, and Is at
the same time paying freight on more
than he would have to buy If he used
the higher grade.
Fertilizers are of value for the
amount of the plant foods they contain
that are in an available form for plant
use, and the brand is only CONNER
cial name that may as we'll be applied
to one as the other mixture.
"Speciap Fertilizers.
1t Is one or the most ulScouIdSihs
facts to the institute lecture and the
station investigator that they cannot
get the farmers to understand that 1t Is
the available plant food in fertilizer
that gives it value, and that to be
special" fertilizer for any particular
crop it must be compared with refer
ence to the way in which the special
crop takes the food from the soil. We
have seen hundreds of analyses Of fer
tilizers that were all called Specials
for certain crops, and all were differ
ent
This is a matter that cannot be too
frequently urged on the attention OF
the farmers, for men are wasting their
money every year in the purchase OF
fertilizers when little study OF the
composition of these articles would
save them a great deal.
w. F. Massey.