Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1909-07-30


bulldln.: them up In still different ways
X makes tie hard wood of the oak or
the GclicAsc petals Of rose. Man.
with all his skill and machinery, has
half SO wonderful as are being made
every day In ,oery field on your farm.
II plants are to grow rapidly and
produce large yields. they must be well
fed. About half the dry weight Of
mature plant is made up Of carbon.
Practically all Of this comes from the
carbon dioxide Of the mir. Every acre
Of wheat will use ton of this gas or
all that Is In layer Of air three niles
deep over the acre. The constant mix
ing Of the air by the wind Is always
bringing fresh supplies within reach Of
the plant.
The farmer does not need to concern
himself with the supply Of carbon d.
oxide, for every time he builds a fire
or even breathes he IS adding to the
store Of this material In the air.
The smooth upper surface Of leaf
III Dctii al anu NatCA tiSht. Oh thC
underside, however. are many small
openings. which are really the mouths
of the plant. 1t is through these tiny
holes that carbon diOxide Is taken into
the leaf to be used by the chlorophyll.
In making starch and other products
out Of carbon dioxide and water some
oxygen is given off. This passes out
through the openings in the leaves.
Thus you see that plants breathe in
much the same way rs animals do.
only they give of oxygen. the product
which Is used by animals. and take up
breathed out by animals. In this way
plants make animal life possible. Ami
mails give of carbon dioxide and
manure as waste products. Plants
tear these waste products to pieces
and by rebuilding them make them
once more into food for the animals.
Next to carbon hydrogen and oxy-
gen are the foods that the plant uses
in largest quantities. Since water Is
composed Of these elements. the sup
ply will be plentiful rs long as there
| Is plenty Of water In the soil.
There is one element. nitrogen.
which forms considerable part Of
the plant, that Is harder to get While
| three fourths of the air Is nitrogen.
the plant does not seem to be able to
use 1t in this form. The only kind of
plants that can use the nitrogen In the
o;r Mt OH q
clover and alfalfa. Certain bacteria
that live on the roots Of these legumes
have the power OF changing the at
mOspheri. nitrogen into forms In
which the plant can use It, We shall
study more about this process later.
Nitrogen is one Of the most impor
tant plant foods, and 1t Is one that 1.
very often lacking. II the plant can
not get sufficient supply of nitrogen
1t will he stuntcd. will stop growing
early. and the yield will be very mucl
reduced. Since all the crops. with the
exception Of the legumcs. must gel
heir nitrogen from the soil. the farm
or must see to it that there is a plen
.iful supply there II he wishes to oh
tain large yield.
If YOU will drop little rich blacl
soil on hot shovel some Of It will
60 up in smoke. The part that burns 1
humus and is made up Of vegetable an,
animal matter which Is partly de
cayed. This humus contains larg
amounts Of nitrogen. and from thi
source the greater share Of this ele
ment used by the plant must come. l
your soil Is black. spongy and wei
supplied with humus there IS littl
danger that the plant will go hungr
for nitrogen. One Of the best ways t
keep a field in this condition is to az
ply liberal quantities. Of barnyard ma
nure. Another way Is to plow unde
green crops. especially clover. Some
. times 1t is necessary to buy nitroge
for the plant In the form Of CONNER
cial fertilizers. but this IS very ez
pensive way Of obtaining 1t.
Even when the plant Is given all th
, nitrogen 1t can use It sometimes fail
to do well. This Is because It cannt
get as much Of the mineral element
as 1t needs.
Too much nitrogen In proportion I
the amount Of mineral elements cause
the plant to Ego all to vines" TheI
Will be an excessive growth Of leave
but the yield Of grain Will be small
Take an ear Of corn or bunch Of ha
, and burn 1t. The ashes that are LEI
are the mineral parts Of the plan
These cannot be obtained from air {
. water, but must come from the sol
Some Of the most important Of thes
: are iron. which Is the substance tn,
3 helps to build up chlorophyll, and su
/ phur. which Is found In the nitrog
nous parts Of the plant. There are
number Of others also. all Of whic
are present IN the soil in such larl
, amounts that there Will probably q
.. ways be all that the crops can use.
Two Of these minerals, however, p
tassium and phosphorus, are not {
plentiful. When the plant cannot e.
enough potassium the grain will n,
be filled out well. II there Is too lit
phosphorus. especially in the case
!, fruit trees, the development Of fru
is checked. Adding barnyard manu-
to the soil helps to keep up the supp
OF these two materials. On farn