The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1909-01-06
q ic-erest to Farmers.

Gae 5:fIIe 5 almost at han0 Tor the
:: ::s:l,r1ar TO i>9ocure his fertilizers for the
>zxt crop. The question now confront
~ a:m is, how can he get the maxi
MIN: amount OF most available plant
socd at the minimum price.
Although growing plants derive their
/ food from soil, water and air, 1t IS the
fertility Of the soil which concerns US in
the application of commercial fertiliz-
ers. The chief elements which plants
derive from the soil are potassium, phos-
phorous, nitrogen, calcium, and sui
phur: sodium, magnesium, silicon, iron
and chlorine are taken up in lesser Quan-
titles. The constant natural activities
which are going on in the soil general
" furnish enough Of these elements en-
cept nitrogen, phosphoric acid and pot
ash. thess being the three elements
which give to commercial fertilizers
their market value, and it is these three
constituents that the farmer must buy.
The next question is, in what form shall
they be bought? AS unmiXed materials
or as mixed fertilizers? 1t is in the en-
deavor to answer this questloa-shat I
write this article.
Q0-t4GuUtd VI el' ltlAdOtO phSS-
phoric acid from the raw rock or bone
is an operation requiring both skill and
experience, and TO the novice. is attend
ed by some danger; therefore, except
under exceptional circumstances, it is
not desirable for the farmer to attempt
to make ''superphosphates.' On the
contrary, the operation of mixing the
manufactured goods is rather simple.
The necessary qualifications are ~ judg-
ment in selecting materials for mixing,
t2i . knowledge Of the calculations in-
9ciEel :; l tight floor to Stir your ma
: ..zc:...s md ~ a plenty OF energy.
I. :. -: materials to be used will de-
- ,.,>c he character OF the soil, the
!. -:.t af Aaop grown, and the current
.ll.,ce u I, material Phosphoric acid
::.as saGS Z; turity of the crop and aids
s..4soiy eveloping the seed. Potash
a-.I5.:3s he growing season-and stif=
.s..s-.. TX. while Gitrogenous fertli-
.zars 2::4 rapid and luXuriant growth.
.Z;.sa-:.i he most expensive element
w::s.. ;,r.lgat, can be supplied by means
ct :esc@ US crops such as cowpea. soy
haz-. However. our systems OF 70
s:!,g.- T.sy- not as yet been developed
Is e., we hope they will be before
..a....: one crop system is used to
,;..,,s. - ent that much Of our nitro
,raa ht. In buying nitrogen. |
v:la -. itrate of soda, sulphate OF
;.lg.e:. ed blood and cotton seed
r...s:s.. :.sa ried blood is now selling at
/ Z. ,.ss::,as .: hibitive price and I would,
2:Gs.~ resent prices get my nitro
! 2e-. : ;itrate of soda. sulphace OF
!. : ..:;;7 cotton seed meal.
commercial sources Of pot
..-,,.sra ~. it, muriate and su!phate OF
.,s....S:. init contains about y per
car; nuriate about so per cent
- 80 sllphate of potash about IS
2ar s4 0). For cotton and corn,
.s,,s:s. lr;ate or kainit rather :han
- .:7a.z q potash because they are
=. - c,:f muriate cannot be used for
.-,.,-l-cc. &c use it Injuries the burning
a-,c .!t.ss g the leaf. For root crops.
such as potatoes and turnlps, some auth
critics claim that the sulphate is bet
ter. We can obtain our supply OF acid
phosphate from the per cent or l6 per
cent article. When prices are proper
tionate, the higher grade is preferable
because we eau HAUL tuOES pOuhuS VI
plant food in given weight of the ma
terial. When buying these materials,
do not be afraid 10 waste g few postage
stamps IN writing to number OF firms
II your farm does not warrant your Or
.ering carload of raw materials, then
form club and order together, there
being no difficulty in dividing goods that
are already sacked.
,. We come to the subject OF cal
culations. A unit is per cent OF ton
or 20 lbs. II we wish au S-33 guano, we
must have in ton of s urits OF phos-
phoric acid, units of ammonia or its
eouivrlent in nitrogen, and units of
| potash. Converted to pounds we have
100 pounds of phosphorlc acid, 60 pounds
OF ammonia. and 80 pounds OF potash.
Suppose. in mixing our fertilizer, we
wish one-half Of our ammonia derived
IRON nitrogen of cotton seed meal guar
anteed u II. and the other half from
nitrogen OF nitrate of soda equivalent
Is per cent amonia, the potash (h2O)
from muriave SO per cent, and the phos-
phoric acid, from Is per said acid phos-
phate.
3s-E3E