Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-06-09
Needs Of the Soil

A circular recently issued by the de-
partment of agriculture says. in part:
THE farmer must ascertain just
what his soil needs. as soils vary in
their supply and the elements Of plant
food are needed in different quantities
by different plants. This can be de-
termined by a watch on the growth Of
the plants on the land. If there is a
rapid growth, and an abundance Of
leaf and stalk, it is proof that there is
good supply of nitrogen. If there
is not proportionate quantity of fruit,
the soil needs phosphoric acid; and
should the plant not have a good color
and the fruit drops before it reaches
a fair size. potash is needed.
so in buying commercial fertilizer,
the farmer should buy it for its content
Of these substances. 1t will rarely be
necessary for the farmer to buy nitro
gen if he has saved all his manures
and grown a good crop of coWpeas as
he should.
1T is the law now that every bag of
fertilizer must have on 1T stamped
just what food it contains. This is
shown in percentages. In other words
in 100 pounds Of fertilizer 1t shows
there are so many pounds OF the par
ticuIar substances. If, for instance, the
sack is labeled:
Nitrogen, 8 per cent.
Solubabe phosphoric acid. per
cent.
Reverted phosphoric acid, per cent
Available phosphoric acid, 10 per
cent.
Potash, . per cent.
1t means:
Three pounds nitrogen.
Six pounds soluble phosphoric acid.
Four pounds reverted phosphoric
acid
Ten pound available phosphor1c acio.
Two pounds potash.
Thus giving fifteen pounds of plant
food in a 10o-pound sack. In ton of
such fertilizer the purchaser secures
sixty pounds nitrogen, 100 pounds
soluble phosphoric acid, eighty pounds
reverted phosphoric acid and forty
pounds potash. What is called avail
able" is the sum of the soluble and the
reverted acids.
The circular says that ammonia IS
nothing but nitrogen in combination
with another substance OF no value.
Inserting the ammonia in the formula
is apt to deceive one who does not
know the distinction. 1t is the pounds
of plant food that are wanted, and not
lust a. sack of stuff the majority OF
which is of no value.
Taking acid phosphates as an ex-
ample, we find that there Is great
variation in their composition. some
run as low as ten pounds. Others con-
tain as much as fourteen to fifteen
pounds. AS phosphoric acid generally
sells at about cents pound, the 1or-
mer would be worth so cents nun
dred, whereas the latter would cost 20
cents. In buying. then, 1t is economy
to take the high grade goods, even tho
they cost little more"
Amount of Insects Consumed BY Birds.
So far I have tried to show only that
most of our birds are insectiVrous, put
have not shown the amount bird can
consume Every one who has observed
nest of young birds knows that they
are almost all mouth and stomach. At
first they consume more than their
weight in insect food in a single day
and make daily gain CT from % 10 D"
per cent. AS high as $50 tent cater
pillars have been found IN the stomach
of a cuckoo. and as high as 5,00O IN
sects have been found in the stomach
| Of hawk. The writer has made oo-
servations on the house wren, and 1t
visited the nest with food on an aver
i age once every three minutes for sew
eral hours.
| Not only are birds Of value as In
sect destroyers, but many feed largely
on weed seeds. Among the seed eaters
| may be mentioned the doves, fnches,
sparrows. bobolinks, blackbirds and
! others. From examination Of many
stomachs 1t has been FOUND tnaI during
winter the sparrows live almost entire
ly on weed seeds. They would eat at
least one-fourth of an ounce per day.
At this rate. and counting only twenty