Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-11-29

ter adapted for that purpose than any
thing else.
USING PHOSPHATES AND MANURE
TOGETHER
L C. W. Cornelia Ga, writes: In the
west with very large stock farms never
used or saw fertilizers used, and 1t seems
to me largely a waste of money and lack
of intelligence to use so much when we
ought to make it ourselves. nave
thought of buying carload OF ground
phosphate and mixing with my stable
manure, and putting in around my trees
and in the holes where 1 set new trees.
Which would be best to use, Thomas Stag
or the Tennessee rock?
There is no doubt that the efficacy of
farmyard manure can be greatly increas-
ed by mixing acid phosphate or the finely
ground rock with II as 1t is made. About
10 pounds of acid phosphate should be
used per ton of manure, and probably 100
pounds of the floats. 1t is not essential
that exactly these amounts be used,
though If too much of the calculated rock
is used II might possibly affect the feet
of the animals unfavorably, though this
Is hardly probable. More of the floats
should be used than of the calculated
rock, however, as the phosphorus will
become more slowly available and the
use of a larger quantity will be more
likely to render large enough available
to meet the needs of the trees to which
you propose applying this combination.
There is no reason why finely ground
phosphate rock or floats should not be
used largely in Georgia. provided the
lands are made rich enough through
blowing under vegetable matter. This is,
Of course, one of their great deficiencies
at the present time, and there Is good
reason to believe that many farmers will
not secure a satisfactory return from
the use of floats until they increase their
knowledge of the essential nature of veg
etable matter in conserving soil fertility
and are willing to apply either in the
form of manure or green crops plowed
under several times more vegetable mat
ter to each acre of land than is now the
common practice. AS to what form of
material you shall use that depends some
what on the price. 1t is currently held
that basic Stag has only about half Of the
efficiency. so far as available plant food
is concerned. as acid phosphate. In other
words, you can count on is per cent of
available phosphoric acid in the acidulat-
ed rock, and probably not over per cent
i'm basic Stag Basic Stag contains, of
course. from Is to q per cent of total
phosphoric acid, and probably much more
than per cent will become available
eventually if it is mixed with yard man.
ure or applied where green crops have
been plowed under. From what we know
now. however, would be disposed to buy
the finely ground high-grade Tennessee
rock as the best source from which to
secure floats, though it should be borne
in mind that a pound of available phos-
phoric acid is as efficient from one source
as from another.
/ see no reason in the world why the
manure reinforced with phosphorus
should not be used in the holes where
trees are planted, and form the most ex-
cellent character of fertilizer which you
can possibly secure for an orchard.
agree with you thoroughly that entirely
too much money is spent for commercial
fertilizers in proportion to the effort made
to utilize the other natural agencies in
increasing fertility. The fact Of the mat
ter is the best returns from fertilizers
will always be secured when the land is
put in perfect physical condition and con-
tains an abundance of vegetable matter.