The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette. (Starkville, Miss.) 1910-1920, 1910-02-26
Professor Massey's
Editorial Page.
Commercial Fertilizers and Their
Proper Use.

that the only for commercial fertilizers is for
the direct increase of the crops planted for sale.
regardless of the future of the land.
1t is well known to the readers of The Pro-
gressive Farmer and Gazette that l have always
opposed this idea. ] have antagonism to ar
tifcal fertilizers but believe that their true use
is in increasing the forage and humus-making
crops and the upbuildng of the soil. That is,
believe that the true of the commercial fer
tilizers is for the gradual increase of the produc
tivity of the soil rather than merely to get sale
crops and leave the land worse off than before
their use
Deep breaking and level cultivation and ra-
tional of the commercial fertilizers, when
needed in a more liberal manner is what is need
ed in connection with the increased production of
legume forage and the feeding of this and the
corn slower and cottonseed meal in judicious
way. / have often stated and the experience of
the farmers who have adopted it has shown that
with our ordinary farm crops the man who works
his land in a good short rotation, growing an
abundance OF forage from peas and crimson clo-
yer, need never buy an ounce of ammonia in
fertilizer.
1t is done. not by what men call resting" the
land, but by keeping it harder at work growing
something that will benefit it through the feed
ing of cattle between the sale crops We have
that the Southern soils will make great
crops of corn by piling the fertilizers regard
less of cost But this is merely demonstrating
what can be done in that way. 1t is not profit
able farming by any means, and can, through
good farming and the judicious Of the needed
fertilizers get all of our land-not single pet
aIce-to making great and profitable crops, build
ing up its fertility while paying its way to i'm
porved conditions.
/ have often said that have never any
real profit from the growing of through the
of commercial fertilizers. Not that We can
not get largely increased crop from their use.
sl4 hf-nS a.
from the application. but that in the long run
IL is not profitable to the land in this way
and neglect its permanent improvement The
aforementioned land has been improved till 1t
makes nearly 100 bushels Of corn per acre at an
actual cost of about 10 cents per bushel Can
the men who heavy applications OF complete
fertilizers on show any such profits? 1
think not. Their profits only temporary.
while the land gets better and they are spend
ing money year after year for what they can get
in abundance free If they simply use the means
az hand
l do not believe there Is a farm in the South
that cannot be brought up to a high state of pro-
ductiveness through good rotation OF crops and
the use of fertilizer at all except carrier
~of PHOSPHORUS, and in some Soils potash. In
most of the lands of the lower Mississippi the
station Investigations have shown that potash is
not needed and while get all the nitrogen
We need free, through the growing and feeding
OF the legume crops these lands need only phos-
phoric acid.
And yet the burden of nine-tenths of the thou
sands OF letters | get from Southern farmers is.
What fertilizer formula shall use, and how
much per acre for cotton, corn, oats, and wheat?
They seem to look upon the soil as simply place
to put fertilizers and raise crops by their help
And most of them go in debt every spring for
fertilizers great part of which they need never