Milford chronicle., 1910-03-11
MEMBERS OF THE GRANGE
HEAR ABOUT FERTILIZERS

OF Milford orange Hau sHo Pise U
listening to a paper on Fertilizer" by /
Mr.. Peet. 1t being 50 good, It is given
below. verbatim for the benefit Of all
Who may read
The economic use OF commercial ierli-
izers is by far the most important oil az
the Drobiems which confr9nts the Amer
ican farmer TODAY. In the earlier history
az our country, when the soil vas rich
from the gathered compost Of ages, per-
sou Of limited intelligence could pow
scatter seed, plant and hoe, with good as
surance of abundant harvest. But lne
exhaustion OF years has changed 81 TINS.
and the farmer who hopes to succeed
must bend every energy 70 acquire
knowledge of the soil ne mas to deal with,
the seeds he uses, the necessary plant
foods. the implements and appliances
Commercial fertilizers have been CON-
monty employed for more than gener-
alton. and in that time comparatively
little advance has been made oy the
farmer in their use Where money crops
are grown. il has become the custom oi
many successful growers TO iertllize no
erallv with only slight regards 10 the
needs Of the crop and the condition OF
! fertility Of the land
/ When commercial fertilizers were nrst
placed upon the market, there vas
good deal OF excuse for lts unwise ana
wasteful use, however, during recent
wears the priucp pals underlying proddc-
fion and maintenance OF soil fertility
have been so clearly and frequently sta
ted by eminent writers, and tne results
of extended experiments set iorth M tue
bulletins issued by the experiment sta
tious from an parts of the country that
at the present time there is comparative
little excuse for s.ipshod practice 10 the
purchase and use OF commercial plant
food.
eastern farms today, comes from the
careless and indifferent manner ID winch
commercial fertilizers are bought aud ap-
piled
commercial plant food IA the eastern
half of the United States, far exceeds
that of any other commodity used on the
farm and 'is increasing rapidly. It's not
my purpose at this time to tell YOU IN q
Few words lust how TO stop this leak, nor
10 furnish YOU with set OF iormu as to
use for each crop accompanied by an iron
clad rule for applying the same. But
there are some important things connect
ed with the purchase and use Of CONNER.
ciaI fertilizer that every farmer should
become familiar with. lie should hrst
Iof all. acnuaint himself with the terms
commonly used IN describing the three
princiDal elements OF plant food ]. 2.
Nitrogen, Phosphoric Acld and fotashr
and the part which each performs the
-1--f.w.s-.avF nd a
plapts as we'll a. the different forms IN
which these three critical elements are
most commonly used and the sources
from which they are obtained.
To he able to figure the number Of
pounds Of each element and the value
thereof contained in a ton, from the an
y-is printed on the sack, is pretty
good safeguard for the farmer against the
wi rs of the INSCRIPTIONS manufacturer.
When the farmer learns TO buy his tertll
izers bv their actual value, based on the
market value per pound OF Nitrogen
Phosphoric Acid and Potash instead Of a
certain price per ton for certain brand
OF phosphate. he will have taken a
long step forward in the economical pur
chasing Of commercial fertilizers.
In the manufacture Of fertilizers for the
ordinary farm crops. Nitrogen is used
iu two forms-nitrate and organic In
the nitrate form il is used principally az
Nitrate of soda and Nitrate of Potash.
Nitrogen I'm this form being soluble in
water. s Immediately available to the
pIant hence il the most valuable in fore
ing rapid growth, especially lu early
spring before the soil hecam-- warm.
In whatever form nitrogen b. app -ri 10
the soil. il must first he changed into a
nitrate before the plant car take 1t up.
The term organic nitrogen is applied TO
nitrogen In animal or vegetable substan-
ces. The availability and value Of organ
ic nitrogen depends almost entirely upon
1.-The material from which il is derived,
and the rapidity with which it decays
/ Thus the organic nitrogen in dried blood
guano and fine ground tanksge nearly all
become available in a single season. In
bone coarse tankage and fish il does not
all become available for two or more sea
sons While in ground leather waste,
horn. hoofs hair, wool, briste and feath-
ers. aitho rich in nitrogen are practically
inert and Of little value because OF their
slow decomposition in the soil.
Nevertheless. much OF the last named
substances furnish the nitrogen found in
low grade goods. Nitrogen. while the
most expensive element 70 buy, becomes
the cheapest when obtained through the
growing OF legumes, such as COW peas,
alfalfa. the clovers. SOW beans etc. PhOs-
phorus is obtained principally from Acid
Phosphate. ground bone and basic Stag
The latter being a by product from the
manufacture Of steel by the BessemeT
proceeds
The principal forms Of potash used are
lin the potash salts from tine extensive
potash mines OF Germany.
The most important OF these salts for
, agricultural purposes are nitrate sulphate,
muriate and kanit.
Now that we have considered in a gen
eral way the several forms of the three
principal elements of plant food and the
sources from which they are obtained
let us consider briefly the functions ot
each in the growth, development and
maturity of the plant
Broadly speaking nitrogen is the build
er or growth maker, building up the tis-
sues Of the new part Of the plant. An
ample supply gives a rich, deep green
color to the foliage and greatly increases