Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-07-02

PRODUCTION Of fertilizers and purchas-
ed feed stuffs. Many OF the best
farmers buy little fertilizer beyond
super-phosphate for their turnips,
but they bring in fertilizing ingred
tents in the cotton and linseed cake,
the maize, gluten meal and other cat
tie foods. These are only opinions.
Won Seelhorst, royal agricultural
experiment station, University of
Gottinghen, Germany-The principal
increase of the harvest is to be at
tributed in part TO artificial fertiliz-
ers themselves and in part to their
combination with green manures.
Through the application of the two
the yield upon the average has been
doubled on our common light soil.
assume that so per cent of the in
crease is due to artificial fertilizers,
25 per cent to their effect increased
by better tillage, 5 per cent to bet
ter seed and 10 per cent to rotation.
These are only estimates.
Schneidewind, agricultural chem
ical experiment station, Halle, A. S.,
Germany-The greatly increased
yields which we are now producing
in Germany especially of wheat, are
dependent on all four factors. Fer
tilizers take first rank very decidedly.
The yield is also dependent on rota-
ton of crops.
Minister of agriculture, Paris,
France-In districts of intensive ag
riculture (beet growing is typicaD
the farmer began by preparing his
land more thoroughly by deeper till
age and by Kidding it of nOxiOus
weeds. Second, due to the larger
number of live stock, made possible
by the residue from industrial
processes and by the extension of
forage culture, artificial pastures es-
pecially (alfalfa, clover and sainfOin)
he has considerably increased the
production of farm manure, which
for a long time has been supplement-
ed by commercial fertilizers. The
rotation of crops has remained prac-
tically as it was so to so years ago.
But fallow lands have been almost
completely replaced by cultivated
crops and artificial pastures. APP
proximate figures on causes of in
crease: Manure and commercial fer
tilizers, 80 per cent at least; prep
aration of land, 80 per cent; seed,
Is to 90 per cent.
On lands of extensive agriculture
farm manures play a leading role;
fertilizers not entirely
unknown but are often used in in
sufficient quantities and without suf-
ficient preparation of the land; inn
proved varieties scarcely adapted to
Effect of fertilizers. 20
per cent; preparation of land, Is to
20 per cent; seed, 5 to 10 per cent. /
F. II. Middleton. assistant secre- .
tary board of agriculture and fisher I
les, Whitehall place, London, S. w. /
The increase the last 100 years in .
average yield per acre is probably .
80 per cent Generally speaking the
board attributes the greatest import
anCe to improvements in tillage, in .
Guiding drainage and the use of .
lime; next the increased supplies of .
farm manure (enriched by purchase
of oil cake and other feeding stuffs) .
and of artificial manures; improved (
seed much less than either. Rotation .
has chiefly affected grain crops in
directly by the substitution of green .
crops for fallow, which has thus in
creased the available manure. Other .
causes are general increases Of
knowledge among farmers and with /.
drawaT of inferior land from Culti-
walton.
GerIach. department of agricultur-
al chemistry, bacteriolOgy and plant
breeding, Kaiser Wilhelm institute
for agriculture, Bromberg, Germany.
Each of the four factors has an
essential share to the systematical
selection of higher yielding varieties;
the extensive and discriminating use
of artificial fertilizers has contribut-
ed very essentially; less important
but noteworthy is the Improvement
in the handling of animal manure;
green manuring. especially in the
very humid parts Of Germany, has
been of great Importance. Very sig
nifcant progress has been made
legume crops. Green manur-
ing has been practiced with good re-
suits Better rotation and tillage
have contributed materially. Great
areas of land have been drained.
Wagner, agricultural experiment.
station, Darmstadt, Germany-The
yields we have already attained are
not those which may yet be secured
by more intense fertilizing. There
are hungry meadows and fields whose
yields may be further increased by
fertiliZing more heavily. But the IN
crease in yield solely by soil enrich
ment has limit, already reached in !
many cases in Germany. Still la-g-
er returns require better prepara- |
ton of the soil, best bred seed of the /
best varieties, the best care of crops, !
eradication Of weeds, etc. During |
the last decade we have been work |
ing much in this direction and with |
large results. OF the last 40 years.
the increased yield of the first 90
years was produced especially by fer
but during the last 20 years
we recognize other factors which in
with the ever increasing
use of artificial fertilizers have rails
I'd the average crop yields of Ger
many year by year.
President Creelman, Ontario agri-