Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1911-10-04

4 \ +.
clasess, upon whose reproduction theirs h
stnl NO check in most statss.
That We can double the crop yields Of
the United states ID not . prediction, but
fact. To say that millions Of acres OF
abandoned farm lands in the older states
can be restored and increased in produce
tivity far above the present average for
the two hundred dollar corn belt lands, is
merely to speak the truth. To accomplish
these objects requires, first OF all, that
agricultural ignorance shall be replaced
with agricultural intelligence in the
minds Of the people Of influence in this
nation.
Why should not every influential man
and woman in America have q definite and
quantitative knowledge OF the basic prin-
ciples that to increase and permanently
maintain the productive power Of our nor
NAL soils, in practical systems Of farming,
requires the addition to th6sa1DA and per-
ananent maintenance adequx6E tn6pliss Of
only three important ,constils lfms..
stone, phosphorus and nitsugsnous Or
ganic Inatterf ssags@4, r..
The limestone u contained In measure
less deposits in almost every state. All II
requires ID that It b qusrrisd and pull
vsrissd and transported ct . reasonable
cost.
The phosphorus 10 contained in New
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the Caro-.
linas, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ar
kansas, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Mon
tana, In the greatest deposits known to
the world. All that 10 required to utilize
these great stores Of phosphorus for soil
Improvement in good systems of general
farming is to mine and finely pulverize
the natural rock and transport it to the
farmers railroad station ct reasonable
cost.
LIMESTONE AND PHosPHoRUs.
With abundant supplies of limestone
and phosphorus thus provided, the nitro
genous organic matter can then be pro-
duced upon the farm by the growing OF
clover and other legume crops, which have
power to secure nitrogen from the mex
haustible supply in the air; and by plow-
ing under this organic matter, either d.
rectly or in animal manures, the remain
ing essential mineral plant foods, such as
potassium, can then be liberated and made
available from the practically mex
haustible supply in the soil. The man who
is willing to study this subject will find
that these facts are as true as the fact that
the earth is round.
Normal land contains $1,000 pounds Of
potassium in the plowed soil Of an acre,
and the air above contains 10000, 600
pounds Of nitrogen; and yet the most
common commercial fertilizer sold to the
general farmers in the older states con-
tains both nitrogen and potassium, with .
small amount Of phosphorus. The aver
age farmer who buys fertilizer at all
merely accepts the teaching that reaches
him, and O. . rule this teaching comes
through the fertilizer agents, who are
now selling to the farmers of Indiana
800 different brands of fertilizers and to
the farmers Of Georgia more than 1900
different brands.
The result is that the ton of fertilizer
for which the farmer pays $25 contains
less than hundred pounds OF phos-
phorus; whereas he ought to receive and
apply to his land a thousand pounds Of
phosphorus for the same money.
Phosphorus, the one element we shall
always need to buy-phosphorus the
master key to permanent agriculture,
permanent industry and permanent pros
perity in America phosphorus, in which
we are exporting, practically giving away,
as nation, a value which amounts to as
much every year as the total value of all
the timber on all the Federal lands.
/ In 1848 Sir John Lawes and Sir Henry
Gilbert began at Rothamsted, England, an
investigation to ascertain the effect of APP
plying phosphorus to normal soil where a
good crop rotation and practacal system
of farming were followed. The Norfolk
rotation, already we'll know at that time
- one - the best rotation systems, was
turnips, barley, clover and wheat. In
these practical field experiments, the tur-
nips were fed on the land and the animal
fertilizer thus produced returned to The
soil, which was well supplied with lime
stone.
During the next thirty-six years, $2Q.5s
worth of phosphorus was applied to one
part of the field; and in comparison with
| another part Of the field cropped and man.
aged the same, except that no phosphorus
| was applied, the $29.52 worth of phos.
phorus produced $500 increase in the
value OF turnips, s37.45 in barley, 1888 ir
clover land other legumes) and $45.99 in.
crease in the value OF the wheat, The