The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-03-28
PROF. MASSEY'S VIEWS
WHAT PER CENT MEANS.

have in explaining fertilizers IS thd'
farmers stumble at the per cent ldii-
inc to understand that it simply means
i'm a fertilizer so many pounds III edch
100 mounds of the material. f1eiiee'
tom or tt per cent acid phosphate VIII
contain 800 pounds of dolu.
Nitrate of soda containing o. PEE
cent Of nitrogen has o. pounuS =
nitrogen and so on with other md
terials the percentage simply meahihS
- many pounds per hundred. Ineii,
;f 20, want a 2-8-2 fertilizer YOU
can get all that there Is OF value "a
II in 1000 pounds Of 10 Per cent atlu
phosphate, 80 pounds OF nitidte oI
coda and so pounds of murlate OF
potash, making 1,330 pounds. But II
the manufactured sent you 1.o'o
nounds when YOU ordered q ton you
would write back to- him that you
ordered a ton Of 2-8-2; so he ac-
commodated you by adding $40 pounds
of sand, and you pay for sachlns II
and f~reiehttng Il when you nave
plenty of better sand on your farm.
The manufacturer is not to blame,
but the farmer who magin that
a low price means ana
who. 90 make the lOW-grade. de-
mands that the manufacturer put IN
the filler. OF course, by using kalnll
instead of muriate Of potash there
WOuIu bt ItSS 4
$50 pounds Of the sand. If you TOOK
the 1880 pounds and put in your own
filler. YOU could buy it cheaper. Inc
same is true of the 3-S-3 when
many tobacco use, ana get
the potash in the form of KANT that
always damages the quality OF the
leaf. and they still "a for some filler,
though less, of course, than in 2-S-2.
If you make your own 2-S-2, you
can use rich. dry, sifred soil as a
filler and increase the value or the
article. for some manufacturers make
a filler of the burnt sand and iron
oxide left from making sulphuric acid
from iron pyrites, as it is a very con-
venient material. This material has
no value whatever in the fertilizer.
Instead of getting all the nitrogen
from nitrate Of soda. it would be
better to use but 100 pounds and get
the remainder from some organic ma
terial like dried blood which has 1915
pounds of nitrogen in 100 pounds, and
you would thus need less filler. But,
knowing the amounts of nitrogen,
phosphoric acid and potash in the
different materials, it should be easy
for any one to get the per cent Of
each wanted in a fertilizer mixture,
remembering that 1 per cent in a ton
means one pound in each 100 pounds
in the 1000.
What Farmers Want to Know.
why is it that you cannot grow
sweet potatoes the following year on
and where Irish potatoes were last
grown" Before trying to explain a
fact, it is we'll to know if it is a fact
The inquirer is in "a great sweet po-
tato-growing section. which also
grows early Irish potatoes for the
Northern markets. On these Irish
potatoes he uses heavily a very high
grade commercial fertilizer. many I
know using an article that analyses =
6-5. The residual effect of this is to
cause a heavy vine growth in the
sweet potatoes, and as you
~ cover the land for sweet potatoes
with pine straw and woods trash, you
still further tend to make vine growth
instead of potatoes. Now. II he fol-
lowed the Irish potatoes with cowpeas
and cut them for hay, and then SOW
ed the land in crimso clover as a
winter cover, and a crop to take the
place of the pine leaves, he could
let the clover mature and then use
on the sweet potatoes a liberal dressing
Of acid phosphate and potash, and
no matter how heavily the vines grew,
he would make potatoes. And more
than that. he would be improving
the general fertility of the soil. The
sweet potatoes fail because of the
deficiency of phosphoric acid and pot
ash in the light soil, and not because
the vines grow too large.
Corn After Cotton.-"Pfease explain
the fact often stated that corn after
cotton is more exhaustive to the soil
than cotton after corn Before try
ing to explain a fact. it is necessary
to prove that it is a fact. Now, I do
not believe that corn after cotton is
more exhaustive than corn before
cotton.
To Kill MOles.-To destroy moIes
get a can Of carbon bisulphide. and
punch holes here and there along the
mole's run and pour a teaspoonful Of
the liquid in each hole and pack the
earth back. Keep at it as fresh runs
are found, and You can soon rid a
garden of moles. Keep the LIQUID
away from fire for the fumes will
explode.
Hungarian MiIet.-'Is millet a good
hay for horses. and is kaffir corn fod-
der good? How about Canada, peas
and oats, or spring Oregon vetch and