The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1911-02-10

luS I'LL kluub OF BOOO StOck! NO cOuuA
try on earth has such advantages for,
growing nitrogen gathering plants
and yet no country makes SO little
use of them.
Acid Phosphate.-Acid phosphate,
the form in which PHOSPHORUS is gen.
orally applied to the soil as a fertil-
ixer, is made by mixing equal Quanti-
tics OF weights Of ground phosphate
rock and sulphuric acid. The only
reason for adding the very expensive
sulphuric acid to the ground phos-
phate rock is to make the plant food
in the rock available for plants. Now
small quantities of the ground rock
may be added to the fresh barnyard
manure every day and the action Of
the acids in the mi will make
the plant food in the ground rock
soluble SO that plants may use It. I'm
der the proper rotation of crops with
the legumes, the soil will be filed full
Of humus and nitrogen and the vegc-
table matter will act on the giound
rock and make it available for plants.
Soils full of vegetable matter for sov-
eral inches deep need only ground
phosphate rock that can be obtained
for about one-fourth the price Of acid
phosphate. This would save our state
a fertilizer bill of more n two and
a half millions of dollars annually.
Washing Land.--We may clear land.
| remove the stumps, fence it, and at
| tempt to increase it's fertility by good
| tilIa0n Nh rotottN, -f ornno tho 0rnuy.
Ing of leguminous crops, and the APP
plication of barnyard manure and
| commercial fertilizers, blu any Inn
| provement in the soil is almost out
| of the question until washing is re-
| duced to the minimum. OF course, nc
| human %precaution can wholly prevent
the washing of cultivated lands. How
ever, we can easily prevent excessive
washing.
How to Reduce Washing Of Land to
the Minimum.-Soil thoroughly pull
velized and full OF vegetable matter
to a depth of say eight or ten inches
will readily absorb three inches of
rainfall, and a soil in this condition
will suffer no surface washing from
ordinary rains. A green crop grow
ing on the land at all times will bind
the surface particles, protect it from
washing, reduce laeching out Of plant
food to the minimum, and also add
vegetable matter to the soil.
Ditches.-While the soil may be
gradually deepened, filed full OF
humus, and covered with vegetation
as mucn Of the year as possible-still
these methods may not be sufficient
at all times to enable the soil to alb
sorb all of the rain as fast as it falls.
It is, therefore, advisable to provide
good hillside bitches with a fall OF
from one to two inches in twenty feet
to carry the surplus water out Of the
field. These bitches must be con-
structed with care and have to be
strengthened where they cross any
depression or mack a sudden curve
by building up an embankment with
sticks and brush thrown across to
support the embankment. A large
plow and dump scraper are the best
tools to use in making the bitches.
The following report was made by
the fertilizer committee at the last
meeting Of the state Farmers Union:
We realize that the judicious use oil
high-grade commercial fertilizer Is alb
solutely essential to the production
of maximum crops, but we do not De
lieve in substituting commercial fer
t~ilizers for the rotation of crops, the
growing of leguminous crops, the USE
of barnyard manure, the use OF cotton
seed, or the thorough preparation OF
the soil. That is, we believe in max
ing full use of all available fertil
; izing materials on our farms and II
the liberal application of the plow
the best known fertilizer, and ther
a judicious, liberal application o
, high-grade commercial fertilizers.
|. We therefore recommend that thu
farmers refrain from the use Of read!
mixed fertilizers for the following rea
sons:
! l.. The experiment stations hav'
. proven conclusively that potash, ONT
OF the three ingredients contained II
: ready-mixed fertilizer, is absolutel'
useless as a fertilizer.
q 2. AS much nitrogen, the mos
E costly element in ready-mixed fertil
o izers, can be transferred from the al
to the soil as is necessary to produc
maximum crops, by the rotation o
' crops, the growing Of peas, velve
4 beans, ~clovers, and other pod bearin
plants and the use of barnyar
2 manure and cotton seed.
8. The rotation Of crops and tn
n turning under of vegetable matte
1 will soon places sufficient amount 9
s acid in the soil to make it necei
o sary to use acid phosphate. 1t wi
then only be necessary to use the vi
treated ground rock which car b
purchased at about one-fifth the cos
OF acid phosphate. Signed by G. +
Afford. Orange Harrington and w. "
l. Heidelburg-