The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1912-03-08
is of greatest importance because

without nitrogen no animal OF pldnl
life can exist. It is not available IN
its pure or simple form. 1t is the
most costly element to buy, it Is the
hardest to hold when obtained as 1t
Twill evaporate The nitrogen OF the
sol; il derived from the residue OF
J former animal or vegetable life, from
the fixatic1 of free nitrogen, by or
ganisms of the soil and from nitro
senous compounds absorbed by the
soil from the air, or washed down by
the rain and are found In three offer
ent forms, amonia, nitrates and citro-
genors compound matter.
Plants take all their food from the
soil in the form of sap and any plant
that will not dissolve in the soil is not
available for plant food. The nitro
gen must be in the form of nitrates
before the plants can use it. II APP
piled in any other form 1t must be
worked oven by the micro organisms
Of the soil into nitrates. The source
of nitrogen in fertilizers is nitrate OF
soda, sulphate of amonia, dried blood,
tankage, cotton seed meal, fish gar
bage, etc Nitrate Of soda comes
from, Chilli and contains 16 per cent
NITROGEN in available form and when
used should he applied to the grow
ing crops If to grass or wheat, in
the early spring at the rate of forty
or fifty pounds per acre. The first
Train will dissolve it and the effect
will be very marked Ammonia con-
sists of three parts, by weight Of ny
drogen to IA of nitrogen; so when we
buy ammonia we must remember that
only 14-17th of it is nitrogen. If we
have per cent ammonia we will have
only .82 per cent nitrogen. The
iext element to consider is phospho-
rus. II is the element that very large
lily makes the grain of wheat the kerr
lne,s Of the corn and the red apple.
We get one phosphorus form from
bones, basic Stag and the mineral
phosphate SO generously provided in
certain portions of Tennessee. They
contain about ninety per cent insolu-
BILE phosphate. Soluble phosphate,
known as acid phosphate, super-phos-
lphate and dissolved bone are manu-
lfactured from the phosphate rock by
treating it with an equal amount OF
sulphuric acid. We then have the
acid phosphate in three different
. forms Water soluble (reverted) and
insoluble phosphoric acid. The wa
ter soluble Is that, that will dissolve
ia water and become available for
plant food The reverted will not
. dissolve in water, but will in weak
solution OF vinegar, and most soils
contain enough acid similar to weak
vinegar to dissolve 1t and make il as
valuable Is the soluble
Make all the manure you can on
the farm, because in the manure you
get more value than the plant food;
you get hrmus, you get the bacterial
activity in your soil. Grow legumi-
nous crops; they furnish cheap, avail
able nitrogen and humus, they in
crease your soils capacity for retain
ing moisture. Do not neglect sub
soiling; get your soil from IL to Is
inches deep; get it well supplied
with humus; keep cover crop in
winter to prevent erosion; turn that
under in spring; get one market crop
end give the soil one crop to turn un,
der each year. Conserve your moist
ure by thorough shallow cultivation
during the growing season; you will
get increased yields; your profits
will be greater and yoir land will be-
come more productive each year.