The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1912-04-12

The manufacture or nltTOgen-cOntaMs-
ing salts by electrolytic methods is
also increasing. A number of plants
for this purpose have been installed
recently in European countries and
one or two in this country.
Clay soils are ordinarily abundantly
supplied with potassium and On &C.
count of their good water-holding ca.
pacity, grasses and other plants which
will add organic matter can be grown
for supplying this substance and con-
seQuently nitrogen, and the only direct
fertilizing element usually needed is
phosphorus, but probably more than
half of the clay loan soils of this
country under crop could be fortified
with phosphate fertilizers profitably
under present conditions. Heavy clay
soils in the northern part OF Wiscon-
sin which have been under crop but e
few years have shown increases il.
yield running from Is per cent. to SIS
per cent. as result OF supplementinC
barnyard manure with rock phosphate.
But even on farms where practically
all of the crops grown are fed, there tx
a possibility of considerable loss il
fertility. Only where large amountz
Of concentrated feed stuffs are fed IN
the supply of phosphorus maintained.
Probably the greatest loss on such
farms takes place in the teaching OF
barnyard manure and there is certain.
ly great possibility in the direction
Of conserving fertility by protecting
barnyard manures from. teaching and
also from too rapid heating in the
process of composing. 1t is just as
important that a thoroughly good prac-
ticable system Of housing and haul
ing the manure on the farm be worked
out as that the stock be properly
housed and cared for The use of peat
for bedding, hv which its nitrogen is
added to tina: ~ the rlhrure, is anoth-
er method "*h.ch may add greatly to
thu nitrogeT, ia use on Che farr'. This
material c:n>ains in The conSjt1cn in
%hich It 'T1uld be psed for t.edding
srom tW, u three Fer cent, eS nitro
gen OF r,7re than t,Dver or alfalfa hay
would <,Iriain, anf; twice ~ much as
barnya:l manure. 1t occurp in enor-
nous Quantities In this Gte.e and it
only a1cds little encouragement in
it's $50 to develcp the industry to the
extent to which it exists ia European
coaatrtes.
hnc.ther matter which ought to be
rt1;c)Enized at once in tie development
'>F agriculture is That it is very
fr.,c'> easier to maintain the fer
t..Ht7 of soil than it q 10 reproduce it
;'::cr it has once BEEN lost by an ex-
'sNvstive system of f>rn,ing This ap-
af;es particularly tc TIE sandy soils,
t'st is also true in trEH .>ase of tne clay
ham soils. Sandy suils frequently
SLOW good producing power Cor tho
trst two or three years and no special
"are is given to maintain the fertility
Until the farmer s,>d.lenly finds that
liz crops have beco1lc very much less
and it is then ver> much more diff
:ult to reproduce t'ie fertility than it
would have been to ADOPT proper meth
rdii at the start. This will also he
found true in the case Of the clay
loan soils of the *'rth-central part Of
the state. especially with reference to
The supply of organic matter which is
ordinarily low. TIE small amour:
which they do cC.lAin is largely In
the form Of leaf mold near the sur.
face and disappears quickly with a
few year" cropping. These are mat
ters connected With the maintenance
of fertility, though not with TIE use Of
commercial fertilizers directly.
Those who are CLAIMING to lse COM
mercial fertilizer: should make it a
point to become thoroughly familiar
with the different forms of Fertilizers
containing the elements which they
desire to add to their soil ane with the
basis on which the price for the same
is figured. 1t is customary for the fer
tllizer manufacturers to prepare mixed
fertilizers containing all the essential
elements in varying proportions.
These are recommended to the farmer
under trade names such as Tobacco
Special, Potato Special, Corn Special,
ETC., thus implying that they have
some particular advantage for those
particular crops. As previously stated,
this is not the case and the farmer is
usually obliged to buy in such mixed
fertilizers elements which he does not
need and is often obliged to pay high
er prices for those he does went than
if he were to buy them in a pure form.
Buying a fertilizer containing a sim
gle element is to be recommended. It
will occasionally be desirable to mix
phosphate and potash fertilizers, but
this can be done on the farm to goot:
advantage.
A very general interest in the use
Of some form of lime for correctin5:
acidity is developing throughout the
state and this matter is frequently dis
cussed in the agricultural press. No full;
discussion will be attempted here, but
We do wish to point out the fact that
ground limestone is being put on the
market in very different condition. In
some cases it is ground almost as fine
as -four, while in others a considerable
portion is as coarse as coarse sand.
This difference in degree of fineness is
a large part CT the difference in price
asked: The coarser material should
be used in larger quantities, but will
| last longer than the fine material.
The More Sensible Plan.
, men do not die for women in res
| life; they. prefer to live for them