Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-06-17
Soil Fertilization.

Soil Fertilization.
COMPARATIVE RESULTS FROM USE OF
DIFFERENT FERrILIzING MATERIALS.
Lecture by Professor George e. Simmons
Farmers Week. Orono.)
One Of the most important subjects ol
the whole course was discussed by Pro
fessor Simmons Friday morning. Th
su ubject, "Soil Fertilization" was takel
up from the standpoint of materials &c
use. The conclusion reached was tha
farm manures stable and green crol
msuures), supplemented by Commercial
fertilizers, give most economical results
The following is an abstract OF the lee
ture:
Among the substances used by plant
in their growth We find nitrogen, phos
phorus aud potash. These are the one
most often deficient in soil that hal
been cultivated for long time. Nitro
gen is supplied to cause thrifty growth
of leaves, which ia indicated by dark
rich green color. 1t lengthens the pc
riod Of plant growth. Phosphoric acid
tends to hasten maturity, and gives Wig
or to the seed. Potash tends to strength
en- the stem of the plant, and assists In
the formation of starch aud it's trans
portation to the fruit and roots OF the
plant.
The supplying of these elements is
undertaken by the addition OF CONNER
cisl fertilizers. or by farm manure. This
has been the problem before the farmer
for some time, and will continue to de-
maud his attention from now op.
Commercial Fertilizer. Commercial
fertilizers may be classed as High Grade
and Low Grade, owing in the first place
10 the quality of the materials compris'
ing them, and secondly by the quantity
of these elements In the mixture. A
High Grade fertilizer may be such be-
cause the material composing 1t is from
sources that supply plant food in read
ily available condition for plant use. Nj
trate of soda, soluble acid Phosphate,
Sulphate of Potash, etc, would illus
trate this class of goods. To be OF High
Grade the fertilizer must contain these
materials 10 amounts sufficient to pro
duce good results. illustrations: 4 to D
percent Nitrogen, 6 90 s percent phos-
phuric acid, and Z to 10 percent potash
from materials ofthis class would be class
ed as High Grade, while l to 2 percent
nitrogen, to percent phosphoric acid,
and 2 to percent potash would Dc
classed as Low Grade. percent OF nj
trogen would make 80 pounds of nitro
gen, and would take 53S pounds of nj
trate of soda to supply IL, while l per
cent of nitrogen would supply only ~
pounds of nitrogen per acre, and wou'd q
only take 133 pounds to supply 1t. 3
percent of phosphoric acid supplies only
90 pounds, requiring about 375 pounds
of phosphate TO produce it. percent
nf potash supplies 80 pounds OF potash,
and requires about 120 pounds of sui
phate OF potash to produce it. This
would make a total of 62S pounds oil
chemicals containing l40 pounds of plant
food, while AS would require 533
pounds OF Nitrate of Soda, 1000 pounds
Of acid phosphate, aud 800 pounds of sui.
phate of potash, making 1858 pounds oi
chemicals, and containing 400 pounds of
plant food. II would be worth about
fur times the first. Low Grade fertil-
izers may also be such because the
material may be so slowly available that
it may lack agricultural value. Cheaper
Inferior materials, such as castor pomace,
ground phosphate rock aud kainit, may
be used for Low Grade fertilizers.
533 pounds of Nitrate of Soda Us per
cent? $50 pounds of Acid Phosphate
nc percent and 400 pounds Of Sulphate
of Potash $50 peroenD weighs 1883
pounds, and contains so pounds OF NJ
trogeu, l20 pounds of phosphoric acid,
and 200 pounds of potash, while a mix
ture composed of the Castor Pomace l6
percent,) Ground Rock (l2 percent,) and
Kaiuit (l2 perc .nt,) carrying the same
amount of plant food, would weigh 1000
pounds, aud have the disadvantage OF
being in part very slowly available and
in part greatly adulterated with impuri-
ties.
These are all what is termed "com-
plete" fertilizers. They are complete in
that they contain some of each OF nitro
gen, phOsphoric acid, and potash, re.
gardless of quantity and availability.
Many fertilizing materials have also a
competitive use, as they are used fol-
other purposes than for fertilizing ma
terials. Example,: Cottonseed meal,
formerly used for fertilizing purposes, is
uow so highly valued as feed that 1t
has practically ceased to be used in
compOunding fertilizers. 1t may be
said then that some materials have a
commercial value and an agricultural
value. Agricultural value represents
the value of the increased amount OF the
crops grown because of the use OF the
fertilizer.
Farm Mapures. Stable and barnyard
manures are valuable sources of plant
food. As they contain nitrogen, phos'
phorus, and potash they are classed as
complete fertilizers. Farm manures
also may be classed as High Grade and
Low Grade. This classification will be
considered from two standpuints, first
that of fertility value of the feed con-
sumed, and second, the care OF the ma
nure. A High Grade product Ia only
secured from High Grade feed. 1t Is
generally considered that Is percent oil
the fertility value of the food consumed
by the average animal Ia recovered 10 the
excrement. In order to recover this
both the liquid and solid parts must b'
preserved.
Farmers Bulletin No. 1872 gives the
following manurial value of a ton o.
some different feeds: Glover Hay 500
Meadow Hay II
leaving q difference of s3.97 in favor O
clover. IS percent Of this amoun
would give % 9S, the increase in value
of the manure from ton of clover hay
over a ton of meadow hay. This viii
serve to illustrate the effect of the riche
feeds. improper care OF manure is of
ten the cause Of the change of High
Grade to Low Grade in farm manures
Leachipg away on account of poor stable
or cellar floors, loosely piled heaps, ex
posure to rain, etc., are causes that pro
duce these results.
At Cornell manure was exposed to tht
weather for five months, with the follow
ing results: Horse manure changed IL
value from $3.50 to LA per ton; COW
manure from S2.29 to SO cents per ton.
Presuming light hundred pound Gov
produced $22.90 worth of manure pc
year, it would be worth only $3.50 afte
the lapse of five months. Fresh stable
manure in twelve year period OF exper
imeuts at the Ohio Experiment Station
gavo the following results secured from
tba n N Dl;cot;op nf varinus ra.infOr0inl