Condon globe. (Condon, Gilliam Co., Or.) 189?-1919, 1913-08-22
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IN SCIENTIFIC
AGRICULTURE
FOURTEENTH ARTICLE.
COMMERCIAL FER
TILIZERS.
By EDWARD B. VOORHEES,. Late Director
Of The New Jersey Agricultural
Experiment Stations.
~uEnE n perbnps no ouestioI

OF grenter importance 10 the
practical farmer than that Of
soil fertility. To produce prof.
liable crops and nj the same time 10
maintain and even to increase the pro-
ducuve capacity OF the soil may rightly
be termed good farming" Many
farmers are able TO do this. and the
knowledge OF how to do II has been
largely acquired through years OF ex-
perlence. during which the character
OF the soil, lts adaptabillty for crops
and the methods OF its management
Jects Of careful study, without. however.
any definite and accurate knowledge
concerning manures and their func-
tlons In relation TO soils aud crops.
Experience Is an excellent teacher Still
definite knowledge OF the fundnmen.
tai principles may be substituted for
years OF experience In the successful
use Of manures.
The fertility OF the soil would re-
main practically unchanged II all the
Ingredients removed In the various
farm products were restored TO the
land. This Is 10 large extent accom-
plished by feeding the crops grown on
the farm TO animals. carefully saving
the manure and returning II to the
soil. and where II Is practicable TO pur-
sue system OF stock feeding In which
those products Of the farm which are
comparatively poor In fertillzlng con.
stituents are exchanged In the market
for feeding stuffs OF high fertiIizing
value the loss OF soil fertility may he
reduced to minimum. or there may
be an actual gain In fertility.
A cnreful study OF the present condl.
tlon OF farming In the United States IN
dlcates, however. that as rule the
manure produced on the farm Is not
sufficient 10 maintain its fertility and
that the need for artificial supplies Is
real, though the amount required may
be considerably reduced by careful
management
In the system OF so called grain
farming" which hns obtained over
!sIge areas OF this country for long
tir1c and is still practiced, the live
stock Is often limited to number suf.
icient only TO the needs OF the farm
for labor and food. The grain is sold.
and the manure Is mnde up chiefly of
the natural wastes or unsuitable ma.
terinl. such AS straw, stalks. etc The
grain contains proportionately greater
amounts OF nitrogen and mineral con-
stituents than these wastes. Hence the
practice continued for long time re-
suits not only In deficiency In the soil
of organic substances containing nitro
gen, but also In an exhaustion of the
mineral substances. The original char
acter Of the soil and Its treatment
measure the rate of exhaustion. The
less fertile soils of the east and south
are rapidly depleted, while the rich
pralries and river bottoms maintain
their fertility for longer period.
The continuous cotton and tobacco
growing of the south and the wheat
growing Of the west are even more
exhaustive, since here the demands
upon the soil are not changed. Year
after year the same crop is grown.
ana the same kind and proportion of
constituents are required. while even
slighter returns are made In the way
of manure than In the system of farm.
Ing just described, Under such con
ditions the decomposition of the or
ganic matter In the soil Is accompa-
MED by proportionately greater losses
OF nitrogen. Moreover, the land is left
bare for large part of the year. and
Its fertility is thereby still further de
creased. The crops become less abun.
dant each year, not because the soil Is
entirely exhausted, but because 1t is so
far exhausted of those constituents
essential to the special crop grown that
its production is no longer profitable.
Changed conditions of farming.
which have an important bearing on
this point are, first, increased cost Of
labor and lower prices of many of the
products of one crop farming, and,
second, an increasing demand for mar
ket garden products and fruit. For
example, In growing wheat, the labor
of preparing the soil, Of sowing and Of
harvesting is practically the same
whether the yield Is ten bushels per
acre or thirty bushels, and the same Is
true Of number of other crops; hence
In case of the larger yield the cost of
labor per bushel is materially reduced
Meager crops of relatively low value
cannot be produced protitably with
high priced labor. Soils of high de-
gree of fertility are required In order
to produce large yields of these crops
The return to the soil of only the
wastes Of the farm leads sooner or
later to decreased fertility, however
good the management may be; hence
the need of supplies of plant food from
sources outside the farm In order that
maximum crops may be produced.
1t has been demonstrated In the case
OF market garden crops that even very
fertile soils contain too little available
food to insure maximum production.
This Is especially true where rapidity
OF growth, earliness and high quality