Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1914-01-16
HOME COURSE
IN SCIENTIFIC
AGRICULTURE
FOURTEENTH ARTICLE.
COMMERCIAL FER
TILIZERS.
By EDWARD B. VOORHEES,, Late Dlrector
Of the New Jersey Agricultural
Experiment Stations.

"HERE is perhaps no question
of greater Importance to the
practical farmer than that Of
soil fertility. To produce prof
liable crops and at the same time to
maintain and even to increase the pro-
ductive capacity of the soil may rightly
be termed good farming" Many
farmers are able to do this, ana the
knowledge Of how to do 1t has been
largely acquired through years of ex-
perience. during which the character
Of the soil, Its adaptability for crops
and the methods of its management
and manuring have been made sub
jects of careful study, without, however,
any definite and accurate knowledge
concerning manures and their func-
tons In relation to soils and crops.
Experience is an excellent teacher. still
a definite knowledge Of the fundamen-
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 IL all the
ingredients removed In the various
farm products were restored to the
land. This is to a large extent accom-
plished by feeding the crops grown on
the farm to animals, carefully saving
the manure and returning 1t to the
soil, and where It Is practicable to pur.
sue system Of stock feeding In which
| those products of the farm which are
comparatively poor in fertilizing con.
stituents are exchanged In the market
for feeding stuffs Of high fertilizine
value the loss of soil fertility may be
reduced to a minimum, or there may
be an actual gain In fertility.
A careful study Of the present condi
ton Of farming in the United States In
dicates, however, that as a rule the
manure produced on the farm is not
sufficient to maintain its fertility and
that the need for artificial supplies II
real, though the amount required may
be considerably reduced by careful
management.
In the system of so called 'grair
farming" which has obtained ovel
large areas Of this country for lon,
time and is still practiced. the liv,
stock Ii often limited to number sui
fcient only to the needs GfSshssssSr1
for labor and food. The gsain Is sold
and the manure Is made up chiefly o.
the natural wastes or unstable ma
terial, such as straw, stalks, etc. TIL,
grain contains proportionately. CREATE
amounts of nitrogen and mineral con
|. afifY1on ~ fha IN thaoa xuaotao HANOI IN.
practice continued for long time re
suits not only In deficiency In the sol
Of organic substances containing nitro
gen, but also In an exhaustion of tn,
mineral substances. The original char
acter of the soil and its treatmen
measure the rate of exhaustion. TIL,
less fertile soils Of the east and soutl
are rapidly depleted, while the ricl
prairies and river bottoms maintail
their fertility for a longer period.
The continuous cotton and tobacc'
growing Of the south and the whea
growing of the west are even NOR,
exhaustive, since here the demand
upon the soil are not changed. Yea
after year the same crop is grown
and the same kind and proportion O
constituents are required, while ever
slighter returns are made in the wa.
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 losse
Of nitrogen. Moreover, the land Is lief
bare for large part of the year, an,
its fertility Is thereby still further de
creased. The crops become less album
dant each year. not because the soil 1
entirely exhausted. but because II is s
far exhausted of those constituent
essential to the special crop grown tina
its production Is no longer profitable.
Changed conditions of farming
which have an important bearing o.
this point, are, first, increased cost o
labor and lower prices of many Of tn
products of one crop farming, and
second, an increasing demand for mai
ket garden products and fruit. Flo
! example, In growing wheat, the labo
Of preparing the soil, of sowing and Q
harvesting is practically the sam,
whether the yield Is ten bushels pc
I acre or thirty bushels. and the same
true Of a number of other crops; henc
In case of the larger yield the cost @
. labor per bushe is materially reduced
, Meager crops of a relatively low valu
, cannot be produced profitably wit
] high priced labor. Soils OF high d,
Y gree Of fertility are required In orde
\ to produce large yields of these crop
q The return to the soil of only tn
. wastes Of the farm lends sooner {
later to a decreased fertility. howevs
good the management may be; henc
the need OF supplies of plant food frol
sources outside the farm in order thi
maximum crops may be produced.
: II has been demonstrated In the cas-
8 OF market garden crops that even ver
r fertile soils contain too little ayailab
: food TO insure maximum productio
n This Is especially true where rapidit
Of growth. earliness and high quail!