The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1914-05-08
(By W. r. GILBERT.l

(By w. r. GILBERT)
Considering the number of years we
have had concentrated manures be-
fore us, it is surprising that more is
not generally known of their use and
application. The number of farmers
who understand how to use artificials
is limited. have often met men farm
ing as much as 200 acres of land
whose ideas on the subject are rath-
er vague. A farmer told me he was
going to put six hundredweight of
kainite on mangels, as it was cheap
manure. pointed out to him that his
strong soil probably needed no pot
ash at all, that IL it did, six hundred
weight to the acre was excessive for
the crop; and that, as he had already
given dressing of about Is loads of
farm dung to the acre, the chances
were that his land needed nothing
more than little nitrogen. And this
was on n clean, wellstocked and fair
great deal of prejudice against the
use of artificials, because they are
supposed to rob the land. Whatever
is put upon the land, is at any rate
an addition. The subtraction only be-
gins when we cart crop from the
field. AS the sole object of good
farming is to transfer as much as pos
sible each year from the field to the
market it is impossible for anything
that adds to the crop to permanently
rob the whole farm. That one field
may be temporarily the poorer, but it
has furnished more straw to make
into dung and more grain to make
into money. If these are sold off
and nothing replaced, then the land
is poorer but just as much the farm
ers pocket is richer.
There is nothing in which this same
pocket has been and is bled so much
as in artificial fertilizers. 1t is fact
that there are today firms allowing
their agents almost as many dollars
per ton commission on the sale of
specially made-up manures for certain
crops as ten cent pieces on such
ordinary articles as nitrate of soda
and basic Stag, In my young days in
England there were firms selling con-
centrated manures at about $50 a ton.
1t was before the magic of sodic nj
trate was so well known, and they
probably contained 20 per cent. of
that. The system was to give about
six months credit, and then hold
dinner for the district, which followed
the payment of the bills. At the din
ner a great deal of soft soap was
carefully applied by the professional
chairman, much was made of the re-
cipients of the prizes for roots grown
with Our manures," and a hard drink
ing followed. That humbug has about
died out, and most people know now
that the only way to get fair value
is to buy with the money in one hand.
1t has been shown that there is a
marvellous reserve OF fertility in soils,
and that it takes many years to ex-
haust a soil even when the same va
riety of grain is grown continuously
and the same kind of fertilizer used.
] have known crops grown by artifi-
Gals alone for lifetime with sue
cess. The value of artificials is admit
ted by all the best farmers today. No
farm can be kept in the highest state
of condition by farmyard manure
alone unless cake and grain are used
in such quantities as to make a profit
doubtful. Even when manure can be
profitably brought from towns by rail,
the distance of most farms from q
station entails SO much horse-and-
man labor and so much wear of carts
and harness as to make the gross cost
too great by the time 1t reaches the
farm. / am Of opinion that the value
of consumed cake and grain is too
highly estimated. Where concentrated
foods can be fed to stock so as to
insure profit on the stock them
selves. as in moderation il undoubted.