Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1914-01-23

N
Is the Architect of the
Fertility of His
Own Soil.

inc ullHCulUeS met WIN Wnon one
attempts TO teach the controlling facts
are unbounded. Credulity, In the first
place, and unlimited skepticism in the
second.
The farmer feels that he must do
something to pay the debt he owes
to nature, and confidently calls for
bone and potash. or he wants 2-S-2
goods without knowing what he Is to
get for his $50 or more. Each farmer
Is protected by the State, by paying Is
cents per ton tax on each ton, so that
the manufacturer must give what he
guarantees to give. The Commits
sioner of Agriculture furnishes the
farmer with list of brands of fertl-
lizers, and the analysis of the same,
but the farmer pays no attention to
this, and buys because 1t is advertised
by Smith or Thomas or Jones, whom
he knows to be old fertilizer agents,
and who advertise to sell the best
Now, these fertilizer agents usually
think they do sell the best. They have
received their information from their
interested manufacturer.
Most farmers have studied percent
age, but never seem to use 1t when
they buy fertilizer. Mr.. Farmer, will
you please give your attention to
mathematics? There Is plenty OF 1t I'm
agriculture and fertilizers. The 2-S-2
goods are now to be considered: 2%y
nitrogen, SO phosphoric acid, go po-
tassium. You all know, gentlemen.
that 100 is the whole in percentage.
This form of goods contains pounds
of nitrogen to the 100 pounds of goods,
and pounds of phosphoric acid to the
100 pounds of goods, and pounds of
potassium. Convert the phosphoric
acid into phosphorus by dividing by
2.29, thus S=2.29 =3h%o of the ele-
ment phosphorus or 3 y pounds to 100,
which is equal to 20 pounds to u ton
of 20 hundred. Now, at $3.50 per ton
delivered at station for phosphate car
rying IA per cent of phosphorus, 1t
makes the phosphorus cost only .OS4
per pound. At the price of 034 cents
per pound for phosphorus, the total
value of phosphorus in ton of 1872
goods would be found by 31a x 20=7O
pounds of phosphorus to the ton and
then 20 K .034 - $2.3S, the value of
phosphorus in ton of 2-S-2 goods. On
the same basis 2 x 20 - 40, or the
weight of nitrogen per ton, and at the
prevailing price of 10 cents per pound
you will have 40 x 10 - Sc, the price
OF nitrogen per ton. tx 20 40
pounds of potassium per ton, and at .O6
per pound we have $2.46, the value of
potash per ton. Summing I'D, S2.38
plus Sc plus S2.4O - s1O7S, the total
value of fertilizer ingredients in a ton
of 2-S-2 goods.
The farmer should bear in mind that
one ton OF clover carries 40 pounds of
nitrogen, which 1t can and will get
from the air, and the turning under of
212-ton crop of clover will apply 100
pounds of nitrogen to the land per
acre. To add potassium to land winch
has large supply of potash will not
pay. Unless your lands are very sandy
or swampy, they contain an abundance
OF potassium. If only 200 pounds of
2-S-2 goods are used per acre. which is
equal to Z pounds of phosphorus per
acre, costing So per acre, it looks
rather thin as compared with lao
pounds of phosphorus contained in
1000 pounds of phosphate per acre.
costing S4.75 per acre. The applica.
ton OF 500 pounds of phosphate per
acre would equal the amount of phos.
pnorus contained in one ton of $50
fertilizer. In addition, this phosphate
carries about 600 pounds of carbonate
OF lime per 1000 pounds, which is also
plant food and corrective of acidity
My answer to availability of this
phosphate Is, that it takes 23 pounds
or phosphorus for 100 bushels of corn
per acre, and 16 pounds for 80 bushels
OF wheat, where will the necessary
phosphorus come from when you have
only applied pounds per acre in the
S9o pounds complete fertilizer-2-S-2?
NOW, II you have humus in your soil.
OF add II, the soil acid will be sufficient
" make SIX times as much phosphoric
10
uuce any one crop. When 1.00O
pounds of rock phosphate is used ner
acre, 1t Is sufficient to last for six
years-even If maximum crops are be.
ing produced. Therefore, 1t Is well IN
pegln to think and reason.
Dr. Hopkins would cover the above
statements about as follows: One ton
OF hneiy ground rock phosphate carry.
ing 12h% phosphorus, or 25O mounds
OF the element phosphorus to the ton
u treated with one ton of sulnhnric
acid, would make two tons carrying
10 pounds of phosphorus each. and
that, around SIS per ton, would he the
probable selling price for each ton
Then the complete fertilizer man
would make these two tons and two
TONS OF hller, little nitrogen or am.
mona and little potash, sufficient to
tA"ne iour tonS, ana sell it at $40 for
each ton, making $50 for the four tons
Now, do you observe that You are NOT
getting any more phosphorus for ssh |
tnan you can get for 50? You can
grow the nitrogen and not nav IL Genie
per pound for it, and you do not need
the little potash. -eu
the skeptic farmer or party who
reasons from imperfect data or makes
his own knowledge and extent of oh
servation the standard and test ~
probability, we viii say that verv
small portion of our knowledge of ey
lernal things is obtained through omr
own senses; by far the greater mart tI is
procured through other men. and this
Is received by us on the evidence ~
testimony. '1ehoe Oh
Many of us have heard of n locono
i've before we ever saw one. NJ the
.eiegraph instrument, wireless mas
ages, telephones, of the building of
ne Panama Canal, flying machines
ma or the war In Mexico. That wa
lave had legislation on tariff and c, We
'ency. TO many of us these facts
eem marvellous. Yet these state