The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1914-02-05

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crops are SO great that the amount OF
! farm manures srailsble is much too
/ small Besides, the constituents con-
! tanned in such p:anures. being In part
1 but slowly available, are less useful
than the more active forms contained
/ in commercial fertiiizing materials.
| Market garden crops are in sense
artificial crops and. as rule, need
artificial supplies Of plant food
| Fruit culture. an industry OF grow
| ing Importance. is profitable. particu-
/ larly on the poorer soils near the east
ern markets. largely in proportion 10
/ the amounts of the mineral elements
1 applied In excess OF those contained In
soils otherwise well adapted to the
crops. A proper supply Of food not
only enables the trees TO resist unfa-
rorable conditions. but improves the
quality of the fruit and prolongs the
bearing period of the orchards and
/ vineyards.
Ii will be thus seen that commercial
fertilizers can be used most adran-
stageously either In reinforcing farm
manures In general or in providing a
generous supply Of quickly available
plant food in specialized. intensive
farming. Ii should be the aim In ap-
plying such fertilizers TO supplement
rather than 10 replace entirely the
manurial resources Of the farm. for
the best results from their application
may be secured only on soils well
stocked with organic matter (humusl,
q material that can be maintained in
the soil only by the systematic apph-
cation Of the bulky barnyard or green
manures.
Nitrogen. phosphoric acid and potash
are the constituents most likely to be
deficient in sells or most quickly ex-
hausted by the production and removal
Of crops. They are known as essen
tial'' fertiiZine constituents, and the
value of a commercial fertilizer is de-
/ termined almost exclusively by the
amount and form Of the nitrogen,
pbosphoric acid and potash which it
contains. II does not follow. however.
that all soils or crops will respond
equally to applications Of materials
containing these elements, for the
needs of soils and the requirements OF
crops vary.
Soils differ as TO their needs for
specific fertility elements, owing ell
Their 10 their method of formation or
+ TO their management and cropping. A
sandy soil is usually deficient In all
the essential plant food constituents
nitrogen phosphoric acid and potash-
while a clayey soil usually contains
the mineral elements In abundance,
/ particularly potash On the other
hand, soil very rich in vegetable
matter is frequently deficient in min
eral matter. while limestone soil il
likely 10 contain considerable proper
tons Of phospboric acid.
These are the indications In a gen.
eral way. and they explain why II Is
that different kinds OF soil that have
not been cropped differ as 10 their
need of the different fertilizing con-
stituents.
Methods Of management and crop
ping also exert an influence. For ex-
ample soils Of equal natural fertility
may not respond equally 10 Uniform
methods Of fertiliza ton. because in
the one case single crop requiring for
its growth proportionately more Of one
of the essential elements than of an
other is grown year after year. and il
may be that the element required is
the one that exists in the soil in least
quantity.
on the other hand, crops may be
grown that demand but minimum
amounts of the element In question
Summarizing the conclusions Of sci
ence and practical experience in regard
TO the use OF commercial fertilizers, IL
may be said:
First - Commercial fertilizers are
mainly valuable because they furnish
the elements = nitrogen. phosphoric
acid and potash-which serve as food,
not as stinulants.
Second.-The kind Of farming In the
past and the demands for special prod
ucts in the present make their use nee
essary in profitable farming.
Third.-In order TO use them profta-
bly, the farmer should know
(al That nitrogen, phosphoric acid
and potash are the essential manurial
constituents.
CO. That the agricultural value OF
these constituents depends largely
upon their chemical fern
tcl That these forms are contained
IN specific products OF well defined
character and composition and may be
purchased rs such from dealers and
manufacturers and may be mixed sue
cessfully on the farm.
Fourfh.-The agricultural value Of a
fertilizer bears DO strict relation TO
the commercial value The one Is de-
termined by soil. crop and climatic
conditions. the other by market and
trade conditions only.
Fifth.-The variations in the compo-
/ sition and value OF manufactured fer
tilizers which contain the three essen
tial constituents are due TO variations
I'm IN. characr and in the PROPORTION