Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1915-11-17

pertinent station.
fCharies ID. Woods. Director,
Fourteen years ago the Maine a..
cultural experiment station publi.h.S
bulletin on seaweeds common s,or. -.
coast Of Maine. This publication ! 10y
out OF print. A few OF the more lmno,,.'.
points relative TO the use OF sesweed. :.
manure are here presented.
The principal deeper wster sea xeea. -
two species Of Is minaria, the rihbon
o. ksls; and the broad ribbon xs.a
broad -leafed keir, frequently CAN.
devils apron. Perhaps three -four,h. :,
the shore weeds covering the rocks :.
tween toe rlsrks are tao species OF f,srn.
tn, fat-siaiked rockwell and the ro,ns
sssiked. The specimens collected in -.
winter mont his carried Tor the rnost -.
much more nitrogen, phosphoric acid 49,.
poss Than the same species collected !.
tie summer season. On this sccoan, !, !.
sc v'sstf 10 coirt The seaweeds ru,i,,
tbs WINTER mont MS sno il 1t not cow. n,sr,
To- api8y them sn oace to tue ae,ds ~.
mss ps stored IN large hesp- unit spr;n.
While tne different species OF ssawesS.
probably differ in composition. No,
enough samples have been examined ;.
clearly indicate that fact. Winter co,,
lected seaweeds, both keIp and rock weed
carry about 50 per cent. OF water a IA,
cent. nitrogen, 5 per cent. lime. and
per cent. potash.
On account OF the large water eop,sn,
and consequent weight OF sesweeds, trans.
por,ation far inland is not profitable A
psrt OF the water can be removed bv
spreading out thinly on the shore and
allowing exposure to q hot sun for few
days, but il is q question whether ,bi,
practice is economical. on account Of IN.
increased labor involved, and IL the ma.
terial Is leached by rains after it mas be.
come partially dried part OF the teriI.
izing constituents is lost.
Seaweeds decompose rapidly 30 that
their fertiIixing constituents hecome
speedily available. As they have no
power of sbsor bling liquids there is no
advantages IN composing them. They are
best applied directly in the green state.
Seaweeds produce their chief effect the
FIRST season. This adds rather thsu de-
tracts from their value ne fertilizer.
since when they can be obtained at all.
they can usually be had one year as vel
as another. and can be applied annually.
The analyses show that sesweeds are
not evenly balanced msnures. They con-
tain relatively considerable amounts Of
nitrogen and potash aud but little phos.
phoric acid. Consequently land dressed
for long time with seaweed alone be.
comes exhausted in phosphorie acld un-
less large excess OF manure is added
hich would be wasteiui OF the nitrogen
and potash. Excellent. results have been
obtained by using phosphstes with these
manures. Dissolved bone or acid south
Carolina rock may be used, 800 TO 500
pounds TO the acre, with twenty to thirty
OF the fresh seaweed.
With most crops the best results are OBJ
tanned by applying the fresh material in
the spring and either blowing or harrow
ing 1t into the soil, but potatoes and some
root crops, like the sugar beet, are said TO
be injured in quality by sp ing applies
ttVaHs ntr 10 PtVD3hSy ddt ~ lug Aaist
amounts OF chloride Of magnesis, sodium,
etc., they contain, as ii is well known that
these substances have the effect OF de-
pressing the amount OF starch In tuber
and thereby impairing thu quality. Far
mers who use seaweed for potato
manure can overcome this difficulty by
applying IL to the fields In the fall, before
planting In the spring. In this way
potatoes OF much better quality, it is
claimed, are grown than by Applying the
seaweeds 1t the time Of planting.
In some localities sesweed is applied as
top dressing to moving fields. but II ap-
piled fresh In the summer season care
must be taken not to apply too thickly,
a. there 10 danger OF killing out the grass,
especially on mes fields. some far Lsrs
prefer composing for this purpose with
stable manure in order to fine the material
SO that it will spread more evenly over
the field. It is probable that the addition
OF acid South Carolina rock to the compost
would greatly increase its value and aid
In holding the ammonia. II the termenta-
tion is carried very far, land plaster OF
muck should be spread over the heap 10
prevent ammonia from escaping.
Eel grass il not . seaweed but belongs
to the pond-weed family, group Oh
mostly fresh water plants. Eel grass car.
ries about the same amount OF plant iooo
as the seaweeds, but it is only with ar
ficulty that they can be made aysliaoie'
Eel grass will hardly rot anywhere, either
in the soil, in the hog hen, or in the ma
nure or compost heap. When dried IL
used as filing for cushions, mattresses,
etc. But the plant has no agricultural
use.
A good dressing for potatoes would =.
had by applying twenty tons oil ~ln'et
collected green seaweed, 400 POUNDS "
acid phosphate, and 100 pounds OF nltrss,
OF soda to an acre. This would give aoous
100 pounds Of nitrogen, OF which siA' iirs
Immediately available; seventy Nv,
pounds OF phosphoric acid; 100 POUNDS "
lime and 40 pounds OF potash.
Seaweeds have in common with eom.
mercial fertilizers, the advantage OF ~;