The Pulaskian., 1916-02-11
INTELLIGENT USE OF FERTl LlZERS IN GERMANY.


 All state institutions have fostered the fertilizer trade since it's origin in the early fifties. State organizations of all kinds have taken lively part in the building up of the trade, and in lat CT years the states have taken it for granted that the trade is profitable 10 farmers and merchants alike, and have therefore framed laws to regu. late it's manufacture and sale. In every state where fertilizer is sold in appre- eiable quantities laws have been passed exacting certain requirements of the manufacturer because farmers who are not able to analyze such ma terials for themselves would be the sufferers. Besides the trade, over-am- bilious, would forget it's obligation to the consumer and offer for eale in ferior material under the name of fer tilizers. We may say without fear of successful contradiction that the states themselves are largely responsible for the rise and volume of the fertilizer trade.
 It has long been recognized that Germany leads the world in many lines of science. This is perhaps true in regard to the use of fertilizers in early years. Germany discovered that mineral salts applied to growing crops increased the yields immensely, and gave time and stuoy to the under lying causes, and has suggested to the other parts of the world many valu- able lessons on her findings. Von Liebig. through his studies and lec- lures on modern agriculture has made known much of the work of Germany in the early history of the use of com mercial fertilizers. Liebig says that Kuhlmann, German agricultural scientist, applied salammoniac to a meadow in the year 1845 and 1846, and found that on a hectare (21a acres) he gathered 8,140 pounds of hay more than on the same kind of meadow where he did. not use the sal ammoniac. He secured this result by using about 200 pounds of sal-am- moniac to the acre.
 In commenting upon this Von Liebig has the following to say: 'It is quito certain, that in the action of the gua- no, which produced fhe crop next high. est after the Chilli saltpeter, an un. mistakable part was played by the ammonia contained in it. On the other hand, however, the experiments xxyitI of oY,1 show that quantity of ammonia, or nitrogen, equivalent to that in 20 pounds of guano and employed under the same conditions, was almost with. out effect"
 A little further along he says: "The most recent observations on the com. pertinent of the soil towards the food of plants show how slight is the knowledge we possess of their mode of nourishment, and of the part which the soil, by it's physical condition, plays in it.. The compartment of the salts of ammonia, of chloride of so- dium, and of nitrate of soda, towards the earthly phosphates in the soil, may perhaps assist us in throwing some light on their action, or one of their actions, on the growth of plants" This statement was made because it was always found that when common salt was added to certain mineral ma nures, greater yield was obtained, and that this was due to the relation of this added material to the liberation of potash in the soils.
 Only short time after the war be- tween the States the German potash beds were discovered and by rapid leaps and bounds this material gained in favor with planters as well as ex- perimenters. The necessity for find- ing a combination to liberate the pot ash in the soils was now removed in the use of the nitrate of soda and the potash salts, and here the indus try stood for a long time. Liebig does claim, however, that Tribasic phosphate of lime crept into the formula and was found efficient This fact is very sig nificant and happened to be discov- cred by constant study of the use of the nitrate of soda and potash salts. Liebig thought that these two plant food materials had the power of dis solving phosphoric acid in the form vf earthly phosphates, and these in turn added greatly to the yield of farm crops.
 We have here many hints of what afterwards really developed to be facts-namely that the three great clements of plant food that should be applied to the soil for good crop yields are phosphoric acid, ammonia and potash. For many years these three elements have been the essential ele- ments of plant food in fertilizer for mula.
 Today Germany applies more min eral salts per acre to her crops than any other nation in the world and