Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1916-06-29
By HUGH L.
~ Absolute. Keokuk. Ia

.rrarican farmers arc So1hS
Anle sra learning that farming Is
lu nfsocturing business; that every gar
an'. EN- orchard and ranch Is
ss,uical laboratory.
neuN ohamists are the agricultural
administers of today.
M virgin soil contains certain eie-
a.s which furnish plant food ana
aw crops. AS these elements are
va, from the soil by cropping year
asr roar its productivity diminishes
!. nd the crops fall on.
ivory intelligent farmer knows now
Avs what these vital elements are
"a IN what proportion they must be
.S.orod TO the soil to keep up his crop
',s,d. and make his business pay.
w,tb farmer and manufacturer alike
.be nresent day problem is to secure an
sdeouate supply of necessary raw ma
.srals and labor at prices that will give
hm a profit on his finished product.
The war, for instance, has shut Off
ann potash supply from Germany. and
me government experts are almost
historically seeking to devise processes
fr converting seaweed into potash or
making available the immense supply
/ N this salt locked up in the common
rrks Of our hills and mountains and
|smttered broadcast over the earth.
Earth a Vast Cemetery.
| The most important of the plant
Hoods, though, and the most costly, Is
The nitrogen, which is vital not only to
| plant life, but to all forms Of life. We
commonly think of oxygen as the life
giving element, but the scientists tell
/ us that were the supply Of nitrogen cut
1 of the whole Of the earth would soon
become vast cemetery.
So lavishly has nature supplied us
with nitrogen that four-fifths Of the
atmosphere is composed Of this ele-
|ment
Agriculturally we must supply nitro
|geneous plant food in the form of am
mnia. Through countless ages a very
small part Of the nitrogen in the air
has been made into ammonia, deposit
led In the soil by lightning and other
natural processes. 1t is this tiny de-
post of ammonia or nitrous acid which
gives the virgin soil its plant building
properties. These deposits, however,
are so small that additional means
must be found of changing the form
OF air nitrogen and putting back into
Inc earth the ammonia consumed by
plant life If the soil is to remain fer
tile
Inc processes of animal digestion fix
some part OF the nitrogen consumed by
Tue body In the form Of ammonia val
uaDle as plant food. 1t is these proc
esses which give stable manure its
lertllizing qualities.
for many years we brought guano
nom Peru and supplied our ammonial
sOii needs from the deposits of bird
uOppings accumulated there through
sOun'iess ages. These Peruvian de
pOsils are exhausted, and while there
Ina u
a.e similar deposits In several parts
" tne earth they are so remote and
ar'as as to De practically un.
, wy sewage and garbage waste, very
,n.a sn VI which Is carelessly drained
wv tne streams and ocean. contain
a, ua'uaole fertilizing qualities because OF
49, lionlal content In our desperate
.eeu ior heterogeneous fertilizers we are
sa aa using millions of tons a
a VI eottonseed meal for fertilizer
a.ahuiacturing. Because of the high
ms ss VI chemical fertilizers. farmers in
sh, ' sections find their use unprofit
tha,. ',iu are obliged to lose the use OF
nlon.,. anu during frequent seasons
9TH IL In clovers. cowpeas and
]emaop pants Of the small family OF
est res which have the property OF
yort,N g nitrogen from the air, con
thas 1t into ,nitrates and leaving
nos S. IN the soil In the form of small
roota es or pimples which form on the
m Costly Makeshifts.
49, ese are some of the cumbersome
costly makeshifts to which farm
nls,. nave been obliged to resort 70,
Of n'.. 1909. Only three other sources
ont au supply are known. At pres
rreo,au. LUZ many years past the world.
nitrato supply has been saltpeter OIL
Chill VI soda from the deserts Of
natnra " n In the course of past ages
sOda e mas impregnated great beds ,ot
a tew WIN atmospheric nitrogen. Unit
World seafs ago the whole civilized
nitrato depended upon these Chilean
peter ' n, deposits for its supply of salt
tho 1 nitric acid and ammonia Toda,
this SOW eu states relies mainly upor
ers anu ee and American manufactur
Chilean farmers pay tribute to til,
expor, seo'ernment, which collects al
uct :. DUTY of 60 per cent ON the prod
900 Tue sne tune of upward of $4,000.
can srna ga Even at this cost the Chi
face ~ piy Is giving out, and we mus
The to. e prospect of still higher prices
was 10 ooo export of saltpeter In 1856,
2OOo ooo n.y. tons. In 1915 it was nearl,
can lat o IONS. Robert Kennedy Dun
'e Professor of chemistry in tn,