Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-03-03
AGRICULTURAL
.gszeSSGduCdtiOn
~ AND SUCCESSFUL CARVING
SZ:-Ssz Sr AhDRMH coULE
THE POTASH SITUATION

-ts5lghlv spedkiH=. Ihe United States
rsH imported annually from Germany
.-shiething over soO.00O tons OF potash.
Quite ons-half OF this quantity was in
the form OF kainit. and more than one
fourth in the form OF muriate. As re-
suit o. the embargo placed uU the eN-
pcrtation OF potash by the German SOW
eminent IL has been impossible 10 OBJ
tain any of this material in cousidera-
bic quantity Tor some months past.
Hence, the farmers Of the south who
have been the chief users OF potash for
agricultural purposes are face 10 face
with the problem OF raising another
crop without being able 10 obtain any of
this material from the source on which
they have previously depended. II has
been said that potash could be obtained
frCm local Sources to considerable eN-
tent which Is true. and naturally all OF
these sources should be utilized in -
far as practical but the demand for
potash II commerce is - great that
the price of the product available from
most sources has reached a prOhibitiVe
figure so far as the farmer is concerned
Must the farmer. therefore, attempt
20 raise his crops without any potash
whatsoever during the present year or
are there some local supplies on which
he can depend with advantage and prof
it2 A review OF the situation shows
that there is some potash in tobacco
stems. and. sOf course. wood ashes con-
tain a small amount OF this material.
No doubt farmers will gladly utilize
these sources Of supply in so far as
they can In addition. there Is the
potash contained in cotton seed meal,
z product manufactured in large guam
titles In every southern state. and which
s.F nj
Jrogen and fair amount Of phosphorIc
acid. but very considerable amount OF
potash as we'll or this account cot
ton seed meal becomes exceedingly val
liable 20 the southern farmer as a ferti-
liking constituent the present year. for
II IS well known fact that many Of
the soils OF the South Atlantic states
are low in this element. Particularly Is
this true OF those soils which contain
i considerable amount OF sand or which
are used for the production Of truck or
garden crops which naturally make
nsavy demand on potash salts.
An examination OF the record shows.
for instance. that a ton OF choice cot
ton seed meal contains approximately
80 pounds OF nitrogen. 5S-4 pounds of
pEOspEoric acid and 36.2 pounds OF
potash. Hence. If 1.OU0 pounds OF cot
ton seed meal be mixed with 1000
pounds pounds OF acid phosphate, very
good fertilizer for many OF our staple
crops can be obtained, and a formula
provided which carries J per cent Of
EsotAsh. an important point 10 bear in
mind in view OF the scarcity and high
price OF this material
There are some who are wondering
whether they can utilize cotton seed
neal or not because OF its high price
at the present time Ii would apDear
however. that available nitrogen from
almost any OF the STANDARD sources will
cost this year between Is and 20 cents
= pound Presenting that il does cost
% cents a pound, the nitrogen i'm a ton
% choice cotton seed meal would be
worth S2S.24- II acid phosphate cost
SIS ton. the available phOsphoric
acid in IL il worth cents a pound.
Therefore, the amount OF this element
~ a ton OF choice cotton seed meal is
worth s2.61 Allowing 90 cents a pound
TOR available potash. the amount Of shis
element In a ton OF choice cotton seed
meal would be worth s7.26. In other
words. the phosphoric acid and potash
contained would be worth S9.s3. making
-hc plant food constituents on this basis
in a ton Of choice cotton seed meal
worth s3S.15.
OF course. il may be argued by some
that 20 cents is too much to allow for
potash but available potash equal in
every respect to that contained in cot
ton seed meal can probably not De
bought for less than this figure. There
fore IL seems only just that the meal
should be credited with the potash Il
contains at approximately the price
which available plant food of this char
acter would bring at the present time.