The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1917-03-29
USING FERTILIZERS
ON the GRASS CROP


~ Fertilizers carry
SUPPLY PLANT ~, aa.s+,.yonts
o of ammonia, phos-
phoric acid and potash. Fertilizer may
be applied directly to the grass crop,
br to other crops In the rotation. The
effect differs only In degree.
Feeding the Previous Crop.
Wherever q short rotation Is fol-
lowed, that is, grass once in every
three or four years, farmers have
found 1t profitable to fertilize grass
through the medium Of the preceding
crop. In Virginia, some growers put
an extra amount Of fertilizer on the
tobacco crop, turn profit from this
through increased yields, and a still
further profit from the larger grass
crop which follows. Potato farmers
In Aroost0ok county. Maine. carry out
the same idea. using from 1.aO0 to
1900 pounds Of fertilizer on potatoes.
and but little on the oats and grass
crops. Likewise the dairy farmers
In Massachusetts, and Connecticut
have found, In short rotation. that
the cheapest way to get good grass
crop Is to fertilize heavily the crops
Immediately preceding. Experiment
station results show that these expe-
riences of practical farmers are SUI
ported by the results Of scientific
tests.
The Pennsylvania experiment sta
ton, on some Of its rotation plots.
seeds down the grass and clover with
the wheat crop. The wheat crop Is
heavily fsrtilized. the grass crop Is
not. Over q long period OF years the
hay crop following the fortified
wheat had yielded nearly ton high
er than t'se hay crop following infer
tilted wheat.
The Or D experiment station Is fol-
lowing a ..Ee-year rotation--corn. oats,
wheat, grass and clover. The corn.
oats and wheat are fortified; the
grass crrp Is not. As a result of
nearly ~ years work this station
has found an increase of 1850 pounds
OF clover. and 760 pounds Of timothy
(second year hay) when sown in fer
tilted wheat as compared with the
same seed mixture when sown In I'M
fertilized wheat.
1 The Virginia experiment station
found in one case that 1000 pounds of
complete fertilizer per acre applied to
tobacco. increased the succeeding hay
crop by more than two TONS per acre.
and the year following gave a still fur
Their increase Of Il bushels in the
corn crop.
Profitable Hay.
One Of the best ways Of getting a
large hay crop IL to use a liberal
amount Of plantfood on the money
crops esz the crops, IN tirs rUra:
kion. This plantfood may be either
manure or fertiiizers-hut should usu.
ally include both.
i Fall Seeding Without Nurse Crop.
i Where grass follows grass. or where
p grain crop is not included in the ro-
kati0n, fertilizer must be applied at
the time Of seeding down. Use 200 to
800 pounds per acre OF q fertilizer
nnalyzing two to three per cent ammo
mia, eight to ten per cent phosphoric
acid, and when possible four to five
per cent potash. Clay soils require
less potash than loans; sandy and
clay soils more nitrogen. This formu-
Ia furnishes nitrogen enough to start
the crop, but leaves no surplus to be
Lost by teaching. It gets the mineral
fiements--potash and phosphoric acid
ESQ distributed through tie soils as
TO be OF the greatest value. yet 1t is
not 50 costly as to be prohibitive.
Larger, quantities must be used, how.
ever when Il is expected to keep the
Held Ia grass for q number Of years
i How and When to Tcp-Dress.
inst as the grass is turning green in
the spring, apply fertilizer snalyzing
from SIX to eight per cent available nj
trogen and three TO five per GENT phos-
phoric acid and as much potash as can
be economically purchased. On muck
soils more potash is necessary, and
on sandy soils more phosphcnc acid.
Amounts Profitable to Apply.
This fertilizer gives the grass a
good start. makes 1t grow rapidly dur
ing the season when there is plenty
OF water available. and gives q worth
while increase in the crop. If hay
Is usually worth $40 to $12 ton in
the barn. 200 pounds of the above fer
filizer may be used. If it Is worth
sl5 In the barn. 300 pounds gives /.
higher acre profit. Finally, If the
farmer IS so located that his hay is
worth $lS or oyer. he can well afford
to use 400 10 800 pounds of this fer
tilizef, and make the hay crop the
most profitable crop on his farm. 1t
will then give more dollars for less
labor than any other crop which he
can produce.
Permanent Mowjngs.
I When land Is cropped perman entity
to grass, yields are usually lower than
In rotation m0wings. The field becomes
reotbound and fertility sometimes he
comes SO low that the crop Is often not
worth the cutting. Weeds d.splace the
grasses, AID the quality of the crop
becomes 20 poor that 1t ranks as
"stock ha!"-not because 1t is espe-
cially good for feeding to stock. but
because IL has no other possible use.
This condition shows neglect of the
fundamental principle underlying
quality-tfat good feeding Is neces-
sary for g ,od quality products.
Making Permanent Sods Pay.
Permanent mOwings can be kept
productive almost indefinitely. The
experiences of numbers of farmers as
well as the published records of our
experiment stations. demonstrate this