Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-01-15

| word, nor one which need be tested out
| in an experimental way, as its value
4 has long since been established by an
/ elaborate series of tests, made not only
| in this country but abroad as well.
| Sulphate of ammonia is derived pri-
marily from gas works, and as a by-pro-
duct in converting soft coal into coke. BY
/ far the greater part of the supply is OBJ
| tanned from the latter source, and for the
| indefensible practice of allowing much
of this valuable and essential material
/ to go to waste in the past we could dou-
BILE and possibly treble in the output
| of sulphate ammonia for use in Amer
lean agriculture in a short time. When
pure, sulphate Of ammonia is white
| crystalline salt. 1t is soluble in twice
it's weight of water and volatile as we'll
1t contains. 25 per cent of ammonia
/ equivalent to 20.56 per cent of nitrogen
| 1t is one of the richest Of the commercial
| nitrogenous materials available which
can be used to supply this very essen
tial element at reasonable cost Tor
j use in our agriculture. The color of the
commercial product varies slightly, but
lis generally gray. 1t has the advantage
of not readily absorbing moisture from
the air; hence il can be stored for an in
definite period without deteriorating in
strength. 1t possesses a distinct advan-
/ tage over nitrate Of soda in this res
lpect. The plant food it contains be
comes quickly available 10 growing crops
as evidenced by the dark green color OF
the leaves of the plants to which 1t
is applied about ten days or two weeks
after it has been applied.
l The idea that sulphate of ammonia is a
slowly available source of nitrogen and
that It can only be used in mixed fer
tilizers with a profit and never as
/ top dressing is a mistaken conclusion
I wish to emphasize this statement par
ticularly at the present time for the fol-
lowing reasons. 1t has long been recog-
nized that topdressng in winter-growing
/ cereals in the spring was both desirable
and profitable practice for the southern
farmer to follow. 1t has been the GUS
tom in the past to use approximately
100 pounds of nitrate of soda Tor TINS
purpose. Many farmers may conclude
that if they cannot obtain this material
during the next three months that there
lis nothing which could be satisfactorily
fused in it's place. This would be SER
lious mistake and might result in re-
stricting the yields of many Of our farm
crops to a very appreciable extent. IL
will be a great relief to many to know
that they can use sulphate of ammo
MIA for top dressing as substitute Tor
nitrate of soda with high degree OF
satisfaction and that nitrogen contained
will be very shortly after it's incorpora-
ton with soil transformed into condi-
| tiop uermitting of it's assimilation ana
satisfactory utilization of growing
crops.
| In this Connection it is proper to state
| that better results are likely to obtain
where sulphate of ammonia is applied
/ to land that has been lined once IN
about three years. Investigations whlcn
have been made at the College of Agrl-
culture indicate that an application OF
one to three tons of crushed raw lime
/ rock once in three years is good prac-
, tice from the standpoint OF southern
| farmers. 1t is particularly desirable
that lime be used just previous to the
| planting of legumes, though 1t seems TO
exert a beneficial influence on the
growth of cereals and cotton as Well.
Lime is being extensively mined In the
south and largely used by our farmers,
| thereby providing more nearly ideal
conditions for the application of sui
phate of ammonia as a top dressing than
protein. 1t seems needless to point
out in this connection that the greater
part of this material has up to the
present time been used in association
with mixed fertilizers. Thus while
farmers may not recognize it or even
feel that ii is a new and untrled carrier
of nitrogen they have nevertheless been
err amounts for many years
For some time the opinion has pre-
vailed in the minds of many southern
farmers that nitrogen derived from GER
/ tain sources was much more desirable
| than that obtained from others. To
determine this point tests were institut-
ed with corn at the Georgia State COL
! lege of Agriculture several years. Ago.
The tests extended over a period of
/ - E-nniual amounts of
nitrogen were applied in conjunction
with a properly balanced ration of phos-
| phoric acid and potash. The results
obtained were so nearly uniform as to
| indicate but little difference in the eff
/ fciency or desirability of the different
heterogeneous fertilizers used. In other
| words, an equal amount of nitrogen de-
rived from sulphate Of ammonia was
/ quite as satisfactory as that obtained
| from the use of cottonseed meal, nj
| trate of soda, blood tankage or calcium
| cyanamid. These results, therefore,
should help to set the agitation at rest
/ upon this point and make clear to our
| farmers that they can use sulphate
OF ammonia with the assurance that 1t
/ is desirable, safe and economic source
of nitrogen. AS there is generally con-
siderable variation in the price of nj
| trogen in proportion to the quantity of
]
farmer should be careful to bear this
| fact in mind when purchasing his sup
ply of this important element
/ For some five years past tests have
1 been conducted at some nine points in
the state of Georgia to determine the
| effect of nitrogen on crop production.
Sulphate of ammonia used at the rate
/ of 144 pounds per acre resulted in an
average increase on all the areas of 127
pounds of seed cotton. The smallest in
| crease was Il pounds and the highest
/ 1872 pounds. The commercial price OF
/ the sulphate used in 1917 was SS5 per
/ ton. With an increased yield of As
pounds of lint cotton at 80 cents a
,ound, the return per acre exclusive OF
ne seed was $3.50, showing a profit OF
G.3S from the use of sulphate of am
roma.
/ When used under corn the average
increased yield obtained on all the test
plats for the fve-year period was 5.S
bushels; the lowest increase obtained
was "a bushels; the highest, 10 bush
els. Drought conditions accounted in
part for the extremely low yield record
ed in this one instance On the basis of
the calculation followed with cotton
and with corn at $3.50 per bushel,
profit of sass per acre was obtained
from the use of sulphate of ammonia
under corn.