Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-08-23
The Fertilizing Value of Tobacco
Waste


The Fertilizing value of Tobacco
Waste
S. T. T., Nashville, Ga, writes:
We are going to have left in our
warehouses here thousands of
pounds of low-grade tobacco.
Could this be put through a silage
cutter and blown into a car loose
and sold to orange and peach
growers at a sufficient price to
allow ourselves something for
the tobacco and sell it to them
as cheaply as they could get 9TH
er fertilizing material? Please
give me your opinion of this and
the analysis of low-grade tobacco
Tor fertilizing purposes.
The waste from the tobacco crop
can be used to good advantage for
tert1lizing purposes. The leaves and
stems Which accumulate around
warehouses may be gathered up and
handled in various ways. In some
instances If they are dry they may
be baled, and in others ground and
sacked: [ do not believe that it would
be satisfactory to attempt to handle
the material in the manner you indi-
cate. In places where tobacco is ex-
tensively grown the waste from the
warehouses is used for fertilizing
purposes. 1t is an excellent material
because 1t fermentS or undergoes de-
composition in the soil very readily
and the plant food it contains be-
comes quickly available to growing
crops.
Tobacco waste contains ordinarily
from to 2.5 per cent nitrogen, 6 to 8
per cent potash and 8 to per cent
phosphoric acid. 1t is of course a low
grade material in the sense of the
amount of potash it carries, but as a
rule 1t can be bought at comparative
ly low prices, hence it can be used to
advantage as a purveyor to the soil
OF the classes of plant food indicated
above. The tobacco stems may be
applied separat&A, or they may be
used in combination with other fer
t tildZeI substances: Tobacco stems
peach growers. believe if you grind
this material you could sell it to the
classes Of people indicated to very
good advantage.
A Fattening Ration for a Mule
u: w. M, Monticello, Fla,
writes: My mule is poor and 1
am unable to get it to, fatten.
Can you tell me what to feed it
and what treatment TO make it
No doubt your mule is suffering
more or less from indigestion. This
IS generally an accompaniment of
the condition described in your let
ter. Possibly the ration you are
feeding needs readjustment. I imag-
Inc you are using corn as the sole
part OF the grain ration and possibly
only pulled fodder as long feed.
Suppose you have some of the corn
ground and mixed with an equal
weight by bulk of wheat bran, and
iced this for the next thirty days
You may grind the corn and mix it
with chopped oats on the basis of
800 pounds of corn and cob meal with
200 pounds Of oats. You might add
100 pounds of clean, bright cotton
seed meal with this mixture, or an
equal amount of peanut meal.
Feed the grain ration according to
the nature of the work performed. A
thousand-pound mule performing
heavy labor should receive fourteen
Gay. When standing in the stable or
doing only light work, feed only eight
to twelve pounds.
1t is important that the roughage
part of the ration be free from dust
and molds. People do not realize how
damaging moldy, dusty fodder is tc
live stock. 1t is desirable also that
it be mixed with a small amount of
peavine or clover hay. A variety of
roughage is desirable. A little green
iced of whatever character may be
available on the place may be fed
to some advantage.
In addition we suggest that you
give your mule a drench of EPSON
salts to thoroughly cleanse out the
al1mentary tract. Then use the fol-
lowing digestive tonic for few
days: Two ounces sulphate of iron
two ounces nitrate of potash (salt-
peter), two ounces gentian root (pul-
VerlZed), one ounce pulverized nuX
vomica seed, one ounce ginger root
(pulverized). These should be thor
oughly pulverized and mixed, and a
heaping teaspoonful of the mixture
given in the food three times daily
In case your mule will not eat the
powder, omit the gentian root and
add linseed meal.