Fertilizer

“ The pretense of making a fertilizer peculiarly adapted to the potato, or to wheat, or to corn would not attract a single buyer if the public would compare the analyses of these special crop fertilizers offered by manufacturers and note their dissimilarity of composition. Any kind of a mixture may be given any kind of a name. It is the composition that counts. The farmer is in the market for nitrogen and phosphoric acid and potash, singly or combined, for a certain soil, and all he wants is to know the number of pounds he is getting, its availability, and its price per pound. ”

“ The fertilizer may be applied broadcast if put on at the rate of 1,000 pounds or more to the acre. When less than 1,000 pounds to the acre are used it is almost universally applied along the line of the row, a furrow being opened for the reception of the fertilizer; which is scattered by hand or by a distributor which can be used to fertilize several rows at a time. After the fertilizer has been distributed, a cultivator is run along the line of the rows to incorporate the fertilizer with the soil in order to prevent its coming in contact with the seed when planted. ”

“ The fertilizer acts on the soil, and the soil reacts on the fertilizer; but the point we wish to make prominent is this, that different soils are differently affected by one and the same application, or in other words, a given manure fertilizes a given crop unequally in degree, and unlike in kind, on different soils, by virtue of the different assimilating or fixing power, which the soil exerts upon its ingredients. ”

“ The land that grows heavy clover in a close rotation, or receives all the stable manure, may need neither nitrogen nor potash, while another field, hard-run by timothy and corn, may need a complete fertilizer. When a careful fertilizer test on land of only average productive power has been made, the owner has some definite knowledge of his soil that enables him to give more intelligent treatment to all his fields than was possible before the test had been made. ”

“ Let the causes be what they may, the fertilizer formulas that call for plant-food in a fertilizer in the same proportions that it is found in plants are disappointing in their results. The analysis of the plant is not a dependable index.
The Multiplication of Formulas.—Fertilizer manufacturers have made all possible combinations of fertilizer materials, using them in various quantities. Each manufacturer has given a mixture a brand of his own, and confusion reigns. There is no formula for a soil or crop that will remain absolutely the best, even for one particular field. ”

“ It is important that large lumps of fertilizer, especially muriate of potash and nitrate of soda, do not fall near the crowns of the plants; otherwise the plants may be seriously injured. It is a general principle, also, that it is best to use more sparingly of fertilizers than of tillage. The tendency is to make fertilizers do penance for the sins of neglect, but the results do not often meet one’s expectations. ”

“ If the amount of fertilizer is too small to distribute evenly over the plot, mix it thoroughly with a few quarts of dry earth or sand to give it more bulk and then apply it.
In the use of fertilizers it should always be remembered that small crops are not always due to lack of plant food, but may be caused by an absence of the other conditions necessary for root growth and development. The soil may not be sufficiently moist to properly supply the plants with water. ”

“ On other soils of a sandy nature, or rich in calcium carbonate, such a fertilizer would have little value. The analyst in giving an opinion respecting the commercial value of a fertilizer, must be guided not only by the source of the material, its fineness or state of decomposition, and its general physical qualities, but also by the nature of the crop which it is to nourish and the kind of soil to which it is to be applied. ”

“ Manure or fertilizer about the roots or even in the hole are not necessary or even desirable. If the soil is to be enriched [Pg 87] at all at planting time, the fertilizer should be spread on the surface to be cultivated in or to have its food elements leak down as rains fall. ”

“ Ton after ton of the best kind of fertilizer can be accumulated on every farm in this manner, including not only what is now lost through careless handling, but also a large amount of good material that is now entirely overlooked on many farms. All rubbish, all litter, all dirt, has a fertilizing value. ”

“ If one has only a small garden or a home yard, it ordinarily will not pay him to buy the chemicals separately, as suggested above, but he may purchase a complete fertilizer that is sold under a trademark or brand, and has a guaranteed analysis. If one is raising plants chiefly for their foliage, as rhubarb and ornamental bushes, he should choose a fertilizer comparatively rich in nitrogen; but if he desires chiefly fruit and flowers, the mineral elements, as potash and phosphoric acid, should usually be high. ”

“ They use fertilizer in the form of liquid and put it on the growing plant rather than on the soil as we do. The farmer will feed his plants with the same regularity and care that our farmers feed and care for their horses and cattle. ”

“ No commercial fertilizer would begin to be so desirable. If you can dig into the soil large amounts of weeds or other vegetable waste material, you would be proceeding along the same line, but stable manure is better on account of its greater fertilizing content. You ought to be thankful that the soil has spunk enough to grow weeds. The Immanent Creator is still doing the best he can to help you out; take a hand yourself on the same line.
Two Legumes in a Year.
I have land on which I wish to plant to fruits, and I wish to build up the soil all I can, by planting cover crops and plowing under. ”

“ In the fertilizer industry, it was the chemist who learned and who taught how to make our immense beds of phosphate rock useful and serviceable to man in the enrichment of the soil; he has taught how to make waste products of other industries useful and available for fertilization and he has shown how to make the gas works contribute to the fertility of the soil. ”

“ Fertilizer for Grass.—A fertile soil will make a good sod. A thinner soil should have a liberal dressing of complete fertilizer at seeding time, and the formula that has been suggested is excellent for this purpose. If a succession of timothy hay crops is desired, the problem of maintaining fertility is wholly changed. The nitrogen supplied by the clover is soon exhausted, and the timothy sod must be kept thick and heavy until broken, or the soil will not have its supply of organic matter maintained. ”

“ He said that it is never necessary to apply fertilizing material to any soil for the purpose of increasing the supply of plant food in that soil. He admitted that applications of fertilizers sometimes produce increased crop yields, but that the effect was due to the power of the fertilizer to destroy the toxic substances excreted by the plants, and this is really the principal effect of potash, phosphates, and nitrates, and also of farm manure and green manures. ”

“ When a considerable amount of fertilizer is used a better plan than buying mixed fertilizer is to buy the raw materials and mix them yourself. For example, a farmer is about to plant five acres of cabbages for the market. He finds that a certain successful cabbage grower recommends the use of fifty pounds nitrogen, fifty pounds phosphoric acid and seventy pounds potash per acre. For the five acres this will mean 250 pounds nitrogen, 250 pounds phosphoric acid and 350 pounds potash. ”

“ We think it plain that actions to recover damages to crops resulting from the use of fertilizers may reasonably be distinguished from other damage suits. Crops depend on the kind and condition of the soil, the vitality of seeds sown or plants set out, the cultivation and care given, the weather and many other things, as well as the kind and amount of the fertilizer applied. ”

“ The kind of fertilizer employed has a marked influence upon the character and quality of the vegetables produced. For the garden only those fertilizers that have been carefully prepared should be used. Fertilizers of organic composition, such as barnyard manure, should have passed through the fermenting stage before being used. The use of night soil generally is not to be recommended, as its application, unless properly treated for the destruction of disease germs, may prove dangerous to health. ”

“ While it is always advisable to apply whatever fertilizer is used before plowing, commercial fertilizers can be applied later with good effect; but it will be necessary to apply them in such a manner that they do not come directly into contact with the seed, as many of them are so strong that they kill it. ”

“ The Use of Nitrogen.—There is no fully satisfactory way of determining the kind and amount of fertilizer that should be used at any particular time for any one crop. Perfection in this respect is no easier in attainment than in other matters. ”

“ It is hoped that the increase in crop yield, resulting from the use of the microbic soil fertilizer, will amount to from 5 per cent, to even 50 per cent., depending primarily upon the condition of the soil. Rich soil naturally requires no fertilizer of any kind. ”

“ By means of the absorptive power of soils the farmer, if he puts on an excess of potash or phosphoric acid as a fertilizer, does not lose it but is able to reap some benefits from it in the next and even in succeeding crops. If it were not for this power the best method for applying fertilizers would be a much more 122complicated problem than it is at present ”

“ Well, to some extent they injure the soil because they tend to destroy the limestone and increase the acidity of the soil, and also because they contain more or less manufactured land-plaster and thus serve as soil stimulants; but the chief point to keep in mind concerning the use of the common so-called complete commercial fertilizer is that they are too expensive to permit their use in sufficient quantities to positively enrich the soil. ”

“ The difference in cost of 350 pounds of a high-grade fertilizer and 150 pounds of a low-grade one, when applied to a poor soil under these circumstances, may be recovered in the grain crop, and at the same time a good sod will be made possible for the permanent improvement of the land. It is a safe business rule that land should be left uncultivated unless enough plant-food can be provided in some way for a good yield. The man who cannot incur a heavy fertilizer bill, when necessary, should restrict acreage for his own sake. ”

“ A fertilizer for use on the majority of sweet potato lands should contain 3 to 6 per cent of nitrogen, 6 or 7 per cent of phosphoric acid, and 8 to 10 per cent of potash. Every grower should make a study of the requirements of his soil and apply the fertilizer that will give the best results. Many growers purchase the ingredients and mix their own special fertilizers, or use a standard fertilizer as a base and increase the percentage of certain elements by adding high-grade elementary ingredients. ”

“ Many growers do not depend upon commercial fertilizers, but merely apply from 200 to 300 pounds to each acre as a supplement to the organic matter and natural fertility of the soil. Others apply from 300 to 1,000 pounds, according to the condition of the soil, while a few growers use a ton to the acre. The general rule is to apply the fertilizer in the row where the crop is to be grown, but where large quantities are used it should be distributed at least ten days before planting and thoroughly incorporated with the soil. ”

“ If it so happens that the soil is not very fertile and there is only a limited quantity of fertilizer available, it is a good plan, instead of spreading it all over the plot, to apply it only in close proximity to the hills or drills in which the plants are growing. ”

“ In any case some allowance should be made for the amount of nitrogen collected by the legumes. When corn, cotton or some other crops are grown in the orchard, fertilizing may simply consist in distributing an additional amount of the crop fertilizer for the benefit of the trees. ”

“ Old orchards sometimes need a single application of a general fertilizer containing all the principal soil elements. All fertilizers should be applied not merely around the base of the trunk, but as far from it as the tree spreads its branches in all directions. ”

“ It is impossible to lay too much emphasis on the necessity for care in the use of this fertilizer. It must not be allowed to come in contact with the leaves of the crop, or it will cause them to burn and turn brown. ”

“ It is quite apparent that in this scheme the entire field of fertilizer formulas is covered in a regular way. In addition to this formula plan other experiments are also under way to determine the influence of the different fertilizing materials, carrying the phosphate, ammonia and potash, and the influence of lime, rock phosphate, various green manuring crops, etc. The experiments are carried out in commercial orchards on several soil types and in several localities. ”

“ It gets the best of the nitrogen, and may need only a rock-and-potash fertilizer, while the wheat that follows may need some available nitrogen to force growth in the fall. There is no fixed formula for any field or crop, and the point to be made here only is that the requirements of many standard crops do not have the dissimilarity usually supposed, except in respect to quantity. ”