CHEMICAL COEN-GROWING. 



77 



CHEMICAL COK]N^-GROWI]\TG. 



MIDDLESEX SOUTH SOCIETY. 

 From an Essay by E. Lewis Stuktevant. 



In an essay contributed in 1872 to the Transactions of the 

 Middlesex South Agricultural Society, I investigated the cost 

 of a premium crop of corn to the Massachusetts farmer, and 

 among the items of expense, calculated the fertility removed 

 by the crop from the soil. At the present time I propose to 

 report an experiment which will supplement this past method 

 of mine, by showing what may be expected from the application 

 to the land of the fertility which we expect the crop to remove. 



We know from the chemical analyses that certain elements 

 are removed by our crop, and a long experience on our New 

 England ftirms has shown that of the elements removed, but 

 three need concern us, as all the rest are usually contained in 

 the soil in quantities abundantly sufficient for vegetation. 

 Thus, although the corn-crop may remove the following 

 elements of fertility, yet the nitrogen, phosphoric acid and 

 potash are the only materials whose exhaustion from the land 

 is probable under ordinary culture, and are therefore the only 

 elements we need supply. 



Professok Emil Wolff's Table. 



Fercentages^ 



Corn 

 (Grain). 



Cob. 



.Stalks. 



Water, . 

 Nitrogen, 

 Total ash, 

 Potash, . . . 

 Soda, 

 Magnesia, 

 Lime, 



Phosphoric acid, 

 Sulphuric acid, 

 Silica, 

 Sulphur, . 



13.6 

 L6 

 1.23 

 0.33 

 0.02 

 0.18 

 0.03 

 0.55 

 0.01 

 0.03 

 0.12 



11.5 

 ? 



6.50 

 0.24 

 0.01 

 0.02 

 0.02 

 0.02 

 . 0.01 

 0.13 

 0.13 



u.oo 



0.40 

 4.72 

 1.66 

 0.05 

 0.26 

 0.50 

 0.38 

 0.25 

 1.79 

 0.39 



