860 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



MR. FAIRCHILD's FORMULAS. 



To my question, " Have yoU arrived at any formulas as most 

 suitable for fertilizers for your crops ?" Mr. Fairchild answered 

 as follows: 



" Yes and no. That is, I have made up my mind what will 

 probably do well on my land and under my conditions for some 

 of my crops. But I cannot say what would be most advantageous 

 elsewhere, nor do I yet know exactly what will prove best for me 

 years hence, or with crops I have not tested. For my corn I 

 expect to use, next spring, 250 pounds of fine ground bone, 150 

 pounds muriate of potash (containing 50 per cent, actual potash), 

 and 24 pounds of nitrogen in the cheapest form I can get it. So 

 far as my experiments go, they indicate that sulphate of ammonia 

 and nitrate of soda do rather better than dried blood. JSitrate of 

 soda is cheap now, and I rather expect to use that." 



" With potatoes and oats I have not experimented so much. 

 Judging from the past season's experience, it seems probable that 

 the quantities of bone and potash salt I just mentioned, and about 

 double the nitrogen, will make a good mixture. For oats I am 

 inclined to make use of the same proportions as for corn, but I 

 think smaller total quantities would do upon these crops. Accord- 

 ing to analysis an oat crop takes less from the soil than one of 

 corn, and my experience indicates that oats will do well with less 

 manure. I expected the large quantities on some of the plots of 

 the nitrogen experiment would* make them lodge badly, but the 

 weather or something else kept them up all right." 



BONE vs. SUPERPHOSPHATE. 



Mr. Fairchild concludes that for his purposes fine ground bone, 

 which he gets at a bone mill near home, is more economical than 

 superphosphate. He reasons thus: 



"The bone we are using is of a high grade, and contains, by 

 analysis at the experiment station, about 25 per cent, of phos- 

 phoric acid, and 3 per cent, or more of nitrogen. The bone saw- 

 ings [from hard bones used in making knife handles, buttons, etc.] 

 run up to 26 per cent, phosphoric acid or over, while the softer 

 bones, ground, average perhaps 23 or 24 per cent. I pay $37 

 per ton for the bone, and can get a plain superphosphate, dissolved 

 bone black, for a little less, say $33. That is to say, the super- 

 phosphate, with 1 G per cent, of phosphoric acid, mostly soluble, 



