December 14, 1918 



11 uirric u i.TTjE E 



J!53 



EFFECTING HOME PLANTING 

 r.y Charles W. Sibley, Athol, Mass. 



Those who have hoped that the 

 ending of hostilities would bring 

 some reduction in the price of com- 

 mercial fertilizers this spring are due 

 for keen disappointment. Not only 

 has the price not lowered, but it has 

 raised about $2 a ton for all mixed 

 goods. Thus, a mixture carrying ■ 2 

 per cent nitrogen, 8 per cent phos- 

 phoric acid and 2 per cent potash is 

 retailing at about $53 a ton compared 

 with $51 a ton last season. The 16 

 per cent acid phosphate is retailing 

 at about $30 a ton, an advance of 

 $1.25 higher than last season's quota- 

 tion. Some dealers may charge as 

 much as $33 to $35 a ton for acid 

 phosphate but this is abnormal. The 

 price per pound of the three elements 

 in mixed goods will approximate 42 1^ 

 cents for nitrogen, 30 cents for potash 

 and 9 cents for available phosphoric 

 acid. It is highly important, there- 

 fore, for farmers to study the fertilizer 

 needs of their soils so as to buy fer- 

 tilizers intelligently and avoid buying 

 material not needed, says the Univer- 

 sity of Missouri College of Agriculture. 

 The fact cannot be repeated too 

 often that farmers can grow sufficient 

 nitrogen through the leguminous crops 

 for maximum production of cereals 

 besides supplying rich nitrogenous 

 feeds. For example, two tons of 

 clover returned to the land enriches 

 the soil by at least 80 pounds of nitro- 

 gen, whereas the nitrogen contained 

 in an acre application of 150 pounds 

 of an ordinary 2-10-2 fertilizer amounts 

 to only three pounds per acre. In re- 

 gard to potash, it should be remem- 

 bered that nearly all Missouri soils 

 are fairly well supplied with this con- 

 stituent. The great need, therefore, is 

 for phosphorus. It is unfortunate 

 that the supply of phosphatic fertiliz- 

 ers is again so limited, most of this 

 material having been used in com- 

 pounding the mixed goods. In gen- 

 eral the best source of phosphorus 

 is acid phosphate, preferably the 16 

 per cent goods. It is reasonable to 

 expect that the cost of this material 

 be materially lower by next fall; at 

 least there appears to be no economic 

 reason for the price to remain much 

 above what it was before the war, at 

 which time the 16 per cent acid phos- 

 phate could be bought in Missouri for 

 about $18 a ton. 



Fertilizer Studies. 

 The enormous fertilizer consump- 

 tion in the United States, amounting 

 to upward of a hundred million dol- 

 lars prior to the war, has in the 

 course of the last few years under- 

 gone a decided change, not so much 

 In volume of fertilizer consumed as 

 in the composition of the fertilizing 

 materials. This has forced a careful 

 study of ratios of essential plant-food 

 constituents on prominent and essen- 



tial crops. Accordingly, small field 

 plats for the study of fertilizers have 

 been established at many points on 

 different soils and under different ag- 

 ricultural conditions. The test fields 

 now in operation are at Presque Isle, 

 Me., State College, Pa., Norfolk, Va., 

 Florence, S. C, Pecan City, Ga., Put- 

 ney, Ga., Thomasville, Ga., Monticello, 

 Fla., Orlando, Fla., Ashland, Wis., and 

 Scottsburg. Ind. 



Special field tests have been con- 

 ducted to determine the smallest quan- 

 tities of potash as a fertilizer which 

 will meet the requirements of the to- 

 bacco plant, more especially on the 

 lighter soils of the flue-cured district. 

 IMarked responses have been obtained 

 with only 24 pounds, and even as low 

 as 12 pounds, of potash per acre. 

 These applications have sufficed to 

 prevent the appearance of the char- 

 acteristic symptoms of potash defi- 

 ciency which the plant shows when 

 no potash is supplied in the fertilizer. 

 It has been possible also to establish 

 an appreciable difference between the 

 sulphate and the muriate ot potash 

 in their action on the plant. 



Examination of Materials Offered a;j 

 Fertilizer Substitutes. 



The unusual fertilizer situation has 

 brought forth numerous fertilizer sub- 

 stitutes of more or less doubtful merit 

 for which extravagant claims are 

 made. Companies are organizing to 

 exploit fertilizer materials concerning 

 the value of which little is known, 

 and it would seem that a very con- 

 siderable increase in such test work 

 is necessary. Several such products 

 have been investigated and tested. 

 Some of them are practically worth- 

 less and others of value entirely out 

 of proportion to the price charged. 



Amsterdam (By the Associated 

 Press) — Advices from Rhennish Prus- 

 sia quote a trade circular as saying 

 that the German potash production in 

 November was 70 per cent, below nor- 

 mal. The circular adds that the in- 

 creased profits from enhanced prices 

 have heen more than absorbed by the 

 advance in wages paid the workers in 

 the industry. 



THE LATE AMADEE HANS. 



Amadee Hans, the announcement of 

 whose passing away at Locust Valley, 

 Long Island, N. Y., appeared last week 

 in these columns, came to this coun- 

 try 32 years ago and found readily a 

 gardener's position at Morningside 

 Park, New York, for several years, 

 where he was in charge of the plant- 

 ings of alpine and herbaceous plants 

 among the rocks of Central Park. In 

 all his plantings he was a true artist, 

 knowing how to place harmonious 

 coloring with superior effect. Mr. 

 Hans left the park department for 

 Lenox, where he had charge of the 

 .John E. Parsons estate, which he re- 

 modeled from one end to the other to 

 the great satisfaction of the eminent 

 proprietor. Mr. Hans took great pride 

 in every detail, and showed at all 

 times the artist in tree and shrub 

 planting. Rustic work was one of 

 his delights. 



Mr. Hans was called after some 

 eight or ten years' service at Lenox 

 to Lowell Palmer at Stamford, where 

 he found in Mr. Palmer a genial lover 

 of the most beautiful collections of 

 evergreens, rare trees, hardy azaleas, 

 rhododendrons and the best collection 

 of hardy ferns. He spent about ten 

 years on this place and produced a 

 valuable nursery. Then he went to 

 Mr. Hodenpyle's to take charge of the 

 new place at Locust Valley, Long 

 Island. There Mr. Hans showed his 

 rare ability, establishing a magnifi- 

 cent collection of conifers, hardy per- 

 ennials, ferns and rock plants, also a 

 very interesting trained fruit garden, 

 a bog garden and many other beauti- 

 ful features. 



Mr. Hans was highly gifted in every 

 branch of horticulture and possessed 

 a very valuable library of eminent 

 French authors. Sickness overtook 

 him some three years ago which final- 

 ly closed his life on December 1st. 

 His funeral was largely attended by 

 many true old friends whom he left 

 behind, who loved and highly ps- 

 teemel him. He leaves his wife and 

 a son, who is a civil engineer, also 

 One grandson and one granddaughter. 

 J. F. Hiss. 



Hartford, Conn. 



