BONEMEAL AND BASIC SLAG 273 



Bonemeal and Basic Slag. As sources of lime and 

 phosphorus, bonemeal and basic slag must be considered. 

 Bonemeal is rich in phosphorus, has some nitrogen and 

 considerable lime in the form of phosphate of lime. 

 There is hardly any fertilizer so good for stimulating 

 grasses and clovers as bonemeal. Its one drawback is 

 the price, but this is commonly paid back and often sev- 

 eral times over. There is no fear of bonemeal leaching 

 from the land ; it is a permanency once applied. I have 

 seen marvelous results from its use in the South where 

 it is in common use for lawn-making on very infertile 

 soils. The fact that bonemeal supplies some nitrogen 

 as well as phosphorus is all in its favor in establishing 

 and feeding grasses and clovers. 



Basic slag is a by-product of the steel-making plants. 

 Foreign ores have a surplus of phosphorus, which is re- 

 moved by smelting them with limestone, the lime united 

 with the phosphorus making phosphate of lime. The 

 slag is ground finely, and the finer it is ground the more 

 valuable it is, since it is more available. It may contain 

 15 to 20 per cent of phosphoric acid and 50 per cent more 

 or less of carbonate of lime. Basic slag is the founda- 

 tion of pasture improvement in the Old World. Its use 

 brings in better grass and many clovers. It seems lit- 

 tle less than miraculous to see how the sods become cov- 

 ered over with young clovers where basic slag is used on 

 pastures in England. Unfortunately, our own steel mills 

 do not make basic slag and the freights from the Atlantic 

 to the Middle West are almost prohibitive of its use. 



Lime, Drainage, Phosphorus, then What? After all, 

 one can not make a short cut by chemical means to na- 



