AGRICULTURE. 



HOME MIXED FERTILIZERS. 



E. E. Burwell in the American Ferti- 

 lizer: Having read the "Talks With 

 Farmers" in your May number, I would 

 like to say a few words in regard to fertili- 

 zers. 



It has been a general opinion among far- 

 mers that fertilizers exhaust the soil, and 

 many still believe this to be a fact, espec- 

 ially the'old-time farmers: They think a 

 fertilizer is all right to start the crop, but 

 is very exhausting to the soil. 



To experiment for my own belief and 

 satisfaction, I selected a piece of high part- 

 ly gravelly and clay soil. The land had 

 no manure for several yea*s before 1 be- 

 gan the experiment. I used fertilizer on 

 this land every season for eight years, 

 giving it rather light applications, no more 

 than I thought the crop would actually 

 need. I found it improved every season, 

 and after eight years was in much better 

 condition than when I first began. The 

 ninth year I sowed wheat, and it was ex- 

 tra nice; and this year sowed wheat again 

 without any fertilizer whatever, and it 

 now looks even better than last year. 



During these ten years I used no ma- 

 nure whatever, plowed in no green ma- 

 nure and for eight years no stubble or hu- 

 mus of any kind, though I applied air- 

 slacked lime every fourth year and har- 

 rowed it in. Fertilizer will not exhaust 

 the soil if used intelligently. 



Now, there is another question that has 

 been stirring the minds of the farmers, 

 and that is ''home mixing." Does it pay? 

 Can we not save something by buying ma- 

 terials and mixing them ourselves? To 

 this I will say that if a man thoroughly 

 understands the business of manufactur- 

 ing fertilizers, and uses five to ten car- 

 loads every season, it would pay him to 

 have a room fitted up with mixers and 



grinders and prepare his own formulas, 

 but for the average farmer to undertake to 

 make a few tons of fertilizer each season 

 by mixing up acid phosphate, muriate of 

 potash and nitrate of soda, for all crops and 

 all purposes, with a shovel, and deceiving 

 himself with thinking that he has got a 

 high-grade fertilizer for less money than 

 the manufactured article would cost, is 

 not only deceiving himself, but is really 

 paying more for the plant food he gets 

 than he would for a high-grade ready- 

 mixed fertilizer. Nitrate of soda, muriate 

 of potash and acid phosphate make a com- 

 plete fertilizer, but do not form a high- 

 grade fertilizer when mixed. It requires 

 some intelligence and skill to use fertil- 

 izers to obtain paying results, and requires 

 more to make them perfectly than to use 

 them. Making one's fertilizers at a sav- 

 ing is about like the farmer building his 

 own barn or home. He can get the ma- 

 terial already prepared, and if he has ex- 

 perience in that kind of work, has good 

 tools, and knows how to use them, he 

 might save something in labor by doing it 

 himself; but if not, let some one do it 

 that knows how. 



Fertilizers pay when made and used in- 

 telligently. I should as soon think of 

 gardening without first-class seeds as with- 

 out high-grade fertilizers, 



WHITE DUTCH CLOVER. 



One of the most valuable plants for the 

 general farm is the little clover known 

 as White Dutch. It comes on very early 

 in the spring and continues to make good 

 feed late in the fall. Eor general grazing 

 of sheep, cattle and milch cows it has no 

 superior in the clover family. As a bee 

 food there is nothing equal to the white 

 blossoms, and honey made from this clo- 

 ver, always commands the very highest 



