FERTILIZERS — RELATiaN TO GROWING PLANTS. 23T 



The flesh and blood of the animal is dried and ground for the nitrogen or 

 ammonia it contain?, and to make an ammouiated phosphate, or any other am- 

 moniated brand, the mannfacturer uses ground bone for the phosphoric acid or 

 bone phosphate of lime; flesh and blood for the ammonia, adds a certain per 

 cent, of potash, saturates the Avhole mass with sulphuric acid, runs it through «• 

 mixing machiue, and in a short time it is ready for the market. 



Then, knowing the composition of the fertilizer and the soil upon which it is to 

 be used, and the plant we desire to grow, we can, with a reasonable degree of cer- 

 tainty, determine which brand or kind of fertilizer it will be best and most profit- 

 able to use. Thus, for a light or sandy soil the Steamed Bone, Bone Meal, Bone 

 Dust, or kindred brands of the fertilizers offered in this market would do better for 

 wheat, or grass to be cut for hay. But if the soil be a stiff" day or its constituent, 

 and the plant a shrub or vine, or a meadow used for grazinff, or even wheat, a slow- 

 acting, and consequently long-end iiring, fertilizer, such as Raw Bone, would be the^ 

 most satisfactorj. 



For all spring crops on any soil, a highly soluble fertilizer, such as Ammoniated 

 Phopphates, is undoubtedly the most satisfactory, as it acts quickly and energetically 

 on the growing plant, pushes it forward to a vigorous growth, insuring early ma- 

 turity and an increased yield. 



Now, a few words about tlie application of fertilizers. I will give you our own. 

 experience in this matter, what it leads to, and its logical deduction, and the corn- 

 elusions arrived at. Some of these experiments were made on the Sellers farm 

 near this city, and others by our customers in different parts of the State. And to 

 begin with our first, six years ago, 1 wiU say that after the ground had been care- 

 fully prepared for the seed, our rule was to drill about two hundred pounds of bone 

 dust to the acre with the wheat at the time of planting, which was the first week 

 in September. Our wheat grew finely, too fine in fact, and the fly got into the- 

 wheat, and W3 got left. Another field was sown two weeks later, with the same 

 amount of fertilizer. The wheat grew finely ; the fly did not hurt it so muchj 

 we got big straw, but not the number of bushels we expected to get for the amount 

 of straw, and felt that we were cheated, somehow or other, and set to work to dis- 

 cover the cause. The next fall we planted the last week in September and first 

 week in October, with the same kind and amount of fertilizer. The result was 

 much better, but still not enough wheat for the amount of straw. 



It occurred to us that we were raising too much straw and not enough wheat^ 

 and unless we could do better the wheat-raising business with expensive fertilizer 

 was not very profitable, and must be improved or abandoned. And in analyzing: 

 the situation it appeared that we fed our wheat plant too much in the start, by 

 giving it all its food for the whole year at once, consequently it gorged itself, grew 

 abnormally large for its age ; by the time it began to head out and put on the 

 grain its stock of food was well-nigh exhausted, and it required so much to nourisb 

 the immen.^e stalk that the head suffered for want of proper food, and the conse- 

 quence was a dwarfed head on a large body. It was therefore decided to give the 

 grain just about food enough at the time of planting to give it a good start for the 

 spring, and then give it its summer rations, thus avoiding the possibility of the fer- 



