FERTILIZERS, OTHER THAN NITROGENOUS 



219 



Table 74. — Effects of Certain Fertilizers on the Production of Mulching 



Material 

 {After Ballon'') 



Annual fertilizer treatment per acre 



Kind of cover crop 



Acid phosphate 350 pounds 



Acid phosphate 350 pounds, muriate of 

 potash 175 pounds 



Acid phosphate 350 pounds, muriate of 

 potash 175 pounds, nitrate of soda 350 

 pounds 



Unfertilized 



Red clover 

 Red clover 



Timothy, red top, blue grass 

 Poverty grass, weeds 



called complete fertilizer increased it over fourfold. Of equal signifi- 

 cance was the change effected in the nature of the dominant vegetation. 

 The unfertilized areas are reported as covered with a thin growth of 

 poverty grass and weeds. ^ When these areas were fertilized with nitrate 

 of soda alone or when that material was used in large quantities in com- 

 bination with other fertilizers, timothy, redtop, bluegrass and orchard 

 grass rapidly took the place of the weeds and poverty grass. When 

 acid phosphate was used alone or in combination with potash, clover 

 came in thickly and crowded out the grasses. The ground was stocked 

 with all of these species before any fertilizer was applied. The effect 

 of the different applications was simply to furnish one group or another 

 with conditions particularly suitable for its growth while the plants of 

 the other group remained small and stunted. This effect is particularly 

 interesting in the case of the acid phosphate, as the clover whose develop- 

 ment it made possible is a nitrogen gatherer and thus the application of 

 phosphorus would result ultimately in an increased nitrogen supply for 

 the trees. Probably it w^ould not be safe to recommend generally the 

 maintenance of the nitrogen supply in the orchard through the use of 

 acid phosphate, but there are conditions where such a method of pro- 

 cedure might be entirely practicable and there are probably many other 

 orchards in which it would be desirable to supplement nitrogen-carrying 

 fertilizers with those carrying phosphorus. 



Sulphur. — Similarly there is reason to believe that vegetative growth 

 and production maybe increased by the use of sulphur-carrying fertilizers, 

 even though the soil may contain a supply of available sulphur well in 

 excess of the trees' actual requirements. Elsewhere in this section it is 

 stated that in certain fruit-growing sections sulphur is a limiting factor 

 for the growth of leguminous intercultures, especially alfalfa. In such 

 cases the judicious use of sulphur-carrying fertilizers may have a far-reach- 



