1878.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



39 



soil, difficult to understaiid, and the changes 

 and alterations going on in it are impossible 

 to foretell or calcidate upon. We compre- 

 hend this difficulty when we remember that 

 woody-liljer — gum, starch and grape-sugar 

 are all composed of equal quantities of the 

 former original principles, vi/ : C.12 11.10 

 V.IO — and yet we see how differently they 

 ai)pear to us. Hence when we apply a certain 

 number of pounds of i)otash to a a soil deti- 

 cient in that ingredient — we must not assume 

 that the same potash will be found in tlie ash 

 of the plant grown ! But because axiomatic 

 knowledge may be beyond our reach at i)re- 

 sent, is no reason we sliould refuse the aid of 

 the light already gained. Exceptions to rules 

 may make results uncertain, and their appli- 

 cation in many cases extremely diffieull — but 

 established rules or principles should be ac- 

 cepted as guides and landmarks, regulating 

 our practices, to a certain extent at least. 

 Now we are told that a crop of •2^^ bushels of 

 wheat and its corresponding weiglit of straw, 

 say ;!000 lbs. contain 40.40 lbs. "of nitrogen, 

 21 ft)s. of phosphoric acid, 30.12 lbs. of ijotash 

 and 9 lt)S. of lime. 



If we fail to grow a crop of thi.s quantity 

 per acre, and we have given the soil a fair 

 preparation, and no climate or inseetiverous 

 trouble has interfered with its growth or 

 maturity, we are justified in assuming that 

 there is a deficiency in the soil, of some or all 

 of the above elements — at least in an avail- 

 able form — and it is our duty to set about as- 

 certaining the character of this deficiencj', and 

 the cheapest and the readiest way of supply- 

 ing it — but this may involve considerable 

 labor and trouble, because our soils are so 

 difEerent, that one farmer's experience is 

 hardly a safe guide for others, and each must 

 carry on a series of experiments, that will be 

 interesting and valuable it is true, but some- 

 what expensive. 



I have prepared a series of tables, giving 

 the amount of the mineral elements in our 

 most important crops — and the kind and 

 amount of commercial fertilizers we can buy 

 to supply them. Of course the markets otter 

 many fertilizers furnishing the needed ingre- 

 dients, but I have selected for this table those 

 manufactured and sold by Baugh & Son, of 

 Philadelphia, l)ecause they are perfectly reli- 

 able parties, and their goods of guaranteed 

 quality. I will also giv« the country retail 

 price as near as I can, but of course that will 

 vary with distance and other circmiistances. 



Corn — for 50 bushels of grain, and 4,000 

 •fts of fodder, we have in 



Nitroeen. Phos. Acid. Potash. Lime. 

 The ffrain 44..50 lbs. 17.76 10.72 Ifi 



The fodder 19.00 " 14. 63.80 18 



The requisite quantities of these articles 

 can be bought in the following fertilizers : 



Per Ton. 

 63. .50 lbs of nitropren in 470 lbs of a. a. nitrogen |48 

 31.76 " phos. acid in 103 " chal. super, phos. 6.5 

 84. .53 " potash in 565 " sulph. potash 16 



Oats— in 40 bushels of oats and 2,000 lbs. 

 straw. 



Furnished as follows : 



35.72 tbs nitrogen in 264 tbs of a. a. nitrogen at ?48 



14.87 " phos. acid in 45 " chal. super, phos. at 65 



34.35 "potash in 240 " sulph. of potash at 16 



In 23 bushels of wheat and 2,500 lbs of 

 straw. 



Nitrogen. Phos. Acid. Potash. Lime. 



Grain, 31 ,25 tbs 14.36 tbs 960 tbs 1.0 



Straw, 14.00 " 6.70 " 15.76 " 8.68 



AVe can furnish these as follows : 

 The 45.25 nitrogen in .">35 tbs of a. a. nitrogeo. 



21.06 tbs phos. acid in 68 lbs chal. super, phos. 

 25.30 lbs potash in 170 tbs sulph. of potash. 



In clover — 2 tons. 

 Nitrogen. Phos. Acid. Potash. Lime. 



78.80 lbs 22.40 73.20 39.44 



We can procuie the nitrogen fron 583 ttis of 

 a. a. nitrogen, the phos. acid from 70 ttiS chal- 

 lenge, the potash from 500 lbs sulphate of 

 potash. 



In timothy — 2 tons. 

 Nitrogen. Phos. Acid. Potash. Lime. 



62 fts ■ 28.80 lbs 81.60 tbs 22.56 lbs 



Furnished by 459 lbs. a. a. nitrogen, 92 lbs. 

 of challeuge super, phos., 550 lt>s. sulphate of 

 potash. 



In 1,800 tt)S of tobacco— in the 



Nitrogen. Phoe. Acid. Potash. 

 Leaf 49.00 lbs. 7..50 fts. 71 fts. 



Stalk 33 lbs. 15.00 fts. 47 fts. 



To furnish these take 007 ftis of a. a. nitro- 

 gen, 72 tbs challenge and 788 tbs of sidphate 

 of potash. 



TlKue are other sources of supply for tliese 

 ingredients. For instance the nitrogen may 

 be supplied by sulph.ate, of annnonia costing 

 $100 to S120 per ton— containing about 500 

 Itis of nitrogen — while the a. a. nitrogen con- 

 tains 270 ftjs per ton and costs $48, and in- 

 stead of the challenge super iihosphatc cost- 

 ing $05, and containing 020 lt)S of available 

 phosphoric acid, we could use a common acid 

 or rock phosphate, analyzing, say 12 percent, 

 or containing 240 Itis of available phosphoric 

 acid, and costing $28 per ton, or instead of 

 sulphate of potash, containing 14 per cent, of 

 potassium or 2.S0 ftis per ton — and costing $10, 

 we could use muriate of potash, containing 

 44 per cent, potash or 880 ttis, and costing $38. 

 The potash from the sulphate is reckoned the 

 most assimilable. 



Of course these ingredients can also be fur- 

 nished in barn-yard manure, but owing to the 

 diflerence in its quality and condition, it is 

 very difficult to make any definite calculation 

 about it— and if we take the usual estimation 

 of the value of ash ingredients, we will find 

 barn-j'ard manure a very dear way of supjily- 

 ing theiu, if we have to purchase it at the 

 usual rates. A ton of l)arn-yard manure con- 

 tains about 9 ttis of nitrogen, 42 Itis phos- 

 phoric acid, and 10.4 tt)s potash ; hence to 

 produce a crop of 1,800 fts of tobacco, which 

 according to the foregoing tables, contains 

 82 lbs of nitrogen, we would have to use 9 

 tons of manure ; to furnish the phosphoric 

 acid would take 5 tons, and the potash 11 

 tons ! Hence to supply the requisite amount 

 of potash for a good crop of tobacco, it would 

 take about 4 cords of manure, at a cost of $8 

 to $10 per cord, whilst the same amount of 

 potash could be bought in the form of sul- 

 phate of potash for 6.28 cents. 



But there is a growing dissatisfaction in the 

 minds of practical and observing farmers, as 

 to the value of nitrogenous manures, or 

 of the application of nitrogen or ammonia 

 in its commercial foi ms, that its cost is 

 too great, that it is merely stimulating, and 

 too transient in its effects, and that by supply- 

 ing the other ash ingredients in requisite 

 form and quantity — and giving the soil per- 

 fect tillage — the needed nitrogen will be su])- 

 plied, from outside sources. Prof. Sliarii, of 

 Baltimore, carries this idea so far as to assert 

 that a cord of barn-yard manure btu'ned, and 

 the ash applied, may do as much good as the 

 unburned manure. Of course this ignores 

 any good result from the mechanical effect of 

 bulking manure upon the soil, as an ameliora- 

 tor, wliich under many circumstances are im- 

 portant, but perhaps not so important as is 

 usually supposed, and I think the time is not 

 distant when thorough pulverization and 

 good tillage will be luade to supply the place 

 to some extent of those bulky fertilizers, as 

 soil ameliorators. By the way a notable illus- 

 tration of this idea is given in an experiment 

 of a correspondent of the Countrn Gentleman, 

 who applied 24 loads of good barn-yanl 

 manure, to two acres for fodder corn. The 

 ground was worked as usual, while two ad- 

 joining acres, upon which no manure was 

 applied, wasreplowed, cultivated three times, 

 and made as tine as a garden. Otherwise 

 both lots were i>lanted alike. The manured 

 lot made twenty-two tons, the other twenty- 

 eight tons — the extra work which was reck- 

 oned at $4 standing against the twenty-four 

 loads of manure. "The explanation of this 

 result is, probably, that the complete sub- 

 division of the soil, rendered available each 

 particle of plant food; the roots had free 



access to them, and the aeration attbrded by 

 the thorough pulverization, offered every 

 facility for the absori)tion of nitrogen from 

 the air, or for such chemical changes as 

 secured this result. But to take up again the 

 consideration of the nitrogcmous or ammo- 

 niated niannres, and to show their inconsid- 

 erable value with us, I might give tlie results 

 of some r)f our experiments with them on 

 conunon farm crops. These residts will show 

 how poor and transient the action of the 

 ammoniacal fertilizers, and that even barn- 

 yard manure, whose chi(;f value was supposed 

 to be in its nitrogen, makes rather a sorry 

 showing, compared with the phosphatic fer- 

 tilizers. We have attempted to account for 

 this, on the ground tliat one .soil may 

 already be well enough su|)plied with nitro- 

 genous matter in the form of grass roots and 

 decaying vegetable substances, but it may 

 rather bo due to the needed supply of nitro- 

 gen coming from some other source, as is 

 lield by Prof. .Sharp and others. 

 To he Contimied.) 



*PENNSYLVANIA APPLES FOR EX- 

 PORT. 



Mr. Puesident. — To give this meeting of 

 intelligent fruit growers a dissertation on 

 "Pennsylvania Ajjples for Export,"' while 

 our State instead of exporting is annually im- 

 porting thousands of barrels of apples for 

 home consumption, must be considered in the 

 ])rospectivc. It is, however, not asserted here 

 that Pennsylvania does not export any ajjples, 

 for some of the western counties have fallen 

 in line with the Xew York trade, but our 

 trade is so insignificant that it is scarcely 

 worthy of notice, compared with that of New 

 York and several other States. That Penn- 

 sylvania to-day might be rivaling any State 

 ill the Union, "in the exporting of apples, had 

 she pursued a course similar to that of other 

 States now so far advanced in this branch of 

 industry, your essayist fn-mly believes. 



Had "Pennsylvania fruit growers formed 

 active societies as early as New England and 

 New York did, and made etlbrts to dissemi- 

 nate and establish, a reputation for the best 

 and most reliable apples, native to the State, 

 and at the same time dill'u.sed information ne- 

 cessary to the planting and management of 

 orchards, as well as the picking, handling and 

 marketing of their fruits, the commercial 

 value of our orchard products would amount 

 to hundreds of thousands of dollars annu- 

 ally; but instead of taking an independent 

 course, we simply aped after New England 

 and New York, taking for granted that the 

 varieties that succeeded there, were just what 

 irc wanted, and thus have for the last twenty- 

 live or thirty years planted northern and 

 northeastern winter apples trees, and have 

 harvested fall apples. No wonder we don't 

 export. Now, what makes the present aspect 

 the more humiliating is, that all the while 

 Pennsylvania had apples, native or otherwise, 

 just as good as tho.se that been disseminated 

 in consequence of their iiopularily at home, 

 and just as well adapted to her soils and lati- 

 tude as those of other latitudes were to their 

 native place. It is not claimed that fruits do 

 not succeed except in the vicinity where they 

 originated, but it is conceded that varieties of 

 fruTt that give satisfaction everywhere are 

 few and far between. Under these circum- 

 stances your essayist feels more disposed to 

 lectiu-e Pennsylvanians for our short-sighted- 

 ness in the past, than to tell us what apples to 

 export while we have none ; besides, if we 

 had them, it is oidv the few that would know 

 how to manage them properly for exporting. 



I am, however, gratified to announce that a 

 new era has oiiened for our State. By the 

 diffusion of pomological knowledge, many of 

 our citizens have learned to know the com- 

 mercial value of apples in other States, as 

 well as the steadily increasing demand abroad 

 for the same ; they have also learned to know 

 our mistake in the selection of winter varieties, 



•Read bv Henry M. Engle, of Marie'ta, Pa , before the 

 Pennsylvania Frlil Growers' AsBoclation. at tbelr annnal 

 meeting at Williamnport, on January 16, 1878. 



