1878. 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



53 



is a marked diflcrence in the value of the tri- 

 calcic or insoluble i)hosi)hate in the rock 

 deiiosits and that found in common bone — the 

 former being hard to dissolve, responding 

 slowly to the action of the acids on the soil — 

 while the deconijiosing animal matter in tlie 

 latter, when on the soil, gets it in a condition 

 easily acted upon. 



To test the comparative value of soluble 

 and reverted phosphate, we applied on a j 

 acre, 00 lbs. of challenge superphosphate, con- 

 taining over 30 per cent, of .soluble or mono- 

 calcic pho.sphate ; on anotlier i»lat we a|)plied 

 the .same number of pounds of the challenge, 

 combined with 20 ttis. of quick lime, presum- 

 ing that the mono-calcic would take up an- 

 other portion of lime, making a di-ealcic or 

 reverted phosphate. The result was that No. 

 1 made 70 S-72 bushels of corn, and No. 2,70 

 bushels, or only 8 tbs. in favor of the soluble 

 acid. 



Phosphoric acid, like lime, is never found 

 on the soil, except in combination witli an- 

 other element ; and like lime, as belbre stated, 

 is present on every plant, and really much 

 more important to its welfare. Yet there is 

 a wonderful difference in the amounts used as 

 fertilizer applications— from 2,000 to 5,000 

 itis. of nearly pure lime being used per acre, 

 whilst 50 to 100 ttis. of pure soluble phosphate 

 would be considered a good application. But 

 of course the great value of lime does not de- 

 pend alone on furnishing, directly, a few 

 pound.s of plant food. It is due to its action 

 on the vegetable matter or humus in the 

 soil ; and as these substances have to be re- 

 solved into their original elements, such as 

 carbonic acid, water, nitrates or ammonia, 

 &c., before they can enter again into plant 

 circulation, and as lime is a powerful resol- 

 vent, not only of vegetable matter, but of the 

 inorganic or mineral matters of the soil like- 

 wise, setting free potash, magnesia, silica 

 and other minerals, we can see at once the 

 important part lime serves in its indirect ac- 

 tion. Hence, we can account for a measure 

 of its popularity on strong, rich soil, where 

 an abundance of vegetable or animal manure 

 is used, and for its lamentable failure where 

 the vegetable matter is worked out— no 

 manure supplied and the natural character of 

 the rock a poor one. But even so good a 

 tiling as lime may some day fail us when we 

 exhaust the mineral elements in the stone 

 and rocks, upon which lime has been so suc- 

 cessfully acting. 



' 1 shall not tire you further by saying much 

 about plaster, or sulphate of lime ; and an- 

 otlier reason for not doing so is, that our in- 

 formation about its action is vague and un- 

 certain. Probably under .some circumstances 

 it may supiily lime and .sulphuric acid directly 

 to the jjlaut as food. But its great benefit is 

 like that of lime in its solvent action on the 

 mineral elements in the soil. It is said, also, 

 that when taken up largely into the circula- 

 tion of the plant, to impede excessive 

 evaporation of moisture from growing vege- 

 tation, thus enabling it to withstand drouths 

 orgrowindry times. Plasterisalso valuable in 

 seizing upon carbonate of ammonia, the vola- 

 tile form of ammonia resulting from decom- 

 poBing manure and vegetable matter, and 

 changing it into the sulphate, a non-volatile 

 form. It no doubt acts in the same way upon 

 the carbonate of ammonia in the air, in which 

 there is always a small quantity. 



I find I have no time to refer to potash, 

 magnesia, the sodas and other mineral plant 

 ingredients, and must even pass barnyard 

 manure in a very hasty way, only recommend- 

 ing its persistent accumulation and careful 

 saving. There are two considerations, how- 

 ever, that I might efl'er for its treatment : 

 First, the adding of some of the more valuable 

 mineral constituents to the manure pile 

 during its accmuulation, as in the form of 

 ground bone, or a good dissolved rock or sul- 

 phate, or muriate of potash. These would 

 not only enrich the pile, but notably improve 

 the assimibility of the whole. 



The other is, that all as manures, to be per- 

 fectly available, must be finely divided and 



thoroughly distributed, therefore great care 

 should be taken t() have our yard manure 

 well decompo.sed and completely spread. 



A word or two on soil cultivation as a 

 fertilizer : The sjiongioles, or feeding root- 

 lets of a growing jilant, are organs of ex- 

 ceeding delicacy, and thrive best in a feeding 

 ground, mellow enough to offer no hindrances 

 in their search for food. The food itself nnist 

 be so fine as to be almost in a li(piid or 

 ga.scous form, and to ell'ect the cliemical 

 changes in the .soil necessary to the develop- 

 ment of plant-food requires a thorough com- 

 munication of (he soil, allowing the free in- 

 terchange of jiarticles and the unobstructed 

 action of light, air, heat and water. Let any 

 one examine a clod from our fields, and he 

 can easily imagine how impervious it must be 

 to all tlie above-mentioned infiuences and how 

 illy adapted to support plant life. I fear we do 

 not appreciate the importance of atmosiiheric 

 influence as a source of fertility ; how it may 

 not only supply carbon, but that the abundant 

 nitrogen of the air may. in some w.ay furnish 

 to the soil and plant the much needed nitrates 

 and ammonia, which, when furnished in ma- 

 nures, cost us so dear. And this new theory 

 of root-iiruning, lately advanced by Dr. 

 Sturtevant, claiming that great advantages 

 result from seasonable root-iiruning by judi- 

 cious cultivation— cutting off long straggling 

 roots, forcing them to branch and semf out 

 an increase of fresh feeders, just as we shorten 

 the long branches of a tree to make it stocky 

 and strong. He applies it to the culture of 

 corn, and claims great results. This, an<l the 

 air influence, may account for the wonderful 

 results from cultivating wheat, as reported })y 

 some of your member.?. To close this branch 

 of the subject I would advise a careful pul- 

 verization of the soil, the application of 

 manures in as fine condition as possible, and 

 of fertilizers in a composted f(n-m, as far as 

 practicable. I think the a.ssimibility of many 

 of our connnercial fertilizers would be greatly 

 increa.sed by judicious composting; such 

 treatment would also secure their more even 

 distribution throughout the soil, and in easy 

 reach of searching roots. 



If it were not tiring you too much, I would 

 like to refer in closing to the desponding way 

 many farmers speak of our competition with 

 the West, and I notice the same .sentiment 

 has been exjiressed in this society. If we look 

 at the matter fairly, we will find the advan- 

 tages prejionderating in favor of the eastern 

 farmer. Our western brothers have their un- 

 exhausted lands as their only advantage— and 

 that will be lost before many genei-ations — 

 while our contiguous markets iiermit us to 

 ship clieaply and safely our more perishable 

 products, and lessens ifreight on such heavy 

 articles as hay and roots. We have an abun- 

 dance of cheaj) capital and labor, and much 

 of the land of Eastern Pennsylvania to-day is 

 cheaper, counting improvements, than the 

 improved lands of the West. Our dense 

 population gives us sujierior educational and 

 social advantages, and we have enlarged 

 facilities for obtaining knowledge in all mat- 

 ters pertaining to our business. 



Let us then resolve to take eveiy advan- 

 tage of our favored jiosition, and make the 

 farmers of Eastern Pennsylvania a worthy 

 type of a happy, Intelligeht and prosperous 

 people. 



^ 



For The Lancasteb Farmer, 

 VARIOUS NOTES. 

 Prok. S. S. Rath von— <S'uv As the bee and 

 grape (piestion is about almost wore thread- 

 liare I simply wish your respected corres])on- 

 dent in the ^larch number of TnK Farmer, 

 Mr. Wm. J. Pyle, to try a very simple experi- 

 ment, which he can do at any time, without 

 waiting for the grapes to ripen. Just let him 

 take a very small jiair of pincers and very 

 tenderly grab an Italian bee in the middle, 

 being careful to keep the bee's natural armour 

 (stinger) out of the way, and let him i)lace 

 the bee's nijiiiers or mandibles on a tender 

 part of his skin, and unless his skin is as hard 

 and tough as an elei)hant's, I'll venture to 



predict tliat the bee will give him such a 

 |)inch as to convince him that the inno<-ent bee 

 may, after all said to the contrary, po3.sibly 

 he capable of cutting the tender .skin of tho 

 grapes. 



Planting Apple Trees. 

 We see it recommended, time and again, 

 " plant your trees no deeper than lliey stood 

 in the nursery." This may be good advice if 

 the season hai)i)ens to be wet, but if the sea- 

 son proves dry it would be better to plant a 

 little deeper. I well remember that about 

 fifty-five years ago a neiglibor planting a small 

 orcliard, and as I hap])ened to visit him at the 

 tinii', I saw that he dug holes with a crowbar 

 .some eighteen to twenty inches deep. I was 

 surprised that he was planting his trees so 

 veiy deep, full eighteen inches. I told him I 

 thought he was not planting them as they 

 ought to be planted, that the roots thus thrust 

 down into the cold ground the trees would not 

 live or do well. He said we nnist ])ut the 

 roots deep down so that the wind would have 

 no chance to blow the trees about to loosen 

 the roots ; of course I kept my eyes on tliat 

 orchard ; it was cultivated for eight or ten 

 years ; potatoes and other truck i)lanted, then 

 sowed with grass seed, and from tliat time to 

 the present has had a thick sod of gra.s,s, which 

 is cut and dried for hay once or twice a year ; 

 never manured ; the hay removed off the 

 ground annually. The gi-ound was not rich 

 naturally, and no decaying material placed 

 on the ground, except the leaves falling from 

 the trees. That soil is now richer than at the 

 time of planting the trees. Most of those old 

 trees are now dead and peach trees are now 

 ])lanted on the ground, yet those trees flour- 

 ished, and for thirty or forty years bore heavier 

 crops of apples than any orchard in this 

 vicinity. 



Per contra, we might say. .Some years 

 since, being in the city of Philadelphia, a 

 number of us went out to see Mr. Bright'S 

 place. Mr. II. M. Engle and Mr. Purple 

 being along, as they no doubt both will re- 

 member, Mr. Bright took >is to see a dwarf 

 pear orchard that he had jilanted for Dr. 

 Houghton. These trees all looked flourishing, 

 and Mr. Bright told us he used no tool but his 

 fret in jilanting ; that he W'ould scratch a little 

 hollow with his boots, set the roots in and 

 .scratch some soil over the roots in the same 

 way with his feet ; that he wore out two pair 

 of boots in planting those trees. The soil, if 

 it can be called soil, w.as almost a clean sand, 

 and could be easily moved by the feet like an 

 ash heaji. The trees were then young, but 

 appeared healthy and thriving. 



Thus it appears there's no royal road to 

 success for tree planting, no more than in 

 securing wealth. And "that there are no 

 rules without exceptions." 



Mr. Levi S. Reist's orchards, as he says, I 

 saw them and very plainly perceived the 

 difference, both as to soil and location. His 

 orchard near Millport is certainly on a most 

 suitable soil, as well as on a southern exposure, 

 moderately elevated and a kind of loose, 

 shelly soil ; just the kind of .soil, I should 

 think, to be most suitable for all kinds of 

 fruit trees ; even the Japan iiersimmon might 

 find there a suitable locality and a home. 



Cultivating Apples for Export. 



Our friend goes strong for growing apples 

 for export. But oh I dear, if we could only 

 grow a sufliciency for home use, we might 

 then, and not till then, think of growing them 

 for export. The fact is .strange to me that 

 they can grow them in plenty, north as well 

 as south of us, yet we do not lack in trees. 

 Occasionally we get a superaljundance, then, 

 again, for years only a few or none. Who 

 can tell "the reason why?" 



The prospect at present is that we may be 

 blest with a fair crop of all kinds of fruit this 

 .season; but we are Bot yet "out of the 

 woods," and ''.Tack Frost," or some other 

 casualty may yet intervene to mar our pros- 

 pects — time will tell. The buds on peach and 

 ajiricot trees are at least three-fourths safe 

 and sound yet. — J. B. Garber. 



