398 SOILS 



potash, and 100 pounds of available phosphoric 

 acid. Be especially chary in the application of 

 nitrogen. One hundred pounds per acre of nitrate 

 of soda is usually sufficient if used alone. If used 

 with the mineral plant foods, this application may 

 be doubled or trebled. 



WHEN IT WILL PAY TO USE FERTILISERS 



This depends not only upon the condition and 

 needs of the soil, but also upon the money value of 

 the crop and the value of the land. The higher 

 the value of the land or the crop the more will it 

 pay to fertilise liberally, in order to secure maximum 

 yields which will pay interest on the large amount 

 of capital invested. The largest use of commercial 

 fertilisers is made in market gardens and in 

 special crop farming, as the growing of onions, 

 tobacco, and fruit. It might pay to use a ton of 

 commercial fertiliser on an acre of garden vege- 

 tables on Long Island when it might not pay to use 

 500 pounds on an acre of wheat in Ohio, although 

 both soils were equally in need of fertilising. It 

 is a question of economics as well as of crop 

 culture. 



It depends also upon the thoroughness of the 

 farming; a good farmer, especially one who tills 

 the soil thoroughly and keeps it in good texture by 

 the use of green manures and animal manures, 

 makes the use of commercial fertilisers pay, but a 

 poor farmer does not. The physical condition of 

 the soil which the farmer can largely control and 

 modify has more to do with the profit in using 

 them than any other factor. Many farmers are 

 not securing the profit from fertilisers that 

 they might if their soil was in better texture. 



