The Needs of 





Modern Farming 



KA^/^ 



AN ACRE OF TILLAGE LAND eight inches deep weighs 

 2,000,000 pounds (1,000 tons). In the East the average 

 dressing of concentrated fertiHzer is 1,000 pounds per 

 acre where no manure or "cover crop" or "catch crop" is plowed 

 in. To the Western farmer who uses from 400 to 800 pounds 

 per acre, 1000 pounds seems large, but it gives only one pound 

 of mixed fertilizer to every ton of soil, or less than a grain 

 of actual plant food to each pound of soil. This infinitesimal 

 amount combined with the "natural yield of the land" has 

 been known to produce under favorable weather conditions 400 

 bushels of potatoes, 100 bushels of shelled corn, or 30 to 40 tons 

 of ensilage per acre; to produce profit in place of loss; to turn 

 failure into success, and still leave the soil no poorer, hut in most 

 cases much richer. 



It seems almost a miracle of nature, but these results have 

 been produced so often, in so many places and for so many years, 

 that they are no longer unusual. They are realities to be 

 depended upon as surely as seed-time and harvest return. 



Successful crop growth rests, as we all know, primarily on 

 a rich soil — that is, available fertility or available plant food. 

 When the available plant food is exhausted, then it must be 

 supplied in one way or another in order to secure satisfactory 

 returns. It is a case of give and take. The crop says in effect, 

 "Feed me and I will feed you," and while it is very exacting 

 in its demands, yet it is generous in its returns. Supplied with 

 less than half a grain of actual plant food to each pound 



1 



Results 

 from 

 Small 

 Applica- 

 tions 



Available 

 Plant Food 

 the Key 



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