184 



SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 



shown to amount to from 31 to 56 pounds to an acre in one 

 year, depending on whether the soil was limed or unlimed, 

 cropped or bare, as shown in the following table. 



Table 39. — Pounds of Sulfur in Drainage Water from One 

 Acre of Soil 



With the rather large removal of sulfur in crops and drain- 

 age water, and a somewhat meager supply in the soil, it would 

 appear likely that a deficiency might ultimately arise if there 

 were no way in which sulfur could be added to soils. To 

 offset the loss there is a certain quantity of sulfur, amounting 

 to 6 or 8 pounds an acre, washed down by the rainfall each 

 year. There is also a variable quantity of sulfur contained 

 in some of the commonly used fertilizers. 



240. Sulfur containe4 in fertilizers. — It has been rather 

 fortunate perhaps that many of the fertilizers that are used 

 because they contain other plant-food materials, also con- 

 tain sulfur. This is true of farm manure and other animal 

 and bird excrements, residues of crops, animal offal, gypsum 

 or land plaster, acid phosphate, sulfate of ammonia, kainit, 

 sulfate of potash and all the slaughter house products. 



