ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION ^79 



vested. Potash fertilizers are, generally speaking, especially 

 beneficial in case of leafy plants, like tobacco, cabbages, beets, 

 clover, potatoes, etc. ; but in addition to potash these plants call 

 for fair supplies of the other essential fertilizing ingredients. 



The following table will give a somewhat definite idea as to 

 the amounts of fertilizing ingredients removed from the land 

 by various crops commonly grown in our state : 



Table I. — Fertility Removed by Various Crops. 



Removed per acre, pounds. 



Assumed yield. Phosphoric 



Kind of Crop. per acre. Nitrogen. Acid. Potash. 



Corn (grain and stalks) 60 bu. 84 32 34 



Wheat (grain and straw) 30 bu. 62 20 26 



Oats (grain and straw) 60 bu. 60 22 50 



Clover hay 2 tons. 82 18 88 



Timothy hay 2 tons. * 50 20 60 



Tobacco (leaves only) 1,600 lbs. 70 8 91 



Sugar beets, topped 15 tons. 42 8 65 



Cabbage 15 tons. 100 35 135 



Peas 15 bu. 108 33 52 



Potatoes 200 bu. 33 20 62 



The low' prices which the ordinary farm crops command do 

 not, as a rule, w^arrant the expenditure of much money for 

 commercial fertilizers for these crops under present conditions ; 

 but this is not, as a rule, the case with special crops like 

 tobacco, sugar beets, potatoes, garden truck, etc. The figures 

 given in the table suggest the quantities and kinds of fertiliz- 

 ing elements that should be supplied in growing these crops ; 

 somewhat larger quantities of the different fertilizing elements 

 than those removed by the crop should generally be furnished 

 the fertilizers applied, to allow for unavoidable losses in ferti- 

 lizing ingredients through drainage, through inversion into an 

 unavailable form, or because the plant roots may not reach all 

 of the fertilizer applied. 



With the increasing importance of tobacco culture in this 

 state, the proper fertilization of land planted to this crop be- 

 comes more important; tobacco growers will no doubt find it to 

 their advantage to supplement dressings of farmyard manure 



