COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS : 



COMPOSITION AND USE. 



BY 



EDWARD B. VOORHESS, M.A., 



Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Stations and Professor of 

 Agriculture in Rutgers College. 



Published under the Supervision of the Office of Experiment Stations, 

 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

 There is, perhaps, no question of greater importance to the practical 

 farmer than that of soil fertility. To produce profitable crops and at 

 the same time to maintain and even to increase the productive capacity 

 of the soil may rightly be termed " good farming." Many farmers are 

 able to do this, and the knowledge of how to do it has been largely ac- 

 quired through years of experience, during which the character of the 

 soil, its adaptability for crops, and the methods of its management and 

 manuring have been made the subjects of careful study, without, how- 

 ever, any definite and accurate knowledge concerning manures and their 

 functions in relation to soils and crops. Experience is an excellent 

 teacher ; still, a definite knowledge of first principles may be substi- 

 tuted for years of experience in the successful use of manures. 



THE NEED OF COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS. 



The fertility of the soil would remain practically unchanged if all the 

 ingredients removed in the various farm products were restored to the 

 land. This is to a large extent accomplished by feeding the crops grown 

 on the farm to animals, carefully saving the manure and returning it to 

 the soil, and if it is practicable to pursue a system of stock feeding in 

 which those products of the farm which are comparatively poor in fer- 

 tilizing constituents are exchanged in the market for feeding stuffs of 

 high fertilizing value, the loss of soil fertility may be reduced to a mini- 

 mum or there may be an actual gain in fertility. 



The following table, showing the amounts of fertilizing constituents 

 in 1 ton of different agricultural products, indicates directions in which 

 such an exchange may be effected with advantage : 



Manurial constituents contained in 1 ton of various farm products. 





Nitrogen. 



Phosphoric 

 Acid. 



Potash. 





Pounds. 



Pounds. 



Pounds. 



Meadow hay 



20.42 



8.2 



26.4 



Clover hay- 



40.16 



11.2 



36.6 



Potatoes 



7.01 



3.2 



11.4 



Wheat bran 



49.15 



54.6 



28.6 



Linseed meal 



105.12 



32.2 



24.8 



Cotton-seed meal 



135.65 



56.2 



29.2 



Wheat 



37.53 



15.8 



10.6 



Oats 



36.42 



12.4 



8.8 



Corn ••• 



33.06 



11.8 



7.4 



Barley 



39.65 



15.4 



9.0 



Milk 



10.20 



3.4 



3.0 



Cheese 



90.60 



23.0 



5.0 



Live cattle 



53.20 



37.2 



3.4 



