THE JHAWAIIAN 
mtSm i AGRICULTURIST 
VOL. VII 
JULY, 1910 
No. 7 
BULLETIN ON FERTILIZERS. 
Detailed siigg'estions on the best methods of fertilizing and the 
most profitable kinds of fertilizer constituents to apply on soils of 
dififerent character, to cotton, corn, oats, wheat and cowpeas, are 
contained in Farmers’ Bulletin No. 398 (Farm Practice in the 
Use of Commercial Fertilizers in the South Atlantic States), re- 
cently issued by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and obtain- 
able by application to the Secretary or to any Senator, Representa- 
tive or Delegate in Congress. 
Commercial fertilizers are expensive, and should be used only 
when needed, and then the deficiencies and requirements of the 
soil and of the crop must be a matter of accurate knowledge be- 
fore they can be used with economical benefit. The character of 
the soil has a marked influence on the quantity and kind of fer- 
tilizer it is necessary to use in a good system of farming. And 
because a fertilizer is strikingly effective on one crop, upon a cer- 
tain kind of soil, is not proof that the same combination will be 
at all beneficial to that crop on another kind of soil, and certainly 
not that its use with a different crop, upon another soil, will be 
economical. Yet the study of the author shows that this is too 
common a practice among a certain class of farmers. The formula 
suited to cotton on a red clay soil may need serious modifications 
for crops on sandy, sandy loam and gray loam soils, and for all 
crops other than cotton on red clay soil. Some farmers get twice 
as large yields as others, both located on similar soils, due to the 
fact that the former have a better understanding of the use of 
fertilizers and employ better farm methods. 
The importance of taking into consideration all the factors 
which influence the use of fertilizers can not be too strongly em- 
phasized. To properly adjust the required ingredients, the farmer 
must study his own farm conditions. No definite quantity or pro- 
portion of fertilizer constituents can ever be given that will meet 
the needs of a crop under all circumstances, as the rotation of 
crops, the growing of legumes, the use of crops for green manur- 
ing, the application of barnyard manure, the methods of prepara- 
