AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
[April, 
130 
sia, are of this sort, and Mr. J. B., of Tennessee, 
who makes some inquiries about this subject, is 
perhaps familiar with some of the valleys, or 
“ coves ” as they are called in the eastern part of 
his own state, from which good crops of corn and 
wheat have been taken regularly for two genera¬ 
tions, without any manuring. But these soils are 
exceptions., As a rule, after cropping for some 
time, the point is reached where the natural re¬ 
supply of plant-food is insufficient to produce 
large crops. In the so-called “ poor,” “ worn out,” 
or “ exhausted ” soils, the natural strength is in¬ 
sufficient for profitable production. 
What materials are Lacking In Poor and 
“ Worn-Out” SoilsT 
In order to know what fertilizing materials to 
use on such soils, we must know what ingredients 
of plant-food are deficient, and what manures will 
best supply them. For, as was illustrated in the 
previous article, (March No.), if any of the essen¬ 
tial ingredients of plant-food be lacking, the crop 
will fail. An idea of the essential ingredients of 
plant-food removed from the soil in cropping, may 
he obtained from the table below, which I copy 
with slight alterations, from an article by Prof. S. 
W. Johnson, in the Report of the Connecticut 
Board of Agriculture, for 1872. 
Table 26. 
Materials removed prom an 
Acre, by Various Crops. 
is 
f 
si* 
1 
s 
| Magnesia. 
| Potash. 
| Nitrogen. 
Tobacco. 
as. 
as. 
Tb8 0 
as. 
Ibs. 
as. 
Leaves, 1,800 lbs., (1,260 lbs. dry).. 
Stalks, 1,100 lbs. dry. 
14 
VA 
73 
17 
71 
49 
3 
15 
15 
2 
47 
33 
Total... 
17 
23 K 
88 
19 
118 
82 
Rye. 
Grain, 32 b'.ishels=l,800 lbs. 
1 
15 
1 
s y, 
10 
32 
Straw, 3,800 lbs. ..... 
3 
7 
12 
b 
29 
9 
Total... 
4 
22 
13 
8 H 
39 
41 
Indian Corn. 
Grain, 75 busliels—4,200 tbs.. 
1 
23 
IK 
7H 
14 
67 
Stalks and Leaves, 8,000 tbs... 
20 
30 K 
40 
21 
133 
38 
Total...... 
21 
53 K 
41X 
28K 
147 
105 
Hay. 
231 Tons.. .. 
2 
23 
43 
18K 
96 
73 
Potatoes. 
Tuber-, 300 bushels..... 
11 
32 
4 
7 
101 
58 
Large quantities of silica, and small quantities of 
soda, chlorine, and iron, are also taken from the 
soil by every crop. But in so far as these are 
essential ingredients of plant-food, they are supplied 
in abundance by every ordinary soil. We have 
therefore, to consider only the H>tash , Lime, Magne¬ 
sia, Sulphuric acid, Phosphoric add, and Nitrogen. 
Of this list, the magnesia, lime.vaiid sulphuric acid, 
are commonly, though not always, supplied in suffi¬ 
cient quantities in even “ worn-out ” soils. The 
remaining substances, the nitrogen , phosphoric acid, 
and potash, are the ones most apt to be lacking [in 
our soils, and it is in supplying these, that guanos, 
phosphates, bone manures, and similar fertilizers, 
are chiefly useful. It should be borne. in mind, 
however, that more or less of the good effect of 
fertilizers, is due to their indirect action, in rendering 
stores of food, already present, available to crops. 
This is true of those just mentioned, and especially so 
with lime, and plaster, which is composed of sul¬ 
phuric acid and lime. I am often requested to give 
some general formula for a fertilizer to be used as 
an adjunct to stable manure. But when we con¬ 
sider that different soils, and different crops, as 
well, have very different needs, it is easy to see why 
No one Recipe can be Prescribed for Special 
Fertilizers for all Cases. 
Stable manure is a complete fertilizer. It con¬ 
tains all the ingredients of plant-food, and its or¬ 
ganic matter improves the mechanical condition of 
the soil besides. It is a standard fertilizer, and 
useful everywhere. The same is true, in less de¬ 
gree, of muck. To learn by what artificial fertili¬ 
zers these can best be supplemented, is 
A Matter of Experience anil Experiment. 
For farmers who have not their own experience, 
or that of others in like circumstances, to guide 
them, it seems to me the most sensible plan is to 
try experiments on a small scale, with different 
trustworthy fertilizers of high grade. The ones 
that prove most satisfactory, can then he used with 
confidence, in larger quantities. The amounts of 
nitrogen, phosphoric add, and potash, which our 
commercial fertilizers furnish, is shown by analy¬ 
ses, of which some samples are given in 
Table 27. 
Names op Fertilizers. 
ANALYSES OF COMMER- 
Vo.l. 
No. 2. 
Vo. 3. 
NoA 
No. 5. 
CIAL FERTILIZERS. 
Ingredients contained in 
100 Pounds—or the Per¬ 
centage. 
High Grade 
1 English Su- 
| perphosphate. 
s 
p 
cs 
Ammoniated \ 
Superphos- I 
phate. j 
41 
:i 
“ Superphos¬ 
phate of 
Hone.’’ 
as. 
Bs. 
as. 
lbs. 
as. 
Water (Moisture). 
8.5 
16.6 
21.8 
4.2 
10.1 
Organic and Volatile Matters 
26.7 
42.3 
21.8 
17.8 
14.8 
Phosphoric Acid.... 
32.0 
17.5 
14.0 
2.2 
2.6 
Lime, Plaster, and other Mat- 
13.2 
ters, not separately estlm'd. 
32.8 
23.6 
35.8 
25.3 
Sand, etc........ 
3.6 
63.1 
47.2 
100.0 
100.0 
100.0 
100.0 
100.0 
Valuable Fertilizing Ingre¬ 
dients in the above. 
1.41 
Nitrogen in Organic Matter. 
none. 
9.37 
1.62 
1.0 
(Equivalent to Ammonia).. 
none. 
11.38 
1.97 
1.71 
1.2 
Phosphoric Acid, Soluble. 
23.3 
5.8 
9.9 
T.2 
Phosphoric Acid.Insol’ble 
Total Phosphoric Acid, as 
8.7 
11.7 
4.1 
2.6 
above..... 
32.0 
17.5 
14.0 
2.2 
2.6 
Equivalent to Bone Plios- 
38.8 
30.6 
4.1 
5.7 
IJetail Price per Ton .. 
$62.00 
$60.00 
$42.50 
$25 
$50.00 
These analyses were made at our Experiment 
Station, from one of whose circulars I take the fol¬ 
lowing explanations, referring for further details, 
especially concerning phosphoric acid, soluble, in¬ 
soluble, etc., to the “ Talk about Artificial Fertiliz¬ 
ers ” in the February American Agriculturist, and 
“ Correspondence ” on page 154 of the present 
number. Of the ingredients mentioned, 
The Water is that which dries out on heating at 212° 
Farenheit, No. % has 16.(i per cent, or lG 3 / 6 lbs. in 100, 
and No. 4, has 4.2 percent. 
The Organic and Volatile Matters are those 
which may be burned off after the water is removed. 
They are so called “animal and vegetable matters," and 
contain the Nitrogen of these fertilizers. 
Sulphuric Acid, Lime, etc.— If the ash which re¬ 
mains after drying and burning, be treated with strong 
acids, a portion will dissolve. This will include the 
Phosphoric Add , the Sulphuric Add, the Lime, and some 
other materials as iron, alumina, soda, silica, whose 
proportions are not determined. The Sulphuric Acid 
and Lime which, when combined, form sulphate of 
lime, or “ plaster,” though valuable, are not sufficiently 
so to make them worthy of special account in analyses 
of high-priced manures. The other materials have no 
agricultural value. 
Sand.— The residue which resists the action of both 
fire and strong acids, consists of silica and other mineral 
matters. These have no fertilizing value, and are classed 
as Sand. While Nos. 1 and 2 had scarcely any of these, 
No. 4 had 63.1 per cent, or 1,262 lbs. to the ton I The im¬ 
portant ingredients of the above fertilizers (which con¬ 
tain no potash), are Phosphoric Acid and Nitrogen. 
Phosphoric Acid. —Soluble, is readily available to the 
plant, while in the insoluble form it is much less so. 
Nitrogen, Ammonia.— In our ordinary fertilizers, ex¬ 
cept sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda, much or 
all of the nitrogen exists in unavailable forms. By more 
or less rapid processes of decay in the soil, these are 
changed to other compounds, of which ammonia is one, 
and which the plant can readily use as food, 14 parts 
by weight of nitrogen are contained in and reckoned 
as “ equivalent to ” 17 parts by weight of ammonia. 
The amount of valuable ingredients in the above 
fertilizers will appear more clearly if we give, in¬ 
stead of percentages, the number of pounds of each 
in a ton. Each one per cent, or 1 lb. in 100, is 
equal to 20 lbs. in a ton of 2,000 lbs. No. 1 would 
have 23.3 x 20, or 466 lbs. of soluble Phosphoric 
Acid. The figures thus calculated would stand : 
Table 558. 
Pounds op Valuable Ingredients and Sand in one Ton. 
No. 1. 
No. 2. 
No. 3. 
No. 4 
No. 5. 
Phosphoric Acid, Soluble._ 
Phosphoric Acid, Insoluble.. 
Nitrogen .................._ 
Sand, etc.. 
467 
174 
116 
234 
187.4 
19S 
82 
32.4 
44 
2S.2 
56 
20.0 
It thus appears that No. 1 yielded of Phosphoric 
Acid, soluble, 466 lbs; insoluble, 174 lbs., making 
together 640 lbs. of Phosphoric Acid to the ton. 
This was a very pure superphosphate of a much 
higher grade than is often seen in this country, 
though such are very common in Europe. Con¬ 
trast this with No. 5, which though sold as a super¬ 
phosphate, had no soluble phosphoric acid, and 
only 56 lbs. insoluble phosphoric acid in the ton. 
Mr. J. H., of Connecticut, requests me “to give us 
farmers some rules by which to calculate the value 
of a fertilizer from au analysis,” and adds, “ If you 
will illustrate the rule by some examples it will be 
all the better.” 
Agricultural and Commercial Values of 
Fertilizers. 
The Agricultural Value of a Fertilizer —the gain 
which will result from its use in a given case—is 
subject to such varying conditions of soil, climate, 
culture, and crop, as to preclude the possibility of 
exact estimate. The Commercial value being de¬ 
pendent upon its composition and the state of the 
market, admits of more nearly correct calculation. 
When Mr. H. buys sugar and coffee, his bill is made 
out by multiplying the number of pounds of each 
article by the price per pound, and adding the two 
products. On the same principle it is customary to 
make estimates of the commercial value of fertil¬ 
izers by giving a certain value to each pound of the 
valuable ingredients they contain. Thus, Prof. 
Johnson, Chemist of the Connecticut Board of Ag¬ 
riculture, in his last report, assumes for Phosphoric 
Acid, soluble, 15 cts.; reverted, 10 cts.; and insol¬ 
uble 6 cts. per lb., and for Nitrogen in bone (not 
finely pulverized), 20 cents; and in ammoniated 
superphosphates and guano in which it is, gener¬ 
ally, more available, 25 cents per lb. At these rates 
the 466 lbs. of soluble Phosphoric Acid in No. 1 
would be worth (466 x 15), $69.90, and the 174 lbs. 
insoluble Phosphoric Acid (174 x 6), $10.44, and the 
two together ($69.90 + $10.44), or $80.34, which 
would be the estimated commercial value per ton. 
The table below gives the values as thus calculated, 
together with the selling prices : 
Table 29.—Calculated Commercial Value op In¬ 
gredients in a Ton, and Selling Price. 
These numbers refer to Table 
27, above. 
No. 1. 
No. 2. 
No. 3. 
Vo. 4. 
No. 5. 
Phosphoric Acid, Soluble.... 
Phosphoric Acid. Insoluble.. 
Nitrogen... 
Total Estimated Value. 
Selling Price... 
$09.90 
10.44 
$80.34 
$62.00 
$17.25 
14.02 
46.85 
$29.85 
4.92 
81.0 
$ 
2.04 
7.00 
$ 
3.17 
5.10 
$78.12 
$60.00 
$12.87 
$12.50 
$ 9.64 
$25.00 
$ S.27 
$55.00 
It is but just to say, that No. 5 was a fraudulent 
article, such as no substantial dealers will handle, 
and that the most of the fertilizers sold in this re¬ 
gion come nearer in composition to Nos. 2 and 3. 
The above method of estimating the commercial 
values of fertilizers is not in all respects satisfac¬ 
tory. The Experiment Station circular referred to, 
gives calculations of the cost of each pound of the 
valuable ingredients. Without explaining the 
mathematical processes employed, I give results in 
Tabic 30.— Actual Cost Per Pound in Cents, op the 
Valuable Ingredients op these Fertilizers when 
bought at the Selling Prices Stated. 
One Pound of Each Ingredi¬ 
ent Costs in 
Vo. 1. 
No. 2. 
Vo. 3. 
No. 4. 
No. 5. 
Phosphoric Acid, Soluble_ 
Cts . 
11.8 
Cts . 
11.5 
Cts. 
14 S 
Cts. 
Cts. 
Phosphoric Acid, Insoluble.. 
Nitrogen. 
4.7 
4 6 
19.2 
5.9 
23.6 
15.5 
64.5 
41,1 
167.0 
Iligli and Low-priced Fertilizers—Frauds 
and their Prevention. 
The above table is worthy of most careful study. 
The soluble phosphoric acid in No. 1 costs ll 3 /t cts., 
and in No. 3, 14 s /« cents per pound. The insoluble 
acid varies from 4 3 / 4 to 41 cents per pound. And 
while a pound of nitrogen costs 19 l /a in the guano, 
in the poudrette it costs 64'/ 2 , and in No. 5 167 cts.! 
If any man were to pay 41 cents a pound for nails 
he might buy for 5 cents, or $1.67 a yard for one 
kind of cloth when another equally good could be 
had for 20 cents, we should hardly have words to 
describe his folly. And yet hundreds of shrewd, 
careful farmers in this good country of ours, are 
buying nitrogen and phosphoric acid, at prices 
from 35 to nearly 300 per cent, and more, above what 
they need to pay. For the guano and superphos¬ 
phates the above comparison is a just one. But it 
fails to meet so aggravated a case as that of the 
fraudulent phosphate, No. 5. Here the buyers not 
only paid 41 cents for every one of the few pounds 
of insoluble phosphoric acid, and $1.67 for each 
pound of nitrogen, but with every ton of the fertil¬ 
izer they put on their land, they had to haul and 
handle 943 pounds of sand, which neither fire will 
burn nor the strongest acid dissolve, and they 
bought besides a quantity of fragments of wood 
and coal and other equally worthless material. 
