VoL. LX. No. 2708. 
NEW YORK, DECEMBER 21, 1901. 
$1 PER YEAR. 
A QUARTER CENTURY WITH FERTILIZERS 
THEY HAVE KEPT THE FARM PRODUCTIVE. 
Must Use Enough of Them. 
I see that on page 760 you call for the experience 
of those who have used commercial fertilizers to 
maintain the fertility of land in farming. I have 
used fertilizers as the chief source of plant food in 
my farming for 25 years, and have used most of the 
time from 10 to 20 tons per year. As the result of 
my experience I should have no hesitation in un¬ 
dertaking to grow crops and maintain soil fertility 
with fertilizers under almost any conditions where 
I should be willing to attempt the same results with 
stable manure. To secure success with fertilizers one 
must inform himself as to the qualities of fertilizers, 
and select such as will do the work he desires. If 
properly selected and used, I think the results are as 
lasting with ferti¬ 
lizers as with ma¬ 
nure, and I have 
tested them side 
by side for the 
purpose of obser¬ 
vation. When fer¬ 
tilizers are used 
sufficient provision 
must be made to 
maintain the sup¬ 
ply of humus in 
the soil, and also 
to correct soil acid¬ 
ity, which is more 
likely to occur 
with fertilizers 
than with stable 
manure. This is 
especially true of 
fertilizers as they 
have been com¬ 
pounded hereto¬ 
fore. It may be 
possible so to com¬ 
pound them as to 
obviate their ten¬ 
dency to produce 
soil acidity. In the 
present light on 
subject I have con¬ 
cluded to discard 
the use of forms 
of potash contain¬ 
ing chlorine, hop¬ 
ing thus to attain 
that result. I think 
many cases of sup¬ 
posed soil exhaustion by the use of commercial ferti¬ 
lizers are only soil acidity. My own experience leads 
me to this conclusion. After I had used fertilizers 
several years I found the results were not as good as 
at first. Neither would crops grow as well wl\en 
stable manure was used. From statements about 
liming land to correct soil acidity, given out by the 
agricultural stations (more especially the Rhode Isl¬ 
and Station) I was led to test my soil with litmus 
paper for acidity. I found the soil was quite sour. I 
then sought to find the least expensive way to supply 
lime for the cure. I live where lime cannot be ob¬ 
tained cheaply; the best I could do was about $9 per 
ton for caustic lime at the railroad station. If I 
bought air-slaked lime, the increase of weight for 
actual lime, and the consequent Increased cost of 
freight, made the cost of actual Ume just about the 
same. I found, upon investigation, that wood ashes 
were about one-third lime, and, allowing for the value 
of potash and phosphoric acid in the ashes, and con¬ 
sidering also that the ashes are already in good con¬ 
dition for spreading, I decided to use Canada ashes. 
I applied about one ton per acre with good results, 
and the next year I repeated the dose! 
The result is, my land, some of which never had 
as much as one good dressing of manure in the 18 
years I have cultivated it, now grows fine crops of 
hay. One lot produced three tons per acre at first 
cutting, and one ton per acre of rowen this year, 
which has been very favorable for hay in this vicin¬ 
ity. I use each year in Spring on grass a dressing of 
fertilizer costing from $5 to $7 per acre. One great 
reason for the belief that the use of commercial fer¬ 
tilizers produces exhaustion of the soil is the fact 
that users do not generally apply enough. Farmers 
who do not think of applying less than five cords of 
manure per acre for corn, and spread most of it 
broadcast, will expect 400 to 600 pounds of fertilizer 
per acre dropped in the hill to produce equally good 
results without exhausting the soil. If they should 
rot down the manure to make it fine and quickly 
available to the crop, altid then try to grow corn by 
using only a small shovelful to each hill, they would 
find soil exhaustion approaching just as rapidly as 
by the use of 400 to 600 pounds of fertilizer per acre. 
When using fertilizer for corn I try to get one that 
will yield up its plant food gradually throughout the 
growing season, and apply 1,000 to 1,500 pounds 
broadcast; then use a small quantity of some more 
quickly-acting fertilizer in the hill. Such an applica¬ 
tion will be likely to bring a good crop of corn and 
leave the soil improved instead of depleted. For po¬ 
tatoes I use a more active fertilizer, 1,200 to 1,800 
pounds per acre, and apply in the drill. Potatoes 
have only a short growing season, and need their 
food near by and ready for use. So in all cases, the 
farmer who aims to get best results must consider 
the needs of his crops and select the fertilizers to 
supply those needs, and make the supply abundant. I 
formerly kept 12 to 15 cows and three horses, but a 
few years ago I sold all my cows but one, and now 
rely almost entirely upon fertilizers to keep up the 
fertility of the farm. My reason for selling the cows 
was inability to attend to the dairy, and also to the 
fruit growing, which I now make my leading farm 
crop. I still cut as much hay as ever, but sell it. 
This present year I cut about 55 tons. I will recapit¬ 
ulate the points which I consider necessary to secure 
success with fertilizers; 
Select such fertilizers as will supply the needs of 
the crops, and use them abundantly, and mainly 
broadcast. Watch for acidity of soil, and correct It 
by applying lime in some form. Keep the lanu cov¬ 
ered with some crop all the time. Summer and Win¬ 
ter, which will go 
far to keep up the 
supply of humus, 
but if humus be- 
comes deficient 
plow in a crop of 
some kind, prefer¬ 
ably some legume. 
M. MORSE. 
Massachusetts. 
R. N. - Y.— Mr. 
Morse gives a very 
clear statement of 
the method of 
farming that is fol¬ 
lowed by many 
eastern farmers. 
We do not consid¬ 
er that further ar¬ 
gument is needed 
to demonstrate the 
possibilities of fer¬ 
tilizer farming. 
Still, it must be 
admitted that this 
system is a'matter 
of locality, con¬ 
venience or incli¬ 
nation. A younger 
man or one natur¬ 
ally inclined to 
stock raising might 
do better with 
cows, sheep or 
hogs — obtaining 
h i s supplies o f 
plant food from 
manure. That is a 
matter which each farmer must settle for himself. 
The yearly profit on these fertilizer farms will prob¬ 
ably average higher than that from farms employing 
equal capital in stock raising or general farming. 
That is our conviction after going over many farm 
figures carefully. If a man decides to use chemicals 
as his chief source of plant food he may well keep in 
mind the points made by Mr. Morse. Only high grade 
chemicals should be used and enotigh of them must be 
applied. The supply of humus In the soil must be 
kept up and this can usually be done by means of 
“catch crops,” or crops grown between two money 
crops. The tendency of this sort of farming is to sour 
the land and lime or ashes should be used at inter¬ 
vals. Mr. Morse finds wood ashes best for his locality 
but this may not be true in all cases. 
Seest thou the man with the chip on his shoulder? 
Let him carry it. You will probably hurt your hand if 
you try to knock it off. 
