1906. 
6oi 
CHEMICALS AND WORN-OUT SOIL 
Story of a Ton of Hay. 
Its Composition. —Chemistry and com¬ 
mon sense unite in telling us that this load 
of 2,000 pounds of hay is largely com¬ 
posed of organic or combustible matter, 
but after burning it there will be some¬ 
thing left; the inorganic. To that inor¬ 
ganic matter, the ashes, chemistry looks 
for the mineral elements, phosphoric acid, 
potash, lime, etc. So far as the organic 
matter is concerned, it has been found 
to be largely composed of carbon absorbed 
from the atmosphere, a faculty all plants 
seem to have when growing in the light. 
It is interesting to notice the difference 
in potato tops, grown in a dark cellar 
away from the light, and those of a simi¬ 
lar size grown out of doors. The out¬ 
door grown will be found much heavier, 
due to the amount of carbon taken in 
from the atmosphere. Suppose it were 
possible to burn a load of hay weighing 
2,000 pounds, so carefully that no loss of 
ashes should occur, the idea being to find 
out what practical chemistry has to say 
regarding the constituent elements. From 
the Year Book of the U. S. Government, 
1894, we learn that from 2,000 pounds of 
hay there will be left 98 pounds of ashes, 
leaving out some slight fraction; 98 
pounds then is all there is in sight of the 
entire load; 1,900 pounds is gone. Where 
did it go? We have before us in that 
little pile of ashes the evidence of the 
soil’s part in the production of a load of 
hay. That came from the soil, the min¬ 
eral elements, or the inorganic matter, if 
you prefer the term. The organic mat¬ 
ter has been consumed by fire, or rather 
the fire has caused these organic elements 
to resolve themselves into their original 
forms. They have gone back into the at¬ 
mosphere from whence they came to re¬ 
appear in other forms of vegetable life 
at some other time and place. To bring 
back these disappearing substances, and 
to get paid for doing it, is one of the fine 
points in modern agriculture. While we 
are at this point of our discussion per¬ 
haps it would be as well to try to dis¬ 
cover what there is of value to the soil 
or crop in that rapidly disappearing 
1,900 pounds. From the authority quoted 
above we learn that the only element of 
value is that of nitrogen, of which there 
is likely to be found about 25 pounds. 
Carbon and Nitrogen. —Of course we 
have already understood that the larger 
part of that load of hay was composed of 
carbon. This product was obtained from 
the air, by the assimilative power of the 
plant. But the small portion of nitrogen 
came originally from the air also, that 
great storehouse of nitrogen. It exists 
there in the form of a gas, composing as 
has been stated, about four-fifths of the 
atmosphere. Nitrogen in its pure state 
can be taken up by growing crops only as 
it is found in combination with other sub¬ 
stances. The clover and other plants of 
the same botanical family have, as is 
well known, the faculty of obtaining and 
assimilating large quantities of atmos¬ 
pheric nitrogen through the medium of 
what is known as soil bacteria, that oc¬ 
cupy the tumors or nodules on the root. 
When you pull up a nice thrifty clover 
plant that has grown on fairly rich soil, 
there will be found a whole lot of little 
pimples or nodules, as they are called. 
The scientific men tell us that these little 
lumps on the roots are just teeming with 
life, too small to be seen without the a«d 
of a microscope. In some way—nobody 
seems to know just how—these micro¬ 
scopic organisms obtain the nitrogen from 
the air that circulates through the soil, 
and the crop that they infest gets the bene¬ 
fit of it, and ultimately the soil. It fre¬ 
quently happens that clover plants are 
taken from the soil and the nodules are 
not perceptible. In that case the plant 
is not supposed to be obtaining any nitro¬ 
gen from the air, but is drawing on the 
stored content remaining in the soil. The 
market gardener may be, and invariably 
is justified in buying a high-priced nitro¬ 
gen, to force his crops for the early mar¬ 
ket. Not so the farmer, unless it may be 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
in special cases, or until the soil has be¬ 
come inoculated with the bacteria of the 
leguminous plants. The farmer can al¬ 
ways obtain his supply of nitrogen from 
the atmosphere by growing the crops 
referred to, and returning them to the 
soil, as referred to previously, when grow¬ 
ing a crop of cow peas for potatoes. 
These leguminous crops, clover, cow peas, 
etc., can be easily grown on ground-too 
poor for clover to thrive on, by furnish¬ 
ing a moderate quantity of the mineral 
elements, concerning which I shall speak 
later. 
Combinations of Nitrogen. —But you 
say, “Suppose I do not want to wait a 
year or two to grow a crop of those 
things, and then wait for them to decom¬ 
pose in the soil and undergo the chemical 
changes necessary to fit them for assimi¬ 
lation by the future crop. Suppose I am 
in a hurry, want to seed a piece of ground 
to meadow, and am not sure of the nitro¬ 
gen content of that field. Where shall I 
find it, in what form, by what name will 
it be called and what shall I ask for in 
the market?” We have spoken quite 
frequently of the vast stores of nitrogen 
existing in the atmosphere, waiting to be 
utilized by the intellect of man, but the 
nitrogen of commerce is found in many 
places and many forms. In nitrate of 
soda in combination with other sub¬ 
stances, it is found as a mineral. The 
reason why nitrate of soda is such an ac¬ 
tive agent in promoting growth is be¬ 
cause it is in the nitrate form that 
all other forms of nitrate must be 
brought before the plant can appropriate 
it. In organic forms it must undergo 
the process of decomposition before 
reaching the nitrate stage. Another rea¬ 
son is, in consequence of its solubility, 
being as easily dissolved as sugar. Ni¬ 
trate of soda contains about 15 per cent 
nitrogen, that is 15 pounds of nitrogen 
in every hundred pounds of nitrate of 
soda. Like all other forms of nitrogen 
it is valuable in fertilizers for its 
ability to promote the growth of leaves 
and foliage generally. Perhaps dried 
blood is the next on the list so far 
as availability is concerned. (I notice 
some manufacturers fail to grind the brick 
from which they make it as fine as I like to 
have it.) It usually contains in low grades 
from six to 10 per cent of nitrogen. The 
high grades run from 10 to 15 per cent 
Cotton-seed meal is an excellent form in 
which to obtain organic nitrogen, not 
quite so immediately available as blood, 
perhaps, but very reliable if it can be 
bought right. The demand for feeding 
is such that the price is pretty well sus¬ 
tained. This can be said also of linseed 
meal. A good grade of cotton-seed meal 
will run from six to eight per cent nitro¬ 
gen, with some considerable traces of 
phosphoric acid, and potash. Linseed 
meal is not quite so rich. Sulphate of 
ammonia is by many well-informed per¬ 
sons placed at the head of the list, so 
far as its nitrogen content is concerned. 
A by-product of the gas and coke works, 
it frequently contains 20 per cent nitro¬ 
gen. Tankage comes from the slaugh¬ 
ter houses and rendering establish¬ 
ments, and perhaps may be hastily 
compared to what is left in the farmer’s 
kettle when he has finished rendering 
lard. In my immediate neighborhood 
there is a large quantity of this material 
available, from the carcasses of mules 
killed about the coal mines as well as 
dead animals gathered from a thickly pop¬ 
ulated section. It contains from six to 
10 per cent of nitrogen and perhaps twice 
that amount of phosphoric acid. , 
Available Nitrogen. —While on the 
subject of nitrogen and before we leave 
it to take up the contents of that little 
pile of ashes, it may be well to remind 
ourselves that in buying nitrogenous fer¬ 
tilizers, it would not be amiss to study 
the question of availability. Every prom¬ 
inent dealer in fertilizing material knows 
where to go when he wants a lot of 
leather scrap from a shoe factory, old 
horns, lots of hair, and they can get them 
finely ground, and the chemists say these 
substances are very rich in nitrogen. But 
it is so slowly available, that one should 
have got his grandfather to make the ap- 
lication. But here in this little pile of 
ashes, the inorganic part of that load of 
hay, we are confronted by another truth, 
that while nitrogen in its numberless 
forms is absolutely essential to the well¬ 
being of the crop, the fact remains that 
there are mineral manures as well as 
vegetable. I hope to take up this, phase 
of the subject next. M. garrahan. 
The Chicken: “Ma, I’ve just seen a 
little chicken fall over a hundred feet 
without being killed.” The Old Hen: 
“Good gracious! How did it happen?” 
The Chicken: “He tripped over a sleep¬ 
ing centipede.—Ally Sloper’s Half Holi¬ 
day. 
ADVANCE 
Gasoline Engines. 
We make a spe¬ 
cialty of Gasoline 
Engines for farm¬ 
ers. If you want to 
learn about the 
best farm gasoline 
engine on the mar¬ 
ket write to Geo. 
D. Poll! Mfg. 
Go., Vernon, N. Y. 
Steam Engines 
3 to 25 Horse Power, mounted or 
stationary. Also 1, 2, and 3-Horse 
Tread Powers, 2 to 8 -Horse Sweep 
Powers, Separators, Corn- 
Shellers, Feed Grinders, Fod¬ 
der Cutters,Wood Saws, Cul¬ 
tivators, Land Rollers, Corn 
Planters, Potato Planters. 
THE MKSSI.NUKU HFG. CO., Tatamj, Pa. 
WEEDSPORT SILOS 
The three styles we build are mod¬ 
els of up-to-date silo construction. 
The cut shows the “Weedsport 
Improved Silo,” with removable 
sliding, interchangeable doors, and 
Octagon Shingle Roof. 
A Silo will pay its cost in one year 
from saving in fodder and increase 
of milk. Write for Catalogue, stat¬ 
ing size wanted. 
THE ABRAM WALRATH CO., 
Box 83, 
WEEDSPORT, N. Y. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee, page 8. 
Our Gem Hay Press is the strongest and 
most efficient press you can buy. It weighs 2600 
pounds, while presses of this size by some other 
makers weigh only 1500 to 1800 pounds. Is it any 
wonder such presses are continually breaking 
down and require constant expense for repairs? 
Our aim is to make the lightest press consistent 
with good service. Every part is made amply 
strong for the work it is called upon to do. 
To those who have not seen one of our presses 
in use its simplicity and ease of operation will 
prove a revelation. 
The easy direct application of the power by 
means of our wonderful power-head with its 
nine inch trip lever arms gives us the greatest 
possible baling pressure for every pound of the 
horses’ pull. We have an automatic brake de¬ 
vice which controls the rebound of the plunger, 
and there is not the jar and jerk which makes 
some presses so hard on the team. The power- 
head so controls the work that an easy steady 
pull is all that is required from the team, and we 
get two baling strokes from each of their circles. 
The feed opening is thirty inches, the plunger 
travel is thirty-eight inches, rapid at the begin¬ 
ning and slow at the end of the stroke, making 
it easy for the man to put in large charges and 
have plenty of time to do it. It is such points 
as this which give our machines an average ca¬ 
pacity of 10 to 15 tons a day and frequent records 
of 18 or 20 tons day after day with the same men 
and horses. 
Our Hay Press Book tells what our machines 
do, and we would like you to read the testimon¬ 
ials of those who have used them. 
Our nearly forty years experience and con¬ 
stant improvement of our presses is back of our 
guarantee. Ask anyone who has ever used one 
of our presses, or who has ever had dealings with 
us what he thinks about our presses and our 
methods of doing business. 
Send us your order for one of our Gem Tull Circle 
14x18 Steel Balers with draft for $145.00 f.o.b. Quincy, 
and we will ship at once accompanied by complete 
outfit including feed fork, wrenches, oil-can, tie¬ 
making machine, lifting jack and full instructions 
how to set up and operate. 
If it does not come up to our representations, you 
may return it and we will refund your money 
and pay freight. 
I 
Geo.ErtelCo. 
ESTi , B 867 HED • Q.U INCY. I LL. 
-- 
- f 
i — 
MAKE DAIRY FARMING SUCCESSFUL 
They put an end to wasteful feeding and supply the richest and best of 
winter forage. 
In Spring the cows are sleek, fat, and healthy, and the milk yield is 25 
S er cent greater. The cost of feeding is reduced one half and the farmer 
as his hay to sell at a profit. The added profit spells SUCCESS. 
Agents wanted in unaasigned territory. Write for free booklet u 
THE STODDARD MFC. CO., RUTLAND, VT. 
-Quick Work at the Silo 
No delay—no annoyance—a saving of time and money, if you have our outfit 
THE Abenaque Gasoline Engine 
the Papec Pneumatic 
Cutter. 
The cutter of best modern type; elevates into any silo 
and requires the least power. Abenaque Engines (suited 
ed forall farm work) can be set anywharo in any po.l- 
tlon, and run without foundation or bolting down. 
Economical in fuel—entirely dependable. 
We make farm engines from 2 to 25 H. P.; special sawi ng outfits, etc. 
Get prices and CatalogueO. 
ABENAQUE MACHINE WORKS. WESTMINSTER STATION; VERMONT 
Make Your Own Light 
The Fairbanks-Mobse Electric Light Outfit gives 
plenty of good light at a moderate cost. 
Gas, Gasoline or Kerosene Engines for all purposes, 
from 2 h. p. up. 
Cutout complete advertisement and send to 
Fairbanks. Morse 6* Co., 
Morvroo St., Chicago. Ill. 
Please send me Illustrated Catalogue No. C 598 
Gasoline Engines. 
I may want..h. p. to run.. 
Street No._ 
State 
STODDARD LINE 
-OF- 
GASOLINE ENGINES 
For farm, shop or mill use. Vertical 
or horizontal. Mounted or Stationary 
Sizes from 114 to 100 H. P. 
Pumping and Electric Lighting Outfits a Specialty. 
Sold under Our Guarantee. 
STODDARD MFG. CO., - Rutland, Vt. 
Write for Catalog E. H. 
