1912. 
THE) RURAR NEW-YORKER 
48 © 
A Comparison of Fertilizer. 
T. E. R., Clinton, N. Y.—Below I give the 
analyses of two brands of fertilizers as 
given by the Geneva Experiment Station. 
No. 1 costs $33.40 per ton, while No. 2 
costs $40 per ton: 
No. 1. 
Nitrogen . 2.47 
Available phosphoric acid. 6.00 
Total phosphoric acid. 7.00 
Potash . 10.00 
No. 2. 
Nitrogen . 2.50 
Available phosphoric acid. 6.00 
Total phosphoric acid. 8.00 
Potash . 8.00 
Why should there be a difference of $6.60 
per ton in fertilizers that have almost 
the same analysis? Can one fertilizer be 
better than another and have the same 
analysis? 
Ans. —On the face of it there seems 
no good reason why one fertilizer 
should be worth $6.60 more than an¬ 
other, yet it is quite possible that such 
difference exists. Suppose one restau¬ 
rant offered you a dinner of meat, pota¬ 
toes and pie for 30 cents, while another 
made the same announcement for 50 
cents. The difference might be possible 
if on were corned beef and the other 
roast turkey. There is as much differ¬ 
ence between forms of nitrogen as be¬ 
tween the corned beef and turkey. One 
of these fertilizers may contain nitro¬ 
gen as tankage only, while the other 
may contain nitrate of soda, sulphate 
of ammonia and dried blood. The lat¬ 
ter would be worth far more than the 
other. The potash in one may all be 
from muriate of potash while the other 
contains the more expensive sulphate. 
If we could see the complete analysis we 
could tell about this, but this brief ex¬ 
planation will show why one fertilizer 
may be better than another of the same 
analysis. 
The Use of Lump Lime. 
H. J. I., Danielson, Conn .—I have a field 
of low ground that I believe is quite sour. 
I plowed it up last Spring, for the first 
time in several years, and turned under 
three or four inches of moss, planted to 
corn, which did nothing. This Spring I 
shall put on lime. I can get regular, un¬ 
slaked burnt lime, right here, in barrels, 
for a little less per ton than the slaked, 
or ground lime will cost me. Will this 
lump lime, if sown broadcast on the fresh 
plowed ground, slake and do for the 
ground as much good as would the fine 
lime? Or would it help any to empty 
the lime from the barrels in a pile, and 
let it slake itself. This would make more 
handling, which I wish to avoid if possi¬ 
ble. The field is low, but not wet. 
Ans.— We should buy the lump lime 
and put it in small piles over the field—- 
the right distance apart—so that when 
spread the lime will cover the field as 
desired. Let it slake slowly in the air 
or pour water over it to hasten the 
slaking. It will crumble up fine and 
can be spread with a shovel. Try to 
make the piles in pleasant weather to 
avoid rain on the lump lime. 
Fertilizing the Asparagus Crop. 
S'. A. C., Blootnsiurg, N. J .—In your 
Issue of March 16 you have some very im¬ 
portant articles on fertilizers and manure. 
There is one question I have never yet 
been able to learn. Will you let me know 
to what amount it will pay to manure 
and fertilize asparagus? G. G. I. says 12 
tons manure and 1,000 pounds fertilizer 
per acre. Is that the limit? Will it pay 
me to put on any more? I have two 
acres of asparagus and wish to put on all 
it will pay me to use. IIow much should 
I put on? 
Ans. —The amount of plant food to 
use on asparagus depends on many con¬ 
ditions, and cannot be answered by any¬ 
one not familiar with them. Is the bed 
a good one, and are the plants of the 
right age to pay to feed? Does the crop 
turn out well? A dozen questions 
would have to be answered before one 
could intelligently answer the one asked 
by S. A. C. Every one of my aspara¬ 
gus beds is fertilized in a different way. 
On good beds we apply about $40 worth 
of plant food in some form or other. 
This $40 is about what “G. G. I’s” 12 
tons of manure and 1,000 pounds of 
good fertilizer would cost. Five tons 
manure, 1,000 pounds of ashes, 1,000 
pounds tankage, 300 pounds muriate of 
potash, 200 pounds nitrate of soda per 
acre is a favorite formula with us, and 
costs about $40. The cash returns from 
the asparagus should be some guide in 
determining the amount of plant food 
to apply. Many farmers think $40 worth 
per acre a waste of money, while some 
crowd on more steam and run the cost 
up to $50 per acre. c. w. p. 
Massachusetts. 
Some Notes on Nitrification. 
&. D. II., Utahville, Pa .— Would it be of 
interest to enough readers of The R. N.-Y. 
to tell us at what temperature nitrification 
starts in the soil to liberate plant food for 
the different plants? I never heard or saw 
this in print, but suppose that oats will 
grow in a soil much cooler than corn or 
tomatoes, and is it because the bacteria 
that liberate plant food for these different 
plants must have different conditions of 
the soil ? 
Ans. —It is stated that below 40 de¬ 
grees F. and above 131 degrees F. nitri¬ 
fication practically ceases, and that the 
maximum is reached at a temperature 
from 98 to 99 degrees F. S. D. H. must 
bear in mind, however, that some of the 
earlier as well as a good many of the 
recent investigations have given indica¬ 
tions that plants can use ammonia, and 
ammonia may be present in considerable 
quantities under given conditions even 
before nitrification has progressed to 
any considerable extent, especially where 
considerable quantities of well decom¬ 
posed stable manure has been applied 
to the land. It may also be possible 
that certain organic nitrogen combina¬ 
tions art likewise assimilated and util¬ 
ized directly. He is quite right in the 
idea that oats will grow in a soil which 
is very cool. In fact, they will thrive 
well long before the seed of certain 
other plants will germinate or grow at 
all. H. J. WHEELER. 
Rhode Island Station. 
Hen Manure and a Garden. 
What chemicals are best to use in making 
a balanced fertilizer, where hen manure is 
used? It is impossible to get stable manure 
where I reside, and as I keep chickens I 
save the droppings. Last year I used 
equal parts of hen manure, and hard wood 
ashes, but everything in the garden seemed 
to run too much to vines, and in dry 
♦weather suffered from the drought. I 
raise potatoes, sweet corn, beets, peas, 
cauliflower, asparagus, etc., that goes in a 
family garden. w. H. 
New York. 
We have explained many times that hen 
manure is rich in nitrogen but lacking in 
potash and phosphoric acid. The nitrogen 
is in the organic form, and when mixed 
with wood ashes the lime in the latter 
causes this organic matter to ferment and 
give up its ammonia. When this occurs 
above ground much of the ammonia is lost 
—escaping as a gas into the air. When 
mixed in the soil, by spreading both ma¬ 
nure and ashes and harrowing or raking 
in, the ammonia is Held by the soil and is 
utilized as plant food. The result you men¬ 
tion—plants running to vine—is what one 
would expect. The ammonia or nitrogen 
forced the crop to a quick rank growth 
which did not produce seed or root prop¬ 
erly. This garden needs both potash and 
phosphoric acid with the manure and 
ashes. You can crush the dry manure and 
mix with chemicals as we have so often 
advised, or you can use the crushed ma¬ 
nure broadcast. Then spread the ashes 
and work all thoroughly into the soil. In 
addition use a mixture of three parts by 
weight of fine ground lime and one part of 
sulphate of potash. 
Improving New Lawn. 
Last Spring I laid down a lawn; the hot 
dry weather in July killed the grass all 
down, as I was not at home to keep it 
watered. The weeds, however, grew lux¬ 
uriantly all the season. I kept them cut, 
so none went to seed, and after the ground 
froze I had a man go over it with a sharp 
hoe and cut them off even with the ground. 
A few days ago while the ground was cov¬ 
ered with snow I sowed some lawn grass 
seed. Have I done the right thing? 
Massachusetts. c. w. c. 
Yes, as far as it goes, but it is'doubtful 
if you can get a satisfactory lawn without 
working up the ground and reseeding. If 
you can rake or scratch the soil over so 
as to work the grass seed thoroughly in 
you may get a fair catch, but a lawn re¬ 
quires such a thick stand of grass that 
careful preparation is needed. We would 
use wood ashes or lime well raked in, and 
a dressing of some rich grass fertilizer. 
Different Forms of Lime. 
I can buy at kiln lime ashes at $8 per 
ton, air-slaked at $5, and fresh lump lime 
at $1.25 per barrel of 300 pounds; which is 
cheapest for me; to be used on Alfalfa 
patch? Kiln is short distance from home. 
Bethel, Conn. e. jj t q. 
E. H. O., in his lime-kiln ashes, will get 
on the average about 57 per cent, of lime 
magnesia, 2.3 of potash and 1.25 of phos¬ 
phoric acid. Making due allowance for 
them. Ins actual lime-magnesia costs him 
in this lime ashes about 37 cents a hun¬ 
dred pounds. In air-slaked lime he should 
get on the average about 70.7 per cent, of 
lime, and at_ $5 a ton, his lime-magnesia 
costs him 35 cents per hundred pounds. 
Iresh lump lime costing $8.33 a ton will 
furnish lime at about 44 cents. In his 
place I should not buy the lump lime, and 
I should rather prefer the lime-kiln ashes 
of good quality to the air-slaked lime, 
though the cost Is about the same. 
E. H. JENKINS. 
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