TALKS ON MANURES A SERIES OF FAMILIAR AND PRACTICAL TALKS BETWEEN THE AUTHOR AND THE DEACON, THE DOCTOR, AND OTHER NEIGHBORS, ON THE WHOLE SUBJECT
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o the American Farmer.-- The growth of Wheat Year after Year on the same Land, unmanured, with Farm-yard Manure, and with various Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers.
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immediately active and available. It is unquestionably true, that the same amount of nitrogen in barn-yard manure, will not produce so great an effect as its theoretical value would in
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for twenty-seven years, there has been a great loss of nitrogen. The same remarks apply to this case. No one ever advocates summer-fallowing land every other year, and sowing nothing
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d grass, root, stem, and branch, all are composed or made up of these same dozen elements. If I ask you what bread is made of, you say it is composed of the dozen elements aforesaid. I
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refreshes the plants, and fills the leaves with sap, precisely in the same way. All these fertilizing effects, however, belong to climate. It is inaccurate to associate either mulching
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and on the other. This will give you some good, rich muck, and at the same time drain your swamp. Then cut some _under-drains_ from _y_ towards the higher land at _w_, _v_, and _h_, an
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om the soil. In this way the “condition” of the soil would remain the same. If we sell _less_ than we develop, the condition of the soil will improve. By “condition,” I mean the amoun
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ed at the breweries with the “grains,” and are sold to milkmen at the same price--from 12 to 15 cents per bushel. Where their value is not known, they can, doubtless, be sometimes obta
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enting in an exposed heap for six months, it still contains about the same _percentage_ of water. When kept in the heap until August, the percentage of water is much greater. Of four t
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gen, and 30¾ lbs. of soluble mineral matter. If they buy a ton of the same manure that has been kept under cover until February, they get, nitrogen, 15 lbs.; soluble minerals, 42½ lbs.
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, and the manure becomes rapidly deteriorated in value, whilst at the same time it is diminished in weight. “21. Well-rotten dung is more readily affected by the deteriorating influen
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garden, more than two loads of the straw and corn manure. To get the same amount of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, you have to spend more than twice the labor in cleaning out
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imes, when comparatively dry, we use the refuse sheep bedding for the same purpose. Where the sheep barn is contiguous to the pig-pens, and when the sheep bedding can be thrown at once
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iately available. It makes it more soluble. We ferment manure for the same reason that we decompose bone-dust or mineral phosphates with sulphuric acid, and convert them into superphos
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nd in the manure.” How to keep cows tied up in the barn, and at the same time save all the urine, is one of the most difficult problems I have to deal with in the management of manur
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nd supporting 20 cows, would give us a gross return of $1,204.50. The same farm so improved as to produce 2¼ tons of hay or its equivalent, per acre--fed to 20 cows _capable of eating,
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this, his land has been growing richer and richer. And, in fact, the same is true of Mr. Geddes’ farm. It is richer land to-day than when first plowed, while there is one field that f
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80.4 ” ” ” ” Fresh solid cow-dung contains, according to the same authority, 90 per cent of water. I have frequently seen manure drawn out in the spring, that had not been de
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arch, April, May, and June, than wheat; and, consequently, to get the same amount of food, it is not necessary that the clover should have as much nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, et
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es of wheat, and as much potash as the produce from five acres of the same crop. Clover thus unquestionably removes from the land very much more mineral matter than does wheat; wheat,
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s, containing 61 lbs. of nitrogen; that is, there was very nearly the same quantity of roots and nitrogen in them, as that furnished in the soil from the brow of the hill. “The roots,
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f nitrogen per acre, that is, considerably more than was found in the same section of the soil where the clover was mown twice for hay; showing plainly, that during the ripening of the
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cre, and contained 100 lbs. of nitrogen. A few yards distance, on the same soil, where the clover was bad, the acre of roots contained only 31 lbs. of nitrogen per acre. So far, so go
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ments at Rothamsted on the Growth of Wheat, Year After Year, on the Same Land. Table 1.--Manures And Produce; 1st Season, 1843-4. Manures and Seed (Old Red Lammas) Sown Autumn 1
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f manure again in 1845?” “Precisely that, Deacon,” said I, “and this same plot has received this amount of manure every year since, up to the present time--for these same experiments
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of corn and 789 lbs. of straw, which was the increase obtained by the same amount of ammoniacal salt on 10_a_, as compared with 10_b_. “It will be observed, however, that in the forme
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monia-salts alone on plot 10_a_, gave 19¼ bushels per acre, while the same quantity of ammonia, with superphosphate in addition, gave, on plot 9_b_, 25 bushels per acre. The addition
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--“What have you here?” --“Ammonia,” said I; and at 6_b_ he asked the same question, and I replied “ammonia.” At 7_a_, the same question and the same answer. Standing between 7_b_ and
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that the next year and the year after, the salt _was_ applied at the same time as the other manures. It gave an increase of 94 lbs. of grain and 61 lbs. of straw in 1851, but the foll
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uite 29 bushels per acre, and only weighed 55 lbs. per bushel. On the same plot, the year before, with precisely the same manure, the yield was nearly 37 bushels per acre, and the weig
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e consider that this is the twentieth wheat-crop in succession on the same land, these figures are certainly remarkable. “They are so,” said the Deacon, “and what to me is the most su
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king them together in a bottle, and allowing the soil to subside, the same result was obtained. The action, therefore, was in no way referable to any physical law brought into operatio
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s in the spring assumed a rich, dark green color. I have observed the same effect where coal-ashes were spread on grass-land; and I have thought that the apparent benefit was due large
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shes Experiments on the Growth of Barley, Year After Year, on the Same Land, Without Manure, and With Different Descriptions of Manure, Hoos Field, Rothamsted, England. Tabl
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rs.] Experiments on the Growth of Barley, Year After Year, on the Same Land, Without Manure, and With Different Descriptions of Manure, Hoos Field, Rothamsted, England. Tabl
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traw. “That will do,” said the Deacon, “but I see that in 1857, this same plot, with the same manure, produced 66½ bushels of dressed grain per acre, weighing 53½ lbs. to the bushel,
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nips does not enrich land for grain crops. Turnips were grown on the same land, year after year, for ten years. The land was then plowed and sown to barley for three years. The follow
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them. In 1857, I made the following experiments on potatoes, in the same field on which the preceding experiment was made in 1852. In this case, as before, the land was a two-year-o
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n autumn, has afforded a yield of about 70 bushels per acre, when the same amount applied in spring, gave only 50 bushels. A thin coating of manure applied to winter-wheat at the time
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And such facts and experiments as we have, seem to indicate that the same is also true of Indian corn. It is, at any rate, reasonable to suppose that, as Indian corn belongs to the sa
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Plot 10, with 400 lbs. of unleached wood-ashes per acre, produces the same quantity of _sound corn_, with an extra bushel of ‘nubbins’ per acre, as plot 1, without any manure at all; a
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gave an increase of 14½ tons per acre. And the following year, on the same land, it gave an increase of 13½ tons; and the next year, on the same land, over 9 tons.” “Yes,” said I, “th
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res did any good. Ellwanger & Barry also tried them, and reported the same negative result. This was several years ago, and I do not think any similar experiments have been made since.
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e land_, $1.06. “A ton of the fresh fæces,” said the Deacon, “at the same estimate, would be worth (20 lbs. nitrogen, at 20 cents, $4; 21¾ lbs. phosphoric acid, at 12½ cents, $2.70),
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ticle.” As to whether it is better, when you can buy nitrogen at the same price in nitrate of soda as you can in sulphate of ammonia, to use the one or the other will depend on circum
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crop of wheat. And the experience of farmers everywhere tends in the same direction. England is the greatest turnip-growing country in the world, and you will find that where one farm
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e, this was to be expected, and they had expected it much sooner. The same with wheat; he expected the end would come in a few years, but they had now gone on between 30 and 40 years.
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y giving to it the food necessary to grow good grasses, sowing at the same time a small quantity of the best seeds. I further suggested that a flock of sheep should be allowed to run o
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se in the fall for wheat, on land that has been cropped with oats the same year. The manure put on for potatoes is generally estimated to enrich the land sufficient for it to produce o
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ng for, 35-168 ” the 20th Crop on Same Land, 213 ” Top-dressing for, 270 ”
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value.” “Suppose, Deacon,” said he _quotation marks as in original (same speaker)_ carbonaceous matter and water, of little or no value?” _text has question mark after close quote_
and when _potash_ is added to the manure, the yield is still further
increased.”
“Answer me one question,” said the Deacon, “and let us leave the
subject. In the light of these and other experiments, what do you
consider the cheapest and best manure to apply to a permanent meadow or
pasture?”
“Rich, well-decomposed farmyard or stable manure,” said I, “and if it is
not rich, apply 200 lbs. of nitrate of soda per acre, in addition. This
will make it rich. Poor manure, made from straw, corn-stalks, hay, etc.,
is poor in nitrogen, and comparatively rich in potash. The nitrate of
soda will supply the deficiency of nitrogen. On the sea-shore fish-scrap
is a cheaper source of nitrogen, and may be used instead of the nitrate
of soda.”
CHAPTER XXXIV.
MANURES FOR SPECIAL CROPS.
MANURES FOR HOPS.
“For hops,” said the Doctor, “there is nothing better than rich,
well-decomposed farmyard-manure--such manure as you are now making from
your pigs that are bedded with stable-manure.”
“That is so,” said I, “and the better you feed your horses and pigs, the
better will the manure be for hops. In England, Mr. Paine, of Surrey,
made a series of experiments with different manures for hops, and, as
the result of four years trial, reported that _rape-cake_, singly, or
in combination, invariably proved the best manure for hops. In this
country, cotton-seed, or cotton-seed-cake, would be a good substitute
for the rape-cake. Whatever manure is used should be used liberally.
Hops require a large amount of labor per acre, and it is, therefore,
specially desirable to obtain a large yield per acre. This can be
accomplished only by the most lavish expenditure of manure. And all
experience seems to show that it must be manure _rich in nitrogen_. In
the hop districts of England, 25 tons of rich farmyard-manure are
applied per acre; and in addition to this, soot and rags, both rich in
nitrogen, have long been popular auxiliaries. The value of soot is due
to the fact that it contains from 12 to 15 per cent of sulphate of
ammonia, and the fact that it has been so long used with success as a
manure for hops, seems to prove that sulphate of ammonia, which can now
be readily obtained, could be used to advantage by our hop-growers--say
at the rate, in addition to farm-yard manure, of 500 lbs. per acre, sown
broadcast early in the spring.”
MANURES FOR TOBACCO.
When tobacco is grown for wrappers, it is desirable to get a large,
strong leaf. The richest land is selected for the crop, and large
quantities of the richest and most stimulating manures are used.
Like cabbages, this crop requires a large amount of plant-food per acre;
and, like them, it can only be grown by constant and high manuring. More
manure must be used than the plants can take up out of the soil, and
hence it is, that land which has been used for growing tobacco for some
years, will be in high condition for other crops without further
manuring.
Farm-yard or stable-manure, must be the mainstay of the tobacco-planter.
With this, he can use artificial fertilizers to advantage--such as
fish-scrap, woollen-rags, Peruvian guano, dried blood, slaughter-house
offal, sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda, etc.
For choice, high-flavored smoking-tobacco, the grower aims to get
quality rather than quantity. This seems to depend more on the land and
the climate than on the manures used. Superphosphate of lime would be
likely to prove advantageous in favoring the early growth and maturity
of the crop. And in raising tobacco-plants in the seed-bed, I should
expect good results from the use of superphosphate, raked into the soil
at the rate of three or four lbs. per square rod.
MANURES FOR INDIAN CORN.
We know less about the manurial requirements of Indian corn, than of
almost any other crop we cultivate. We know that wheat, barley, oats,
and grasses, require for their maximum growth a liberal supply of
available nitrogen in the soil. And such facts and experiments as we
have, seem to indicate that the same is also true of Indian corn. It is,
at any rate, reasonable to suppose that, as Indian corn belongs to the
same botanical order as wheat, barley, oats, rye, timothy, and other
grasses, the general manurial requirements would be the same. Such,
I presume, is the case; and yet there seem to be some facts that would
incline us to place Indian corn with the leguminous plants, such as
clover, peas, and beans, rather than with the cereals, wheat, barley,
oats, etc.
“Why so,” asked the Deacon, “Indian corn does not have much in common
with beans, peas, and clover?”
As we have shown, clover can get more nitrogen out of the soil, than
wheat, barley, and oats. And the same is true of beans and peas, though
probably not to so great an extent.
Now, it would seem that Indian corn can get more nitrogen out of a soil,
than wheat, barley, or oats--and to this extent, at least, we may
consider Indian corn as a renovating crop. In other words, the Indian
corn can get more nitrogen out of the soil, than wheat, barley, and
oats--and when we feed out the corn and stalks on the farm, we have more
food and more manure than if we raised and fed out a crop of oats,
barley, or wheat. If this idea is correct, then Indian corn, when
consumed on the farm, should not be classed with what the English
farmers term “white crops,” but rather with the “green crops.” In other
words, Indian corn is what old writers used to call a “fallow crop”--or
what we call a renovating crop.
If this is so, then the growth and consumption of Indian corn on the
farm, as is the case with clover, should leave the farm richer for
wheat, rather than poorer. I do not mean richer absolutely, but richer
so far as the _available_ supply of plant-food is concerned.
“It may be that you are right,” said the Doctor, “when corn is grown for
_fodder_, but not when grown for the grain. It is the formation of the
seed which exhausts the soil.”
If I could be sure that it was true of corn-fodder, I should have little
doubt that it is true also of corn as ordinarily grown for grain and
stalks. For, I think, it is clear that the grain is formed at the
expense of the stalks, and not directly from the soil. The corn-fodder
will take from the soil as much nitrogen and phosphoric acid as the crop
of corn, and the more it will take, the more it approximates in
character to clover and other renovating crops. If corn-fodder is a
renovating crop, so is the ordinary corn-crop, also, provided it is
consumed on the farm.
“But what makes you think,” said the Deacon, “that corn can get more
nitrogen from the soil, than wheat?”
“That is the real point, Deacon,” said I, “and I will ask you this
question. Suppose you had a field of wheat seeded down to clover, and
the clover failed. After harvest, you plow up half of the field and sow
it to wheat again, the other half of the field you plow in the spring,
and plant with Indian corn. Now, suppose you get 15 bushels of wheat to
the acre, how much corn do you think you would be likely to get?”
“Well, that depends,” said the Deacon, “but I should expect at least 30
bushels of shelled corn per acre.”
“Exactly, and I think most farmers would tell you the same; you get
twice as much corn and stalks to the acre as you would of wheat and
straw. In other words, while the wheat cannot find more nitrogen than is
necessary to produce 15 bushels of wheat and straw, the corn can find,
and does find, take up, and organize, at least twice as much nitrogen as
the wheat.”
If these are facts, then the remarks we have made in regard to the value
of clover as a fertilizing crop, are applicable in some degree to Indian
corn. To grow clover and sell it, will in the end impoverish the soil;
to grow clover and feed it out, will enrich the land. And the same will
be true of Indian corn. It will gather up nitrogen that the wheat-crop
can not appropriate; and when the corn and stalks are fed out, some 90
per cent of the nitrogen will be left in the manure.
“You do not think, then,” said the Doctor, “that nitrogen is such an
important element in manure for corn, as it is in a manure for wheat.”
I have not said that. If we want a large crop of corn, we shall usually
need a liberal supply of available nitrogen. But this is because a
larger crop of corn means a much larger produce per acre, than a large
crop of wheat. Forty bushels of wheat per acre is an unusually large
crop with us; but 80 bushels of shelled corn can be grown in a favorable
season, and on rich, well-cultivated land. As the Deacon has said, 30
bushels of corn per acre can be grown as easily as 15 bushels of wheat;
and it is quite probable, in many cases, that a manure containing no
nitrogen, might give us a crop of 35 or 40 bushels per acre. In other
words, up to a certain point, manures containing mineral, or
carbonaceous matter, might frequently, in ordinary agriculture, increase
the yield of Indian corn; while on similar land, such manures would have
little effect on wheat.
“That is so,” said the Deacon, “we all know that plaster frequently
increases the growth of corn, while it seldom does much good on wheat.”
But, after you have got as large a crop as the land will produce, aided
by plaster, ashes, and superphosphate, say 40 bushels of shelled corn
per acre, _then_ if you want to raise 70 bushels per acre, you must
furnish the soil with manures containing sufficient available nitrogen.
Some years ago, I made some careful experiments with artificial manures
on Indian corn.
“Oh, yes,” said the Deacon, “they were made on the south lot, in front
of my house, and I recollect that the N.Y. State Ag. Society awarded you
a prize of $75 for them.”
“And I recollect,” said I, “how you and some other neighbors laughed at
me for spending so much time in measuring the land and applying the
manures, and measuring the crop. But I wish I could have afforded to
continue them. A single experiment, however carefully made, can not be
depended on. However, I will give the results for what they are worth,
with some remarks made at the time:
“The soil on which the experiments were made, is a light, sandy loam. It
has been under cultivation for upwards of twenty years, and so far as I
can ascertain has never been manured. It has been somewhat impoverished
by the growth of cereal crops, and it was thought that for this reason,
and on account of its light texture and active character, which would
cause the manures to act immediately, it was well adapted for the
purpose of showing the effect of different manurial substances on the
corn-crop.
“The land was clover-sod, two years old, pastured the previous summer.
It was plowed early in the spring, and harrowed until in excellent
condition. The corn was planted May 23, in hills 3½ feet apart each way.
“The manures were applied in the hill immediately before the seed was
planted.
“With superphosphate of lime, and with plaster (gypsum, or _sulphate of
lime_), the seed was placed directly on top of the manure, as it is well
known that these manures do not injure the germinating principle of even
the smallest seeds.
“The ashes were dropped in the hill, and then covered with soil, and the
seed planted on the top, so that it should not come in contact with the
ashes.
“Guano and sulphate of ammonia were treated in the same way.
“On the plots where ashes and guano, or ashes and sulphate of ammonia
were both used, the ashes were first put in the hill, and covered with
soil, and the guano or sulphate of ammonia placed on the top, and also
covered with soil before the seed was planted. The ashes and
superphosphate of lime was also treated in the same way. It is well
known that unleached ashes, mixed either with guano, sulphate of
ammonia, or superphosphate, mutually decompose each other, setting free
the ammonia of the guano and sulphate of ammonia, and converting the
soluble phosphate of the superphosphate of lime into the insoluble form
in which it existed before treatment with sulphuric acid. All the plots
were planted on the same day, and the manures weighed and applied under
my own immediate supervision. Everything was done that was deemed
necessary to secure accuracy.
“The following table gives the results of the experiments:
Table Showing the Results of Experiments on Indian Corn.
SdC Bushels of ears of sound corn per acre.
SfC Bushels of ears of soft corn per acre.
TC Total No. of bushels of ears of corn per acre.
ISdC Increase per acre of ears sound corn.
ISfC Increase per acre of ears of soft corn.
TIC Total increase per acre of ears of corn.
-----+----------------------------------+-----+----+-----+----+----+----
| Descriptions of manures and | | | | | |
Plots| quantities applied per acre | SdC | SfC| TC |ISdC|ISfC|TIC
-----+----------------------------------+-----+----+-----+----+----+----
1. |No manure | 60 | 7 | 67 | .. | .. | ..
2. |100 lbs. plaster (gypsum or | | | | | |
| sulphate of lime) | 70 | 8 | 78 | 10 | 1 | 11
3. |400 lbs. unleached wood-ashes | | | | | |
| and 100 lbs. plaster (mixed) | 68 | 10 | 78 | 8 | 3 | 11
4. |150 lbs. sulphate of ammonia | 90 | 15 | 105 | 30 | 8 | 38
5. |300 lbs. superphosphate of lime | 70 | 8 | 78 | 10 | 1 | 11
6. |150 lbs. sulphate of ammonia | | | | | |
| and 300 lbs. superphosphate of | | | | | |
| lime (mixed) | 85 | 5 | 90 | 25 | .. | 23
7. |400 lbs. unleached wood-ashes, | | | | | |
| (uncertain) | 60 | 12 | 72 | .. | 5 | 5
8. |150 lbs. sulphate of ammonia and | | | | | |
| 400 lbs. unleached wood-ashes | | | | | |
| (sown separately) | 87 | 10 | 97 | 27 | 3 | 30
9. |300 lbs. superphosphate of lime, | | | | | |
| 150 lbs. sulph. ammonia, and | | | | | |
| 400 lbs. unleached wood-ashes | 100 | 8 | 108 | 40 | 1 | 41
10. |400 lbs. unleached wood-ashes | 60 | 8 | 68 | .. | 1 | 1
11. |100 lbs. plaster. 400 lbs. | | | | | |
| unleached wood-ashes, 300 lbs. | | | | | |
| superphosphate of lime, and | | | | | |
| 200 lbs. Peruvian guano | 95 | 10 | 105 | 35 | 3 | 38
12. |75 lbs. sulphate of ammonia | 78 | 10 | 88 | 18 | 3 | 21
13. |200 lbs. Peruvian guano | 88 | 13 | 101 | 28 | 6 | 34
14. |400 lbs. unleached wood-ashes, | | | | | |
| 100 lbs. plaster, and | | | | | |
| 500 lbs. Peruvian guano | 111 | 14 | 125 | 51 | 7 | 58
-----+----------------------------------+-----+----+-----+----+----+----
“The superphosphate of lime was made on purpose for these experiments,
and was a pure mineral manure of superior quality, made from calcined
bones; it cost about 2½ cents per pound. The sulphate of ammonia was a
good, commercial article, obtained from London, at a cost of about seven
cents per pound. The ashes were made from beech and hard maple (_Acer
saccharinum_) wood, and were sifted through a fine sieve before being
weighed. The guano was the best Peruvian, costing about three cents per
pound. It was crushed and sifted before using. In sowing the ashes on
plot 7, an error occurred in their application, and for the purpose of
checking the result, it was deemed advisable to repeat the experiment on
plot 10.
“On plot 5, with 300 lbs. of superphosphate of lime per acre, the plants
came up first, and exhibited a healthy, dark-green appearance, which
they retained for some time. This result was not anticipated, though it
is well known that superphosphate of lime has the effect of stimulating
the germination of turnip-seed, and the early growth of the plants to an
astonishing degree; yet, as it has no such effect on wheat, it appeared
probable that it would not produce this effect on Indian corn, which, in
chemical composition, is very similar to wheat. The result shows how
uncertain are all speculations in regard to the manurial requirements of
plants. This immediate effect of superphosphate of lime on corn was so
marked, that the men (who were, at the time of planting, somewhat
inclined to be skeptical, in regard to the value of such small doses of
manure), declared that ‘superphosphate beats all creation for corn.’ The
difference in favor of superphosphate, at the time of hoeing, was very
perceptible, even at some distance.
“Although every precaution was taken that was deemed necessary, to
prevent the manures from mixing in the hill, or from injuring the seed,
yet, it was found, that those plots dressed with ashes and guano, or
with ashes and sulphate of ammonia, were injured to some extent. Shortly
after the corn was planted, heavy rain set in, and washed the sulphate
of ammonia and guano, down into the ashes, and mutual decomposition took
place, with more or less loss of ammonia. In addition to this loss of
ammonia, these manures came up to the surface of the ground in the form
of an excrescence, so hard that the plants could with difficulty
penetrate through it.
“It will be seen, by examining the table, that although the
superphosphate of lime had a good effect during the early stages of the
growth of the plants, yet the increase of ears of corn in the end did
not come up to these early indications. On plot 5, with 300 lbs. of
superphosphate of lime per acre, the yield is precisely the same as on
plot 2, with 100 lbs. of plaster (_sulphate of lime_), per acre. Now,
superphosphate of lime is composed necessarily of soluble phosphate of
lime and plaster, or sulphate of lime, formed from a combination of the
sulphuric acid, employed in the manufacture of superphosphate, with the
lime of the bones. In the 300 lbs. of superphosphate of lime, sown on
plot 5, there would be about 100 lbs. of plaster; and as the effect of
this dressing is no greater than was obtained from the 100 lbs. of
plaster, sown on plot 2, it follows, that the good effect of the
superphosphate of lime was due to the plaster that it contained.
“Again, on plot 4, with 150 lbs. of sulphate of ammonia per acre, we
have 90 bushels of ears of sound corn, and 15 bushels of ears of soft
corn, (‘nubbins,’) per acre; or a total increase over the plot without
manure, of 38 bushels. Now, the sulphate of ammonia contains no
phosphate of lime, and the fact that such a manure gives a considerable
increase of crop, confirms the conclusion we have arrived at, from a
comparison of the results on plots 2 and 5; that the increase from the
superphosphate of lime, is not due to the phosphate of lime which it
contains, unless we are to conclude that the sulphate of ammonia
rendered the phosphate of lime in the soil more readily soluble, and
thus furnished an increased quantity in an available form for
assimilation by the plants--a conclusion, which the results with
superphosphate alone, on plot 5, and with superphosphate and sulphate of
ammonia, combined, on plot 6, do not sustain.
“On plot 12, half the quantity of sulphate of ammonia, was used as on
plot 4, and the increase is a little more than half what it is where
double the quantity was used. Again, on plot 13, 200 lbs. of Peruvian
guano per acre, gives nearly as great an increase of sound corn, as the
150 lbs. of sulphate of ammonia. Now, 200 lbs. of Peruvian guano
contains nearly as much ammonia as 150 lbs. sulphate of ammonia, and the
increase in both cases is evidently due to the ammonia of these manures.
The 200 lbs. of Peruvian guano, contained about 50 lbs. of phosphate of
lime; but as the sulphate of ammonia, which contains no phosphate of
lime, gives as great an increase as the guano, it follows, that the
phosphate of lime in the guano, had little, if any effect; a result
SOURCES & PROVENANCE
1 listed
This page is an AI-organised index. The label means the grouping and cross-links were compiled with AI; the information itself comes from the public-domain books, reports and manuals listed below. Open any source to read the local copy or follow the link to the original publication.
PUBLIC-DOMAIN BOOK
Talks on Manures A Series of Familiar and Practical Talks Between the Author and the Deacon, the Doctor, and Other Neighbors, on the Whole Subject
primary
Full text in the local archive
Bibliographic record from the archive catalogue.