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THE SOUTHERN WORLD, FEBRUARY 1,1883,
Conducted by R. J. Redding, of the Georgia De
partment of Agriculture.
COMMERCIAL, FERTILIZER!!.
•
The question is often discussed: “Do
commercial fertilizers pay ?” and it seems
that the number of those who argue in favor
of the negative is increasing. In view of
the immense sum of money annually'in-
vestcd in fertilizers, the question is one of
great importance. The farmers of Georgia,
alone, used nearly, if not quite, six millions
of dollars worth of fertilizers during the
year 1881. This is nearly one-fifth of the
total market value of the crop of the State.
Of course no reasonable man will contend
that this amount is a total loss to the farmer,
or that they do not get a very largely in
creased yield ns a result of the use of fertil
izers. The claim is, that on the whole the
farmers would have been better off if they
had never used them. In proof of tiiis
proposition, individual examples are cited
of farmers who have steadily refrained from
buying or using fertilizers and who have as
steadily prospered and made money, while
hundreds of others who huve used fertilizers
year after year huve become embarrassed
with debt and failure. It would be easy to
show that this method of reasoning will leud
into error. There are many circumstances
surrounding a farmer, muny hubits of mind
and practice, which enter us fuctors in the
question of success or fuilure to reap divi
dends from the farm. It will not be sound
logic to attribute success or fuilure in any
business to uny single circumstance or prac
tice, unless the relation of cause and effect
be shown to exist. The effect must be
traced back to its ullegcd cause, and thore
must be no reasonable doubt timt the refer
ence is correct. To illustrute: It would be
very erroneous to conclude that hones can
not be profitably employed on a farm, be
cause uu individual, or even a number of
furmers who huve uniformly employed
them, have us uniformly fuiled of success in
farming, while others who plow mules or
oxen huve almost us uniformly found farm
ing u profitable business. Nor would it do
to ussume that a particular variety of corn
yulLuw corn, for-instance—is unproductive,
becuuse several farmers who always plant
yellow corn generally make pour crops of
corn. In the first case supposed, it might
be tiiat the furmers who plowed horses were
addicted to hubits of extruvugance and neg
lect of farm business, which arc often asso
ciated with u certain kind of fondness for
horses, and -which would ulmnduntly ac
count for fuilure. Ill the second case, it
might be made to appear thut the yellow
corn farmers happened ulso to bo very indo
lent, careless and slothful, and that they
hud selected thut vuriety of corn for plant
ing because of a belief thut it would beur
neglect better—produce more with less cure
und labor than other kinds.
Coming back to the question of commer
cial fertilizers: It is one thing to assert
thut the use of commercial (or chemical)
fertilizers lias not been generally profitable
and wise, and quite nnother to insist that
farmers should cease to . use them, or that
luws should be enacted to prohibit their
manufacture or sale, as was sagely proposed
in the Legislature of Georgiu. Wo should
examine and ascertain (1) whether the
blame of failure belongs properly to fertil
izers and the principles which underlie their
use; or (2) Is it attributable to their im
proper and injudicious use; or (3) that the
farmer has-been led to put too much confi
dence in their virtue to the neglect of other
means of fertilization and of that careful
economy and painstaking application of the
true principles of farming, without which
failure is almost certain.
Of course we do not allude to spurious
fertilizers in this connection, except to ex
clude them from the discussion. The law
in every State, as it does in Georgia, should
effectually exclude them from the market.
(1) Of the first alternative it may be said,
that the principle which justifies the use of
stable manure, ashes, cotton-seed and other
familiar forms of fertilizers, is precisely the
same as that on which the use of commer
cial fertilizers is based, viz.: that the pro
ductive quality of the soil is increased by ;
adding to it the elements of fertility iq
whatever form ‘they are found to be avail
able. These elements are phosphoric acid,
potash, ammonia, etc. As we cultivate the
soil and remove from it yearly crops of
grain, grass, cotton and tobacco, these ele
ments, in their available form, are gradually
removed from the land, and exhaustion fol
lows. The phosphoric acid, potash and am
monia have entered into the crops, and have
gone to assist in building up the bodies of
men and animals. A large proportion of
these elements is found in the animal excre
ments, and the ashes of plants, and in the
form of manure is carried back to the soil,
directly, as has been done from time imme
morial. We now go to the islands of the
ocean, and into the bowels of the earth, to
bring to our aid the excrements of birds
(guano), the fossil bones of extinct animals,
agricultural salts, etc., each of which
abounds in one or more of these valuable
elements. The principle is the same—the
application is wider; the elements are the
same—the form more concentrated. It is
this concentration of the elements of fer
tility in the materials used which renders
them available for long transportation; and
they therefore become articles of trade and
commerce—commercial fertilizers.
(2) It is certainly true that much loss has
resulted from the injudicious use of commer
cial fertilizers. Too large a quantity hhs
been used in many cases, witli very imper
fect preparation and culture; or without
reference to the s]>ccial demands of the soil
or crop.
(3) We think that the last alternative sug
gests the correct solution of the question.
The facility with which fertilizers can be
bought on a credit, the smull amount of
labor required to apply them, and the extra
ordinary fertilizing effect of a comparatively
small amount (in weight, not in cost,) hus
encouraged most farmers to rely too much
upon commercial fertilizers, and not enough
on home manures, close application to busi
ness, economy in farm management, and
the general principles of good farming.
They have sought to make large yields of
cotton by the use of large quantities of
stimulating fertilizers; nnd have neglected
every other means of improvement, nnd
source of profit. Fertilizers always pay a
better per cent, on cost, when used ns sup
plemental to the home nmnurial resources
and in connection witli good preparation
and cultivation, rotation, und a diversified
system.
Those farmers whose success in farming,
without the aid of fertilizers, is udduccd as
at least a negative proof of the unprofitable
ness of fertilizers, can more justly attribute
that success to their reliance upon, and their
skill in the use of, other means and appli
ances thut have enabled them to make
money at farming. In other words, they
have succeeded in spite of their non-using of
fertilizers; they would probably have suc
ceeded still better if they hud availed them
selves of these helps.
Fancy Farming.
Sometimes wo see—not so often now as
formerly—a farmer, of whom it is said “he
farms for pleasure,’’ meaning that he docs
not look to money results, but seeks to
gratify his taste for fancy furming, fine
blooded cuttle, hogs, poultry, etc. He has
ample investments in other business which
docs not require his personal attention, and
tt]>on which hu draws at pleasure for sucli
moneys ns may be necessary to supply his
wants and those of his family. Such farm
ers urc not without their use in an agricul
tural community, though they may not
“ make a living’’ by their farm operations.
An intelligent man, of an investigating
mind, and with ample means at his com
mand. has opportunities for doing great
service to the cause of practical agriculture,
though lie may not put money in his own
pocket. There arc illustrious instances, in
our own and foreign countries, of men who
huve devoted time, money and intellect to
experimental agriculture, and who have
added largely to onr stock of informrtion on
the several branches of agriculture.
It is much to be desired that more of our
wealthy men should give up the pursuit of
mere wealth as an object, at least so far to
enable them to devote a portion of their
time and money to the laudable purpose of
developing and Illustrating a higher und
more scientific agriculture.
The practical farmer of limited capital is
too often embarrassed in the prosecution of
experiments in cultivation, fertilization,
and improved stock-breeding—by the ques
tion of subsistence. He can not well afford
to make costly investigations and experi
ments, in view of the risk of loss of money
which is involved in a failure. Notwith
standing this risk, there are many farmers
V ho have devoted much of their time and
Weans to experiment, even to the extent of
Berious financial embarrassment, and some
times bankruptcy. They have looked be
yond the question of mere present support
in the fond hope of proving the truth of
theories, the adoption of which would make
farming more pleasant and profitable. In
many cuses, while they have failed to make
money and grow rich, they have succeeded
in improving the system of farming in many
respects, and contributed largely to the gen
eral improvement of their respective neigh
borhoods. “Their works to follow them."
INQUIRY COLUMN.
Bibb County, Ga.
Mb. Editor:—Would it not be better to
broadcast the commercial fertilizers and
composts that we buy, than to put them in
the drill, or hill, under the cotton or corn ?
I have often read that every fertilizer or
manure should be broadcasted.
Young One.
REPLY.
It was the fashion, until within the last
ten years, for some agricultural writers and
speakers to insist on broadcasting fertilizers
on all crops. They seem to have imbibed
the idea from the practice of market gnrden-
ersnear large cities, wholiave practiced a high
culture of vegetables for muny years. It is
well known tiiat vegetables depend, for their
quality, upon a rapidity und succulence of
growth and large size, such as can mly be
induced by very rich or highly manured
soil. The richer the soil the better will be
the quality, us well as larger the yield, and
the market price will be correspondingly
higher.
In ordinary farming in this country, it is
certainly more economical and profitable to
use our costly fertilizers in the drill or hill
only. Heavier crops per acre may be pro
duced with broadcast manuring, but a
larger per cent, profit upon the investment
in fertilizers will undoubtedly be secured by
applying them in moderate quantity in the
drill.
Broadcast manuring is in the direction of
soil fertilization, which is correct in theory,
but we can not afford to make a soil rich by
buying fertilizers for the purpose.
Another circumstance thut has misled
writers, is the fact that in the North and
East the principal crops—small grain and
grass—occupy the entire surface, and must
needs be fertilized broadcast, if at all. But
our principal crops are com and cotton,
which actually occupy u very small portion
of the surface. When we fertilize wheat, or
oats, or grass, we broadcast, as a matter of
course.
LUCERNE.
Cummino, Ga.
Please tell me something about lucerne—
whether this section is suited to its growth,
how and when to plant it, etc.
REPLY.
Lucerne has generally been referred to
Chili as its place of origin, whence it was
brought to California under the name Al
falfa, or Chilian clover; but it is likely that
it came originally from Asia, whence it was
brought to Europe and thence to Chili and
other Spanish South American States.
The Lucerne we have in the South came di
rect from France, and is somewhat different
in appearance from the California variety—
a difference probaly due to.the different cir
cumstances of its growth along the widely
divergent routes by which the two were
brought to this country.
The best soil for lucerne is a deep, dry
loam, but it will grow on any soil if made
very rich—rich enough to grow good cab
bages—in order to get the best results. It is
perennial after it is once started, thriving on
the same soil for ten or twenty years, if an
nually manured and kept clean of weeds.
The best time to sow it (in the South) is in
August or September. The ground selected
should be clear of seeds of grass and weeds,
plowed very deeply, harrowed well, the seed
sown in shallow drills eighteen inches npart
and lightly covered, very much as turnips
are sown. Ten pounds of seed will sow an
acre. The first year the plants should be
kept clear of any weeds that may spring up,
as the young lucerne is very delicate until
well established. It is usual to cut it once
or twice the first season of growth or as often
as it begins to turn yellow or to bloom. It
may be fed green to stock of all kinds, or
cured into the very best of hay. After the
first year it may be cut three to six times,
affording an immense amount of the most
nutritious forage.
On no account must lucerne be postured,
as the trampling of stock and their biting
into the crowns of the stools will destroy
them. (We learned thiR to our cost—in
making our first trial—what we might have
known before.) If sown too late in the fall,
or the winter should be very severe, the
young lucerne is liable to be killed while the
plants are still young and tender. To avoid
this risk, the seed may be sown in February,
though the crop will be light the first year.
FACTS FROM FARM AND FIELD.
Mb. Lambert Chambliss, near Montgom
ery, Ala., made 400 gallons of syrup on less
than one acre. _
The Newberne (N. C.) nwiffet is well sup
plied with rice grown in that section. The
yield and prices are satisfactory.
A Jefferson county (Florida) farmer
recently sold 600 bales of cotton, and now
lias 3,000 bushels of corn for sale.
D. H. Henkes and R. W. McIntosh, of
Brooksville, Fla., gathered last year 100
bushels of sweet potatoes from one-fourth of
an acre.
All tobacco grown upon low lands, from
white burley seed, has a dark color, but the
character in other respects is much the
same.—[Yeoman.
D. W. Shaw, living near Honea Path, S.
C., made last year with one mule and two
bands besides himself 10 bales of cotton and
100 bushels of corn, despite the drought.
Tiik Wilmington (N. C.) Star says Point
Caswell, Pender county, claims to be the
best naval stores market in tlieStateoutaide
of Wilmington. The new railroad will help
it umazingly.
Charles Alexander, of Lowndes county,
Ala., made last year, with one horse, 12
bales of cotton, 250 bushels of corn, 12,000
stalks of cane, 150 bushels of potatoes, and
5 stacks of fodder.
Mr. Jos. Glawson, of Jones county, Ga.,
on a one horse farm, gathered 100 bushels
of wheat, 400 bushels of oats and 14 bushels
of barley, 800 bushels of corn, 1,400 pounds
of fodder, 2 bales of cotton, and peas enough
to fatten 33 hogs.
John B. Gorman, of the Talbotton (Go.)
Register, is a thrifty farmer as well us a
good editor. He bad 201 articles of his own
and mother’s raising or manufacture at the
Atlanta Exposition. He is a bright example
of what intelligence and energy and thrift
can accomplish in the South.
The growth of the sorghum industry in
Kansas is really extraordinary. In the past
two years the acreage planted in this cane
has doubled, and it now amounts to 57,628
acres. The crop last year was partially a
failure, yet the product was worth $1,754,-
748, an averuge of nearly thirty dollars an
acre—much better than most of the other
crops did.
The Telegraph says: Macon (Georgia)
merchants have sold over 100,000 bushels of
seed oats shipped from Texas and other
States. The planting is all right, but pur
chase of seed is all wrong, when the Agri
cultural Bureau reports show that Thomas
county has yielded the largest average pfer
acre of any county in the United States.
Planters of Georgia, sow oats, and raise
your own seed.
Before the war the exports of pecan nuts
from Indiunolu, Texas, were reported at
$100,000; now it is estimated that the
amount annually gathered exceeds $2,000,-
000 in value. No care, however, has.been
taken of the trees; in fact, in many locali
ties, trees from fifty to one hundred years
old have been cut down to secure the nuts.
With proper care of these trefes, and syste
matic gathering of tho crop, it is believed
that $10,000,000 could be annually realized.
ProOtable Farming In Jeirerson County.
Mr. T. J. Braswell jtlie present year
planted 125 acres in cotton, and employed
in the cultivation of the same four mules.
In other,words, he ran a four mule farm,
and it yielded him seventy-six bales of cot
ton, 400 bushels of corn, 300 bushels of po
tatoes, 6,000 pounds of fodder, and sugar
cane sufficient to make five or six barrels of
syrup. We admit that this is almost in
credible, yet Mr. Braswell says he is pre
pared to clearly demonstrate the truth of
his report. Estimating the cotton at 450
pounds per bales, we have in the 76 bales
34,200 pounds, and the products of Mr. B’s.
farm yielded a revenue as folows:
Cotton, 76 balcs’at 9c. $2,078,00
Potatoes, 300 bu. at 40c. 120.'oo
Corn, 400 bushels at 1. 400.00
Fodder, 6,000 pouuds, 60,00
Syrup, 150 gals, at 40c. eo|oo
$3,718,000
—[Monticello (Fla.) Constitution.
I had no idea how easy it was for men and
women of our free thoughts and our free
.ways to drift from the service of the sanc
tuary, become their own temple, their own
priests, and end by caring for neither— CM-
Iyer,