Newspaper Page Text
John H. McCandlesa Regarding
Fertilizer*.
HE GIVES FULL EXPLANATION
Of the Analysis of Fertlllxsr* Contain*
•d In Hie Last Letter and Aleo Ole*
cueeee the 8ubject of "Flllere."
In the analysis of the complete fer¬
tilizer, the mono-calcic or superphos*
hate of lime given at 9.52 ter cent.,
contains 5.79 per cent, of water-soluble
phosphoric acid. That is to say ia
one hundred pounds of the fertilizer,
there are nine and fifty-two fiunfiredtns
pounds of superphosphate of lima,
which dissolves readily in water, and
of this amount five and seventy-eight
hundredths pounds are pure phospho¬
ric acid. In like manner the fertil¬
izer contains in one hundred pounds
3.02 pounds of reverted phosphate ct
lime, and of this amount one and fif¬
ty-eight hundredths pounds are pure
phosphoric acid, and readily soluble
in water, but which does dissolve
•lowly In the soli and soil-water. Thi«
is also sometimes called “citrate-solu¬
ble” phosphoric acid, because it dis¬
solves in a solutfon of cltrat. eof am¬
monia made to imitate the action of
soil water. The water-soluble phos¬
phoric acid or 5.78 pounds, and the re¬
verted phosphoric acid, or 1.58 pounds,
are added together, making 7.36
pounds, and their sum is called the
available phosphoric acid, being con¬
sidered as available for the use of the
plant.
Under the “reverted" phosphate of
lime you will see In the analysts there
are 1.99 pounds of tri-calcic phosphate,
or, as it is usually called, “Bone-Phos.
pbatg" of lime. Of this amount t0.9l)
ninety-one hundredths of a pound S»
pure phosphoric acid, but It is in the
form of tri-calcic phosphate, and will
not dissolve in pure water or in the
soil-water, and it is, therefore, called
the “Insoluble” phosphoric acid. It
is sometimes also called the “Acid”
soluble phosphoric acid because, when
the chemtet analyzes St, he uses phos¬
phoric acid to dissolve It. The "Avail
able” phosphoric acid and the “Insol¬
uble" phosphoric acid added together
make what Is called the "Total" phos¬
phoric acid, or all the phosphoric acid
there Is in the fertilizer,
Valuable Qaulttlea of the Gypsum that
Is Found In Fertilizers.
Referring back to the analysis, un¬
der the item trl- or Bone-phosphate,
you will find that the fertilizer also
contalna twenty-four and six tenths
pounds of sulphate of lime or gypsum
or land plaster, which are all differ¬
ent names for one and the same thing.
Gypsum Is a good fertilizer of itself,
and has a special action of its own in
the soli, breaking up the potash-yield¬
ing silicates In clay soils and bringing
the potash Into soluble form as sul
phate of potash. This gypsum, as
has been remarked, was formed when
the sulphuric acid was mixed with the
powdered phosphate rock, and it is
now held a prisoner by the lime in
such a way that it has lost all of its
former caustic and corrosive qualities,
and can do no harm but only good In
the soil.
Under the Item of gypsum we find
8.19 pounds of sulphate of potash;
this comes out of the kainit used in
making the fertilizer, and it contains
one and seven tenths pounds of aetual
potash (K2 0). Under this item you
find three-tenths of a pound of muriate
of potash, which also came cut of the
kainit, and this contains 0.19 of *
pound of actual potash; under this
Item again you find 0.56 of a pound of
actual potash. This came out of the
cotton seed meal. Adding thd three
actual potash Item* together, they
amount to two and forty-five hun¬
dredths per cent (2.45) or pounds per
hundred. Lastly, look further down
the line till you come to the item pro
tein. You already know all tbout
protein as 1 have written you so much
about it in previous letters. This
thirteen and two tenths pounds of
protein contains two and eleven hun¬
dredths (2.11) pounds of nitrogen.
Now, when the State Department of
Agriculture analyzes a fertilizer, It doee
not make such an analysts as this,
because It would be too laborious, too
costly, and would really do no prac¬
tical good; so they go at once Into the
meat of It and analyze the fertilizer
for Its available phospnorie acid, its
nitrogen and potash, and calculate its
value from these three ingredients.
The analysis of such a fertilizer M
we have been discussing would appear
I® f&e annual Bulletin In this form:
Available phosphoric acid ...,7.36 p.c.
Insoluble phosphoric acid.... 0,91 p.c.
Nitrogen .................... 2.11 p.c.
Potash (K2 0) ............ 2.45 p.C.
‘ 12.83 p.c.
As you see thU analysis only foots
up twelve and eighty-three hundredth*
pounds per hundred You need no long¬
er ask what constitutes the other
eighty-seven and seventeen hundredths
pounds. AH this extra 87.17 per cent
Is * filler" put in by nature and not by
man.
All About “Flllere."
In this connection w« may profitably
•*7 a few words In regard to "filler*.’
a fertiliser, or «*
Ming there naturally, which is not
phosphoric acid, nitrogen or potash.
Fillers are of two kinds, natural and
artificial. f'have just given you an
Instance of a natural “filler," in the
complete analysis of the fertllzer made
out of acid phosphate, cotton seed
meal and kainit, and In this mixture
only twelve and elghty-thiee hun¬
dredths pounds per hundred consisted
of phosphoric acid, nitrogen and pot¬
ash; the rest was all filler, put there
by nature In the original making of
these materials. It is true, man did
put In some sulphuric acid, but that
was necessary to make phosphoric
'acid available or soluble, so It can
scarcely be considered as an artificial
filler.
The artificial “filler" ia the filler put
in by man for the purpose of reducing
the total percentage of plant food in
a fertilizer. Tfie materials used as
artificial "fillers” are numerous; they
may he sand, powdered cinders, graph¬
ite slate, shale, pyrites cinder, marl,
gypsum, etc. All of them are prac¬
tically without any value as fertilizers;
how is It, then, you inquire, that such
substances can be put Into our fertil¬
izers, If we have an efficient inspec¬
tion by the Department of Agriculture.
I will explain to you how that is.
Suppose that a manufacturer, instead
of having on hand only South Carolina
Acid phosphate, cotton seed meal and
kainit when you call on him for an
8-2-2 goods, has on hand some of the
highest grade materials known to the
trade.
He has say, acid phosphate made
from Tennessee or Florida rock, which
contains 20 per cent, of available phos¬
phoric acid; also nitrate of soda with
16 per cent, of nitrogen, dried blood
with fourteen per cent, nitrogen, sul¬
phate of ammonia with twenty per
cnt. nitrogen, muriate of potash wi
50 per cent, of potash; with these ma¬
terials on hand he receives your order
for a fertilizer, guaranteed to contain
as small an amount of plant food as
the law will permit, viz.; twelve per
cent., made up of eight per cent avail¬
able phosphoric acid, two per cent,
nitrogen, two per cent, potash. Con¬
sidering the materials he has on hand,
he figures out this formula;
825 pounds of 20 p. c. acid phosphate
216 pounds 14 p. c. dried blood
76 pounds of 16 p. c. nitrate of soda
$5 pounds 50 p. c. muriate of potash
1200 pounds
Now In this 1,200 pounds of high
grade materials he has all the plant
food you called for, with a small mar¬
gin for safety. You called for eight
per cent, of a ton In available phos¬
phoric acid or one hundred and sixty
pounds, and In his 825 pounds of twen¬
ty per cent, acid phosphate he has
given you on* hundred and sixty-five
pounds of available phosphoric acid;
you called for two per cent, of a ton,
or forty pounds of nitrogen, and in his
215 pounds of dried blood, containing
fourteen per cent, nitrogen and seven¬
ty-five pounds nitrate of soda with six¬
teen per cent of nitrogen, he has glv
en you forty-two and one-tenth pounds
of nitrogen. In like manner you called
for forty pounds of potash, and in
eighty-five pounds of fifty per cent,
muriate of potash he fias given you
forty-two and a half pounds of actual
potash. Now the best thing both for
you and the manufacturer, the cheapest
thing for both of you, would be for
him to send you that twelve hundred
pounds put up in six sacks, .which, up¬
on inspection and analysis,- would
•how: \
X
Available Phosphoric Acid . .13.75 p. C
Nitrogen................3.50 p. C\
Potash ...... 3.54 p.c.
But no, you won’t have it that way,
you must have a ton, ten sacks of 8-2-2,
»o the manufacturer rather than enter
upon a campaign of education with
all of his customers, obligingly treights
Into his factory eight hundred pound*
of powdered slate mined some hundred
miles away, utterly worthless as fer¬
tilizer, and mixes It in with the twelve
hundred pounds of good fertilizer mak¬
ing one ton. This mixture on inspection
and analysis shows :
Available Phosphoric Acid... .8.25 p. c.
Nitrogen................2.10 p. .o
PotMh..................2.12 p.c.
A Email Quantity of High Grade Fertll
laer Better than a Large Quantity
of a Lower Grade.
Now suppose you had exercised a
little common sense and bought the,
aix sacks, analyzing 13.75, 3.50 and
S.54, you would have been saved the
cost of mining, pulverizing and freight!
In* of the artificial “flller” to the fac¬
tory, and the freight on four sack*
of it from the factory to your railroad
•tation, and the wear and tear on
your mules hauling that extra <ta#
hundred pounds ten miles to the figrm.
Wouldn’t It have been much bett*’
have bought the six sack*, *nd When
ypu got home, if you wanted it i, n th *
proportion of 8-2-2, which Is *> good
proportion, to have mixed up tpe six
sacks yourself with wood’s eayth, or
compost, or even sand, before/distr
utlng? I think 1 hear you s*y, well
that’s true, but why don’t yovi fix the
law and raise the grade so (these fel¬
can’t put In all thl* 1 artificial
lows
"filler.’’ friend, there / aever yet
My dear
was. and there never will be, a law
tiona ef a great social and tudnitria!
problem, or which wiii compensat^ intel¬ for
the failure to exercise iu» own
ligence on the part of the individual
citizen. Think for a moment, sup¬
pose we should pass a law making
It Impossible to use any artificial "filt¬
ers" In the manufacture of commercial
fertilizers, by raising the grade io a
very high point. Do you not see that
by so doing we should at once paralyze
this great Industry, and cut short the
cotton crop of the State, since we
would at once bar the use of South
Carolina acid phosphate, cotton shed
meal and kainit and a number of other
good material of similar grade, in
thus at once raise the price of the
high-grade materials to an unheard-of
degree by greatly Increasing the de¬
mand for them?
No, the conditions have been very
thoroughly studied In every particular
by fhe Commissioners of Agriculture
of fhe various States, aided and ad¬
vised by those best qualified by experi¬
ence and training to understand the
matter in all of Its details, and the re¬
sult of their deliberations is embodied
in the new Georgia fertilizer law print¬
ed In Bulletin 39. This law raises
the grade of commercial fertilizers
from a total plant food of ten per
cent, minimum under the old law to
twelve per cent, minimum, and pro¬
tects the farmer In every way that a
good and just law can protect him. i
will give him the highest grade of
fertilizers he has ever bought, it will
protect him against fraud, it will guar¬
antee that he gets every pound of fer¬
tilizing value that he pays for; in fins.
It is the best fertilizer law now on
the statute books of any State, but
even luch a law cannot prevent the
use of "fillers."
Only education on the pan of the
farmer, and a demand on his cart for
the higher grades of fertilizers will
eliminate the use of “fillers.” When
you and your brother farmers study
the per centages of plant food 1
fertilizer, and prefer to buy five or six
sacks of a high-grade goods to buying
ten sacks of a goods csontaiinng only
fhe same quantity of actual plant food,
then there will be no more “filler” put
Into high-grade fertilizer materials,
but the capital of the manufacturer,
and (he skill of the chemist will be
exerted In the effort to take out of the
present low-grade fertilizer materials
as much as possible of Jhe "filler,’'
which God and nature have put there.
Yours truly,
JNO. M McCANDLESS,
State Chemist.
COTTON ANTHRACNOSE.
Recently the cotton planters in some
parts of Laurens and Dodge counties,
Georgia, have been considerably
alarmed by the appearance of a rath¬
er serious trouble in their cotton fields.
Specimens of the Injured plants and
bolls which have been sent to the
Georgia Department of Agriculture and
and to the State Entomologist, show
that the loss is being caused by the
disease of cotton known as "antbrac
nose.”
The appearance of this disease is
most characteristic and is most com¬
monly noticed as it affects the bollB,
although It does occur to some ex¬
tent upon both the leaves and stems
of the cotton plant.
The first sympton of the disease up¬
on the bolls is the appearance of small
red specks or dots. These rapidly
enlarge In ize with the result that the
part of the surface affected becomes
sunken and soon attains a blackened
color. These diseased areas are
usually circular or oval in form, but
as several spots frequently occur upon
a single boll, these areas, sooner or
later, unite so tha thalf, or even more.
of the boll is affected. "Spores” are
soon developed upon the blackened
area. It may be well to explain here
tljat these "fungus” diseases as they
are termed, are caused by very low
forms of plant life—In reality vege¬
table organisms of a very simple
tofm. Like the higher type of flower
ing plants with which we are all fa¬
miliar. there must be provided some
moans by which the plant is propa¬
gated and spread. Flowering plant;
produce seed;, and while it cannot be
truthfully said that the “fungous’
plants produce seeds, yet they do
produce spares which correspond In
tk*lr function to the seeds of the eom
Imon plants. These spores are distri'
ted by winds, insects, and in other
ways and ge-minate very much as do
aeeda of grain or other plants, an ’
again start the disease in a new
locality or upon another plant. Ar
Hated above, the spores of the an
thracnoae, formed upon the blackene'
areas of the diseased bolls, are color
leas, but they become so abundant
upon these diseased areas that they
give the latter a grayish appearanc
It is by means of these spores thrt
the disease Is spread from boll to be ’
and from plant to plant in the cotto>
fields.
The attack of the anthracnoee ton
gus oftentimes results in the boU’s r
maining closed, and the lint wlthli
fails to mature. At other times th >
tip of the diseased boll will open op
slightly; but in this case also the 11
falls to mature and the boll events*’
ly dries up, asuming a dark brown
oolor.
Strangely enough, the attacks of th ! -
dlseaae are often attributed to Insect',
th eootton planter believing that the
bolls have been “sti
sees only the effect of their “poison¬
ing" Ag a of fact, insects
are in no way responsible for this
trouble, and have no connection with
It whatever aside from the possibility
that certain insects may carry the
spores of the disease upon their feet
or beaks as they travel from one plant
to another.
This is a case in whicl the remedy
is hard to apply, partly because of the
nature of the disease and also because
the morphology and life-history of the
fungus causing the disease have not
been thoroughly worked out by scien¬
tists. An intimate knowledge of all
stages of a disease or of the develop¬
ment of an insect in most cases gives
a clew to how the disease or insect
may be successfully dealt with. This
very necessary Intimate knowledge of
Insects and diseases can only be ob¬
tained by careful and thorough scien¬
tific study, by using the highest power
microscopes and by observing the in¬
sect or disease In all stages of its de¬
velopment and existence, and noting
its behavior upon different plants and
under differing climatic or weather
conditions. Hence it is that the sci¬
entific work proper along the«e line*
ia indirectly of the greatest impor¬
tance to the farmer.
At this serson of the year (July, Au¬
gust and September) we know of
nothing the farmer can do to check
the cotton anthracnose, except that
possibly where the disease tu s not ob¬
tained much of a start, the diseased
bolls could be carefully picked oil
and burned up, thereby reducing the
crop of spores that will later spread
the destructive disease throughout
the entire field or plantation. Even
if this is practiced, however, the an¬
thracnose fungus is likely to have ob¬
tained a start upon the leaf-scars and
Injured parts of the stems and It prob¬
ably could not be entirely eradlcst?,
by this hand-picking method. In fact,,
the practicability of this plan Is ques¬
tionable, but It Is the only plan that
can be applied at this season of the
year, that offers any promise whatever
of success. Spraying the cotton fields
with some fungicide like Bordeaux
mixture for example. Is impracticable,
as Che fungus obtains a hold deep in
the tissues of the cotton plant, where
It cannot be reached by an application
of liquid or dust. Poison or an Kind:
is ,of course, entirely useless against
a trouble or this kind.
In spite of all this, the planter can
take some very sensible steps towards
reducing the damage from this disease
another season. It seems highly pret
able that the fungus which causes this
disease may continue to live in i
soil for some time, and thus re-infect
the following crop of cotton. In lo¬
calities where the anthracnose occurs,
therefore, cotton should not be plant¬
ed next year upon land that has been
in cotton this year. In other words,
cotton should not be placed upon the
same piece of land two years in sue
sion. This Is only a part of the doc¬
trine of "rotation of crops." Were
the farmer to always carry out a sys¬
tematic rotation of crops, year after
year, in which the same crop never
succeeds Itself upon the same piece
of land, his losse sfrom insects and
disease would b ©greatly reduced with¬
out any attending cost whatever, and
In addition the fertility of his soil
would be conserved to much greater
advantage, thereby reducing his fertil¬
izer bill.
The selection of the proper cotton
seed for planting In a locality where
anthracnose occurs, is of tire greatest
importance. Two courses are open
in the selection of seed. One is for
the planter to secure, for next year’s
planting, cotton seed from a locality
where the anthracnose does not oc¬
cur, as It has been clearly shown that
the spores of this disease are often¬
times retained in the lint upon the
seal, and are hence ready to infect
the young plant as soon as It breaks
open the seed-coat.
The other course would he for the
planter to carefully select resistant
seed from the diseased areas upon his
own plantation. In almost every bad¬
ly diseased field a plant will be found
here and there which shows no indica¬
tion of having been attacked by the
anthracnose. This plainly indicates
that there is something about that in¬
dividual plant, that enables it to resist
the disease successfully. If seed bi
selected from this resistant plant, th
plants grown from this seed will, to a
coniderable extent, show the same re¬
sistance. Selection of seed can be
made from the most resistant of these
plants the second season, and if this
systematic seed selection is carried on
successfully for a few years, the plant¬
er will have developed a strain of
cotton resistant to anthracnose and
will have solved the problem at very
small expense.
In case the planter for any reason
does not carry out this plan of seed
selection he had becst be sure to ob
tal nhls cotton seed from some locali¬
ty where the anthracnose does not ex¬
ist. Such a locality may exist only
a few miles away and during the sum¬
mer and early autumn ts the time the
planter should be looking about for
the source of his next year’s supply
of seed, and he should now assure
himself by a personal examination
that the fields from which his seed ia
to come are free from this disease.
WILMON NEWELL,
State Ectomol
Lamar’s Lemon
Laxative cures
Constipation, Bil¬
Dothan, Ala., gMlfR I J-f BE iousness, indiges¬
April 16,’04. mm i » tion and Headache.
I have vised Lax¬ La¬ -2te| fee and Acts powerfully promptly on
mar’s Lemon
ative in my family the bowels yet is
and would not be gentle and pleas¬
without it. It is ant in action
certainly a valua¬ does not gripe or
ble medicine. sicken. It can’t
J, A. Mat, hurt you-it can
c h ltd gtHroiice. help you.
On sale c.t alt good drag stores* SO doses for SO cents,
OWNED AND MANUFACTURED BY
LAMAR, TAYLOR & RILEY DRUG COMPANY. Macon, Ga.
Radiant
Beauty
r Complexions of perfect purity are made by
Hancock’s Liquid Sulphur. The value of
sulphur in the toilet has been known for cen
tunes, but much of its value was lost until
the discovery of
HANCOCK’S Hancock’s
Liquid Sulphur
not only does it produce a skin smooth and
soft as silk, but its use as 4 hair bath will cure
all scalp diseases, promote a new growth of
healthy hair and strengthen the coloring matter
in the hair so as to check and avoid premature
gray hair. Buy Hancock’s liquid Sul¬
phur at any reliable drug store.
Milan's {must Cinnitih. Hancock’s Liquid Sulphur Ointment
■ Prepared especially for Burns, Scalds, Open
r; Sores, Chafed Parti, Raw Surfaces, Boils,
», »c«*, itch, Piles, Roughness of face and Hands and ail
„ H*rp*s, W*»p DSpbLkaH*. Catarrh. Fimpl**, Eor* Uaullt Prickly Skin Diseases.
- book Sulphur
■ sad Threat. Granulated Eyelid*. Ul- Write for fm» 011 t»&?s of in
•vsiad - CondlKorw. -tiidraff Cuts. sad Born. AU the toilet, toilet, and and as as a a cure cure fur...... ur all blood aod
- skin diseases.
t th* Seal (a
WnCBBP WBLL CORK BP JET HANCOCK
PRICE ♦ ♦ BO CKNTO.
Htotock MSNUfKTVMe Uqul4 Stflpfcur •» C*. LIQUID SULPHUR CO.
Baltimore. Md.
A Plaasant Trip
To THe
WORLD’S FAIR
Is via Atlanta, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Nashville and the
Illinois Central Hallway
(DOUBLE TRACK)
Two trains daily 8;35 a m and S;30p m with Pullman sleeping cars
from Atlanta and Macon.
Ten clay coach excursion tickets on sale each Tuesday and Thurs¬
day during October, with through coaches from Atlanta.
For full information, rates and sleeping car reservation address,
F. D. MILLER, Trav. Pass. Agf. I. C. R. R.
No. 1. North Pryor St. .....Atlanta, Ga.
Ask For Ticket Via ILLINOIS CENTRAL R. R.
Notice! Jl ” Camilla ...the... Pressing Club, | )
FIRST-CLASS WORK )
^_Your Paironage Solicited by
A. W. WILLIAMS, Practical Repairer,
leaning, Dyeing and Pressing
Gent’s clothing kinds. CM ~
. Of all t any goods any color. Special ser- .
) < Radios’clothi-cr Ladies clotni..g a a specialty, snooialtv y\\J « tD Rl! c,inl,nerclal traTeler “- \ ?
All Work done under Guarantee
Rlint River & North-eastern Ry. Co
Effective FeDruary 4tn 1004, lOsGO a. n i
Ho. 3 No 1 Daily ¥iles STATIONS Miles No 2 Tally; 1 No i
A. M. P It
|
10 30 0 Lv Pelham Ar 25 4 10
10 40 1 ACL Junction 24 4 00
1105 6 Cotton 18 3 18
11 10 2 Riley 15 3 13
11 13 1 Hinson 13 3 10
11 23 u Floride U 8 00
11 35 2 h Akridge 9 2 50'
1150 2 Sale City 0 2 35
12 00 1 Jonesboro 1 2 25
12 10 2 Tuton Junction 0 2 15
12 20 3 Port Arthur 3 | 1 2 10
12 30 3 Ar TichnorLvl 0 200
Connections: Jf o. 1 Pelham GaAtlantic Coast Line •
No 2 Tichnor Ga*, Georgia Northern Py.