Commercial Sources Of Plant food
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Acid Phosphate
When animal bone is treated with sulphuric acid, the result is an acid phosphate, but treated animal bone is so rare on the market that it may be ignored. The acid phosphate on the market is rock-phosphate treated with sulphuric acid to render its pla... Acquaintance With Terms
The hesitation of many users of commercial fertilizer to master the few technical terms used in analyses of the goods, for which over one hundred million dollars annually are expended in this country, is to be deplored. The number of the materials av... Animal Bone
The original source of phosphoric acid as a fertilizer was animal bone, just as hard-wood, unleached ashes were the source of potash. The organic character of the animal bone made it appear more truly a manure than could any rock or other inorganic su... Basic Slag
When iron ores contain much phosphorus, its extraction by use of lime gives a by-product in the making of steel that has agricultural value. The ores of the United States usually do not give a slag sufficiently rich in phosphorus to be valuable. Nearl... Coal-ashes
There is no plant-food of value in coal-ashes. The physical condition of heavy soils is improved by an application, and their use may be quite profitable in this way if cost of application is small. When used as a mulch, ashes conserve moisture. ... Dried Blood
There is no more satisfactory source of organic nitrogen than dried blood of high grade. The best blood, red in color, contains nearly as much nitrogen as nitrate of soda, running from 13 to 15 per cent. The nitrogen is not as quickly available as tha... Fish
Near the Atlantic coast a large quantity of ground fish, after the extraction of oil, is used as a fertilizer, but the cost of the nitrogen and phosphoric acid in this carrier is relatively too high to justify its free use. Like dried blood, its organ... Kainit
Unlike muriate and sulphate of potash, kainit is a crude product of the German mines, having received no treatment to remove impurities. It contains 12 to 13 per cent of potash, and is rated as a sulphate, but one third of it is common salt, and in ef... Muck
The use of muck pays in stables, as it is a good absorbent and contains some nitrogen which gains in availability by mixture with manure. Its direct application to land as a fertilizer does not pay the labor bill under ordinary circumstances. ... Muriate Of Potash
The mines of Stassfurt, Germany, contain an inexhaustible supply of potash in various compounds. Muriate of potash is prepared from the crude salts, and the commercial product on our markets has the appearance of a coarse and discolored salt. It is h... Nitrate Of Soda
One of the best carriers of nitrogen is nitrate of soda, which is imported from Chili, South America, where great beds exist. The most of the impurities are removed, and the nitrate of soda comes to us in bags holding 200 pounds, and looks much like d... Other Fertilizers
Manufacturers of commercial fertilizer make use of other materials, some of which, like manufactured nitrogen, are excellent, and others are low in quality and slow in action. The sources of plant-food that have been described form the great bulk of ... Raw Bone
Stable manure lasts several years in the soil because decay is slow. Raw bone has appealed to many because its action is likewise necessarily slow. The fat in it prevents fine grinding and protects the coarse particles from decay. It is known as bone-... Rock-phosphate
While the greater part of our soils contain relatively scant stores of phosphoric acid, the deposits of this plant constituent in combination with lime are immense. The rock now chiefly used in this country is found in South Carolina, Tennessee, and F... Salt
Salt is not a direct fertilizer, and its use is not to be advised unless it can be secured at a very low price per ton. Some soils have been made more productive by the application of 200 to 300 pounds per acre, and chiefly in case the salt was mixed ... Steamed Bone
When animal bone is boiled or steamed under pressure for removal of the fat and the cartilage, the content of nitrogen is reduced, and the percentage of phosphoric acid is increased by this removal of fat and nitrogenous substance. The nitrogen in ste... Sulphate Of Ammonia
This is a by-product in the manufacture of coke and also of illuminating gas. Hunt estimates that the amount of nitrogen lost annually in Pennsylvania's coke industry would be sufficient, if recovered by proper type of ovens, to furnish every acre of... Sulphate Of Potash
Some sulphate of potash is imported into this country. Its content of potash may vary 1 or 2 per cent below or above 50. Its physical condition favors mixing more than does the muriate. It usually costs several dollars a ton more than the muriate, and... Tankage
The waste from the slaughter of animals goes into a product called tankage. The refuse is cooked for removal of the fat, and then ground. It may run high in nitrogen on account of the amount of meat in the mixture, and it may be low in nitrogen and ve... Variation In Soil
The difficulty in determining the character of fertilizer for a field, due to variation in the soil, is overestimated. Very often a land-owner says, "I have a dozen kinds of soil in every field." This is true in a way, it may be, but if all the field ... Wood-ashes
Wood-ashes contain lime and potash, with a small percentage of phosphoric acid. The market price is above agricultural value, and any needed potash should be obtained from the German potash salts. ...