FARMER
TITLE REGISTERED INTJS. PATETTT OFFICE.
-VoL"XXVIL ;No50.V
SATURDAY; DECEMBER 14, 1912.
Weekly: $1 a Year.
i
TIMELY FARM SUGGESTIONS
' . . DyTAIT BUTLER.
:N ARKANSAS farmer, writes: . ''Some people -cowpeas or --soy beans during the aimnner, aand
advise -me to" put lime on leaves tto rot them, plow -them snider to improve j.his jland. .About
: What do '.you think about it?"-- We would not -put onceiin two tit -three weara -such a legume crop
rliine '.with these leaves. If it caused -4hem ito arot
if aster, it will cause a-eater. .loss j&t .nitrogen,
and this is the mos important iplant .food in the
leaves." It. would. he better 'to 1 mix acid phos
phate or ground phosphate rock with .the leaves.
This -will .balance the plant foods -better, :.and will
not cause a loss of nitrogen." ' Usei say 200 to 250
pounds art acid phosphate to a ton of Jeayes.
should !be -plowed xunder -and the ther years it
should be ifed smd the ananure ?put on 'the land.
feeds; that is, that 190 per cent of the original -.fertilizer
value of a .feed will pass thru .the
animal and .be found In the droppings, smay or
may not be -correct; but the une who takes the
lime -or space to state that animals take only about
6 Jtot25 zper cent of the -fertilizer malue out ;of feeds,
and that the larger -.amount onay .be itaken out :hy
a -yonng growing animal and the smaller amount -by
a mature fattening animal,- gives the safest,'
most accurate and best information, even Jf ihe
be not so brief and positive in his statement.
HICH will - pay better," asks a .farmer "to
:cVYr drill my manure with a 'manure drill, or
(broadcast xthe ,manure ?" If" only ta small amount
f stable manure ds -available, it may :pay abetter
the first ear to 3TitiiJt: tri the drill .under the crop,
lprOTided4t)finewell rotted. rButas ta gen
eral rule, stable manure should be iput on broad
cast. .Its reflects last" for several years, and iall the
bdH ishould 'bfi made , to ifeed the crop. " ST feed
the (soil in this way, putting it in he (drill, with
"materials as low in jplant . f oods as 'stable manure,
is too -expensive rand, moreover, we -mustigive our
land manure or umifoiiningimerials of some
sort :in larger doss. : . r . -:
4 -TEXAS reader writes: "A ammber of the f arm
J. ers -here complain that millet -hay .affects in
furiously a Ihorse's 'kidneys. Is there anything to
-this, and it sQ, what ishe cause ", , .It istfare that
the feeding iof millet hay affects a horse injurious
ly in the' manner, stated ; but such results have oc-.
casionally followed the feeding of millet exclusive
ly for considerable periods of time. Millet makes a
goqd-'hay, and? when used - as only a part of the
rough forage ration, it is probably not likely to
mnse any"trduble; As.f arasrwe know, the cause
of the trouble, or ;;the oxact substance, which oc
casionally .'produces "the : injurious -effects ;has no$
been .determined. As a matter of safety, millet
hay; should :probably;not be made the -only rough
.forage, and the .feeding of it should not 'be con
tinued for long iperio ds. - .: H - f
npHEsupply of potassium is usually jquite large,
J. except in rsome sandy -soils of the Southeast- -era
-States. ClEven in many soils where the -crops
-respond tp applications of soluble .potash, there is
.ample potassium if it -were only available for the
use off the plants. The business of .the farmer, :as
regards the supply of potash for his crops, is gen
erally matter of making that :in the soil .availa
ble, rather than the .adding of additional supplies.
Of course, nntil he 'has ucceeded "
fapplicafion of-pbtasn to his crops pays, lie should
continue to aise fertilizers cxmtaining soluble pot
ash. , , The potassium in the soil ds made available
Jby .the application tot Mme mnd -stable jmanur es :ar
.decaying vegetable ?or organic tmatter. ; in ?a sys
tem of farming which .involves ' the ;growing.?df
large cQuatitiejs.nrbBehoieBnd the if ceding
of "this on the .farm, -the supply of gpdtash .is not
:likely iofibecome va serious -problem, but it the
TDngh forage is sdldfrom the farm, Che depletion
'of "the isupply ds considerable. : n '
Time lo Sesinvftactidng -Co-operation,
; VJV iREATJEE.says thatVthe .farmers of his .sec
XI . tion "would , coerate "in marketing "butter,
eggs, chidkens, ;canned vegetables and sim
ilar products .'If they "knew how."
. That is the point. "We have had several years'
discussion thru the press, and at farmer' meet
ings, about the importance of co-operating, and
th wonderful results that will fdllow this co-operation,
and Uncertainly does appear to one who
has observed 'the trewl rtif this discussion- that
the time has come for Jess agitation and .general
ities, aifd a little Ulore definite instruction. We
"know '-what wb ought to 7db, and what the bene
rfits -will "bre from co-operative marketing; .but now
some one should show the tanners Tiow they can
co-operate. . ' , ,
It is.fioiibtf ill, if lettto themselves, if the farm
ers, as a whole, will make much progress in 'co
operative activities; or if they make such -progress,
it will 3je too 'slow. !
"The need is -for organizers who actually know
how to show the farmers' how they can co-operate.
It seems to me the agricultural colleges and De
partments of Agriculture, hru their extension
;work, must: supply this need. Why not each "State
. develop a "Department of Tarm "Marketing? The
difficulties vin the way of economically marketing
farm products are peculiarly -great, and these, with
the importance of the matter, should justify some
thing being done that will "bring forth Tesults!
' We have probably -preached 46n ; enough, .. and
: some teaching Is noW in oxder
It Is
be done than to : do it. There are-scores to tell
'why "and 'how-the farmers should co-operate in
marketing farm products, bnt what we want is
someone who wlll actually 3o the thing, and in.
that way show the farmers how they may do it.
No more "fmpoTtaTit 'line df work 'can be done" by
the extension departments, of our agricultural in
stitutes, and they -should "lose tio time in putting
men to wofk who can "and.: will actually get farm
ers to co-operate 'in -marketing their products.
A Question of the Unanswerable Sort '
41 JIEADER asks: "How much and what kind
J of fertilizer ought to be used on thin sandy .
cent acid phosphate at $16 a ton, or &
.under in the spring?"
We are not .told what the crop is to be, nor what .
crops nave .grown on the land recently Just sim
ply that it is thin, sandy land, and a crop of rye
is to be turned under. No one can give intelli
gent advice with this small amount of informa
tion, but probably, if fertilizers generally .pay an
this land, fertilizer containing at least nitrogen
and phosphoric acid -should be .used. -For corn,
.probably equal parts of cottonseed meal and 19
jper cent acid .phosphate, using 200 to 400 pounds
to the .acre, may .prove satisfactory; but for cot-
ton, a mixture of one j?art of cottonseed meal to
two parts of .acid phosphate and an application
of 400 to 500 .pounds per acre would probably .be
better. Or simply an application of acid ,pho8
phate, 200 to 300 pounds per acre, might be made
before planting the cropsand then about two ap
plications of nitrate of soda made as a side dress
ing while the crops are ,gro wing. If two such .a,p
plicatlonsare made, -one quite early and the sec
ond .about the time the cotton begins blooming,
and when the .corn; is shoulder high, from fifty to
seventy-five pounds of nitrate of soda per acre
may be .used -each application.
A Problem in Fertilizers.
READERwants to know which is cheaper,
always -easier to. tellirow a thing should JT. cent acid phosphate at $16 a ton, ir m
1
Tie Better Way to Get JHurnns.
Don't Expect DeMte Answers to
Every Qwetion.
,HE man who answers an agricultural ques
tion in a few words and with positive, state
ments, gives the most pleasing answer to the
average question; "but lie does not usually give
the .most accurate and the safest answer. Fre
quently an agricultural question .may be- answered
in a few words and the answer be correct for one
.set of conditions or one locality and be entirely
wroijis for .another locality.: "Or an answer . may be
literally correct and jatill be .misleading,' unless
fully explained. Moreover, n answer to a ques
tidn., which does not make .clear the reasons for
such answer, .will usually do Jio good except to
iguide the course of the . one who asks the ques
tion in that single case. -It is oiseless for other
people and ibther conditions. There .are.alsb many
.questions asked the. answer .to which is Jiot .known
by even the best informed, but for which the less
II TTOUN'xAf kansas if armer-wants to. know if :tt
r J "will pay jto gather leaves, cover ibenrwith
. idirt, and ixairl $hemin the la?nd mext 'spriug,
- that heintendqto ratitivate;V ; '?.t:r :fev
" ffllr Jlp.avR 'trrrreamnablvj "Mr .rvl -'nnhtatn. 'fln-
w.Mf fne- itn i Van swkA. "ft :fi Tinmi d rfT nttriYPfln- 1 well-lnf ormed flmay.promptly .offer a jpositive olti
seveh nounds 'rnhosnhoric moid. anni-thieB tnimnds ; Uion. ! Beware xt the -authority, that -can solve
ttf TjdtashV
foods are worth, it present -prices, aatromtd 1$ 3 .25 .
Jit will take a lot of idry leaves to weigh k ton, and
this farmer nan better judge ms to -wither he
can afford to :dp this" wori.. IChere is one rather
value to the leaves, Ihowerer, "which he idhould.'not
overlook, and tha is ithelr liumns-f ofming'yaluB.
This is a value Ich mvst rbe -added to their Teal
' ;; plant food TralueViinilOTmost'So
yt greatimp-brtaro :
' ::l It no other work 'is pressing, and the' leaves
can -be gathered 'and Dut on the lands tsheapiy, Jt -a man is nsuallyj a rsafengnide "in agricultural mat
may tay; Jn facti ft may pay -anyway, ,M mo ibet-. ters," fori he must; needs" know a ,qgreat ileal in
jter',"way of uxtv$jlngr plait foods mnd hnmus is ' (order 'to know: when ihe.doesn't know. Jfor in
practiced; but it will pay thls.youngrfarmer et stance, the maniiwho -states, -lhat llvfistock -will
Jer to grow 'Crimson clover during the "winter or ttakB 10 ?er cent' rat the tfcTtilMng TOlne out ;of
mixed fertilizer containing -8 per cent of phos
phoric acid, 26 per cent of nitrogen and 2 per
rcent of potas'h, at '$23 a ton. i .
Wo cannot answer this question better than to
make a mixture out of the cottonseed meal and
: acid phosphate, having as nearly as possible the
same amounts of plant foods as the mixe'd fer
tilizer, and -see which costs the most.
770 pounds of ottopseed meal (6.5 per cent
nitrogen, 2.5 per cent phosphoric acid, and 1;5
per cent potash) and 880 pounds of 16 per cent
acid phosphate will contain :
50 pounds nitrogen,
160 pounds phosphoric acid,
11 pounds potash. -One
ton f -.2 -2 fertilizer will contain: ;
&0 .pounds nitrogen,
J.60 .pounds phosphoric acid,
40 pounds .potash.
Since -our Teader lives in Mississ"ippi, he can
safely disregard the deficiency in potash in h'(s
mixture of cottonseed meal and acid "jlhosphate, ,
for this potash will probably be of little 'or no
vaiueto ?him; but if she lived in the Southeastern
States, he would need to add 28 pounds of
potash, at a cost of from fi;20 to '$1.40.
; . Now wliat is the difference in the cost -of these
two fertilizers? "
7T0 lbs cottonseed meal at $30 a ton. .'$11.55
880 lbs acid phosphate, at $16 a ton . -. T.04
problems and is positive and definite with his
-statements In all cases. These men nsually . need
to "oinlearn" a whole lot. There .are too many
variations in. nature and too many unknown quan
tities to enable anyone to .reduce his answers to
ragricultural-questions down to mathematical brev
ity -and"acouracy. The agricultural writer or
. iteacher- who says "JS don't Jtnow," is apt to .be un
popular and lose rrespect wHh the masseobut it
.one ; be informed .sufficiently and is i fair, h must
roften frankly ;admit -that ihe odoesn't Anow.
Total '. . .
60 lbs muriate of potash, a $40 a ton
. . . .$18.59'
1.20
Total .$19.T9
One ton of:8-2-2 fertilizer ...$23.00
Difference $3.21 .
In this case the ready-mixed goods cost ,$3JU
more than the -home-mixed goods, but it is only
fair to tadd t6 the cost of the home-made mixture
the cost of mixing, which may be, about -50 cents,
6u6h leaving i& final difference of. $2. 71. For ourjreadcr
who asks this question, the difference would be
.$3.91, since .he .does not need the potash. In tho
ready-mixed rfertillzer; -moreover, he will only
have to Jianl 'and Jiandle 1,650 pounds instead of
iODO JOunda. ,! , ' - : . '
-V-