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[FERTILIZERS]

An Elementary Treatise For The
Use of Farmers and Fruitgrowers
BY
CARRQEL B. SMITH

REDLANDS, CAL:

CITROGRAPH BOOK PRESS
1903

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COPYRIGHTED 1908,
BY
CARROLL B. SMITH

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TO THE READER.
A

This pamphlet 1s written expressly for those who are

forced to use fertilizers trom year to year and yet have not
the time to investigate the subject as they would like to.
It is intended to be brief and suggestive of thought to the
reader rather than complete and final.

All the facts and deductions contained are based on the
highest authorities on the subjects mentioned, or on the
results of actual experience in California. Those interested
are advised to study the subjects completely in such volumes
as: FH. Storer's “Agriculture,” 3) Vols.;) i. AH. Bailey's
“Principles of Agriculture; J. P. Roberts’ “Fertility o1
the Land,;’’ C. M. Aikman’s “ Measures and Manuring,”’
and bulletins of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

The author hopes that the matter here given will aid
the farmer to choose and purchase his fertilizers most
wisely, and help him to get the best possible results from
their use. There is no final authority in Nature. She is
always busy making exceptions ; therefore, every farmer’s
problems are his own and he must do his own thinking.
The author has tried to present only well established facts
and general PRINCIPLES. A fuller knowledge of these,
properly applied, will lead to better results and larger
profits.

Redlands, California. CARROLL B. SMITH.

Kssential ©Plant Food.

ei

Each of the three plant foods, nitrogen, phosphoric
acid and potash, are called essential] ingredients in
fertilizers, as they are the elements first exhausted
from the soil by plants. There are eleven other ele-
ments just as essential to perfect plant growth as
these three, but the soil never becomes depleted of
them, and it is not necessary to supply them, except
in rare cases. Sometimes lime and iron are supplied
to the soil, though not regularly. Lime is used to
set free nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, when
they are known to be in the soil in insoluble condi-
tion and in large amounts. But, as lime adds no
necessary ingredient, its continued use alone will ex-
haust a soil. Ifa soil is known to lack iron, this may
be added to make green foliage and to deepen color
of oranges.

If a soil becomes unproductive under good tillage
it is because one or more of the three essential plant
foods has become exhausted. Hence commercial fertil-
izers have come to be composed of various amounts
and forms of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash.
Commercial fertilizers are simply concentrated forms
of plant food. A good top soil contains every element

6

essential to plant growth and is a fertilizer, but it is
not sufhciently concentrated to pay for handling and
transportation.

Each of the three plant foods, nitrogen, phos-
phoric acid and potash, have their respective market
values for each 1 per cent., or unit, of 20 pounds to
the ton. Ifa ton of fertilizer contains 3 per cent. pot-
ash, that means 60 pounds. The purchaser will have
to know the market value and the source of the
nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash before he can
determine the value of a ton of a certain analysis.
The source 1s very important, because the most avail-
able forms have the highest market value. Without
this knowledge, a certain brand may sell for $40 a
ton and another worth only one-half its value ($20
per ton) may sell more readily for $38.

Each of the three essential plant foods has its
special part to do in the building of the plant. One
cannot do the work of the other. As an illustration:
Nitrogen in the absence of potash may produce a
luxuriant and rapid growth but it will be weak and
broken down by the first wind; add potash and that
same succulent, weak growth will be matured and
have strength enough to carry its load of fruit.
Potash alone will not produce the growth, but will
mature it. Both nitrogen and potash have many
other functions to perform.

Phosphoric acid, or phosphorus, must be present

7

in order that the plant may assimilate its nitrogen.
The process (osmosis) by which nutrients pass
through the plant from cell to cell is facilitated by
the presence of phosphoric acid. Phosphorus is nec-
essary for the seed’s embryo development and for the
formation of chlorophyll (the green coloring matter
of plants).

Thus, while the essential plant foods each have
many independent functions to perform, they are
mutually dependent upon each other, and mutually
helpful in the building of the plant tissue.

The condition of the soil may be such that the
purchase of only one fertilizing element is necessary,
and since the sources of nitrogen and phosphoric
acid and their functions are so many and varied, the
question, ‘‘ What fertilizer to use,’”’ and ‘‘ How to pur-
chase it most economically,” is of vital interest to
the farmer and one difficult to solve.

SOURCE OF FERTIFIZERS:

THE SOURCES OF NITROGEN.

Nitrogen may be obtained from these sources :—
Air, ammonia, nitrates and animal matter. In cer-
tain forms of animal matter, such as hoofs, horns,
coarse bone, leather and wool waste, the nitrogen
becomes available too slowly to be of much value.
But as green manure, ammonia, nitrates, blood, fine

8

bone, tankage, or blood and bone, fish, and finely
ground and screened guano, the nitrogen is in good
form and soon beeomes available.

As these forms require different lengths of time to
become available, judgment must be used in their
application. Nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammo-
nia dissolve almost immediately in water, so the full
amount of a year’s supply should not be applied at
once, as some will be sure to be lost in waste water.
Blood and bone, as a source of nitrogen and phos-
phoric acid, would be a better combination than
nitrate and bone. Blood and fish require more time
to become available than nitrates, and bone a longer
time than blood.

‘“The most valuable sources of organic nitrogen,
from the standpoints of uniformity in composition,
richness in the constituent, and availabilty, are dried
blood, dried meat, and concentrated tankage, which
are produced in large quantities in slaughter houses
and rendering establishments.” (Farmers’ Bulletin,
No. 44, U.S. Dept. Agriculture.)

The most concentrated form of nitrogen is
ammonium sulphate, containing about 19% or 24%
of ammonia. Nitrate of soda contains as high as
16% nitrogen, blood 14%, hoof and horn meal 14%,
slaughter house tankage from 5% to 10%, raw bone
312%, bat guano 9%, sea fowl guano 12%. There
are numerous other sources of nitrogen, but the

9

above are those most generally used. The contents
as given are in terms of nitrogen and approximately
the maximum.

NITRIFICATION.

This is the process by which the nitrogen of
organic matter is changed into nitrates. The
ammonia and nitrogen of all fertilizers comes from
organic matter, and all organic materials contain
more or less of those substances in some form.
Nitrate of soda in the nitrified product of some
organic material, whether of seaweed or animals, is
not definitely known. Ammonium sulphate also has
an organic origin, being a by-product of carbonizing
works.

Humus (which is decayed animal or vegetable
matter) is the main source of the plant’s nitrogen.
When organic matter is applied to the soil it must
first decay and then nitrify before its nitrogen be-
comes available to the plant. Two processes are
necessary. The decay is produced by one set of
bacteria and their product is humus. Then the sub-
stance is attacked by another set of bacteria which
form nitrates. This latter process is nitrification.
The nitrates thus formed are water-soluble and can
be absorbed by root hairs into plant tissue.

NITROGEN FROM AIR.

Certain plants of the leguminose group have
power to accumulate nitrogen from the air to the

10

process of growth. Such plants are the lupins and
vetches. Peas, clover, alfalfa and the native wild
lupins when grown as catch or cover crops and
ploughed under maintain the store of nitrogen in
soils. But, in this case, as with other organic sub-
stances, the two processes of decay and nitrification
are necessary before the nitrogen thus gathered be-
comes available. As nitrogen is the most expensive
of alifertilizing elements the importance and economy
of a green cover crop ploughed under is considerable.

(See also “ Humus.’’)
SOURCES OF PHOSPHORIC ACID.

Phosphoric acid, or phosphorous, in fertilizers, is
always found in combination with other elements.
Usually it is obtained from bone or phosphate rocks.
As rock it cannot become readily available without
treatment with sulphuric acid. As bone, unacidu-
lated, it must be very finely ground to be available,
and when thus ground is undoubtedly the best form
for citrus culture, as it is al] equally available and its
ability to rot or ferment has not been destroyed by
the acid.

ACIDULATED PHOSPHATES.

These are made by treating bone or phosphate
rock with sulphuric acid. Their value may vary
according to the amount of acid used by the manu-
facturer. If 800 pounds of acid were used with 1200

11

pounds of bone or rock, it would be a 40% acidula-
tion, as 800 is 40% of 2000 pounds.

In acidulated goods, whether rock or bone, there
are always three forms of phosphoric acid—a soluble
form, a ‘‘reverted’’ form, and an insoluble form. The
last is of no commercial value. The ‘‘reverted”’ is of
doubtful value, as it has to first undergo a chemical
change before becoming available. The soluble is
immediately available. A dealer giving an analysis
should not mention the amount of insoluble phos-
phoric acid, as it is confusing. An insoluble portion
is necessary in order to obtain the soluble, but does
not add value to the fertilizer. State laws, asa rule,
allow the reverted to be estimated as available with
the water-soluble, so that the soluble and reverted
forms constitute the phosphoric value of a fertilizer.

It must be remembered that in using acidulated
goods (bone or rock) if an abundance of lime be
present in the soil, the soluble form of phosphoric
acid unites chemically with the lime and is made
again insoluble as if it had never been treated. Iron,
and alumina, and other bases, produce the same
effect on acidulated phosphates. The reversion, how-
ever, depends on the amount of acid used by the
manufacturer and the quantity of lime, iron, etc., in
the soil.

STEAMED BONE.

Steaming bones removes the fats and gelatines,

12

thus facilitating decay and availability, as such bone
can be ground finer than raw bone, and thus becomes
more subject to the attack of soil moisture and
various dissolving agents.

Raw bonecontains from 3% to 444% nitrogen and
about 22% or23% phosphoric acid. Steaming reduces
the nitrogen and correspondingly increases the phos-
phoric acid, so that steamed bone may run as low as
1% nitrogen and as high as 25% or 30 % phosphoric
acid. The best effect from the phosphoric acid of
steamed bone is had when the bone is used in connec-
tion with some ammoniate such as blood, or blood
and bone, or manure. Nitrogen or ammonia increases
the efhciency of phosphoric acid, and for this reason
phosphoric acid from animal or vegetable sources is
regarded as the best, the most effective and the most
readily available form.

THOMAS PHOSPHATE SLAG (POWDER).

Thomas slag, a product of iron furnaces, is a
good source of phosphoric acid, though not so gene-
rally used as bone or rock. This material has to be
finely ground to be of value, as it is not acidulated.
It will analyze as high as 20% phosphoric acid.
Thomas slag also contains much lime, which fact
should be considered when it is used in presence of
ammonium sulphate, or barn manures, asthe lime will
drive off the ammonia. One brand offered for sale in
Los Angeles contains 17.28% phosphoric acid,

13

46.20 % lime, and iron oxide 18.37%. It may be
used to best advantage on trees which have made
strong, nitrogenous growth at the expense of fruit
production, and also on peaty soils, poor in lime.
Water will not dissolve slag, therefore it should be
put in as deeply as possible.

PHOSPHATE GUANOS.

The guanos of bats and sea fowlarealso valuable
sources of phosphoric acid. These materials, how-
ever, vary in analysis very much. Each consignment
should be analyzed and its price based on its con-
tents. The first shipments from a guano deposit are
the richest and most valuable, but deteriorate as the
deposit is drawn upon.

CHEAPEST FORM OF PHOSPHORIC ACID.

The Pennsylvania State Department of Agricul-
ture, in Bulletin No. 94, gives the results of 12 years’
experiments with phosphates, both acidulated and
unacidulated, and seems to show conclusively that
the best form in which to purchase phosphoric acid
is the untreated bone or rock. This is only on condi-
tion that there is plenty of organicmatter, or humus-
forming material, in the soil.

Under such conditions (with humus in the soil)
finely ground rock (unacidulated) gave better results
than acidulated rock or bone. This was from the
standpoint of both original cost of material and the

14

results obtained, and was true of all crops tried,
except wheat. Unacidulated fertilizers always con-
tain more phosphoric acid than the same fertilizers
acidulated, as the weight of the acid used displaces
some of the material, and if organic matter is used
with the former, the conditions thus created in the
soil give it additional life which takes the place of
acidulation, and results in greater fertility. A num-
ber of lay experiments and actual practice in Cali-
fornia agree with the results of the Pennsylvania
State Experiment Station. Where there was little or
no humus-forming material in the soil, acidulated
forms gave the best results.

SOURCES OF POTASH.

Potash is found as a chloride, or muriate, as a
sulphate, and in a crude form called kainit. The
latter contains 1212% actual potash. The muriate
and sulphate analyze about 50% actual potash.
The Stassfurt mines of Germany supply the most of
this product.

The potash of manufactured fertilizers is seldom
all animal matter. All forms dissolve readily, so
there is no danger of buying potash in unavailable
form. It takes about two pounds of sulphate, or
muriate, of potash tomake one pound actual potash,

or 10% sulphate to make 5% ‘‘actual.’’
| Wood ashes and stable manure are also sources
of potash, obtainable however, in very limited quan-

15

tities. Wood ashes, unleached, will contain from
412% to 7% potash: stable manure contains about
0.4% potash.

The sulphate of potash is the best form in which
to purchase. It has no ill effects on many plants,
while the muriate or chloride form does. The sul-
phate can also be used asa ‘fixer’? of ammonia in
stables and manure pits, while the muriate might
cause the escape of ammonia.

AVAILABILITY.

Buyers of fertilizers should always know the
source and form of the different plant foods. This
knowledge and the results obtained will determine
their availability. Nitrogen from nitrate of soda is
the most available form of any. Nitrogen from
blood is more available than that from raw bone.

Phosphoric acid from acid phosphates (rock or
bone) is more soluble than the non-acid phosphates.

Steamed bone finely ground is more soluble than
raw bone. The phosphoric acid from tankage is
more available than that from raw bone. Both the
nitrogen and phosphoric acid as found in animal
tankage and guanos, finely ground, are very avail.
able forms.

Soil moisture, root acids and fermentation are
the dissolving agents in all soils. The high tempera-
tures of summer increase their action, and hence the
availability of fertilizing elements.

16

Roots cannot take up plant food unless it is pro-
vided in solution, and different forms of fertilizers
respond differently to these dissolving agents. Fine
grinding is very important. Asa rule, organic forms
are most available. There are some exceptions, such
as sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda and the acid
phosphates. The latter act best in soils that do not
contain enough lime or iron or other bases to cause
rapid reversion to insolubility.

If the farmer knows the source and form of the
nitrogen and phosphoric acid, he has a guide to their
availability.

All forms of potash as usually purchased in fertil-
izers are readily dissolved and there is no danger ot
buying this ingredient in an insoluble form.

Some substances, as barnyard manure and lime,
make all fertilizers more available, but they donot add
plant food to the soil in the amounts, nor as fast as
required, and their use alone will in time exhaust a
soil. Especially is this true of lime. Better results
will be obtained by using commercial fertilizers with
manure than by using either one alone, because the
conditions of availability will be increased. (See also
“Cultivation and Fertilizers.’’)

INSOLUBILITY DESIRABLE.

It is well known that the nitrates may easily be
lost by leaching, because they are soluble. This is
not the case with the phosphates, or phosphorous

17

compounds, as these are always insoluble even in the
most fertile soils. Numerous analyses of the “run
off’ waters show this. The nitrates being always
available to the plant, stimulate its feeding powers
and force it to act on such insoluble compounds as
the phosphates, which, in turn, by yielding slowly,
regulate growth and maintain for a longer time the
soil’s productive power.

It can readily be seen that the loss would be
many times greater if the phosphates and other com-
pounds were soluble as well as the nitates.

The phosphoric acid of soils is practically always
insoluble. This is true of new lands, the richest and
most productive known. It is nature’s method. All
fertile soils contain such bases as lime, iron and others
that hold phosphorous in insoluble compounds from
whence it is released only by the processes of plant
growth and the chemical activities of fertile soils.

THE PURCHASE OF FERTILIZERS.

Fertilizers should be purchased by the unit of
plant food contained, with due consideration of its
source, and not simply by the ton or brand, as is
usually the case. Each twenty pounds of a ton is
called one unit or 1%; 5% is five units or one hun-
dred pounds. Growers often ask, ‘‘Can we afford to
pay $40 per ton for fertilizer?’’ It depends entirely
upon the amount and source of plant food contained.

18

We cannot afford $40 per ton for low grade analysis,
but can well pay $40 for high grade-goods. Freight,
sacking, storage and handling are fixed expenses on
low or high grades. Therefore, high grades are
cheapest.)

The way to figure the difference in value between
several brands of fertilizer is as follows:

Take nitrogen at 16 c. per pound, phosphoric
acid at 514c. per pound, potash (actual) at 6 c. per
pound.

(Note.—These values are based on the cost of
nitrate of soda, and sulphate of potash laid down in
inland California points.)

Remember that 1% or one unit of a ton is 20
pounds.

If ammonia is given instead of nitrogen you can
find its equivalent in nitrogen by multiplying by
825 %; for instance, 54% % ammonia equals 4.54 %
nitrogen.

Do not multiply the percentage of ammonia by
20 and then by 16c. as it then would read too much,
but must first be reduced to terms of nitrogen.

Also do not confuse sulphate of potash with the
actual (or K20) potash. The sulphate usually runs
about 49 % actual. So, in round numbers, it takes 2
pounds of sulphate to make one pound actual, or 2%
sulphate to make 1 % actual.

19

Allowance also must be made for phosphoric acid
if it is derived from raw bone. It is then worth
about 2c. per pound while if taken from steamed
bone would be worth fully 5c. per pound. In acidu-
lated goods the phosphoric acid is in three different
forms, with market values from 2c. up to 5l4c. per
pound: the water-soluble being worth 5c. per
pound, the insoluble, 2c. per pound.

The source is just as important a consideration
as the quantity when considering the value. Both
the quantity of plant food (that is, of nitrogen,
phosphoric acid and potash) and its source, which
determines its form, are really the only.factors which
compose the value of a ton of fertilizers.

Here are two analyses of different total value
which will illustrate the foregoing:

ANALYSIS I.

Nitrogen in terms of ammonia, 5 %.
Equivalent in nitrogen (5.825)

4.13 %X20=82.60 pounds at 16c............. $13.21
Phosphoric acid (from steamed bone)
12 20240) pounds at: Sloes ere 13.20

Equivalent to bone phosphate 26%
Potash (actual, K20)

OX 20—60 ipounds At Gc: 2... 4 ear 3.60
Sulphate of potash, 5.9%

Total walue of ton 22 ey $30.01
20

Note.—No account is taken of either the 26% of
bone phosphate or of the 5% sulphate of potash as they
are only repetitions of the 12% phosphoric acid and
the 3% actual potash, respectively.

ANALYSIS I.

Nitrogen in terms of ammonia, 512%.
Equivalent to nitrogen (5142 .825)

4,54 20=-90:80' pounds) at L6c.....2.).%3 $14.53
Phosphoric acid (from raw bone)
t3 20200) POUMESTAL NZC ives: ccd. clas deseee $5.20

Equal to bone phosphate, 31%
Potash, (actual, K20)

a2 SO POUMC Sat GC el ule kee $4.80
Sulphate of potash, 7.95%.

Totalivalue of conten Ao $24.53

Although Analysis II is higher in its percentage
of plant food, the form of the phosphoric acid is
against it and cheapens it so much that the total
value of the ton is considerably less.

Either of these analyses might be offered to the
grower for, say, $35 per ton and No. 1 would be the
best buy for the grower, and No. 2 the best sale for
the agent or manufacturer. _

It is quite possible for the nitrogen to be in cheap
form also and worth considerably less than 16c. per
pound. The nitrogen from raw bone is worth less
than that from blood, or bird guano, or tankage.

21

So the value of a ton of fertilizer is based upon
the source or form of the nitrogen, phosphoric acid
and potash, and the quantity of each.

COST OF NITROGEN.

Nitrate of soda, 96% pure,16% nitrogen, at $50
per ton. This yields 307 pounds of nitrogen, which,
at $50 per ton, equals 16.3c. per pound or $3.24 per
unit of 20 pounds.

Dried ground blood, analyzing 15% nitrogen, or
301 pounds at $50 per ton, equals 16.6c. per pound,
or $3.32 per unit. From horse manure containing
.5% nitrogen, at $2 per ton, equals 20c. per pound.
to say nothing of the phosphoric acid and potash
contained. The New York Experiment Station gives
the price of nitrogen in nitrate as 15c. per pound, in
meat and blood as 16c. per pound, in bone and
tankage (ground) as 16c. per pound.

COST OF PHOSPHORIC ACID.

Steamed, ground bone (not acidulated) at $35
per ton, containing 25% phosphoric acid (500
pounds) equals 6c. per pound, less the value of 1%
nitrogen (20 pounds) contained in steamed bone at
16.4c. per pound would make the net cost of phos-
phoric acid about $1.10 per 20 pounds, or 5'4c. per
pound. Thomas Phosphate Powder, 17% phosphoric
acid, at $22.50 per ton, would cost $1.30 per unit,
or 6Yec. per pound.

COST OF POTASH.

The sulphate yielding 49% actual potash can be
bought for $60 per ton, making the actual potash
cost 6c. per pound or $1.20 per unit, or 20 pounds
of a ton.

MOST ECONOMICAL FORM OF FERTILIZERS.

If the price of nitrogen is the same in nitrates,
and bone and blood, the cheapest is that which
becomes available just as fast as the tree wants it,
neither faster nor slower. Is nitrate too quickly
soluble for the tree to use all of it before a part of it
is carried away by waste water? Is ground bone
too slowly available or blood and bone just right?
Who will tell, and how? It isa fine problem.

If aform of plant food becomes available too
rapidly, the moisture holding it in solution rises and
evaporates, leaving this soluble, valuable, food on
the top of the ground, whence it is partly lost by
escaping surface waters, and part carried back into
the soil by penetrating moisture. That is why slow-
running water gives the most profitable irrigation.
A “waste water” right on one ranch from another
becomes also a fertilizer right, provided the other
man fertilized.

If, however, some form of plant food, not so
quickly soluble in running water as nitrate of soda,
and yet readily soluble by soil moisture and root

23

action, is used, there is much less actual loss during
a season, and its effect is more sure and lasting. Yet
there are times when a quick-acting fertilizer is
needed. This would then be the most economical
form. It depends upon the needs at the time, and
the farmer should know enough about the nature of
the different forms of plant food to exercise judgment
in the selection.

GENERAL PURCHASING PRINCIPLES.

1. The market value of every brand depends
upon the amount, or percentage, of plant food con-
tained. The nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash each
have their own market value per pound, and these
must be known to the grower in order to purchase
economically.

2. Be sure the food elements are of proper
source and form to be available as fast as wanted
by the trees.

3. Purchase high grade materials.

EXAMPLE OF FERTILIZER WORTH $5.30 PER TON.
Fresh water mud, 2000 pounds, contains:

30 pounds nitrogen (142%) at 16c................000 $4.80
41% pounds phosphoric acid (.23%) at Slac....... .23
ade pounds potash’ (29%) ‘ab iOG mia uo 27

$5.30

24

EXAMPLE OF FERTILIZER WORTH $36 PER TON.

Eighteen hundred pounds of blood and bone,
containing 7% nitrogen and 10% phosphoric acid,
added to 200 pounds sulphate of potash, will make
one ton analyzing as follows:

P22 G lbs matroeem (6.5.5 @L6C ya aloha $20.21
180 Ibs. phosphoric acid (9% @5Vc)...eeeeeeeeee 9.90
HOO Tosipotashits% @be.) ee ae ee 6.00

$36.11

ILLUSTRATION NO. I—A HIGH GRADE FERTILIZER
CONTAINING NO FILLER.

ANALYSIS. OBTAINED FROM LBS.

Nitrogen 514% ...... 1400 Ibs. raw bone, 3.5%

(110 lbs.) TIELOR EMS aie sects oe 4.9.00
4.00 lbs. nitrate soda (96%

pure——16% nitrogen)... 61.44

110.44

Phosphoric acid...1400 lbs. raw bone, 23%

16% (322 lbs.) phosphoric acid.............. 322.00

Potash 5% actual.200 Ibs. sulphate, 50%

(100 Ibs.) actual potaisin.y.23)55).024: 100 .00
COST OF ABOVE MATERIALS.

EOO lbs. bone at $30/00' per tom. :...6..6..5.0.0..0 $21.00
200 lbs. nitrate at $50:00 per ton)... 000." 10.00
200 lbs. sulphate at $60.00 per ton............... 6.00

2000 lbs. Ge oie AN Uae aR UR $37.00

ILLUSTRATION NO. U—A LOWER GRADE FERTILIZER
CONTAINING 230 LBS. FILLER.

ANALYSIS. OBTAINED FROM LBS.
Nitrogen 5962.02...) 1300 Ibs. raw bone, 3.5%
100 lbs. LIOR EM LUO Lad a 45.00
390 Ibs. blood, 14% nitrogen.54.60
99.60
Phosphoric acid...1300 Ibs. bone, 23% phos-
15%, 299) lbs. PHOMIC ACH ee yy ue 299.00
Potash (actual)...
2% 40 TDS.) 200.25. SO bs. sulphate: Mae 40.00
COST OF ABOVE MATERIALS.
1300 lbs: bone at So0-O0tper ton cane $19.50
390 lbs:'blood at So0-O00 per Eom ek ian 9.75
80 Ibs. sulphate of potash at $60.00perton 2.40
1770
230 filler
2000 Ibs. 8 Bo 5 a2 RAE OM eR eA OULU $31.65

Illustration No. I shows that if the analysis is
high, only high grade materials can be used. LIllus-
tration No. II shows thatif the analysis is low, either
low grade materials or fillers were used. In No. II,
high grade materials up to 1770 Ibs. were used, and
their value, pound for pound, is the same as in No. I.
A filler used with high grade materials is equivalent
to the use of low grade goods and the resulting

26

analysis in No. II shows it. Less blood and bone
could have been used in No. IJ, and more filler, but the
resulting analysis would have been still lower.

If, however, the fertilizer is acidulated, the per-
centage of plant food may be low, as the weight of
the acid used displaces some of the material, yet the
fertilizer should be considered high grade on account
of the more soluble condition of its phosphoric acid.
Here the better form of plant food compensates for
the smaller quantity. Ifthe acid phosphate should
revert to insolubility on account of the lime or other
bases in the soil, its purchase would be equivalent to
low grade materials, as the advantage of greater
solubility is largely lost and the total amount of
phosphoric acid purchased is small.

&

THE ‘‘SIMPLES’’ AND HOME MIXTURES.

The “‘simples’’ are the original materials, or the
bases of which factory mixed fertilizers are composed.
They are such materials as nitrate of soda, pure
blood, sulphate of ammonia, potash salts, bone,
phosphate rock, super phosphates, etc. T ankage
and the guanos are “‘simples,’’ as they are the bases
of manufactured brands. There are low and high
grades of the “simples”? as well as of brands, and
guarantees should always be obtained by the buyer.

Sometimes these materials can be purchased
cheaper separately than when mixed. Such is the
case if the buyer is near a seaport or near the source

27

of the material. The advantages are the buyer
knows what he is getting; he buys only the ingre-
dients he needs, and he buysdirect. Such advantages,
however, do not always hold if the quantity wanted
is less than a carload. Farmers can then club
together and effect the saving.

If, however, a complete fertilizer is needed, it is
better to buy of a reliable manufacturer, as the goods
are then mixed and blended more evenly and cheaply.
If several ingredients are needed, and these can be
purchased to advantage separately, it would be better —
to apply them separately than to attempt home
mixing, for a shovel and a barn floor will not mix
foods evenly and uniformly.

As a rule home mixing pays when compared with
the purchase of low grade brands. If the manufac-
turer offers HIGH GRADE fertilizers it is time and
money saved to use them.

WHY THE ANALYSIS DOES NOT ADD TO ONE HUNDRED
PER CENT.

The Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station
Bulletin No. 47 says: ‘‘The question is often asked
why the plant food contained in a fertilizer does not
add up to 100. For instance, the average Vermont
goods this year contain in a hundred, 2.22 pounds
nitrogen, 10.93 pounds total phosphoric acid and
3.46 pounds of potash, a total of 16.61 pounds. Of
what did the other 83.39 pounds consist, and is it

28

needed for plant food? It will be remembered that
nitrogen is a gas, and phosphoric acid and potash
respectively strong acid and alkali, and that they
can only be useful in combined forms. If medium
grade materials were used in the manufacture of the
average fertilizer, as stated above, it might be made
up about as follows:

4.44) pounds of organic matter (blood, tankage, etc.)
850 pounds of ground S.C. rock and sulphuric acid.
110 pounds of muriate of potash.

1400 lbs.

This would leave 600 pounds, or 30 per cent. of
the gross weight in every ton for moisture, dirt and
useless material on which freight, mixing and bagging
expenses, storage, etc., must be paid by the consumer.

A complete analysis of the above 1400 pounds
would probably resemble the following:

TEE Us) SADR ie Nt See 16.0 (Combined with organic
matter and sulphuric acid)

ITEC ORO Aes) costae 2.2

Phosphoric acid...... 10.6

| 015212) FUR ee 2.9

Volatile and organic 33.0 (Combined with nitrogen)

MISTI, 20 Soca video ass ones 16.0 (Formed by action of
sulphuric acid on rock.)

17 A A 7.1 (Left combined with phos-
phoric acid.)

SISter ee 4.0 (Impurity phosp. rock.)

Chlorine and Salts... 3.0 (Combined with potash.)
Miscellaneous.......... ye

100.0
29

Of the ten substances which compose the above
100 per cent, only three are of interest to the farmer.
The value of the whole ton is based on the value of
the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, only.

In raw bone, for example, it is impossible to give
a farmer the 3% nitrogen and the 24% phosphoric
acid contained without giving him the 73% of lime,
gelatines and fats, etc., found in bone, for these sub-
stances are in combination and the process of separ-
ation would be too costly.

HOW TO UNDERSTAND A FERTILIZER ANALYSIS.

Manufacturers often state the analysis of their
fertilizers in a confusing way. They use two terms
to express the same thing. Nitrogen and ammonia
both mean one thing, and the analysis should read,
for example, ‘‘nitrogen 4.95% equal to ammonia
6% ,’’ showing that there is not both the 4.95%, and
the 6%, but only one or the other. That the one
repeats the other. Multiply the percentage of am
monia by .825 and the result will be the equivalent
in nitrogen, as for example, 6% ammonia X .825=
4.95% nitrogen. It takes 4.95% nitrogen to equal
6% ammonia. In figuring the value of a ton in
dollars and cents, nitrogen from blood or nitrate of
soda has a market value of 16 cents per pound, while
its equivalent in ammonia is worth only 13% cents
per pound. Only one should be included in the
estimate.

30

And so with the terms bone phosphate and phos-
phoric acid. The phosphoric acid comes from the
bone phosphate. For example, it takes 30% of bone
phosphate (sometimes called ‘bone phosphate of
lime’) to make 13.74% of phosphoric acid. When
both terms are employed by the manufacturer the
words, ‘‘equal to’? should be used, thus: ‘Bone
phosphate of lime, 30%, equal to phosphoric acid,
13.74%,” which means that the manufacturer used
600 pounds of bone phosphate or bone—30% of the
ton—to obtain 13.74% of phosphoric acid.

Multiply the percentage of bone phosphate by
.458 and the result will be the equivalent in phos-
phoric acid, thus: 30% bone phosphate of lime
X .458=13.74% phosphoric acid.

In estimating the value of a ton in dollars and
cents, phosphoric acid from fine bone is worth about
5% cents per pound, while its equivalent in terms of
bone phosphate is worth only 2% cents per pound.
Only one should be included in the estimate.

Where the ‘“‘soluble,’’ the ‘‘reverted,’’ and the
‘Gnsoluble,” and the ‘‘total’” phosphoric acid are all
given, it is understood that the “‘total’’ is made up
of the first three mentioned.

The sulphate and muriate of potash will analyze
in round numbers about 50% actual potash (some-
times expressed as K20). In other words, it takes
two pounds of sulphate or muriate of potash to

31

make one pound of actual potash (K20). When an
analysis states: ‘Sulphate of potash 8%, actual
potash 4% ,’’ it means simply that there is only 4%
of potash in the ton, or 80 pounds, and that the
manufacturers used 8% or 160 pounds of sulphate
of potash to get it. The actual potash is worth
about six cents per pound, while the sulphate is
worth only three cents per pound.

When both terms are used in stating the analysis,
only one of them should be included in the estimate
of the value of the ton.

COMMERCIAL VS. AGRICULTURAL VALUE.

Farmers frequently confound the agricultural
and commercial value of a fertilizer. If one is high it
does not necessarily imply that the other must be.

The commercial value of any commodity is its
market price, its purchase price, and depends entirely
upon “supply and demand.”’

The agricultural value of a fertilizer is its ability
to improve the fertility of the soil and the condition
of the crop in question.

As an illustration, suppose a steady, long-lived
food were wanted for some perennials as an orchard,
blood would answer the purpose while nitrate of
soda would be soon exhausted or lost by leaching.
Now, while the price of both nitrate and blood is
about the same, ($55.00 per.ton) the agricultural value

32

of blood is far greater. If a quickly acting manure
was wanted the nitrate of soda would have the
higher agricultural value.

Again, if phosphoric acid was not needed for a
particular soil and crop, it would then have no agri-
cultural value in that case, but would still have a
market, or commercial, value.

In the selection of a fertilizer, the agricultural
value should be considered first and the commercial
value second. Good results are of first importance
as they repay the cost many times.

THE USE, OF) FERTILIZERS.

In order to use fertilizers intelligently, it is
necesssary to know the specific action of the three
plant foods, nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash,
and when and how to apply them. So far as the
author knows, there have never been any exhaustive
experiments made to this end in California with
special reference to citrus fruits. However, by the
help of agricultural colleges, certan general principles
have been discovered, and certain conclusive results
obtained, in connection with deciduous fruits and
other plants, which are a guide and help in citrus
culture. The few experiments which have been made
with various fertilizers on citrus trees confirm these
same general principles. They will be briefly stated.

33

EFFECT OF NITROGEN.

The presence of available nitrogen is shown by a
dark, healthy, green color of leaves and stems.
Growth is vigorous. The feeding power of the plant
is increased. Ifan excess of nitrogen is available at
the time of flowering, and the supply of phosphoric
acid insufficient, the bud and bloom and fruit will be
imperiect and the total amount of fruit lessened. The
fruit will then be rough and thick-skinned. Constant
use of stable manure, without the addition of phos-
phoric acid, will produce thick-rind fruit, as manureis
relatively high in nitrogen. The size of fruit may be
increased by nitrogen. A lack of nitrogen is shown
by yellow trees and small growth, or lack of vigor.
Nitrogen will not give its best effect unless phos-
phoric acid is present.

EFFECT OF PHOSPHORIC ACID.

Phosphoric acid helps a plant toassimilate other
plant foods. It is also essential to the final maturity
of the plant or its seed production, and hastens this
maturity, if abundant and available at blossoming
time. Although the navel orange contains no seed,
phosphoric acid is as essential as though it did.
What usually thus goes into seed is needed elsewhere
in the development of the fruit.

If maturity is hastened by the presence of an
abundance of available phosphoric acid at the time

34

of blossom, the early ripening of the orange can be
likewise effected.

Phosphoric acid will not give its best effect unless
there is some nitrogen present. Plants well supplied
with phosphorous, vegetate faster and are earlier.
If an over abundance of nitrogen is making fruit
rough or ‘‘puffy,’’ phosphoric acid will correct this.
Its tendency is to make thin-skinned, smooth fruit.

EFFECT OF POTASH.

Potash is necessary to the full development of
the wood of the tree. If potash is wanting, the wood
will not mature, and is subject to frost and disease;
neither can immature wood carry much fruit. Potash
aids in the formation and transfer of starch, first to
the leaves and from there to the flesh of the fruit,
which would be imperfect otherwise. The best
authorities agree that potash increases the sweetness
of fruits.

Plants, undoubtedly, begin their growth in the
spring on the food that was stored in their tissues
the previous fall. Potash is largely the source of
this stored food, and is consequently necessary to
the full growth and health of the tree.

It is generally admitted, however, that applica-
tions of potash are unnecessary in most California
soils. Many cases are reported in which heavy
applications of wood ashes gave no appreciable
results. If the land in question has been continuously

30

cropped many years, as ina fifteen or twenty years’
old orchard, the potash question should be carefully
investigated.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES.

In a general way, both phosphoric acid and
potash influence the quality and fineness of the fruit,
while nitrogen produces the vegetable tissue, such as
the skin and pulp of fruit, and leaves and bark of
trees. The juice and seed and smoothness and the
number of the fruits can be increased by phosphoric
acid and potash. The size and coarseness and large
growth and late maturity can be secured by the
extensive use of nitrogen. These effects are noticeable
only when there is an excess of one element and a
deficiency of the others.

AVOIDING PURCHASES OF UNNECESSARY FERTILIZERS.

Knowing the specific effect of the three essential
plant foods, as just stated, and by observing the con-
dition of an orchard, a grower may frequently avoid
the purchase of unnecessary plant food.

Bottom lands are usually rich in nitrogen. Sandy
soils are apt to lack potash. Clay soils usually con-
tain much potash, etc. Coarse, thick-rind fruit, with
deep green color of leaves and a too vigorous
growth, may indicate that nitrogen could profitably
be omitted one season. An over abundance of
smooth fruit on yellow trees of slow growth may
indicate an excess of phosphoric acid tor the nitrogen

36

present, or a lack of nitrogen. Iron is as essential as
nitrogen to green leaves and stems, so yellow foliage
may be caused by absence of iron as well as nitrogen.
The amount of iron necessary for green foliage is so
small, that lack of nitrogen is usually the cause of
yellow color in citrus orchards.

TIME TO APPLY FERTILIZERS.

In the book of nature we read that growth is
dormant for some months preceding the blossom and
fruit-setting period. This is naturally the time of
most moisture in soils, which, with root acids and
fermentation, are rendering available and unavail-
able plant foods natural to the soil. So, when the
important time of blossom comes, the plants have
their greatest store of available plant food to draw
upon. Why, then, should not fertilizers be applied
long enough before the blossom time to become
available ?

Nitrate of soda requires the least time. Blood
requires more time than nitrate, and raw bone more
time than blood. Coarse bone, and hoof and horn
meal, are slowest in their action. Acidulated phos-
phate acts more quickly than any other form (that
is the soluble portion.) Steamed, fine ground bone,
used with some ammoniate, is next in order, while
fatty, raw bone takes still more time to decompose.

Many apply a part of the fertilizer in early sum-
mer. This is intended to feed the later growth of

3T

tree and crop and lessen the risk of loss by winter
waste waters.

Acidulated forms should always be applied just
before an irrigation or rain, for then the water will
carry the soluble portion to the deepest roots,
wherever, in fact, watercan go. There reversion to
insolubility may and probably does occur in a few
days, but the phosphoric acid 1s where the roots can
act on it directly.

Nitrate of soda should not be applied in late fall
or winter months while growth is dormant, as it
would probably be leached away before the tree could
take it up. Organic forms should be applied in
January or before.

AMOUNT TO APPLY.

As to the quantity to apply, no one can tell this
without careful experiment. Much depends upon the
character of the soil, the condition and age of trees,
and variety of fruit in question. The most vigorous
growth requires the most food. Each grower must
be his own authority.

A pound of high grade fertilizer to each year of
age of the tree is the amount usually recommended
for navel orange trees in fullbearing. Orchards other-
wise well cared for, supplied with this amount,
increase their yield each year. Usually, however,
where two pounds per year of age of tree is used, the

38

yield of navel oranges is sufficient to warrant such
apphication with profit.

This is particularly true of trees over ten years
old. If the fertilizer is low grade, the amount used
should be doubled.

METHOD OF APPLICATION.

The best method of application is undoubtedly
by drill, on account of its labor saving and uniformity.
Though not over five inches deep, the drill covers the
fertilizer, which can be placed deeper by subsequent
plowing. The use of drill obviates the unpleasant-
ness of applying in any winds which may prevail. No
hand process is so uniform or inexpensive, though
some other methods place the fertilizer deeper. It is
well worth the extra cost to hire a hand to follow
each plow furrow and place the fertilizer that depth.

STABLE MANURE.
An average analysis of one ton of horse manure

would be:

Nitrogen—0.50% or 10 Ibs. of a ton at 16c........ $1.60
Phosphoric acid—0.25% or5lbs.ofatonat6c... .30
Potash—0.40% or 9.6 lbs. of a ton at 6c.......... 58

The commercial value of the plant food is then
about $2.50 per ton. Barn vard manure, when cared
for properly, is a most profitable form of fertilizer,

39

because of its humic and mulch value. It is a bt-
product of every ranch, costs nothing, and is worth
about $2.50 per ton for the actual plant food con-
tained. In dry countries it has a still greater value
in its moisture-saving properties. As a source of
humus it is worth considerably more than its plant
food value.

The more decomposed the manure, the more
available is its plant food. If, however, decomposi-
tion is too rapid, the nitrogen escapes in the air as
ammonia, and humus-forming matter is destroyed.
High temperatures produce rapid decomposition,
especially in a loose heap, so that the rate of decay
may be regulated by compacting the heap and
sprinkling with water to exclude the air and reduce
the temperature. If compacted too tightly, decom-
position may be too slow. Moderate fermentation
is the object desired. Loss of nitrogen, as ammonia,
may be detected by the strong odor arising from the
heap.

If it is desired to obtain the benefits of the plant
food in manure quickly, it should be stored under
cover to prevent loss by leaching, and the temperature
kept down by frequent wetting, and air excluded by
settling the heap; decomposition may thus take
place with a minimum loss of ammonia. If from one
to two pounds of either gypsum, lime, or sulphate of
potash be sprinkled on the heap each day as it

40

accumulates, the ammonia is prevented from escap-
ing. The gypsum must be moist for this use to be
effective.

If, however, it is not desired to get the benefits of
plant food quickly, the manure had better be applied
fresh and incorporated with the soil at once. Decom-
position may be slower in such cases, but loss of
ammonia is surely prevented and a much _ better
mulch obtained.

‘‘Humus is not only the principal source of nitro-
gen in soils, but it influences to a marked extent the
available potash and phosphoric acid. Humus-
forming materials, like green manures and yard
manure, have the power, when they decompose in
the soil, of combining with the potash and phosphoric
acid of the soil and thus converting them into forms
which are readily utilized by the plants.”” (From
Experiment Station Work, V. of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. )

GREEN MANURING.

The object of sowing the leguminous, or pod-
bearing plants is four-fold.

1st. To obtain the nitrogen which they produce
by their growth.

2d. To set free unavailable plant food by the
action of their roots. |

3d. To lighten the soil by plowing them under
while green. The capacity of soils for absorbing and
retaining moisture is thus increased, part of the cost

41

of nitrogen is saved, and danger of washing by
winter rains is lessened.

4th. For humus, which is always necessary for
any form of crop.

The Canadian field pea is the most popular plant
for this purpose. Beans and clover are also used.
Barley and other grains have not the same power to
absorb nitrogen from the air, and, unless turned un-
der green, dry out the soil and render it hard to
work. Barley is beneficial as far as its roots set free
unavailable forms of potash and phosphoric acid.

The green manure wanted by orange growers 1s
one that will grow quickly, as California winters are
short and dry, and growers cannot afford to let the
ground rest undisturbed very long.

HUMUS FERTILIZERS—NECESSITY OF ORGANIC MATTER.

Humus is decayed organic matter. Itisnecessary
for fertility, because all the nitrogen in soils comes
from either an animal or vegetable source. (Very
minute quantities are absorbed from the air as —
ammonia and as nitrogen,) The nitrates come from
humus. They are water soluble and can be taken up
by the roots. Thus the plant gets its nitrogen.

All fertile soils are rich in organic matter. The
exceeding richness of new lands is due to the humus
deposited by succeeding crops for generations. This
is true of both the high mesa and the valley land. It
is possible to use some chemical form of nitrogen and

42

raise a plant, butit is expensive, requires close watch
ing, and is not practical. The nitrogen from organic
fertilizers is yielded to the plant gradually, with
greater certainty, and is more lasting.

Organic manures, whether of blood and bone, or
stable manure, or green cover crops, not only furnish
nitrogen to plant life, but their decay generates
several well known acids, notably carbonic, which
combine with soil moisture and dissolve other forms
of plant food. Without these acids, phosphorous,
potash, and other necessary elements would not be
so available to the plant. Direct root and water
action would then have to do the work alone, and
the plant would not thrive so well. Humus influ-
ences the availability of the phosphoric acid and
potash and converts them into forms more readily
utilized by the plant.

Organic fertilizers lighten soils. Their decay
leaves the soil open and porous. More oxygen is
thus admitted, which gives more life to the micro-
organisms which, after all, are the cause of all
fertility. Better cultivation is possible in such soils.
Light, porous soils are more retentive of moisture.
Thus, organic matter literally builds up a soil. It
increases its depth. A “worn-out” soil is simply a
soil devoid of humus. It is lifeless. Liberal applica-
tions of organic matter restore it and change it from
a tax to an income.

Humus-forming materials are, therefore, necessary
to successful and practical farming. The best results
from inorganic fertilizers, such as rock and acid
phosphates, Thomas slag and sulphate of potash,
are obtained when they are used with manure, or
blood, or blood and bone, or a green cover crop
turned under.

CULTIVATION AND FERTILIZERS.

Cultivation increases the availability of fertilizers
by aiding nitrification and by saving soil moisture.
All organic forms must first decay and then be turned
into nitrates (nitrification), and other salts before
water can carry their elements to the roots of plants.

The decomposed matter (humus) is attacked by
nitrifying bacteria and these require oxygen for their
work. Cultivation increases this supply of oxygen
so that nitrification proceeds faster, and better
growth results. The more frequent and deep the
cultivation, the better the nitrifying bacteria can
work. The size of fruit may be inereased in this way,
or a short season made equal to a long one.

This principle of aiding nitrification applies to all
forms of animal and vegetable fertilizers such as yard
manure, blood, raw bone, guano, tankage, and peas
or clover, planted for their fertilizing value when
ploughed under.

Frequent, deep cultivation increases the supply
44
ti of C.

of water in soils. Several well-known acids, result-
ing from decomposition, unite with soil moisture and
dissolve what ordinary water will not. Insoluble
forms of fertilizers, such as phosphate of lime and
silicate of potash, are probably thus made available
to the plant.

Moist soils swell and are more permeable. Roots
can develop faster in them, and the fertilizers, applied
to the top six inches, as they gradually dissolve, can
be carried more easily and deeply, increasing the
feeding area of the roots and the development of the

plant.
IRRIGATION AND FERTILIZERS.

Plants can take up food, only when it is provided
in solution. The food may be dissolved by water, or
by direct root action, or by the process of fermenta-
tion, which is almost constant in all soils. In either
case water is essential, and the common carrier, and
the way in which it is used, seriously affects the re-
sults of fertilization. Especially is this true because
the top foot of soil contains the most valuable
fertilizing ingredients.

There are three kinds of water in soils: free
water, which moves by gravity; hygroscopic water,
detectable only by laboratory methods even in the
dryest earth, and capillary water, which moves by
the power of attraction between particles of matter.
This capillary water is what plants feed and depend

45

upon mainly. It travels up and down and sideways,
carrying with it the soluble fertilizers.

As moisture evaporates at the surface, it is con-
stantly supplied from below by the capillary
movement. The dissolved fertilizers contained
remain on the surface after the water evaporates;
hence they accumulate so that top soils are always
the richest. The next rain or irrigation carries the
plant food down only to rise again as evaporation
progresses at the surface. Thereisthus an oscillation
of water up and down many times a year.

Certain forms of fertilizers, such as the nitrates
(both soda and potash) ammonium sulphate, the
sulphate of potash, and the acid and super-phos-
phates are easily carried by water. If applied just
previous to an irrigation they go to the deepest
roots, wherever water can go. If there is any waste
water a part of them is lost.

If the grade at the flume is very steep for fifty or
a hundred feet, the trees in that space will be the
first to turn yellow, although they are nearest the
flume and received the most water. The nitrates
have been washed to lower levels. Manure or straw
should be used in such places so that the water will
move more slowly and the nitrates retained where
they belong.

On account of the solubility of many forms of
plant food, irrigation water should be handled very

46

carefully. Do not turn a heavy head of water into a
furrow until after the furrow is soaked a little and
the fine earth compacted. This will lessen washing.
The ideal movement of water is up and down, with
as little movement on the surface as possible. In
this way the rich top soil with its humus and fer-
tilizers will be retained where it belongs.

VALUE OF SOIL ANALYSIS.

Soil analyses are valuable for determining in a
general way the needs of a crop. The greater the
number of samples examined, the more accurate will
be the information obtained. Very little can be con-
cluded from one sample. Taken in connection with
the appearance of trees and vegetation raised on the
soil, many a useless expenditure for fertilizing ingre-
dients may thus be avoided.

If samples of soil be taken according to the direc-
tions of the State Experiment Station the results
may be relied upon as indicating that soil’s capacity
for various crops. This information, with the
owner’s knowledge of previous treatment, together
with the appearance of the vegetation and growth
gives a pretty thorough diagnosis. Each of these
sources of information acts as a check or supplements
the other two.

Soil analysis should be interpreted by an expert,
for where 40 of 1% would be considered a sufficiency

47

of some elements, it would be regarded as a deficiency
of other elements. A soil containing %4 of 1% humus
is lacking in that substance, while that amount of
potash or lime would be considered ample for
fertility.

Again, soil analyses may reveal the presence of
some poison, such as carbonate of soda, or chlorine,
in the midst of otherwise fertile conditions. An
excess of either acid or alkali can likewise be deter-
mined. Plant food may be present in abundance and
yet the results be unsatisfactory on account of poor
cultural conditions. This, also, soil analysis would
reveal.

Whenever there is uncertainty about the needs of
crops or orchard, soil analyses should always be
taken. One element, only, may be lacking and thus
discovered, and the purchase of the element unneces-
sary be avoided. The State Experiment Station has
advised farmers that sufficient potash is present in
nearly all California soils. General experience has
confirmed this statement, thus saving the farmers
many dollars annually.

48

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POTTS PUR EATHES a slecse ere AscueteM Wa taksUs NUL e Cec daaaetencaahemeuas 20
rans (Orcanie Matter) ee eee ML ccsscssooenuata 42
MAS OMIM WM OESEAIE? oo. cscnndncse dacteansdertmcecassccnseconccanees dan Da
Pee ation, Relation) tO eEtiliZerse ee cesiesssoeansncntenseecanss 45
Bower Grade. Pertalizer,: Example eee... sdecswoncdedosess 26
MMC GHGE TOOT A255 clen eh ie tnadic Deedee bat scdaewas anaceanenseeedselevensdata 41
ACME US EAIIE. oe ie Soy ese elas NaN Sod seo weetsaenaap te 39
PARTE ARONA 1 (och aire ane tind Soa datah ceoehigvch'e aasinwaldewersnbine tamee 10
PDEA COMET ORG SE MOP. 0) 5 2. tdsce aac ea dgetsorusbancaeehsnussencdeesesccaren 22
DOSE EME CEMOE CoC sus tatlesuaectlradins est baasduas dvasedsoseasaanuane 34
IN sts ee ea tO ET ace OE EU MAL PLO SOO Shea) aan dawmeeoanas 10

NG EPO OUNCES UID eo. clc0h cue gestern cducsechoeessensecasesenuravepe se 8

Organic Matter (VE amus) 6s. O50 ee ee 4.2
PAS GTEC) WATE ee oie eens ceca cick cosa A elon a A ae 41
PHOspRate Guana. ic oii epee eg sea Ra Me 14
EPhospnoric Acid; Cheapest Formgic ce, io. eed 14
BHosohoric A cid Cost Oli 202). sentence aye ase eRe a 22
AGEASH HEME CE OPS yet whee LS Sum Mes 1 NR 35
PHOSphoric ACIG," HMeet: Ole... 0s. scree matece eas sa nme dahtiemmcnenece 34
Phospheric Acid) SOmrces col. ).c it: seee us... c0cy she soeee space aaa 11

PATE OOM CMNIIO TE, 6 655, Si OO Ue enna a 6
POtasn OST HOR ee el oe us ie AAR Ue 23
POtASO A SO UEEES OT ee ie cca sca. VULNS teen ae 15
Purchasing. General) Principles... 072.0) oha.0<..46 Ree ree LA 24.
Parehnase Gf Pentalizers: so iiet oe noe, ace nance 18
Fe e002) 01 Le ag One LC ME LAUREL RSLS NMED Da SHICHI EER ASHE a 27
SGM ATALW SIS! Walite: Of. iio scctyakcddcehecsuaneiben weber emer ctaereaees 47
SOUTCE OE MOPEUIZERS 10 lel. cusesccseavesaceeay diver yactueh < Ceeemian eae 8
Seale Nia re so Me eo es ete nema Alia weet es tala em Ma 39
StSAMEC ONE. dsl evctuddtemecsocuhamcecsieemeessinaenaeeuee a ecemnay 12
Vhonimasbnosphate Slag eis, sos ois encute caste rpecue coe emseneneme 13
Unnecessary Fertilizers, Avoiding Purchase................... 36
WSS OL erEIZERS i.e 66s oi. deeb codes coon de Bie beean ene eauaaeeemameeae 33

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The statement made in the paragraph near the top of
page 12, that the insoluble form of phosphoric acid has
‘‘no commercial value’? should be modified. State agri-
cultural stations usually attribute some commercial value
to this form of phosphoric acid, say about 2 cents per
pound, while the water soluble form would be regarded as
worth considerably more. The agricultural value of
insoluble, or tri-basic, phosphoric acid 1s very much greater
than the commercial value or the station value. (See also
‘“Cheapest Form of Phosphoric Acid,’ page 14, and
‘‘Commercial vs. Agricultural Value,’ page 32.)

/ [aay .

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