. Agriculture for beginners. omposition of the liquid manure, and its lossshould be checked by sprinkling some floats, acid phosphate,or muck over the stable floor. On many farms it is desirable to buy fertilizers to sup-plement the manure made upon the farm. In this caseit is helpful to understand the composition, source, andavailability of the various substances composing commercialfertilizers. The three most valuable things in commercialfertilizers are nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid. The nitrogen is obtained from (i) nitrate of soda minedin Chile, from (2) ammonium sulphate — a by-pr
. Agriculture for beginners. omposition of the liquid manure, and its lossshould be checked by sprinkling some floats, acid phosphate,or muck over the stable floor. On many farms it is desirable to buy fertilizers to sup-plement the manure made upon the farm. In this caseit is helpful to understand the composition, source, andavailability of the various substances composing commercialfertilizers. The three most valuable things in commercialfertilizers are nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid. The nitrogen is obtained from (i) nitrate of soda minedin Chile, from (2) ammonium sulphate — a by-product of thegas works, from (3) dried blood and other by-products ofthe slaughter-houses, and from (4) cotton-seed meal. Nitrateof soda is soluble in water and may therefore be washed away THE SOIL 25 before being used by plants. For this reason it should be applied in small quantities and at intervals of a few weeks. Potash is obtained in Germany, where it is found in several forms. It is put upon the market as muriate of. Fig. 15. The Cotton Plant with and without Food In left top pot, no plant food; in left bottom pot, plant food scanty; in bothright pots, all elements of plant food present potash, sulphate of potash, kainit, which contains salt asan impurity, and in other impure forms. Potash is foundalso in unleached wood ashes. Phosphoric acid is found in various rocks of Tennessee,Florida, and South Carolina, and also to a large extent in 26 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS bones. The rocks or bones are usually treated with sul-phuric acid. This treatment changes the phosphoric acidinto a form available for plant use. These three kinds of plant food are ordinarily all thatwe need to supply. In some cases, however, lime has tobe added. Besides being a plant food itself, lime actsbeneficially on most soils by improving their physicalstructure; by sweetening the soil, thereby aiding thelittle living germs called bacteria ; by hastening the decayof organic matter; and by liberati
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