. The nature and properties of soils; a college text of edaphology. Soils. 490 NATURE AND PROPERTIES OF SOILS In spite of the intangible nature of the question, certain gen- eral rules seem to govern the compounding and use of fertiliz- ers. In the first place, the ratio of the nutrients removed by the average crop bears no relation to the composition of the fertilizer usually added. This is to be expected because of the complex changes that the fertilizer undergoes in the soil and because the different nutrients influence the plant di- versely. Table XCIX Constituents Ammonia Phosphoric acid
. The nature and properties of soils; a college text of edaphology. Soils. 490 NATURE AND PROPERTIES OF SOILS In spite of the intangible nature of the question, certain gen- eral rules seem to govern the compounding and use of fertiliz- ers. In the first place, the ratio of the nutrients removed by the average crop bears no relation to the composition of the fertilizer usually added. This is to be expected because of the complex changes that the fertilizer undergoes in the soil and because the different nutrients influence the plant di- versely. Table XCIX Constituents Ammonia Phosphoric acid Potash Ratio of the oonstituents AS They CJccue in the aveeage Crop. Ratio op the Constituents Caeried by the Average Fertilizer 0-2 16-8 It is immediately noticeable that the ratios of the ammonia and potash in fertilizers are low. The ammonia ratio is low because of the ready response of plants to nitrogen and the ease with which this constituent is lost from the soil. The potash ratio is likewise small because potassium is a rather expensive constituent and it is generally better if possible to render available by suitable means that which is already in the soil than to buy it commercially. The phosphoric acid is high in comparison with the ammonia and potash because of its complex reversion in the soil and the tendency of much of it to remain unavailable for long periods due to the high absorptive power of the soil. The following data may now be presented. These for- mulae are tentative and suggestive only, being a modification and curtailment of certain analyses standardized for the use of fertilizer manufacturers in the United Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Lyon, T. L. (Thomas Lyttleton), 1869-1938; Buckman, Harry Oliver, 1883-. New York, Macmillan
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