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Show AF2KLIEAN BUKEAIJ - NITROGEN ESSENTIAL PLANT FOOD ELEMENT Farm Bureau Official Is at Head of Investigation. ' ! " v V. IT. WAI.KRH. Vice l'M'slilpnt of tin- Amrrtcnn Kami lluroau tVilortl-IhMi. tVilortl-IhMi. ) As ii r::tlon we linvo iU'Im-iuIihI upon oilier i-cuiuti'les to supply us with ninny Pinv iiimoriiils noi'ossiiry to our iiiinrulninil tuul liulnsti-liil ui'tlvltlrs. Phis iiH't wns tu-oiiRlit to tlio ntton-tlon ntton-tlon of the lust congress which au-tliorh-.oil the Iiopiirtniont of Coiiinierce lo ni.'ike n survoy of several linpor-Cir.l linpor-Cir.l iiKiterlnls such as rubber, slsul .ui'l nltroLjeii. In iniilciiii; this InvostlKHtlon of nl-im-i'ii It Is desirous of knowing the :iiipoi-t:iiieo, necessity nml use of nl-ii'o;;!i nl-ii'o;;!i hn: will be our future re-ipiiriviicnts. re-ipiiriviicnts. our source of supply, mid how i he use will be Influenced by tlie price. Nitrogen Is one of the essential elements ele-ments of plant food. All productive voil-: must contain this element. The n!tro:-en must be combined with other "It inents to enable the plants to use It. Nitrogen Is supplied to tlie soil largely by the use of fertilizers. It ! i he most expensive Ingredient of the ordinary fertilizers. Agriculture has been carried on In the past nt the expense of the soil's fer:';l'ty. The soils In large areas of the United States have been robbed of tliclr fertility through growing the same crop year after year, each crop taking the nitrogen from the soil with r.o replacements, until it Is not profit-i:M;; profit-i:M;; for agricultural use. As the demand de-mand for food has Increased, large areas of virgin soil have been opened to cultivation to meet this demand for more food and also to replace the worn out soils. This demand for more food has ti'i.uht into busp practically all the Tnlled States raising a special crop such as the cotton and tobacco In the South. They buy most of their supplies sup-plies from other sections, (live them a cheap fertilizer which will reduce cost of production and Increase the yield. This Increased yield will In Niiro a greater prosperity In these (lis trlets, the demands for outside goods will bo Increased. This Increased prosperity will tremendously lncreaso the purchasing power of this section through higher standards of living. They will ut once become purchasers of those exportable surpluses which are now annoying the country, and the Improvements which will be made throughout the entire community will furnish a market for largo quantities of agricultural and nianufaclured goods from other sections. We wish to know If fertilizers can be furnished to the fanner at less cost If the cost of processing, rellnlug and Importing Chilean nitrate can be reduced. re-duced. We are anxious to know the results obtained by those countries deriving de-riving their supply of nitrogen from the atmosphere, the amounts used and cost of production. If this process Is successful In other countries, how can It best be applied to our own country. coun-try. We are desirous of knowing how nearly our agricultural supply can be met by rotation of crops, and growing nitrogen-fixing plants .such as peas and the clovers. To secure the data on the needs of agriculture for nitrogen, the various vari-ous experimental and agricultural schools In the United States are giving giv-ing the results of the investigations being made in tlieir state In the use of nitrogen. Other Investigations are being made from the standpoint of manufacturing and use of nitrogen In explosives. These results will be incorporated in-corporated In a report showing the role nitrogen plays in our national life. The I use of nitrogen, methods of retaining our soil's fertility, our source of supply of nitrogen, and our ability to maintain this supply In peace as well as in war, constitute an important national problem. If through this survey an agricultural, commercial and Industrial project or program can be formed, a great forward for-ward step will be made In national conservation. Dr. W. H. Walker. land which can be profitably cultivated. culti-vated. To meet our Increased demands de-mands in the future, we must depend upon bringing back to productivity the worn out soils through the use of fertilizers. Our demand for food In the United States is rapidly overtaking our supply, sup-ply, and within a few years, at our present Increase, we will exceed our ability to supply our demand for food. As labor becomes more and more expensive ex-pensive on the farm, it Is necessary to decrease the cost of production and this can most readily be done by the scientific application of fertilizer, which will increase the production on the Land and at the same time de-crease de-crease the work. If we are to keep pace with the demand, de-mand, It Is necessary to use more nitrogen ni-trogen as a fertilizer to restore worn mt land. In making this survey, we wish to Lnow how much nitrogen will be required re-quired to bring back to productivity the large area of worn out lands; how nuu-h nitrogen should be used to preserve pre-serve the fertility of lands now highly high-ly productive. Wp wish to know how the price of fertilizers Influences or determines the amount used. We wish to know also what effect 'U- this Increased use of fertilizers will v have upon our surplus of marketable products. We secure our nitrogen from several sev-eral sources the coke ovens furnish large quantities of nitrogen In the form of ammonium sulphate and Mihydrous ammonium; large amounts of organic nitrogen in the form of cottonseed, manures, etc. Four-fifths of the atmosphere Is nitrogen, and by si'lal fixation processes, this nitrogen nitro-gen can be combined with other elements ele-ments and rendered available for 1 Innt food. Certain plants, such as clovers and peas, take nitrogen from the air and store It up in the soil. Our chief supply of nitrogen for all our needs is derived from large deposits de-posits In Chili. The Chilean government govern-ment levies an export tax of over ten 'iollars a ton on all nitrates shipped from Chill. This together with the long transportation charge Increases the cost of fertilizer to the farmer. In manufacturing and In explosives ive use large quantities of nitrogen. I luring the war the United States had Y :.(i."i steamships and 23 sailing vessels transporting sodium nitrate to tire" United States large quantities being used in manufacturing explosives for war. There are may sections In the |