THE 8EMLWEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
(JT-QT G?D1NA1W
ERVIN WARDMAN, PRIVATE
FMILIZffi
WEALTH
WSiw
DbertH.Moultoi
ertilizers are going
to be higher than they
have ever been. A famine
impends. Yet the American
farmer wasted wore than four
hundred million dollars' worth
of manure j the best ferti
lizer, last year.
S'"'''' 'A X
T JTOrrittfegrp , .
liHtTIT I'LHIW nn. irnltitr t hn hltrhiil-
I than they have over boon before, ow
I Ing to the war. Bo ncuto lins tho
I potash situation bocotuo that Unclo
I 8nm, among nil bis other diplomatic
1 troubles. hns been dlckcrltiir with tho
allies niul with Germany to lot.a little
miserable shipment of 10 tonu of pot
ash fertiliser coma through tho block
ado for the uso of the department of
r.grlqulturo'a fnrm experiment work. Yot with such
it fertilizer fnmlno staring the American farmer
in tho fuco, ho has deliberately wasted during the
lust year between four hundred million and four
hundred and fifty million dollars' worth of manure,
(ho beat of nil fertilizers. And this, according to
Authorities on agriculture and fertilizer, Is a regu
lar yearly occurrence. It Is not theoretical; It Is
actual loss, and tho strangest part of tho story Is
that the great bulk, If not nil, of this wasto, could
ho saved Just as easily as not. In fact, most of It
would he saved If American farmers wore, for In
stance, Dutch or Gorman farmers. It would bo
saved by the farmers of any of Uu old countries,
whero every pound of soli fertility Is conserved as
uutomntlcully and as nnturnlly as though It wore
minted money. In Germany tho alzo of Uie immure
pllo has long been an Index to tho wealth of tho
farmer.
What the value would bo of the Increased crops
that would result from this American plant food,
now wasted, can hardly bo estimated, but tho In
creased yields of corn, wheat, potatoes, and all
farm crops would amount to something enormous.
On the basis of using this needlessly wasted
strength In manure on the corn crop alono It Is
estimated that the yield would bo Increased at
least a billion and a half bushels, besides perma
nently Improving tho condition of tho soil to a
tremendous degree. In fact, a good many corn
fields of tho present day would bo so surprised at
receiving their quota of this wasted soil fertility
that they would not recognize themselves. And
yot the Dutch or tho German way of handling mn
nuro, clllclent as It Is, Is not tho best. Amerlruns
have discovered tho way to provcut all wanto lu
iimnuro and it Involves no more labor or expense
on the part of tho farmer than his present methods
.through which he loses annually neurly half a
iillllon dollars.
Tho nverago successful fnrmor or gardener will
ay thut this statement doesn't upply to him?
thut ho knows tho value of good manure nnd uses
every bit of U that ho can get. Hut 1b he certuln
that ho makes tho best uso of nil his manuro?
When he hauls a ton of mimuro on to tho Held, Is
Its fertilizing content all thnt It should ho and is
lie sure thnt from 10 to 00 per cent of Its crop-producing
strength has not been dissipated through
leaching, ttro-funglng, or lack of provision to absorb
or conserve the animal urlnof
Tnko na nn Instance tho enso of urlno alone: A
cow will produce 40 to 50 pounds of solid mnimro
ii iity, but she will also make from !X) to HO pounds
' of urlno and fully one-half of tho nitrogen In her
ration goes Into thnt urlno. So It Is most Important
to conservo the urine, for nitrogen is tho most ex
pensive element of manure or fertilizer. The other
two Important plant foods aro potash nnd phos
phorus. Even though manuro Is highly regarded by nil
good fanners, nevertheless there Is probably no
product of equal valuo which 'is so miserably neg
lected and regarding which such real Ignorance,
prevails, Tho first great sourco of loss Is through
tho Incomplete absorption of tho urine, nnd It is
not Infrequent to see no attempt being made to
save this portion of the manuro in spite of the fact
that It Is richer In both nitrogen and potash than
Is the dung, and In splto of the fuct that theso fer
tilizers are more uvallablo for tho plant In tho
urlno than In tho dung.
The second greatest sourco of wasto of mauurc
Is tho loss Incurred by leaching. If' n good-sized
mnnuro pllo Is stacked up against tho sldo of the
stable whero tho water from the eaves can drip
on It. or If It Is piled ny a slope or other exposed
plnce, ovory heavy rain washes away crisp bank
notes In the form of nitrogen and potash. These
Icaehed chemicals arc the most valuable portions
of tho pile, tho most avallablo for plant forcing.
Tho third common source of loss Is that Incurred
' by heating and fermenting. When manuro lu put
16. plies it soon heats and throws off more or less
ghs and vapor. The fermentation which produces
these gnsos Is caused by the action of bacteria, or
mtnuto organisms, Tho bncterln which prodtico
tho most rapid formputntlon In manure, In order to
work their best, need plenty of air, or, more strict
ly, oxygon. Therefore, fermentation will bo most
rapid In loosely piled mnnuro. Heat and somo
moisture aro necessary for fermcntntlon, but, if tho
manure Is we. and heavy, fermentation Is checked
becauso tho temperature Is lowered and much of
the oxygen excluded from tho pile. Tho strong
odpr of nmmouln, so common around n stable, Is a
simple evldcnco of tho fermentation and theloss of
nitrogen which Is going on.
Fresh mnnuro loses In tho process of decny from
'10 to TO per cent of Its original weight. An 80-ton
heap of cow mnnuro left exposed for one year lost
(50 per cent of Its dry substance. Some tests eon
ducted by tho United States department of agri
culture showed that two tons of horse manure ex
posed In n pllo for five mouths lost 57 per cent of
Its gross weight, 00 per cent of Its nitrogen, 47
por cent of Its phosphoric acid and 70 per cent or
Its potash, or nn average loss of three-fifths.
Five tons of cow manure exposed for tho same
length of time In a compact pllo lost, through leach
ing and dissipation of gases, 40 per cent In gross
weight, 41 per cent of Its nitrogen, 10 per cent of
Its phosphoric acid and 8 per cent of Its potash.
Hero was n terrific wnste, veritably, yet not greater
than Is to bo found In most common farm practice.
What would any business mnu or nny farmer think
of u city real estate Investment or a land invest
ment which depreciated In valuo In this wlseV And
. what If ho discovered that ho could have prevented
It at almost no cost or extra effort to himself V
The newspaper 1lfo of Ervln Ward
man, who beenmc publisher of tho
Now York Sun when it was purchased
by Frank Munsey, has been for the
most part n steady, day-by-day nffatr.
But it had one lively interlude, during
the Spanish-American war. Mr.
Wnrdman, then editor of tho New
York Press, enlisted as a private, nnd
was sent at first to Chattanooga. Of
his stay there a little story is related.
Mr. Wardmnn had ordered ono
of his reporters to the encampment
for Instructions on a ccrtnln story, and,
us fate would have It, tho day of the
reporter's arrival at tho camp was
Private Wnrdmnn's day for sentry duty
In front of the commandant's tent. It
also happened thnt tho commandant
nnd tho reporter were old friends, and
tho latter received an Invitation to
dinner In the soldier's tent, with a
cold bottle on tho side.
Nnturnlly tho reporter made tho
most of the situation. Ho found many occasions for pnsslng In and out of the
tent, snlutlng every time ho pnssed Sentry Wardmun, who was obliged by
military courtesy to return tho salute. It Is said that a brond grin ornamented
tho features of the reporter eveiy time tho tent flap closed behind him, but
Private Wardmnn took It all in the lino of duty..
Later Mr. Wardmun was commissioned a lieutenant and sent to Porto
Rico, where he snw fighting nnd so well conducted himself that he was men
tioned In orders and commended for gallantry.
The fnrm scientists and tho theorists can prench
all they want to about tho economy of the farmer
building fine, big sheds to keep tho rain off the
manure or other such plans, but It goes without
saying thnt tho nvcrnge farmer isn't going tlo see
It that way. But he doesn't have to I sThe remedy
for such losses Is simple In tho extreme. In fnct.
exactly tho right wny of bundling manure so as
to save nil this loss ts about tho cheapest, cleanest
nnd altogether tho cnslest way to hnndlo manure.
The flfflt step to prevent the loss of the fertilizing
elements In mnnuro Is to provide plenty of bedding
or Utter In tho stnblo to nbsorb nnd save all tho
liquid. The losses due to fermentation can bo
grently checked by mixing horse mnnuro with cow
,nmir, nnd mnklne tho temporary piles compact
to ns to exclude tho air, and by thoroughly wetting
tho manure, which will assist In excluding the air
mil nisn reduco the tbmncrnture.
Tho Ideal wny on tho average farm Is to follow
the plan, all through the year, of hauling manuro
directly from tho stnblo ana sprenutng u ui onte.
There is generally provalllug notion among farm
om Hint if manuro is hauled and sprend In mid
summer, the sun will scorch It to a cinder and burn
all tho good out of It Tho government ngrlculturnl
Rt.itlnn In Maryland. Just outside of Wnshlugton,
decided to determine this mntter accurntely, and
Its nnnlvtlcnl experiments have exploded two very
common beliefs, tho summer-burning theory being
one of them. Tho other common belief which has
been blown to ntoms Is that it Is better to plow
manure under In the fall thun to leave it exposeu
on the laud's surface during the winter nud then
ninw It under In tho spring.
In tho first Instance manure spread in "burning"
Julv and allowed to stnnd until the following
spring gnvo better results in carefully checked ex
periments than that spread m tne iouowmg spriuj;
lust before plowing. In the second series of ex
periments, better yields were secured nfter allow
, Ing the manure to lie on top of thoand all winter
And plowing it unuer in tno spring umu wer w
talncd from plowing It under In tne ran.
LANSING, PRESIDENT FOR JUST ONE DAY
The next president of tho United States will be
Hobcrt Lansing of Now York, tho present secretary
of state.
Mr. Lansing's term of ofilco does not depend
upon tho nctlon of nny political convention; it
Is likewise Irrespective of any prlmury or direct
election. In point of fact, It dates back to January
10, 18S0, when congress pnssed an net providing
thnt, In tho event of the denth, removal, 'resigna
tion or Inability of both tho president and the vice
president of the United Stntcs, the sccretnry of
stnte shall net ns president.
March 4. 1017, will fall upon n Sunday, nnd It Is
contrnry to all precedent although not In qpposl
tlon to nny lnw to hold nn Inauguration on Sun
day. Therefore tho Incoming chief executive will
take tho onth of office nnd commence his term
shortly nfter noon on March 5. President Wilson's
term commenced at noon on Mnrch 4, 1013; there
fore, according to the Constitution, Which defines
tho term of a president us "four yeurs," his tenure
of olllco will be over at noon onMarch 4, and, even
If he Is elected to succeed himself, he cannot take
the onth of ofilco until noon on tho following dny.
Vlco President Marshall, of course, Is under the
snmo disability ns the president. Therefore the
secretary of state, Mr. Lansing, will bo president
or tno united states ror tno nours nnd some
minutes elapsing between noon on Sunday, Mnrch
4, and tho time thnt tho new president takes the
oath of onico on the following day.
This brief term of olllco Is not a mere formality,
It Is nn nctuol occupation of tho power of presl
dent, with nil his authorities und prerogatives. Mr.
Lnnslag "President Lnnslng," for tho dny will
be empowered to occupy tho White House, to Is
sue pardons, to at tend to nil tho other business of
which tho chief executive bxts control, nnd to ride
to the cnpltol, should he desire, ns the outgoing
president on Inauguration day.
Moreover, this Is the first time In tho history of
tho untlon that a secretary of state has had this
honor bestowed jipon hint nnd only tho second
time In tho 140 years of the existence of the United
amies tnnt tne omee nns neen neicl uy nnyone
other thnn the president and vlco president.
THE MARK OF THE DEATH'S HEAD.
rrom the day of tho medieval nrchsr, who
notched his crossbow, to tho dny of the Westorn
bail imui. who notched his gun, men hnvo always
sought to proserve some mark of military prowess,
some tally of their victims. This wnr bus not
changed human nature. Tho modern military avia
tor, tho only soldier who still fights single-handed,
does not notch his gun; but ho paints a death's
head on tho wing of his 'plane to show that ho hat
vanquished his foo In open combat.
COSBY TESTS POISON GASES
Col. Spencer Cosby, United States
military nttuchc nt Pnrls, hns been
speaking In n hoarse whisper of Inte,
and his friends aro congratulating him
on losing nothing more thnn his voice.
When the Germnn army began tho
Uso of poison gases, Colonel Cosby
shnred the keen Interest of his brother
military Investigators In the new ele
ment of warfare, nnd determined to
test the gases on himself. Ho was
given the opportunity by tho French
nrray chemists, who had samples of tho
three kinds itscd, direct from the front.
The two less deadly varieties were
tried, and Colonel Cosby found them
not especially overpowering.
They hud now reached tho deadly
gas which clutches nnd kills. Tho
Chemist paused.
"You will not try this," he snid,
nppenllngly.
"Yes, nil of them," suld tho colonel
positively.
"Then we must bo very cuutlous," snld the chemist. "Plnce yourself about
a foot awny from tho bottle. I will rntse the glnss stopper the slightest possible
fraction of an Inch, so that only nn insignificant portion of gas can escape but
it will be enough. Now, ready 1"
Ho drew tho stopper the slightest particle, and only for. an Instant, with
Colonel Cosby n foot nwny. But in that instant the colonel felt he had been
hurled buck 20 feet. Tongues of fire were eating at his throat, and ten thou
sand needles were darting around his neck. It seemed ns though live vitriol
hnd been emptied in his mouth and was coursing through Ills veins. His whole
vocal system was paralyzed. This Infinitesimal portion of tho deadly gas had,
It' an lnstunt, overpowered him.
MB WWII IW ! IWW at
mm i JmMM
NEW ENVOY TO TURKEY
Keeping up tho custom of sending
n public-spirited, broad-minded, phil
anthropic Jew to represent the United
States In Turkey, the president hns ap
pointed Abram I. Elkus, a well-known
New York lawyer, as ambassador to
succeed Henry Mprgenthnu, who nindo
a distinguished record for himself nnd
his country during trying times at Con
stnntlnople. Mr. EUcus, who hns a high reputa
tion ns a lawyer. Is senior member of
tho firm of Elkus, Glenson & Pros
kauer, and Is known especially for his
work as counsel for 'the state factory
Investigating commission, n position
which he held from 1011 till 1015. Ho
hns drafted some 80 bills, nil of which
were enncted Into law, mitigating the
evils of child labor, especially In
canneries nnd tenement houses nnd
prohibiting undue work and night work
for women.
Mr. Elkus was born In Now York
city on August 0, 1807, uttended New York college nnd Columbia university
and was admitted to tho bar In 1888.
Ho Is assoclnted ns member or director practically with every Jewish
philanthropic organization In New York city. Ho is vlco president of tho
Free Synagogue and a trustee of tho Buron de Illrsch fund.
Mr. Elkus was mnm-led In 1800 to Gertrude It. Hess of New York. They
have two daughters, Ethel J. and Katharine, nnd one son, Jumes Mess Elkus.
STARTS A CHARITABLE FAD
Mudume Bnkhmeteff, tho wlfo of tho
Itusslnn ambassador, has taken a flyer
In fashions, und In Introducing to tho
rich nnd exclusive set at Newport the
brilliantly colored cotton and silk
shawls such as tho peasants of her
ndopted country wear, sho has at tho
same time giver a stimulus to tho cot
ton trade which nhould materially In
crease tho Uucalan market for Ameri
can cotton.
When women of fashion aro more
or less taking on the nccoutcrmcnts of
war in the style of their hats nnd
cents nnd tho picturesque dress of tho
peasants of many of tho countries uf
war, this Innovation ofMme. Bnkme-
teff In the way of n light wrup for
either morning or evening hns becomo
n chrrlty ns well ns n fad, for tho
manufacture of these shawls or scarfs
helps the cottage peasant Industries
of Russia, furnishing work to hundreds
of women nnd children while the men
aro at the front. Theso shawls ure n part of tho costume worn by peasunttf
lu certain districts of Russia, and aro 3ometimes mado of silk.
