This section is from the book "Commercial Gardening Vol1", by John Weathers (the Editor). Also available from Amazon: Commercial Gardening, A Practical & Scientific Treatise For Market Gardeners.
Crop. | Phosphoric Acid. | ||
lb. | lb. | lb. | |
Fruit crops ... | 75 | 50 | 150 |
Mangels, 22 tons... | 138 | 53 | 300 |
Beets, 14 tons... | 68 | 31 | 142 |
Turnips, 17 tons... | 112 | 33 | 148 |
*Turnips, 17 „... | 187 | 74 | 426 |
Swedes, 14 „... | 98 | 22 | 79 |
Beans (30 bus. grain) and straw ... | 106 | 29 | 67 |
Oats, 45 bus. and straw | 55 | 19 | 46 |
Wheat, 30 „ „ | 48 | 21 | 35 |
Bailey, 30 „ „ | 48 | 21 | 36 |
Maize, 20 „ „ | 43 | 18 | 36 |
47 | 22 | 76 | |
*Potatoes(6 ,, „ ) | 119 | 55 | 192 |
Meadow hay, 1 1/2 tons.. | 49 | 12 | 51 |
Red clover, 2 „ ... | 102 | 25 | 83 |
Hops ... | 200 | 85 | 134 |
*Cabbage... | 213 | 125 | 514 |
*Cauliflower ... | 202 | 76 | 265 |
*Carrot..... | 166 | 65 | 190 |
*Cucumber.... | 142 | 94 | 193 |
*Lettuce.... | 41 | 17 | 72 |
*Onion.... | 96 | 49 | 96 |
*Pea......... | 153 | 39 | 69 |
It will thus be seen that such crops as Mangels, Turnips, Beans, Red Clover, and Hops absorb large supplies of nitrogen from the soil; and Mangels, Turnips, Beet, and Hops also drain the soil of large quantities of potash. It is noteworthy that such leguminous crops as Beans and Clover should take up such large quantities of nitrogen, notwithstanding the power they possess of fixing the nitrogen of the atmosphere (p. 127).
The figures for the crops marked with an asterisk are taken from Professor S. W. Fletcher's book on Soils, and relate to analyses at the Michigan Agricultural College. It would appear that according to the climate, and no doubt the methods of cultivation, the quantities of food taken from the soil would vary very much.
 
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