A New Fertiliser

New Zealand Listener, Volume 6, Issue 132, 2 January 1942, Page 5

A New Fertiliser

Y a fortunate coincidence it was just about two years ago that Mr. George Holford, then in the Department of Agriculture, drew attention to the possibilities of a new type of fertiliser-the product of a mixture of three parts of fresh superphosphate still hot in the works with one part of finely ground serpentine, a rock composed essentially of silicate of magnesium. This rock is found in abundance ready for quarrying in various parts of our own country, and the most immediately accessible deposits are in the Auckland Province. This preparation has several enormous advantages, and the most important are these two: first, the phosphate is made waterinsoluble and thus less susceptible to loss in the soil, in other words more completely available to plants, I have had 25 years’ experience of this particular problem, and I will say that plants will recover from four cwt. of serpentine superphosphate as much phosphate as from four cwt. of ordinary super-a saving in phosphate of 33 per cent, which is of enormous significance at present. The second proved advantage is that serpentine superphosphate after being stored for months maintains a perfectly free running condition. It does not set, as does or- dinary super, it does not rot the containing bags, as does ordinary’ super. Bags remain quite sound. So here we have an opportunity of saving literally thousands of pounds per annum now lost by the rotting of imported bags in which super is carried. Every farmer knows all about that.-(" The Fertiliser Position, and the National Interest," by L, J. Wild, 2YA, November 21.)