ANALYSIS OF DATA FROM NOSSIG’S BOOK 99
Nossig (Revision des Sozialismus. Band II. Die moderne Agrarfrage*) gives the following interesting data
on restoring soil fertility.
Grandeau (manager of the Station agronomique de l’Est)
believes that there are 25 million ha of farmland in France
taken from the land annually: given metric tons same thousands
Nitrogen
613,000

fertilisers produced
Phosphoric acid
298,000

by 49 million head
Potash
827,000

of cattle (according
—
&
to Tisserand)
That is the total cattle, but not all should be reckoned in
terms of fertiliser!
i.e., the deficit averages about 5 0 percent! (p. 101)
And the artificial fertilisers do not, by a long shot, make
up for all that is taken from the soil.
In Britain, an average of 1.9 million centners of phos-
phoric acid is taken from the soil, while guano and bone
fertiliser cover only one-half (p. 109).
Thus, only the private owners, and not the land, have benefited from intensive agriculture with the use of
artificial fertilisers (p. 109).
It is now being recognised that mineral and artificial fertilisers alone are not enough.
* Revision of Socialism, Vol. II, The Contemporary Agrarian Question.—Ed.


In the past, they wanted to substitute them (p. 111)
by 125 kg of phosphoric acid
&60 kg of nitrogen
&60 kg of potash
It is now recognised that mineral fertilisers alone tend
to dry up the soil, and that an addition of manure is also
necessary.
Grandeau believes that out of 60,000 kg there must be at
least
 0, 0 0 0 kg of natural fertiliser.
Grandeau: Annalles de la Station agronomique de l’Est.
Déherain: Les plantes de grande culture* especially pp. 27-29 (also 188-93).
The result arrived at by Nossig (who makes use of the latest agronomical data, and cites Grandeau, Déherain,
Wollny, Hellriegel, Dünckelberg, Cohn, and many others)
 is that even intensive farming frequently comes to plun-
dering the soil.
It increases yields temporarily, but fails to bring about
a long-term and stable increase in soil fertility.
Human fertilisers must also be returned to the land (pp. 102, 108, 112).
Written before February 10 (23), 1903
First published in 1932
Printed from the original in Lenin Miscellany XIX
* Grandeau, Annals of the East Agronomic Station; Déherain, Major Crop
Plants.—Ed.