Loudon free press. (Loudon, Tenn.) 1852-1855, 1853-07-22
AGRICULTURAL.

Philosophy of Improving Land.-Every
practical farmer, doubtless, who possesses a
sound and discriminating mind, is we'll ware
that in all improvements, whether in reference
to the crops we cultivate, the animals we feed,
or the soils we till, our operations, in order to
be successful must be regulated by certain fixed
and immutable laws, equally operative and pie
nipotent in the individual as in the class to
which the individual belongs. Common expert
ence has demonstrated that the different species
of quadrupeds do not mix,-that Indian corn
and millet, though belonging to the same order,
cannot be hybridized, and that those soils which
denominate sandy, are physically different from
those which are composed principally, or in a
great measure, of alumina or clay. The spe-
cifc distinctions in these cases arc fixed and
unalterable, and the laws by which these dis
tinctionS are maintained, no force Of human
power or ingenuity is competent to modify or
annul. Many farmers appear to be satisfied
with returning to the land moiety of its pro-
duee, while others return not only the whole
amount, but an additional benefaction in the
shape of muck, loan or compost. If field be
well MANFRED and planted in corn, and all the
vegetable matter produced by the crop; together
with the weeds, be given the subsequent sea-
son, the soil will unquestionably improve so
long as the practice is continued, and rapidly.
But this is never done under any of the present
systems of cultivation. We feed only foliage to
our animals, and sell the grain; and it is the
grain which constitutes the life, in a manurial
sense, of every production. In the system
pursued by nature, all the leaves and grain, so
to speak, are returned directly to the soil, and in
time even the more solid substances of wood
and bark contribute to the pabulum of the soil;
and it is owing to this arrangement that wood
lands never 'run out" or become so far impov-
erished as not to produce "crOp." In most
soils there is deficiency OF some of the
primitive earths sandy lands, so called, have an
excess of slick, or, in other words, deficiency
of aluminous particles. By adding clay, the
constitutional texture is improved, and the
character of the land ameliorated, and render
ed more productive. The addition of this
earth to sandy LANDS, renders them more pom
derous, and consequently less liable to sift and
wash it also increases their retentive power
or capacity, and therefore endueS them with
the necessary energies requisite to enable them
to resist successfully the effects Of drought
In applying alterants, it is always judicious to
consider the primitive character of the land.
and to ascertain, as accurately as circumstan-
ces will admit, the amount of extraneous mat
ter which is necessary to supply the deficiency,
and bring It to the condition Of those soils
which are known to be productive. Chemical
analysis is here Indispensable to secure the
best results; yet very important improvements
have been effected where the operator has been
deficient in analytical skill, and guided only by
practical knowledge of the geological charac-
teristics of the Germantown Telegraph.