New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-10-31
from the land but the inevitable result is at Lac. the
d. ~ if.f fertility

i'y bis hand: be sells in bis crops certain elements OF
Il atmosphere that constantly telng replaced from
thai iu.xbaus;ble store and certain constituents Of the
soil that are his property, and which have served 70
form ON, of the atmospheric elements the body of the
plant Of which they Themselves al-o constitute compo-
nent Iars In altogether alternating the crops Of his
fields h, depTves the land OF the conditions for their
repro,luciior system OF farming, based upon such
prreip.s Justly deserves TO be branded "A system OF
spoiaion Had all the constituents of the soil carried
oil from the eld in the produce Sold been year after
wear or rotation after rotation completely restored IN
the land the latter would have preserved it. fertility
TO tie fullest extent the gain Of the farmer would,
indeed have been reduced by the repurchase Of the
aeIated constituents OF the rO, but it would thereby
have been rendered permanent.
"The constituents oftbe so are the farmer capital.
the elements food supplied by the atmosphere. the
interest of this capital by means OF the former he pro-
duces the latter. In selling the produce Of his farm
he alenates portion OF hs capital and the interest;
in returning To the land The constituents Of the soil
moved in the crops, he simply restores his capital 10
his field.
I'm our exhausted fields the roots Of the cereal
plants find no longer in thu upper layers Of the soil
sLffceuey OF food for full crop; the farmer there
fore grow. on these fields clover turnps, and other
plants which with their wide--preadng and deep
roots penetrate through the so III all directions, and,
bv the great surface of their roots, render available
aud a.snlae to themselves, those constituents Of the
sol whch the cumferous plant requires for the form
auon Of seed.
tubers of these plants which the farmer puts in the
foIm of manure the upper Layers of his soil, n
rrfGrns 10 IT, in concentrated FORM the deficient corn
cor stiiueue required for one or several full crops.
These indispensable elements of food which were
before scattered throughout the subsoi have By the
green crops been collected from il and added to the
surface soi In efecting this object. the clover and
fodder plants more be- regarded III the light OF
creating the conditions necessary for the larger corn
crOu- tan the RAJ gaherer Who collects the materials
for manufacturing rauer. can br looked upon rs the
producer OF tLOsc rags
- The American farmer desIoil- his field without the
!east attempt al method in the process. When ceases
10 WELD him sufficiently abundant crops, ne rlnpiy
quits IT, and with his seeds and plants betakes himself
10 fresh field for there s plenty "f good land To be
had in America, and il would not be- worth ms wie
10 work the same field 20 absolute exhaustion. but
our modern ,y.tem of high farming Is an organized
system of spoiaton--the last highest, and most i'm
i:hed degree OF the art Of wearing out the Fail.
.'The European -y-tem of cultivation called high
farming IL not that oIen system of robbery OF the
Ameri,a farmer, followed by The utter exhaustion oil
the soil bu, il IL q refined species OF spolaon,
which at first glance does not look libe robbery. IL II
spoliaton accompanied by seidecep,ion, vailed under
system Of teaching tie very basic Of which Il erro
neous.
$50 long AZ those most interested in the matter In
stead Of rejecting upon the conditions on which the
succe sful cultivation of all plants depends and trying
10 decoy these conditions and To understand their a
plcaiion in practice, seek TO put agriculture INTO
healthy condition by manure, thing 80 very indeh,
mite judefnahle and variable in its nature, no real
progress can be expected. For INV part, am quite
aware at science VIII for long time TO come have
to preach 10 deaf 80 long IA agncunrs.s derive
from the spoil alton OF their lands plentiful crops
and good income there il no hope al the advent OF
more rational sysrm of busbandry The field to such
men SIMPLY cow that gives them mix, but winch
they wond feed with liz own flesh taken from rs RIBS;
the folly of such proceeding VIII srike them only
when the u hi shines through the hollow skeleton Of
their victim Man s naturally prone Ia spolaon, and
dr. ads nothing much to have To exert his mental
faculties in tie acquisition Of nat he needs; he II IN
many respects like child in whose eyes the school
and learning are the greatest Of all troubles. Necessty
il tie only compulsory agent that Will ever make nm
move, aud this will come soon enough
'For each cultivated plant, there exists a similar
This state Of exhaustion inevitably happens,
when there has been withdrawn from the soil by
course of crops only OF all the different mineral
substances necessary for the nourshment oil plants
for the one which is wanting, or exists IN deficient
quantity, renders all The others lheNeient, or depVes
them OF their activity.
~ Nh eacb crop, each plant, or portion Of plant,
taken away from field, the soil loses portion of the
conditions Of III fertility that Is, II loses the power OF
again producing thiz crop plant, or portion OF plant.
alter the expiration OF number oil years oil entya-
ton. 49,
permanently ALLEVIATE only that portion of the produce
of his farm which ha. been supplied by the atmosphere
"a field from which nothing Is abstTIcted can only
n,rease, not decrease in productive power. II We
express the idea in another form, VIZ, farmer
NAV s.l and permanently ALLEVIATE AL that portion OF
the produce OF his farm which has been supplied by
the imosphere-a field from which something If per-
manenGy taken away, cannot possibly increase or
even continue equal in productive power, the axiom
thus enunclated is simply natural law
ar nof ted m th,. nrdp "a
which they appear in the book, but they serve TO
show in the least space. our authors view of the
necessity for restoring 10 the soil all of the i'm
portant mineral matters which il has Yielded 70 it.
crops.
Tnc following passages, similarly selected, con-
tain the teachings OF the work on the subject Of
manure:
1--WE desi gnaie ar nanuIes III substances which iu-
the produce OF our fields, wihou, knowing
whether many of these NAV not simply act, by render
Ing the food already existing in the soil capable
OF absorption and assimilation. The simple fact OF
their favorable influence on vegetation is pot yet a
proof thai they have acted directly food. We COM
pare the work which the plow performs. 10 The mas
cation OF food for which .paiure uas provided animals
with Il particular instrument; and, a. NAV be-
from the experiments described above many sub
stances such a. common salt nitrate OF soda aud am
mcnia Of sails independently Of the action which j.
due to their own elements, play peculiar part. which
may be compared to the dg.siine action Of the
ac and in which they partly replace each other;
and inasInuch then they pre- pare the food existing
in the soil for The process Of nutrition, and render il
more iii for assimilation, they NUT neceSsar, exert
powerful influence Oh the growth Of plants"
e In genera. the soil enriched Ly cultivation with
combuStbe constituents but III fertility nevertheless
steadily dimiuishes.
"Slce, then, the presence Of decaying organic mat,
ter in sod does not in the slightest degreo, retard or
arrest it, exhaustion by cultivation. il is impossible
that an increase OF these substances restore the
s,ro.}u.sf,r