Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1866-09-13
DOES TIE SOIL NEED REST?

Our fathers in Agriculture quite generally
held the opinion that summer tallowinR great
ly benefited the soil by the rest which it gave.
1.-THE land lay utterly Idle through all the sea.
son fgrowth should it not recuperate its pow
ers OF production? They believed 1t would. |
And this opinion prevails TO some extent al the
presc nj time among farmers.
But absolute rest obviously adds nothing 10 |
the soil, no food for plants descends from the |
air above or rises from the subsoil below No !
favorable chemical action is known to be in |
duced by exposing naked subsoi long time
TO the elements; on the contrary it may be APP
pretended that the wa shing OF the rain, the
psrching sun, the evapor alton OF the almost
phere, remove some Of the volatile substances
which are found in fertile soil Rest does
not impart fertility, TO the sands OF the desert
/ nor are arabic soils 10 a state of nature where
they are Increasing In fertility, ever permitted
| to be destitute Of vegetable covering.
The soil then does not need rest-it requires
cultivation. By cult walton we mean here those
| physical changes which may be made. IL wants
deep and thorough working so that the roots OF
plants can reach every particle OF soil; it needs
| draining 10 draw of the stagnant water which
| is poison to the roots of our cereals and Gull
tivated grasses. Deep, thorough and frequent
pulverzaton OF the soil, though il adds moth
Ing to the amount Of plaut food, will by max
ing it all available TO the crops, cause the land
|
brief period of this thorough working, the soil
should be producing, tor it is by the sole agen-
CIV OF what grows upon it that the farmer can
hope to increase the amount oil plant food 10 his
land.
But is not land constantly producing crops
whether of grain or grass, e1hausting itself.
Yes, if those crops are removed from the soil
and no remuneration made therefor; but If
the whole produce ofthe ground is returned TO
| 1. ~ tnfr al nt nod IN tnrr Tha
soil becomes richer for the reason that the sub
stance OF the plant WAS only partly derived
j from the soil, but largely from the atmosphere,
ard while the soil, receives again what IL gave,
, through the decomP osition of the plant it hs Q
) In addition all tina was drawn from other
3 sources.
) This is the reason why the blowing under OF
D clover, or other green crops, for manure; en-
3 riches the soil. The crops have drawn only
8 part of their fertilizing components from the
0 soil-they have gathered from the air likewise
0 and It is precisely this which increases the
7 previous richness Of the soil. and if all the
0 manure which crops will make by passing
0 through the animal system be returned to tn,
. soil its fertility will doubtless be maintained
enough will be returned to replace the ash
3 constituents ofthe plant which alone were de.
/ rived from the earth.
3 We conclude, then, that the soil does no
% need rest TO render it fertile. 1t needs cultivs
4 ton and cropping. Not reckless, wasteiul, un
! methodcsl farming, but that 40 planned ant
% executed as to grow large and varied crops, an,
10 dispose of them 10 such manner as to returl
10 the extra fertility of the soil.-[Rural New
II Yorker.
Is PoTAToEs.-The decay of tha vines Indicate
10 the maturity Of the potatoes, and early sort
10 may be dug and housed at once, but il Their
10 is any appearance of rot, leave them in tn
30 ground. II makes less work to dig only th