Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1870-01-14
AGRICULTURAL.
What the soil Needs.

The older q country grows, the weaker be-
comes its soil This fact probably holds good IL
all cases, unless the amount Of richness draWI
out of the land is returned again in the shape
fertilizers 1t is idle to suppose that sector
of country can, for a series Of years, endure the
growth of crops, of either hay or grain, and
produce as great returns as in the Deginning
Perhaps this decrease in quantity msy be, for q
long time, so small as not to create note or CON-
ment on the part Of the farmer. lie may not be
aware that his receipts are lessening, year by
year, from the products Of certain fields or por-
tons Of fields Such state Of things does not
change the resi- facts III the case. 1t is proba-
bly fact that the decrease Of pr0ductiveness is
marked as strongly in the growth Of hay as in
any other one article, produced extensively by
the agriculturist. Indeed, We venture the as
sertion thst our farmers, as general rule, do
not get as much hsy to the acre, by good
many pounds to-day, as they did ten years ago.
The testimony Of farmers almost each season is,
thst for some reason or other, their hay or op
is growing lighter and lighter. As result,
many fine meadows are ploughed up, when
putting ploW into them WAS the very thing
that ought not to have been done. Fertilizing
with plow, instead Of manures, is good deal
ike attempting to put spiri, into broken down
horse with whip, rather than with oats The
reason is perfectly plain why the grass crop is
growing less and less. The soil, unable 70 stsnd
the suction Of ten or fifteen years constant pro
ducing, and without assistance, has become ex-
hausted. The lack of manures, coupled with
the close feeling, in both spring and fall, to
which many farmers subject their meadows, has
had the effect, and could have no other, Of re-
ducing the quantity produced, in some instances
more thsn one half No man can live and do
full work upon half feed and half pay, neither
can the best quality Of land constantly and
bountifully produce unless it has fair remunsra-
ton.
What cur farmers need to remedy this evil Is
the judicious application Of fertilizers. As to
what kind shall be used, it is not our province
now to discuss, but that some mast be used Is
forcing itself more and mere strongly upon the
intelligent portion Of our agricultural districts
glance at those sections where the subject Of
fertilization is receiving the mos: study, snd
practical application, c5nvinces us that the
matter is worthy Of our attention ana use.
States whose soil is Nc richer, naturally, than
our own, are going far ahead of US in tie pro-
duction Of hay. In England they raise double
the quantity to the acre while Massachusetts,,
with soil less strong, is vastly surprising Us
in many OF her products, and for no ether
reason than that she has made the application Of |
fertilizers one Of her agricultural creeds.
One great reason why We are SO impercepti- !
bly,, almost, losing the products that We should |
have, is this; The advent Of steam communi- |
cation has so vastly increased our narle: faciE- |
ties that tons Of produce go TO the markets.
and of from the farm, where only pounds went I
before. That is to say, We do not feed out, /
upon the farm, 50 much of its production as
Nov, if farmer has few tons Of
surplus hay, he has but to ship /; to market ani
get his returns, in few days q: the utmost
This money he puts ont at interest, and fails to
apply to his meadows the manuros that tie
nay sent to market would have supplied For
nerly, if the farmer had more hay or grain than
be needed, surplus stock was bought AMI fat
enei upon the place, thus leaving plenty Of
manure to be put back upon the land again, and
hen driven to market. Ia 8 word, our ship
'ing conveniences take a great deal more Of
rom the farm than they bring back 1t is this
ystem Of doing things that very often reduces
,ood farms sometimes twenty FIVE per cent. in
cal value.