Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-04-08

them. II sometimes sold as low as five
cents per bushel. The wheat crop all
went 10 straw; five bushels per acre
was considered a good crop. To
bacco was our money crop, and
fifteen hundred pounds was shout an aver
age crop per acre of large, coarse article.
Liebig had not then teld us how to raise
less straw and more wheat, or less and a
finer quality of tobacco. If he had told us,
IS some writers who assume to think that
they are lights fully capable Of instructing,
the former do when they write that ito
bacco plants require lime in a soil to pro-
duee it in all climates, and it would be an
utter failure to plant it iD a soil not largely
composed Of this element" now who could
believe such a theory? There was not a
lime rock within forty miles of this locality,
the water was all freestone, and yet we had
seen as much as seventeen hundred pounds
Of tobacco raised on one acre. 1t so hap
pened that one of our neighbOrs had
small amount of lime left sfter painting
the cracks of his house, which he scatter
ed around a few plants of tobacco.
These plants grew not so large and
course, but of much finer quality. This
induced several neighbOrs to 60 and get a
load Of lime. scattered my twenty-five
bushels on one quarter of an acre Of land.
The result was that the quantity was d.
minished about one-fourth, but the quality
was far superior. The tobacco ground was
sOwn in wheat on that portion where the
lime was ST sad, and the result was more
encouraging; the straw was much shorter,
stood erect, and the yield Of wheat was at
the rate Of tWenty-seven bushels to the
acre. We suffered no painful" feelings in
these very pleasant experimental results;
but on the contrary, we felt that we had
accomplished something that would do at
least that locality some good. Now was it
the lime entering the tobacco and wheat
plants that produced this result, or was it
more likely that the lime neutraliZed the
vegetable mould in the soil into a
desirable food for these plants? There
is nothing We believe that Will yield
so large per cent. of potash TO its weight
as the matured tobacco plant. This would
60 TO sustain the latter theory. There is
no soil, even here in the limestone region
of Tennessee, but what the yield Of the
sweet potato could be increased One-third
by the free use of lime. A bushel Of sand
in each watermelon hill will produce a
much greater yield than any kind ofknOwn
fertilizers. 1t has been one constant source
of pleasure to US to make these successful
investigations. 1t furnishes to us a vast
material to employ our rejecting powers,
and puts us through kind of tuition pro-
cess that has tendency to make the farm
er a wiser and better man. We believe in
the science of chemistry, and that Liebig's
light will shine for AGES. But we
believe other lights will shine just
as bright who never studied chem
istry. Would there be any use in talk
ing Dutch to me? l could not
understand one word; better wait until we
learn the language. So il is with chemical
analysis of soil; better wait until the farm
er knows more Ofthe science. Agricultural
schools, which you so wisely favor, where
practice can be applied to science, must do
a world Of good eventually. One Of the
greatest chemists tellsuS that fish contain
more Of the elements that make brains
than any food that man eats. If this be so
We would advise every farmer to eat fish;
we certainly need more brain TO direct the
muscle. In fact we need all the light sci
ence can give us, but we don't want these
men Of science to tell US that a fish eater
is wiser and smarter than a beef
eater, unless facts will establish !
such to be the result. Do chemical princi- |
pies have the same effect on animal life as |
on pl a ut life? if so the result should be the |
same. There is a class of agricultural |
writers who ride some theory threadbara |
because they have no practical common |
sense, ThO call on the farmer that is using |
all the light he has, 10 improve his calling |
by experimenting ''the plOddiDg process. Of |
Trials" Such writers are clog to any en-
erpriSe, but we are thankful their number |
S so small and their influence Of no conse-
luence.
ONE VINO LOVES TO FARM.
April 2, 1915.