The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-02-09
Feeding Soil.

wearing out and rendering next
TO worthless our lands. Examples
are by far too plenty where the
simple routine wheat and corn.
corn and wheat, with crop after
crop taken off and nothing put
back to Keep good the richness
of the land. has been followed
till the soil is nearly exhausted
,ofits producing elements; yet We
are not proiiting by the lesson
taught us by The management
these worn out farms and Their
present condition, but are heed
lessly pursuing the same=course
with ourfarms today that we know
has ruined acres about u.s. There
has got to be a change" We must
pat our thought TO work. Year
after year we have been taking
from our land its substance, con
tinually demapdihs Of tits
strength, and all the time feeding
it nothing till tits wellnigh starry
ed to death. Franklin said some
thing like this: Always dipping
from the meal chest and never
putting in 500 comes to the bot
TOM" and the illustration is per-
feet in its application to9us who
are always dipping into the soil
for crops and never putting any
thing in to ~replenish its fertility.
And some of US can see the bot
tom, can sec the time drawing
near when we shall be obliged TO
turn over a new leaf. We have
got to Study how to- best redeem
our so.called worn out land and
keep good that which may still
be rich. We must keep good
stock and make all the manure
count. Use the@odd'hourS Irwin
tiers to get as many loads ofmuck
and leaves as possible to the
barn-yard to mix with the leav-
ings Of the stock thatour compost
heaps be many and large to put
on the land in the spring. We
must keep the horses and cows in
stables, not running loose like
pigs in a pen, but in stalls so we
can save each dayallthe manure,
solid and liquid, that they make.
1t is easy and very profitable.
Give the animals a leaf or straw
bed eaehEhght and allsthe liquids
will be absorbed, and thrown out
together. The straw or leaves
will be decomposed or rolled, as
we say, and will add greatly to
the werth1u f the compost heap.
Let us try to do IN we possibly
can in,this, direction and feed our
soil all we by all of these means
can get to- feedtoHt%;s ~
Flowing under green stuff,
weeds, peas, clover, &C., is anoth-
err means of feeding the soil, and
one that will pay large returns.
We saw Riece5of Wheat a few
days since that illustrates this
and shows thevalue Of such fer
t~ilizefsg perfectly. Part of the
ground had been plowed when
the grass and weeds were green,
and thissearlyin sthe season one
can almost mark the line between
the green and the gdryl blowing
by the looks of the wheat. 1t is
more thrifty, thicker on the
ground, and of better color. Clio.
yer is a grand fertili ger. In the
Northern States where it is twice
the trouble to raise it that it is
here, it forms a part of each far
mers calculations if he is anybody
to plow undera crop of clover.
about once in so often to enrich
his land, and he, saves all the ma
nure he can besides. Northern
farmers are more prosperous than
Southern farmers, and one great
reason for this difference is, they
make it q business to. put back on
the land at least las much as the
crop takes from it. and we take
croD after crop haH and quarter
Yields at that from our lands and
never do anything to strengthen
the soil. We can make our coun-
try as goUd'as"tte world has i'll
we will but use our chances.
Feed our soil with all the com
post our time will possibly let It's
make, plow under the green
stuff, in short, make our farms ca.
pable of producing, and they will
pay amply for all our labor ex-
nended in crops of wheat, corn,
hay, &c. Some one has said that
farmers are too apt to- leave all
head work out Of their business,
and we think it is true. Now let
us make our vocation u study
and not simply exist on our farms