The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-01-16

but impoverished fields on every side? Yes,
land that was covered with virgin forest
within the memory of many who are here
assembled has annually diminished in pro-
ductiveneSs, and now lies a barren waste.
Already is the handwriting on the wall The
soil of Indiana is being robbed Of its plant
food, and the yield is annually diminishing.
IL needs no prophetic vision to read Ii nor
Daniel to interpret its Specification. 1t means
loss of commerce and Impoverished homes.
Surely. then, If ever an art required the aid
OF science, there is not one in the
whole catalogue of industries more urgent in
its needs than that OF agriculture. To many
sweeping and strong, but a little reflection
will, think convince the most skeptical that
a subject needs heroic treatment when the
bread and meat of the people hang upon the
issue. L was in hopes to be able to place
before you statistics from the reports OF the
agricultural department at Washington, but
upon examination l find them totally unreli-
able for scientific use, being made up so far as
this state is concerned, by the reports from
county correspondents, who have no other
means OF answering the questions pro-
pounded than to guess them of, and In
nave TO rely upon guess work, prefer,
so far as this state is concerned, to use
my own eyes, Most of you farmers,
aud have assembled here as representatives
from counties in every portion of the state. If
you were at all observant as you come over
the railroads leading into the city, you viii
road any number OF cultivated fields that have
not given remunerative returns for the labor
being mistaken in this matter-the story is
but too plainly told by the low, slender, i'm
pOverished cornstalks and sparse wheat stub
bles; and had each field of this character been
counted and you were to rise in your places
and proclaim the number, IL would alarm the
most hopeful political economist as TO the fu-
ture of agriculture. Why is 1t that the culti-
waited lands are yearly diminishing I'm fertility
and so many fields have already ceased to
that tie admirable machines used
in their cultivation fail to perform usual
or that the art of agriculture has deteriorated.
believe that in most of these respects the
farmers of America are in advance of the old
world; yet, here the average yield of wheat
per acre is from ten to twelve bushels, while
in Europe it is from twenty five to twenty
eight bushe S per acre, and no waste or worn
out nelds are TO be met with. If then, we can
soil to want of skill and knowledge of the art
of agriculture on the part of FARMERS, may
from want of knowledge and proper appre-
citation of the science of agriculture, and it is
from this standpoint that propose to speak
The soil is the natural home of agricultural
plants and must therefore demand our atten-
tion at the very Threshold of our subject
II forms the upper stratum of the earth, and
Is derived from the decomposition of older
strata. The decomposition is effected partly
by mechanical and partly by chemical means.
The little rills which carry the water from
mountain aud hin sides. carry along by the
force of gravity fragments OF ROCKS which have
by the action of froSts been broken loose from
parent masses, and these rubbing and rolling
over the strata, grind them into fine partl-
cles. which are fOated along until nnally de-
posted in the valleys to form soil for plants
The water itself, charged as it always il with
carbonic acid, becomes a powerful agent in
decompOsing rocks. In some parts of the
country the soil is mainly derived from the
decomposition of underlying rocks, but in this
state, with few exceptions in some OF the
southern counties, 1t has been brought by
glaciers from beds of crystalline rocks which
lie lie TO the north of the great lakes The debris
varying from a few feet to several hundred
feet. On the level table lands and ridges the
order of arrangement OF this drift deposit re-
mains as left by the retreating glacier, but
along The vallies and river bottoms ii has been
modified by the action of the streams.
Being made up of the particles of great
many species of rocks the soil of Indiana in
its virgin state can not fail to be rich in the
minerals that constitute the food of plants
But we must not lose sight in this place o: the
important fact that no matter how rich a soil
may be in plant constituents they are of no
avail unless the plants can alb. orb what
they require. The delicate, fiber like root
lets, which elaborate food from the SOIL can
only imbibe it in soluble condition, therefore
some preparation of the soil must be attended
to in order TO promote nutrition. The first
duty of the farmer in this respect Is to attend
to the physical or mechanical condition ~ the
soil. III ii is a ciayey land, which retains water
until IL Is expelled by the evaporation which
is going on at the surface, it is unfit for grow
ing agricultural plants unless it Is under
the benefits of underdrains will bear me out
in saying that every farm in the state would
be the better for understanding. Many of the
inorganic substances in the soil are readily
soluble in water, and when the rains are al
lowed to run over and wash the surface they
us Msn fertiiizing properties. By a thofoueh
system of underdrains the water is
carried down through the soil, which is further
enriched by the retention of ammonia and
nitric acid washed from the atmosphere. The
analysis of water discharged from underdrains
shows that it has been deprived of its ammonia
1t IS not my purpose at this time to go into
details in regard to the pest mode OF making
underdrains, or the number that should be
placed on given area of ground. since il is
subject upon which have no personal ex-
perfence. It involves comparatively large
based upon carefully conducted experime nts.
This much will venture To say, the most
of tile, and should be not less than
four feet deep. The mains should be
about six inches in diameter, and the lateral
inches in diameter, occurred to the joints by a
tile collar, which slips over the ends The col
lar viii @ rae ibe drains co
like the fish bars on a railroad track. At the
tile makers association, which met here last
November, / made the suggestion that two
inches was ample for lateral drains, but they
would approve of nothing less than three
inches.
The injurious effects of standing water in the
subsoil are manifold, the plants are imperfecily
nourished, and at best receive an unnatural
development. The soil is chilled by the loss of
heat from evaporation, and tee exclusion
of the atm, spheric air prevents the oxidation
of the mineral and organic substances which
| il contains. Underdrains will rem dy all these
defects,the water will SIM down to the drains,
carrying along with il the warm air ;the proper
| chemical action is allowed to take place, and
| the soil is rendered mellow and crumbling, and
| the ailments of plants are brought into solu-
| ton and the crops are rendered healty and
luxuriant and are less liable TO suffer from the
| effects of excessive drouths or rains. Agricul-
| tural pla Us require free circulation OF air
| around their roots, and underdrains are the
surest means of Bringing this about.
After having p lid due regard TO the physical
| condition OF the soil, the next requirement is
| a knowledge OF the elements which il must
supply to the pl snts which are grown for
| food. When vegetable or animal substance Is
burnt In the presence of a free access OF atmos-
| pheric air a portion is consumed, or, more
| properly speaking, volatalizer, and ssnt back
| into the atmosphere from whence il was de-
| rived. The unconsumed portion that remains
is the ash, and represents all the substances