The comet. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1877-1882, 1879-12-13
Exhaustion Of Soils.



All cultivate on of the soil may be ex-
pressed in two maxmims, thus: l. DO
cultivate as to produce the largest pos
sibje crops each year. 2. strive 10
Ienve the soil in as good q condltioh
for production when the crop is gather
ed IA IL was when the seed was planted
Tbe first of these maxims has pceh
carefully studied, and reduced to prac-
tice. to a large extent in this country
Indeed. large present gains appear 10
he the chief end OF American farming
II is only within the last four years
fiat the attention of farmers have been
seriouoly turned to the importance o.
maintaining the fertility OF the soil
The result Of the recklessness OF inc
future is forcibly impressed on the
traveller who goes by land from WASH
ington to Richmond, Va. The thou-
sands of acres by the wayside, now
crown up in oldfel pines, or given
m to dwarf blackberries, were once as
fertile as our Western plains, but they
we're prostituted to the production OF
successive crops OF tobacco, and the
clements of fertility were dissipated IN
smoke. scattered in ashes or expectora-
ted in spoiled saliva over all LuroPH,
for more than two hundred years VIII
the result OF worn-out fields, whlcn 10
so prominent an object in that fepul,
sive landscape. While the organic
elements of crop, which are derived
from the atmosphere, are practlcaiiy
inexhautible, the mineral elements ae,
rivcd from the soil are always in limited
quantities, and when these are taken
from the field by crop they must De
returned in the form of manures' Vi
axhnnstion will be the result sooner OF
Inter. Grain raising for market Is IL
business which rapidly exhausts tne
mineral elements OF the SOIL especinns
IFS potash and phosphates, In s see
ten dollars worth of wheat we olsP'see
! of potash and phosphate OF llme' WhiG men
+, nt ~ esent prices, will require nearly
y n dollar to replace. 1t may take long
time to exhaust our rich fields, Du'
: sooner or later that result is lneVltaple'
q We may import guano from feru'
. notosh from Straasford III Germany,
y and draw on the mineral phosphates o.
South Carolina, and thus compensate
4 for the loss in grain farming, az hhg
y land has done, and like that country We
nav even increase our fertility. Bu
y compensation or exhaustion Is a llAel
70 law of grain farming. But SOILS may
:: be exhausted by the other means tnal
70 iniudicious cropping. The mnaa.
NJ torrent that rushes down our creeks
a and rivers swollen by summer fresnet
" tells a sad story OF the fertility ESCAPING
y from our fields to fill up the Gulf o
% Mexico 1t is in these fine particles o
So soil, held III suspension by the iresne
l. water. that the power OF absortlo'
IS resides, and it is this power OF apsol
n ton which gives activity to our SOILS
,e Everybody has observed the beneficial
10 effect of this sediment where it IS de
le posted on our fields by the overlio'
IL of back-water. This muddy Wate
to comes chiefly from our plowed fields
At and the remedy lies in preventin
1T surface drainage by thorough systeii
ii of under-druins. These, if proper
D. made, never discharge muddy water
p The above from the "Indana Farm
er er" contains some wholesome truths
l. Unless we restore back to the so
I'd every year the ingredients which hay
M been taken up, we may soon expect
lie have old worn out fields, and SOIL
0. reduced in fertility, as not to be II
IN claimed. Prof. Hilsord's rule for til
y, w cotton planter was to replace the cotto
a. seed every year which has been take
Mt off. BY this means the soil can
' reclaimed and mado fertile enough
d. produce good crops.