The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1879-12-18
Wearing Out Soil.

We have a good deal said constantly
about soil deterioration, aud their ulti-
mately wearing out. In all old settled
countries where slack system Of farm
ing is carried On, the soil soon loses its
fertility, and resort must be had to heavy
manuring, or such a system of fallow
renovation, that while the sol! may have
rest i'll the direction in which it has been
depleted, some crop may be laiscd to
shade the ground, and eventually may
bc turned under to furnish food for sue
cec>ling crops. 1t is quite true that we
may not draw on any soil year after year
it the production OF special crops, with
out uniting it tor fair production. We
so that their productive qualities may he
locked up, yet this being done under ILL
efficient cultivation, a practical man will
take the farm, and in Il few years kr,ng
it again up to u fair standard Of fertility.
1t is fixed law that whatever clements
of fertility are carried away from soil
must again be in some replaced Hence
the well.known value vi monurcs, OF clo-
yer, and the grasses, and ofvarious plants
that may be plowed under to again rend-
CT the soil fertile. Hence again in all
well-conducted farming the necessity OF
a well-digestcd rotation Of crops, adapted
to the special soils worked. All farms
are not adapted toFheat, or to corn, to
stock grazing, or dairying. Hence every
farmer grows such crops as hisjudgment
dictates as best apapted to the nature of
his land, and the more intelligent ones
seek by diversified crops not only TO keep
the fertility intact, but to improve it.
In the West the soil is rich and fertile
over vast areas Of country. There are
plenty Of instances where farms have
been cultivated for over forty years to
corn rs the principal crop without espc
cial diminution Of fertility. While SO
growing corn, stock has been made a
speciality. This necessita:cs plenty OF
grass, and grass in the rotation is one OF
the best possible means of fertilization.
In other words nothing has Dcen carried
off from the farm but the meat product
made. In this way, the soil Of ordinary
fertility may be kept intact indefinitely,
if the mechanical texture Of the SOL be
kept intact. This is done by careful
! plOWlUS, uCtcI NNCu lIic sui Will ucI
cleave, in triable state from the plow-
share, and by good and clean cultivation,
Another man has farm we'll adapted to
wheat. Does he make this tic sole crop:
By no means. 1t may be the crop from
which he gets his money profit, but clio,
yer is the strong integer IN the system of
: renovation, and thus again stock must he
used. Ths good farmer cultivates not
only such crops as are best adapted to
his homo market, and by the exercise of
good business sagacity keeps his soil not
only intact, but often increases his yield
materially. There is, indeed. much
| sense, as we'll as nonsense, mixed up with
this question Of soils running down. 1t
is, however, the non-reading and gener.
ally slack farmer VINO le1s his soil run
down, while the business farmer is not
only careful to keep his farm fully up
to its natural fertility, but seeks by cv-
cry means in his power to make 1t more
and more productive year by year until at
last he is gratiticd with knowing that he
has reached the point of maximum fer
tility.