Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1879-04-17
The farn1 aud fireside.
THE EXHAUSTION OF SOILS BY PLANT
GROWTH.

THE EXHAUSTION OF SOILS BY PLANT
GROWTH.
Plants are constantly drawing water from
the soil, through their roots, and throwing it
off through their leaves, and this water in the
soil is carrying away from the minerals in the
soil, ash constituents which are constantly be-
ing developed through the oxygen of the air,
and this process, if left in state Of nature,
as in our abandoned pastures and forests,
will add fertility to the soil at each fall of
the year. So that plant growth, if not dis
turbed by man, tends to make the soil richer
every year till it becomes magazine OF plant
food. But when man comes to the scene and
carries off the plants, the store of fertility de-
creases. Plants may get ahead OF nature
that is they may take up the plant food in
the soil faster than it can be developed by
natural forces.
We have no soil here in the United States
that cannot be made unfertile by constant
cropping without returning anything to it..
The growing of crops is an enriching process,
but harvesting them is a depicting one. Even
the great barren deserts are full Of plant
food, and in a soluble condition, too. The
sands of Utah, under the influence of water,
have been made to blossom like the rose, and
what water will do in Colorado, it will do in
a certain sense in Massachusetts and New
England. y .... ..."...- -5i;. -.
It is said that Massachusetts soils are no
longer suitable for growing wheat. That crop
was grown till the yield ran down to five
bushels per acre then rye was grown on the
same land with yields of twelve bushels per
acre. Why could the rye produce double the
amount of grain, both requiring the same
material in growth Simply because rye had
the greatest power 60 gather this food, After
land becomes incapable of producing full
crops of rye, it still may be made to grow a
good crop of corn, partly because the corn
has longer period in which its roots can
suck food from the soil, but chiefly because
of its greater root power.
Some plants are as unlike others in their
ability to live from soil, as are mules un-
like short horn steers in their ability to live
upon the vegetation that grows from the soil.
The corn plant, with its multitude Of roots,
has great power to pump water through the
soil, carrying away at the same time the dis
solved mineral elements set free by the action
of the air and water, or the inorganic por-
tions of the earth.-Neau England Farmer.
FOR HUSBANDS.
Don't think when you have won wife,
that you have also won slave.
Don't think that your wife has less feeling
than your sweetheart. Her relation to you is
changed, not her nature.
Don't think that you can dispense with all
the little civilties Of life toward her on mar
rying. She appreciates those things quite as
much as other women.
Don't be gruf' and rude at home. Had
you been that sort of a fellow before mar
riage, the probabilities are that you would be
sewing on your own buttons still.
Don't make your wife feel that she is an
incumbrance on you by giving to her grudg-
ingly. What she needs, give as cheerfully as
if it we're pleasure so to do. She will feel
better, and so will you.
Don't meddle in the affairs of the house
under her charge. You have no more right
to be poking your nose into the kitchen, than
she has to walk into your place Of business
and give direction to your employees.
Don't find fault with her extravaganza in
ribbon, etc., until you have shut down on Gig
ars, tobacco, beer, etc.
Don't leave your wife at home to nurse the
children on the score of economy, while you
bolt down town at nights, to see the show, or
spend dollar on billiards.
Don't bolt your supper, and hurry off to
spend evenings, lounging around away from
your wife, Before marriage you couldn't
spend your evenings enough with her.
Don't prowl in the loa6ng resorts till mid
night, wasting your time in culpable idle
ness, leaving your wife lionel at home to
brood over your neglect and her disappoint-
ment
Don't think that board and clothes are suf
cient for all your wife does for you.
Don't caress your wife in public and snarl
and growl at her in private.
Don't wonder that your wife is not as
cheerful as she used to be, when she labors
from early morn till late at night to pander
to the comfort and caprice of a selfish man,
who has not soul enough to appreciate her.
How TO BURN KERosENE.-As long as
lamp is full of oil, this unsafe liquid can be
burned with impunity. The dangerous ele-
ment in all the products of petroleum is the
vapor that is evolved. Thus a man may
plunge lighted match into barrel filled to
the brim with naptha, with no other conse-
quence than the extinguishment of the light,
but if the barrel was only quarter or an
eighth full, a severe explosion would be inev-
liable. Now, most Of the oil in use in this
country would, if tested, be found to flash
between 80 degrees and IS degrees, Fahren-
heit, proving that slight increase in the or
dinary temperature was alone needed to make
it evolve explosive vapor. When kerosene
lamp explosions take place, it is often found
that the lamp was on mantel piece over
stove where the temperature was higher than
elsewhere in the room, and hence, when two
thirds of the oil in the lamp was used up, its
place was filled by an invisible vapor of
great explosive power. Any defect in the
top of lamp which allows the vapor to come
in contact with the flames would, under these
circumstances, produce an explosion, or it
might come about by driving the flame down
into the lamp through the common, though
hazardous, practice of blowing out light
from the top Of the glass chimney. When
kerosene oil is sold at 10 or Is cents per gal.
lon, those who purchase it should exercise the
utmost caution in its use, as there is little
probability of its being safe and reliable ar
ticle In all this there is need of reform,
and this should take the shape of an enforce
ment of existing laws-Our Home Journal.
THE CURRY CoMB.-A great many farm
ers make a mistake in buying their curry
combs. They buy them in the spring, at