The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1881-02-11

Inc. They SAY that they cannot zee
what good L viii do % turn clover
back 10 the soil from which Il has a.
rived is nonrishment. for Il cannot 70
turn moro than Il has taken Nox 4
che plant derived al IL nourishmeni
from the soil this would Be true. hut
the case u far otherwise. All thai the
plant actually takes from the soil r.
mains ~ ashes after the plant Il burnt.
Il must be- thoroughly burned 50 that
no charcoal remains. for charcoal Il
carbon. and carbon Is derived. not from
the soil. but from the cir. or more cor
rectly speaking. from the sunbeam
The proportion varies il different
plants. but on an average about one
nineteenth q plant i derived from
the soil Not more than this 81 the
clover plant Hence when the clover
is plowed under and Incorporated with
the soil eighteen-nineteenths II il Is
pure gain
II should Be remembered that organic
bodies or compounds are made up
almost entirely Of four elements.
carbon. hydrogen. nitrogen and
oxygen. How does the plant obtain
these? Plant food 20 be available must
be In liquid or gaseous condition. not
solid Hence no food can Be obtained
from the soil unless through the agency
Of some other element Carbon Is de-
rived from the carbonic acid Of the sun
beam. principally through the agency
Of the leaves. which deco impose the
carbonic acid. appropriafing the carbon
70 the building up and nourishmcnf Of
the plant and giving on the oxygen
for the benefit Of animals Some car
bon Is carried into the soil and taken
up by the roots Of the plant. But car
bon ID the soil i valuable chiefly = N
absorbent Of nitrogen. Il i well known
bow important factor IN the problem
Of plant life nitrogen is and how hard il
4 20 keep il il the soil or anywhere
else. ia the compound Of ammonia the
nitrogen Is absorbed and held by the
carbon Of the soil. Hence br green
manuring we gain not only the plant
food added 70 the soil. averaging about
nineteen times the amount taken away.
but BY Incorporating carbon IN the soil
we provide way 10 retain the volatile
ammonia for the future up-building Of
the plant.
That the plant does not derive al il
food from the soil is provable by propo-
sitions 80 nearly self evident - almost
70 merit the appellafion Of axioms and
which can leave no doubt Of the truth
Of the proposition. The soil Is mineral
for il Is produced By the disinfezrafion
Of rocks. The rain and storm aud sun
shine crumbled the rock perhaps =
thousand years ago. perhaps only yes-
terday. to form the soil. Hence Il Is
mineral Now II the plant derived I'll
its food from the soil 1t would Be min
eral and nothing else. There would be
no difference between the vegetable
and mineral kingdoms But instead Of
this, thesvegefable kingdom takes car
bon, hydrogen. nitrogen and oxygen.
and with > little silicon. aluminium.
phosphorus. magnesium or other min
erals. and the result j. the vegetable
plant
Another advantage Of green manur;ng
y that Il improves the mechanical text
ure Of the soils. This is ACCOMPLISHED
in two ways First. the roots penetrate
20 a considerable depth. chewing the
soil and not only breaking Il ID and
pulverixing Il il this war. but when
they decay furnishing outlets for water.
thus securing drainage. Second. when
the tops Of the plant become incorpo-
rated IN The soil IN any way they make
Il more loose and friabIe. This Is =
very important consideration and one
very often overlooked.
Again. In some unexplained WAY.
vegetation enrichcs the soil by "A aiding
Il. a board laid on piece II ground
will Increase its fertility IN the same
way. How this Is done has never been
explained. although il il pretty certain
that the problem viii be solved before
long. Some Of the best agricultural
writers assert thst il the straw was
hauled from The thrcShing machine and
spread On the ground 90 - 70 shade Il.
i would enrich the land more b. shad-
ing than by the amount Of plant food
added 70 the soil b. is decay. We al
know that the rays Of the sun viii burn
the fertility out 81 land and hence We
turn under one year what was % the
top the year before BY pracficinr
green manuripg we succeed ii shading
the land and bcneiiting il in this way.
Not the least Of the advantages u
green manuring j. is availability. Take
Tor instance. clover. ANY one that has
land can raise clover and pasture his
hogs. horses. sheep ~ cattle On IL and
yet add % the fertility u the land.
whereas he may not Be able 10 aid 10
the laud what Ii needs Of fertility in the
shape Of stable or barn-yard manure. ~
may not be % circumsfanccd that ~ \
could pay for commercial fertilizers.
One item n the value q clover - :
IT, n. A.. u. 4 =