The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-05-31
Working the Soil.

The soil needs refining, opening
lOosening, before the roots of plants
can penetrate it effectually in search
of their appropriate food. Thorough
tillage breaks up the soil, mingles it,
particles together in a more homoge-
neous mass, opens it to the chemical
action of the sunbeam and the atmoS
phere, liberates its stores of plant
food, and thus its fertilizing capacity
is greatly enhanced without the appli
cation of single particle of manure
more than the soil itself possesses
Tillage, therefore, is powerful and
important source of fertilization. In
other words the farmer may greatly
enhance the producing capacity OF
his land simply by good and thorough
cultivation; so that cultivation is
manure, or may be made to take the
place of manure. This is an impor.
portant fact, for when the farmer is
short of manners, he may, by cultivat
ing his land in a more complete and
perfect manner than has been his
wont, supply to his crop enough OF
the elements of vegetable food to
yield paying returns. This, however
is only true on the supposition that
the soil has not been thoroughly
worked before. 1t was once thought
that thorough tillage would continue
to take the place of fertilizers indie
finitely, without the application of
any foreign sources of fertilization,
but this,as ought to have been known
from the first, is a mistake. Tlllage
does not create fertility. 1t only I'M
locks the sources of it already exist
ing in the soil, and as there is a limit
to these in any soil, of course there
must come time when under this
process the supply would be exhaust
ed. 1t is true that a mellow soil I'M
der cultivation is constantly receiv-
ing fresh'supplieS of certain elements
from the atmos here, and if a soil is
allowed to rest it will gain fertility
without artificial aid. The process,
however, is too slow for practical
purposes. The farmer generally can
not afford to wait so long and must
go on cultivating, although the
strength of the land is constantly di-
minished.
This, then, is the chief end of cult
walton, to supply plant food to the
crop. The more thoroughly this
work is done the more nourishment
the plant will find, and the greater
will be the yield. Tillage yields i'm
mediate returns; manure both imme-
diate and future. The two together
pay from the start, and pay better the
longer they are followed. When
there is little or no manure, the til
lage must be better, or there Will be a
falling off in the crop; and when ma
nure is abundant the farmer need not
cultivate so assiduously and closely
to secure paying harvest. Tillage
is always necessary; manure always
beneficial. Crops may be grown on
fair land without manure, but never
to perfection without tillage, and the
more thorough and exhaustive the
tillage is, the less necessity will there
be for applying fertilizers. OF course
the cultivation must always be of the
right sort-sensible, judiciously, time
ly; it must leave the soil fine, mellow,
porous, so that the sunbeam and the
air can freely act upon it and impart
to it the life and vitality necessary to
sprout the germ and feed the root. A
great deal Of so-called tillage is no
tilIage at all. So far as the best re-
suits go the farmer might as well be
playing football withEa twenty-pound
rock. But there hasA been Of late a
manifest and rapid Improvement in
the modes of tillage. Farmers are
learning that it pays better than buy
ing fertilizers to put on land that is
never worked.-Rural Messenger.