The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-03-05
EXHAUSTED FARMS.
How Acres All Worn Out May be Made
as Fertile as Ever.

! SOIL requires tIiHc IA uOiic piOIisIDlN-
viii suppose the person attempting The
undertaking is at lcas: free Of Ge5t ant
has credit to borrow money with which
to buy cattle; that lie is a practical
farmer. and with sufficient experience
with cattle to be able TO buy at their
market value. VIII suppose the farm
to consist of 100 acres. OF which ten is
waste and ninety tillable. and has
twenty acres in hay and twenty more il
pasture: balance stubble, and our sup
posed farmer commences operations in
November. There are various methods
. proposed for the restoration of soils.
green ma1UreS, artificial fertilizers and
! barn-vard manures each having their
advocates. Nv beau-ideal is the manure
pile from stables of fattening cattle, to
be aided by mineral superphoSphate,
and until the farm comes under q reGu-
ar system of crops some green manur-
Ing will have to be practised. Sly OBJ
! lection to green manur.ng is that it
wastes n wear usually Under good
/ farming there should be at least one
good crop from each field every year.
No summer fallows. The system | pro-
| pose for the case l would no recon-
mend every farmer to adopt. but for the
purpose required we want a system that
VIII extract the least possible amount
from the soil and return the greatest
amount to it.
IN raising cattle. the frame of the an
! imal being solid along with the fat, eX-
! tracts from the soil. Cheese also comes
from clements that are exhaustible on
the soil, but the fat that is put upon the
frames of animals is composed mainly
! of elements that are ineXhaustible in the
! soil, hence for our purpose | would say,
buy the frames and put on the fat.
| That portion of the feed given to cattle
that are being fattad that is not turned
into fat goes back upon the land ii care
| fully managed, and is more than suffi-
cient to raise another crop: hence if
this system is followed up the farm in
creases in fertility Such farm, when
in good filth, should feed forty heavy
eaters each winter, besides growing ten
acres of wheat and keeping the neces-
sary horses, chickens, pigs. etc, for
home use and service and until the farm
raised sufficient, enough additional
| should be purchased to feed that many.
! The farm, in ninety-nine eases out of 4
hundred, should be under-drained and
sub-sOiled, hence | allow twenty acres
each year for this purpose until COM
pleted, summer following at the same
time. Ii this is done thoroughly very
likely fair crops will be raised until such
times as manure can be applied, for it
is evident that it will be some years
until the whole can have a good dress
ing. and find more profit in giving one
field heavy coat and doing the best
can with the balance than in scattering
a little over many acres. The following
diagram will show proposed course to
follow. Field No. l, being the model
proposed for the whole as soon as ma
nure can be spared for it:
First VERIFIED l. all the manure
roots; field ,. fallow underdrained sub
Soiled; field 3, oats; field 4, peas with
superphosphate: field ). hay: field 6,
hay; field Z, fallow subsoil underdrain;
field s, superphosphatc on oats: field 9,
peas.
Second year-Field l, fallow under
drain and subsoil: field 2, ali the manure
roots; field 3, fallow subso;l. under
drained; field t. oats; field D, peas: field
8, hay; field Z, rye: field 8. peas; field 9.
wheat with superphosphate.
Third year-Field l. rye; field ?, oats;
field ), all the manure roots; field 4.
fallow underdrain subso:l; field 3. roots;
field 6. peas; field I. clover. field 8.
fallow subsoilcd and underdrained; field
9, millet.
Fourth year-Ficld l, clover; field 3,
rye: field ,, oats: field /. all the manure
roots; field >. fallow undcrdrain subso;l;
field 6, oats: field Z. peas; field 8, rye;
field 9. fallow subsoil undcrdrain.
Fifth year-Fieid l, corn; field 2,
clover; field ,. rye; field 4, oats; field >,
all the manure roots; field 6, fallOw sub
soil and unde-drain; field I, rye plowed
under, sowcd with rape and that plOwei
under; field s, clover; field 9, rye.
Sixth year-Field l, oats: field ,. corn:
field ). clover: field 4, rye; field }, oats;
field 6, all the manure roots: field Z,
peas; field 8. wheat with supe:phos-
phate; field .. clover.
Seventh year-Eield l. wheat with
supcrphoSphate; field ,, oats; field ,.
corn; field !. clover; field >, rye; field
5. oats: field I. all the manure roots;
field s. peas; field Q. clover.
Eighth ycar-F!eld l. clover: field >,
wheat with superphOsphate; field ).
oats: field /. corn: field >. clover; field
). rye; field /. oats: field 8, all the ma
nure roots; field 9. peas.
Ninth ,-n.r EiolI norm. fold ,
clover; field ,, wheat with supcrphO5-
ohate; field /, oats; field ). corn: field
), clover: field Z, rye; field 8, oats; field
}, all the manure roots.
Where corn can not be grown salts
actorilv. peas can be substituted. Now
:Or reasons for the above course. Roots
require a greater amount Of labor than
any other crop. and Is it requires the
same labor to raise one hundred bushels
Der acre as it does one thousand. it is
evident it will pay best to push this crop
1t any rate. Roots are harvested too
ate to be followed by wheat or rye.
and. as corn and peas do best after
clover, the most natural crop after roots
oats. These are harvested in time
:Or wheat or rye. but the roots have eX-
aars!ed the soil pretty well so wheat
VII not succeed. but rye may. and is
he very best crop to seed clover upon.
his latter being sowcd in spring early
when the ground freezes nights and
.haws out day times. \ dressing of
mineral superphoSphate gives the rye a
push in the fall. and. being sturdy
plant, will hoe its own row afterward.
CloreT is followed b. corn or peas. as
Experience shows these do much better
N sod than on stubble. 1t IS too mich
work to move a corn crop of the ground