The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1885-04-02
EXHAUSTED FARMS,
How Acres All Worn Out May be Made
as Fertile as Ever.

| Will suppose INC person. attempting LIS
undertaking is at least free of debt and
has credit to borrow money with which
to buy cattle; that he is a practical
| farmer, and with sufficient experience
with cattle to be able to buy at their
market value. l will 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 in
pasture; balance stubble, and our sup
posed farmer commences operations in
November. There are various methods
| proposed for the restoration of soils,
green manures, artificial fertilizers and
barn-yard manures each having their
| advocates. My beau-ideal is the manure
| pile from stables of fattening cattle, to
be aided by mineral superphosphate,
and until the farm comes under regu-
lar system of crops some green manur-
| ing will have to be practised. My OBJ
| lection to green manuring is that it
wastes year 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 | would no t recon-
mend every farmer to adopt, but for the
purpose required we want system that
will 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 elements that are exhaustible on
| the SOIL but the fat that is put upon the
of o1c IL, III
of elements that are inexhaustible in the
| soil, hence for ourpurpose | would say,
buy the frames and put on the fat.
That portion of the feed given to cattle
that are being fatted that is not turned
into fat goes back upon the land if 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 nsces-
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 cases out of q
| 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. If 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 year-Field 1, all the manure
roots; field 2, fallow underdrained sub
soiled; field 3, oats; field 4, peas with
superphosphate; field 5, hay; field 6,
hay; field z, fallow subsoil underdrain;
field 8, superphosphate on oats; field 9,
peas.
Second year-Field l, fallow under
drain and subsoil field 2, all the manure
roots; field 3, fallow subsoil, under
drained; field 4, oats; field 5, peas; field
6, hay; field Z, rye; field 8, peas; field 9,
"Hed1 Win SupeIpnOSpHdte.
Third year-Field l. rye; field 2, oats;
field 3, all the manure roots; field 4,
fallow underdrain subsoil; field 5, roots;
field 6, peas; field z, clover, field s,
fallow SUBSIDIZED and underdrained; field
8, millet.
Fourth year-Field /, clover; field 2,
rye; field 3, oats; field 4, all the manure
roots; field 5, fallow underdrain subsoil;
field 6, oats; field Z, peas; field s, rye;
field 9, fallow subsoil underdrain.
Fifth year-Field L, corn; field 2,
clover; field 3, rye; field 4, oats; field 5,
all the manure roots; field 6, fallow sub
soil and underdrain; field z, rye plowed
under, sowed with rape and that plowed
under; field s, clover; field 9, rye
Sixth year-Field 1, oats; field 2, corn;
field 3, clover; field 4, rye; field 5, OATS
field 6, all the manure roots; field z,
peas; field 8, wheat with superphos-
phate; field 9, clover.
Seventh year-Field l, wheat with
superphosphate; field 2, oats; field 3,
corn; field 4, clover; field 5, rye; field
6, oats; field Z, all the manure roots;
field s, peas; field 9, clover
Eighth year-Field 1, clover; field 2,
wheat with superphosphate; field 3,
oats; field 4, corn; field 5, clover; field
6, rye; field Z, oats; field 8, all the ma
nure roots; field 9, peas.
Ninth year-Field 1, corn; field 2,
clover; field 3, wheat with superphos-
phate; field 4, oats; field 5, corn; field
6, clover; field Z, rye; field s. oats; field
9, all the manure roots.
Where corn can not be grown salts
factorily, peas can be substituted Now
for reasons for the above course. Roots
require greater amount of labor than
any other crop, and as it requires the
same labor to raise one hundred bushels
per acre as it does one thousand, it is
evident it will pay best to push this crop
at any rate. Roots are harvested too
late to be followed by wheat or rye,
and, as corn and peas do best after
clover, the most natural crop after roots
is oats. These are harvested in time
for wheat or rye, but the roots have ex-
hausted the soil pretty well so wheat
will not succeed, but rye may, and is
the very best crop to seed clover upon,
this latter being sowed in spring early
l. i