Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-07-23
MUlCHlNG.

MULCHiNG.
| A Practice Concerning Which There il .
Diversity of Opinion Among Good Farm
ers.
When the subject of mulching is
discussed among the farmers. there is
always quite difference of opinion.
| While some will argue that mulching
is very beneficial. others express the
| opinion that, while it may be of some
benefit. it is not as good as keeping
the surface OF the earth well pulverized
during the hot weather, and there are
still others who assert that mulching
is positive injury. These different
views are entertained by men of prac-
teal experience. as we'll as of high in
telligence. Why should there be such
difference of opinion? 1t is undoubted-
1y because those holding different views
have tested the effects of mulching in
different ways. and on different plants.
| Those who argue that mulching is
injurious and unnatural, have not only
| experimental in the wrong way and on
| the wrong plants. but they have evil
IDENTITY failed to be close observers of
nature. Plants brought from a warmer
climate. espec: ally small plants, as
| rule, require warm soil, made so by
| the stirring of the soil; for example,
| Indian corn requires much heat when
it is small, and if it was mulched in the
early stages of its growth it would be
| very likely to injure it, certainly it
would not be as well as it would to
keep the soil well pulverized. What is
true of corn is true of many other
| plants which are grown in a higher
| northern latitude than it is natural for
them. Because this class of plants are
not benefited by mulching. it is no evil
dence that there may not be other
classes of vegetation which would be
| greatly benefited, and he who draws
| conclusions from experiments on
single point, will very often find him.
| self wrong.
| Not long since we listened to dis
cusson by men of high intelligence.
who took the position that mulehing is
both unnatural and injurious. even for
trees, and argued that it shut out the
light and heat. and brought the roots
too near the surface. Such remarks
lead to the conclusion that those who
make them must have confined their
observation and experiments to single
| points; certainly they must be strang
| ers to natures method of growing
wood. or they would not say that
mulching is unnatural, for it is the
universal law of nature to mulch wood
land, and it is well known fact that
| when man removes this mulching, it
very materially in juries the growth of
the wood. Is there man bold enough
| to assert that nature has made mis-
take, and the mulching of the forest is
inJur. Gus? 1t is said by some that trees
are injured by mulching because the
roots are brought nearer the surface;
is this another mistake of naturep
The feeding roots of all trees in a thick
| forest have feeding roots near the sur
face, and yet the trees are healthy and
| vigorous. Must we not come to the
conclusion that nature knows her own
| laws best. and that where she persists
in mulching trees. and in bringing the
feeding roots near the surface where
the plant food is the most plenty, she
is encouraging vigorous growth rath-
er than retarding it. Carefully tried
experiments have proved that heavy
mulch is highly beneficial to an apple
orchard. and that the longer it is kept
| mulched the healthier and the better is
its condition.
| Every gardener and fruit grower
must govern his practices by little
common sense; when he decides to
mulch any portion of his crops he must
investigate far enough to ascertain the
character and the wants of each crop,
and such as he finds wants GOODNESS
and moisture, he must mulch
with some vegetable substance
that will keep both cool and
moist, and those crops that want
heat and moisture, he will do well to
mulch with the earth, by keeping an
| inch in depth of the surface soil fine
| and loose. Nearly if not quite all of
| our trees need GOODNESS and moisture.
| Currant bushes need to be kept cool
| and moist, therefore mulching has been
| found beneficial, the bushes retaining
| their leaves much longer, and the fruit
growing larger than when the surface
soil is left exposed to the sun. Goose
| berries, like currants, grow best with
| the ground covered; in fact, when the
bushes are exposed to the hot sun with
| no mulching around them, the fruit
will scorch and become worthless. A
| good cool mulch will save the crop.
| Strawberries, when the fruit is ripen-
ing. need to be kept cool and moist,
and in no way can this be done better
than by mulching. 1t is said by some
that a better way is to keep the land
moist by frequently stirring the soil,
but such persons can have but
little practical knowledge of grow
| ing Strawberries for market, or
they would know that to sur
round them with sufficient pulverized
earth to keep them moist, would cover
the ripening fruit with so much dirt as
to render them unfit to eat. Those
who make it business to grow straw
berries for the market are driven to
| the necessity of mulching to keep the