The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-08-27
COMPOSITION or SOILS

4 Study which Every Intelligent LAsd-
Owner should Pursue.
There is no more important study for
the farmer than q careful study Of his
soil. While soils are composed OF three
distinct constituents-sand, clay and
humus-yet these vary greatly in their
composition. All soils. as far as their
inorganic materials are concerned, were
originally composed by the breaking
down and decomposition of rock.
Sands result from the decomposition Of
quartz. or other rock containing quartz
or silica in some form. and the compost
ton of each individual grain is that Of
the rock from which it was formed.
Soils formed of granite are among the
most productive known. Why? Gran
lite is composed of quartz. fcldspar and
mica. The quartz is pure slick. SO
necessary for the proper division of
soils. Feldspar again consists of silica,
alumina and potash. Alum;na is the
base of clay, just as the metal aluminium
is the base of alumins, alumina being
an oxide of aluminium, Snd is the char
acteristic ingredient in all csRys. With
out il soils could not be combined and
held together. With too much alumina
it becomes too dense, hard and impervi-
GUS both to water and the roots of
plants.
Humus is any organic matter in pro-
cess of decay or in that state when re-
duced to an impalpable powder. Prai-
RE soils contain a great deal of humus
that seems to have been deposited when
the soil was under water or partially SO.
So the fact that these soils, as rule,
are largely composed of clay. are due
their fertility and lasting qualities, the
dark color of the soil being due to
humus, and also to the effects of burn
ing of the vegetation year after year.
Soils are generally classed Us sandy.
loamy. clayey, mucky and peaty. the
latter being formed in marshy land I'M
der water. Our very black prairie soils
containing much clay and vegetable
matter, are often designated muck. A
distinctly clay soil is that composed of
pure clay. Pure sand has no fertility,
pure clay can not be classcd as fertile,
and peaty soils are not fertile until they
have long been unearthed by careful,
thorough drainage.
Mixtures of sand and clay are our
most fertile soils. They are classified
as loan when they contain equal vol
umes of sand and clay, as sandy loan
when about sevcnty-tive per cent. is
sand, and as clay loan when about
sevcnty-iive per cent. is clay. As soils
approach either of these conditions they
are classed with that to which they re-
late most closely.
The province of humus in the soil is
two-fOld; to render the soil light and
mellow, though its principal value is
the power that humus possesses of de-
and rendering soluble the
valuable constituents of the soil, es-
pecially those of potash with nitrogen.
Humus is formed by the action of the
air on solid animal orvegetalle matter.
In fact, it is a process of exceedingly
slow combustion, as much as five hum
bred years being considered necessary
to reduce large oak to humus in the
natural progress of decay. During all
this time, however, such portions as
are gradually converted into humus are
performing their natural functions in
the soil. One of the most important is
the conservation of nitrogen-thc most
costly, as it is the most easily dispelled
of the organic products. Under the
action of heat and moisture nitrogen
with the potash of the soil,
nitrate of potassa, the common
name of which is saltpetcr.
From the foregoing the farmer may
by careful observation estimate the
value and character of his soil, and
hence the proper crops to be used. and
also the manureS necessary to increase |
productiveness. A sandy soil may be
rendered productive by the addition of |
clay. Ten per cent. of clay will con-
vert it into sandy loan. But pure
clay can not be rendered productive by |
the addition of sand. 1t would require |
at least twenty-five per cent. of sand to |
convert it into a stiff clay loan. Pure
clay freed from uncom.incd silica con-
sists of alumina 44.5, silica 40 and |
water 15.5 parts in 100. But except in
rare cases it is not found. except COM
bined more or less, with free silica, or
,and - (HicN0O Tribune