Signal-Copiahan. (Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1886-09-23
WORKOUT SOILS.
Deep and Thorough Cultivation the Foun-
dalton of Agricultural success.


Cultivation plays an important part
In the renovation Of WORKOUT soils. A
thoroughly and judiciously cultivated
soil. oven without tho use of fertilizers.
will outwcar by many years poorly
cultivated one. In the early history Of
the country the most mcagcr cultiva.
ton was generally given. Lands wero
"skimmed" over in tho quickest pos.
sible way. tho pillow in many cases boz
Ing used only every other season. Tho
corn stubblc was left unturncd, cul.
tivating and narrowing only being
given where wheat was To follow the
corn. The few inches of surface soil
thus used were sooner exhausted than
they would have been had tho cultira-
: ton been more deep and thorough.
Perhaps 1t was blessing to the coun-
try that such was the practice, for by
this oversight farmers were sooner
brought to realizing sense OF their
loSscA
As slack cultivation will soon run
land down. so Observation-Disclosures will
help vastly in bringing 1t up again. or
rcnovating It. A naturally fertile soil
of moderate depth that has been light
~ cultivated ani thus exhausted at the
surface, can be gradually deepcncd by
judicious blowing so that It's original
yielding capacity Is largely rsGalncd.
Upon such lands fall blowing should
be practiced almost exclusively When
raw subsoil is brought to the surface
il must undergo disintcgra,lng pro-
cess that will render its plant-fcod into
an available form.
For this purpose there is nothing like
the action of frost. Frost is the great
disintegrator. BY the expansion OF
the water in the soil in the process OK
freezing the particles arc thrown apart,
and what was before neutrality-suspicious.
rendered valuable.
Many farmers rely much upon fall
lowing in the renovation of WORKOUT
soils. While this method may have
genuine merits in all eases it !, found
especially valuable to lands that have
grown foui with weeds and grasses. IL
must be admitted however, that lands
keep, open by cultivation and unpro-
tcctcd by vegetation in the dry, burn
ing weather of midsummer loses by
evaporation.
The depth Of cultivation raust, OF
course, be governed by the character
of the soil treated Ii may I've safely
SAID, however, that as rule our culti-
Walton |, not deep enough. Deep cuI-
tiyation is safety valve against
drought and an excess Of moisture.
Deep cultivation bring, moro moisture
from below to the aid OF the plant in u
dry time. In a wet time it facilitates
the cScape'of surplus. moisture
Fine cultivation i no less n prime
necessity. The finer aud morr minute
the particles of u soil, the NOR, ayaila-
bic the fertility therein contained.
Take two portions OF a fell, plow
them alike, but plant one rs il is left
oy the plow, and put the other in the
finest possible condition. by cultivate
ing, rolling ard narrowing, before
planting. With the same after culu-
walton the difference in yields will b.
from third to half. Why is It?
Each portion of the field contains the
same amount of plant food. Obviously
in one case it is not in mn available
form. The fine roots will not pcnc-
tratc the clods that contain large
share of the plant food.
The majority of farmers do much
better than planting in the mcult-
Nate" "''" ''."lr-owcd iiclds after the
pillow, but at the Same 49, r.ry few
do the worl, aS il should be done. SOFA.
have an invariablc rule which calls for
just such m amount of labor OH the
ground, without much regard 20 the
result obtained. Others will cultiyate
and harrow until tho ground presents
fairly level, even appearance, while
the few, comparatively, insist upon
finely pulvcrized seed bed.
Among the early agricultural writers
it was maintained that soils Woe prac-
tically ineShaustiblc when deeply and
thoroughly cultivated (without the use
of fcrtilizor,I. While this theory in its
true sense has been proven untcnable,
We must admit with them that deep
and thorough cultivation is at the
foundation Of all success In agri-
Sulturc.-lE d. Boyaton, ia Western
PLOwman.