The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1888-12-29

Oi inorganic OF SOIL elements, or aSneS.
To state it in tabular form, 100 pounds
cotton lint contain Of
fotosh.... ....0.31 pounds
1<me--... .u4S pounds
magnesia .,..s...-.......-..... ..0l7 pounds
Other mineral matters. Q. IS pounds
Total ashes.. ....-.......,>.,......i.7 LIS pounds
In other words, one hundred pounds
of lint cotton removes from the soil
only 1.75 pounds of elements, and of
this amount only 0.55 pounds are phos-
phoric acid and potash. the remainder
consisting of lime, magnesia and other
elements of little or no value on &C
count Of their usual abundance in the
soil. 1t would appear, then, at first
glance, that cotton might be grown in
definitely on the same land without Sc
ricus detriment to the soil, so small is
the draft made upon the latter, or that
the productive capacity of the soil
might be maintained and even increased
by the use Of very small amount Of
fertilizer annually. In fact, less than
one-fifth of one pound OF phos-
phoric acid and a little more than
one-third Of pound of potash are
removed from the soil in one hundred
pounds of cotton lint. But the con-
tray is the observed fact We know
that cotton culture very rapidly re-
duces the capacity of our soils, espe-
cially the broken lands. not only for
cotton, but for any and all crops.
Why is this? The cause is two-fold:
l. Cotton is summer crop and re-
quires clean culture throughout the
hot months. The growth of other
vegetation is prevented, and this
natural means of amelioration and re-
storation is almost entirely cut off,
being limited to the scant returns in
vegetable matter of the cotton plant
itself. The effect of the chemical
rays of the sunlight on liv-
ing plants is to aid them to
assimilate the carbonic acid of the
air and thus build up the vegetable
structure; but the same sunlight has a
directly opposite effect on the dead
tissues and upon the organic matter
already in the soil. These are oxi-
died, or converted into carbonic acid,
which escapes in the air, and the soil
is thus constantly losing its vegetable
matter or humus by this slow combus-
ton or oxidation. The more the soil
is stirred. during the summer especial
ly, the more rapidly this loss goes on.
2. The principal cause of exhaustion
of soils under clean cotton culture is
due to the constant teaching and wash
ing away of the soil. Most of this loss
is occasioned by the removing of the
soil bodily, and not by dissolving out
or teaching of the soluble elements.
The object of this little discussion is
to impress upon farmers the impor-
lance of providing against these ire
mendous leaks on the farm by the use
of the most practicable means for the
purpose. The first resort is to SOW in
small grain or grass every acre of their
rolling cotton lands. This, for present
consideration. It would be well to
consider the propriety of disseminating
in future the planting of summer crops,
especially cotton, on broken lands.
The immediate remedy is to SOW small
grain on all rolling cotton lands. This
will serve in great measure to prevent
washing during the winter and early
spring months. Farmers SOW too little
small grain any way, and are too prone
to measure the benefits of such q
crop by the returns of its harvest, on
considering that a very large part oil
benefits Of small grain crop consists
in the pasturage afforded and the pre-
vention of washing in winter. One
half bushel or even less, of Georgis
seed rye, or one bushel of grazing
oats, If sown in the cotton fields il
September or. October, will afford 1
mass OF roots and foliage that will very
sffectually protect the soil from wash
ing. while at the same time the graz
ing affored to stock will rarely fail Il
pay all the expenses of the sowing
The best fields or parts Of fields MAY