The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1888-02-25
ABOUT N SOIL.
o It Can BE Made to Yield Satisfactory
Grain and Pasture Crops,

A find sand will. ( levelcd-by t.
o granger. stand drought remarkabl
we'll; not by resisting evaporation (fo
this goes on fast), but by rapid CAPT
larry attraction. bringing up moistur
from below. Sand seems TO have
special power for collecting nitrogen
In . rainy season my sandy plain
give me corn-stalks Of a size out of al
proportion to their apparent fertility
No rain Is wasted on sand. zone run
away, as on other soils. but all of
%percolates through and the nitrogel
is strained out for the benefit OF tn
crop. In q rainy season the corn o
my plains 10 taller and the ears ar
heavier than on the best bottom land
ot the Muskingum
White or yellow sand absorbs hea
slowly. but 1t also parts slowly
Hence it needs long summing, and tn
enriching, mcllowing action of thu
rains. before planting is done
Sand needs humus, it needs decay
ing vegetable mattor. to give it life
and action by the yeasting effect Of tn,
carbonic acid. Hence the special value
of green manuring for this class Of
soils. In light, porous sand the car
bonic acid escaping from green ma.
nure. consequent upon the rapid oxy.
genation Of the material, is liable te
escape into the atmosphere in the form
Of gas. Hence the necessity, in light
sand, Of turning vegetable matter
under to some depth. But dry straw
manure if plowed down. will make
trouble in n drought by drying out the
ground. 1t is better if applied OF the
surface in the form Of mulching. Thi.
brings the line Of constant moisture
neal the surface and holds it there.
One very dry summer. when the
white clover on very sandy plains be.
came brown and ~powdery in the heat.
the cattle and sheep nosed aside tho
manure, which had been scattered in
one place, to browse green heritage
which they could not find else where.
All manure on sand does its best
work if placed at or near the surface.
Its action il downward by teaching,
rather than upward by evaporation.
Even the green manure, which wal
turned down to some depth, to await
the fermenting process, OF oxygena.
ton. should be turned up near the
surface a. ain before planting. Most
sands carry more nitrogen and car
bon than would be apparent to the
casual observer. This is espe cially
true Of the sands which are every.
where in the South. The abundant
semi-tropical rains, the warmth of the
sun and the humid atmosphere pro.
duce a wonderful growth Of weeds
and grass in summer. These supply
the two elements named, but there is
a lack of potash. phosphorus and
lime, at least in an available form.
They must be soil, if already there.
by the solvent action of carbonic acid
arising from the ferment of green
manures.
The Southern native farmers plow
shallow-a mere acknowledgements,
say. the bottom is dead and cold.
From their point of view, or of action,
they are right. Bat the Northern
c~olonist turns green matter deep down;
this warns and vitalizes the soil BY
process of oxygenation or slow
combustion. Then he turns it to the
surface again, bringing up the miner.
ais which the vegetable acids have dis.
and the glowing tropical sun
completes the ripening or the ''sweet.
But mulch is grateful to the
and and the crop through the ardent
Of summer.
On my sandy plains in OHIO, in their
condition. wheat would yield
'nly eight bushels per acre. There
vas only an inch or two Of soil.
in her wasteful processes, had
only so little, because the
leaves. in slow combustion. had
'anished in air.
Then man interviewed. He busbanded
he resources of the land. My grand.
ather began as he Southern farmers
10 to-day, blowing only two or three
inches deep. But he d ceper year
y year. He carried the soil down ,
With him as he went. The stubble and
he grass which he plowed under were
aved, not wasted as nature had done {
leaving them to slow combustion
n the top. In forty years a soil was {
nade eight inches deep. To-day those :
lains will yield fifteen or twenty
'ushels to the acre; in a good year ,
twenty-five. I
This was a clear gain. because these q
lains are far FROM the farm head.
uarters and receive nothing but what \
hey create themselves. II 'gs were l.
I'd there. but they ate the corn that 8
on the plains only. These sands q
nriched themselves. Nature. in her ,
tasteful way, created an inch or two '
+ soil in centuries; man saved his y
lateral and made eight inches in a i
feline. - Stephen Iowers. in Country 4
s.
Elegant Evening Cloaks. !,
The silk lampas in large figures and "