The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-02
a Talk on Soils.

Before farmers institute meeUng lately
hold at Lafayette, Ind, Prof Arthur Goss,
chemist to the state experiment station,
said soil considered as a sourcs Of plant
food is a great mass of inert matter, con-
tanning comparatively small quantities Of
those substances which serve as food for
rlants. The base of most soils is clay or
esnd. neither of which can serve as plant
food, but intimately mixed with these inert
substances are found the compounds of
oxygen, hydro gen, nitrogen, sulphur,
phosphorus. potassium, magnesium, cal
cium and iron, which all fertile soils must
contain.
OF these essential food elements plants
obtain their oxygen and hydrogen from the
soil principally in the form of water. OF
the other essential food elements derived
nv the plant from the soil, it is found by
expsrimentation that soils as a rule contain
an abundance of iron and generally suf-
fcient lime, magnesium and sulphur for the
needs of plants, but are frequently deficie 1T
in phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen;
hence, these three elements enter to the
greatest extent into the questions of the ex-
haustiol and renewal or soils.
Small quantities of nitrogen are added to
the soil from year to year from the atrnos-
phere, not enough, however, to supply a
fifth of that needed by crops. Not an
ounce of potash aud phosphoric acid, how =
ever, is ever added to soil, under ordinary
conditions, unless from some artificial
source; hence, every pound of potash and
phosphoric acid removed from farm in the
grain and animals sold from it means that
the soil is exactly that much poorer in
those elements. One can see that such
drain, continued without the addition of
those clements from an outside source, must
ultimately exhaust any soil.
Three stages of soil exhaustion may be
noticed in the history of almost any To-
caity, the land of which has been titled
long enough, supposing it to have been
naturally fertile to such degree as to ad-
NIT of tillage from the start without
there existing a necessity for applying ma
nures.
During the first, which may be called the
pionoer period, the farmer grows crops
without fertilizing. Ia soma cases be grows
very good ones. After few years, how
ever the number depending on the original
fertility of the soil, the crops cease TO be 80
abundant, and the farmer either turns out
an "old field" and begins anew on fresh
land or proceeds to cast about him for
some means of increasing the productive
ness Of the old lands, now evidently becom-
Ing rapidly exhausted. The first step most
common is to grow some enriching crop, as
clover, field peas, and the like. This may
be noted down as the second period.
By means of the longer roots of these
crops the clements of plant food are
pumped from tho subsoil aad brought to the
surface to be utilized by the shallow feeding
crops usually grown. Such scheme for
enrching the surface soil will work FOR
awhile and is undoubtedly good thing, but
that such means will ultimately fail any
one can see; as it is simply means Of reach
Ing little deeper into natures pockets aud
extracting the riches already there without
supplying any in their stead.
The third period is that of artificial fer
tizers. The farmer, driven by constantly
u4ihluLoAi1LEs AOi bi4AOJ w DUN sOlL0 Juliet
means of increasing the productiveness of
his fields. at last adopts the logical one of
supplying TO the soil from some outside
source, il part at least. thoso elements which
have been removed by the crops
Of course no one would think of apply
ing to the land an exact equivalent of the
substance removed Such system would
not only be very expensive but would result
in great deal of labor. practically lost as
far as present results are coacerned. For
example, i'll taking ton and a half of hay
from one acre of land less than one pound
OF iron is removed. Now, the first nine
inches of soil containing 5 per cent. of
iron, which is not remarkably high figure,
would contain about $780, 900 pounds OF that
element; hence, if this rate of exhaustion
coald be maintained every year for 100,0 900
years there would still be an abundance CT
iron present. Practically, however, the
potash and phosphoric acid in an ordinary
soil would be exhausted long before this
time; hence we can see that it would DO USE
less to try to renew an ordinary soil by add
ing iron to it.
This brings us to the important considera-
tion OF how to deter mine in what element
or elements Of plant food soil is deficient
"hen 1t begins to produce poor crops. A
great many people seem to think that all
lhat Is Important TO know about soil can
% found out by a chemical analysis Of it.
mat an analysis may be valuable aid in
the treatment of a soil cannot be denied,
put there are so many modifying condi-
uons that such an analysis must be inter
preted with good deal of jugdment in
order to be of much value. Among these
conditions may be mentioned climate,
drainage, the physical character of the soil
ana the fact that most of the plant food in
d SOIL Is IN an insoluble form, and to become
available to plants must be subjected to the
ulSintegrating action of atmospheric and
organic agencies which are constantly at
WORK In the soil. Taking all thess facts into
account 1t will be seen that drawing con-
customs from chemical analysis of a soil is
ta'ner complex problem. However, as is
frequently the case, a soil becomes sterile
Oecause OF the exhaustion of one or more
essential elements of plant food. chemical
analysis may serve as valuable aid in sug-
sestng the kind Of fertilizer to use.
IL Is most reasonable to conclude that the