The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1892-05-20
THE FARM AND HOME.
TO BRING UP THE FERTILITY
OF SOIL.
Special Treatment Necessary-smut in
Wheat and Blasting In oats-Hor-
tlcultural Notes and Home
Hints.
Farming on CLAY Soil.

Most of the clay farms of the coun.
try are usually too wot and sticky for
tlllage, says the American Cultivator,
until late in the spring time for best
results with corn, oats or potatoes.
On many of them the soil is too wet
In winter and spring for winter wheat
unless considerable labor is expended
in manuring it heavily. Glover is
likewise a hard crop to grow on such
soils. for it is often killed the first
winter. Clover cannot be trusted on
such soils to bring up its fertility. for
the heavy freezing would throw the
! big tap roots of the plant far out OF
The ground.
To bring up the fertility of such a
clayey SOIL and to farm successfully,
it is necessary first to adopt the tile
system of drainage. Such drainage
is needed to keep the freezing and
thawing of winter and spring from
throwing up the clover plants and
also to reduce the amount of moisture
in the soil. But drainage alone is not
sufficient. Clay farms require a great
amount OF plant food, and after the
drainage is affected this should be at
tended to. Glover will not do this at
first, although later it is splendid
crop for rotation to add new strength
to the soil. But it is necessary first
to nurse and cultivate the soil up to
such a standard that clover can have
the best effect. Commercial fertilizers
supply some things which the soil
needs, and it is in the phosphates that
we find the element so much needed
on the clayey soils.
Superphosphates have the best effect
upon heavy, clayey soils, that have
been tile drained, while on some grav-
ely, loamy soils they do not pay for
the cost On undrained clay soils
they do not produce many beneficial
results. but on the clay soils. with tile
drainage, they give results that are
marvellous. High grade and ammo
mated superphosphates on such clayey
soils will increase the yield of wheat
and produce heavier straw They give
better seeding of grass and clover
and will tend largely toward prevent
ing winter killing. A judiclous appli-
cation OF the pure superphosphates
nre much better in their effect than
untreated bone. whether steamed,
crushed, ground or coarse, and while
their action is quicker the good done
seems also to be permanent
Farming on clayey soils for the fu-
ture, as we'll as for the present con-
sists in special treatment 1t is diff
cult soil to handle for potatoes, corn
and wheat but it can be made to pro-
duce fine crops of any of these plants.
The tile drainage seems essential, first
to decrease the disastrous effects of
winter freezing and thawing. Judi.
clous treatment of the soil with super.
phosphates is the second step de-
manded in order to mako the crops
grow more successfully. Clover then
will catch and not be killed the first
winter The heavy lands will not re-
main wet and heavy so late in the
spring. A good rotation of crops to
increase the plant food in the soil will
complete a system of farming that
will make the clayey soils fertile and
productive