Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1896-04-30

" in the eaftn Is lla"c
H., <Na1lT up of about Go kinds
I55z,EH Of matter, but 80 to
90 per cent Of the
N mass of organic
~ matter is composer
of four only, car
bon, oxygen, hydrogen anu n''i
Adding silicon, aluminium ana calclu,N'
the seven will make up almost ali ol '''e
mass of the world. In addition We nav
the various metals, which are OF SUI"
value in the arts. and potassium pho'
phorus and sulphur, which are essen
tial for all animal and vegetable ne.
In plants we find but thirteen lol Ai'
of matter. including sodium. mashes-
ium and chlorine in addition TO 'hose
named above.
The first four come almost ch,''e'!
from the air. while the nine mlhe.''
substances all come from the SOIL. No'
all are of equal value, as many are l"
great abundance. while others are rare
Silicon is abundant in plants, out Is
the base of sand and with aluminium
which is not found in agricultural
plants. and is common in clay, makes
up the great mass of our soils. inc!
form the framework of our SOILS ana
are nearly, if not quite, soluble. lhey
hold the lime, magnesia, potassium
phosphorus and sulphur. which are
more soluble, and enter the plant IN
solution in water. These last cannot
be dispensed with, as no plant can gro"
without them.
Upon Thursday morning DR.. kedzle
gave a talk upon Soil Exhaustion.
In the early days the valleys OF the
Mohawk and the James were thought to
be inexhaustible. but after cropping for
number of years the yield obtained
was so small that the crop was not prot
, liable, and when that condition was
| reached they were exhausted There
! are two causes for soil exhaustion: ~
| unsuitable physical conditions. such as
| too wet or too dry, too loose or too COM
pact, SO that they are not in condition
| to grow crops, and (2) when plant food
is lacking. The soil is not mine to
be worked out. 1t must be cultivated
with reference to it's continued fertility;
anything else is robbery. All soils have
a supply of reserve matter in an in
soluble form that will be gradually
drafted into service. Potash is de-
rived from the decomposition OF the
mineral ingredients of the soil. Field
spar one Of the constituents of granite,
contains over 16 per cent. Of potash.
and as it weathers it decomposes and
produces clay, setting free a large
| Sc ~ which 10 re nor
cent is available as plant food. The
greatest danger Is from the exhaustion
of the soil nitrogen. While 1t exists
in Immense quantities in the air, 1t is
in a free state---in that form it is Of no
value to most crops. AS rule about
So pounds Of combined nitrogen per
acre are annually brought down in rain
or snow. but this is insufficient for farm
crops. The humus Of the soil. as re-
suit of nitrifcation, yields up a large
amount Of combined nitrogen. Nitrates
are easily washed out of the soil. but
1t can be largely prevented If some crop
is kept upon the land, as winter rye
which will take it up. Fallow land
develops nitrogen. but a large amount
is washed away.
In his fourth lecture DIR. Kcdzie spoke
regarding Manure and Fertilizers
He considered barn-yard manure as thu
best material for use as a fertilizer
and the pivot of successful farming. By
means of charts, the loss OF the ma
nurial elements when it is exposed t.
the weather was shown. When KEEP
for a year under the caves of a barn
more than four-fifths of the ammoni;
and nearly as much of the potash wa
lost, In the open air. but away from
the caves, the loss was slightly less
but was more than two-thirds for tn
above elements. Only about one-fourtl
of the phosphoric acid was lost unde
, either condition.
Wood ashes came next in value as
fertilizer: 100 pounds OF wood ashe
free from dirt will contain pounds o
potash and ga pounds of phosphor
acid and will be worth nearly so cent
per bushel. AS they are seldom pure
one-half the above will be a high price
Leached ashes have lost part Of thei
potash, but are generally Onethird a
c valuable as the unleached There i
little value in coal ashes.
-, All the remains of vegetables an
especially Of animal materials are @
: gr Eat value as fertiiizing materials, a
we'll as for their physical effect upo
the soil, as the capacity of the soil t
hold water depends largely upon tn
amount Of vegetable matter 1t contain.
The lack of nitrogen can be helped b
growing leguminous crops. such Il
clover and peas. as they have warts q
n tubercles upon their roots which hav
the power of utilizing the free nitroge
: OF the air.
(From Farmers Review special re
a.. port Of South Haven tMichigam farm
ers' institute)
Michigan Horticultural Convention.
Condensed from Farmers Revie'