The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1897-03-20
THE sUBHUMIo BELT.

natures Laboratory Where She Performs
Her Crop-ProduciDg Functions.
In the south they have the black belt
OF land. in the pOrth the corn belt, and
in the west the,lwheat belt; but east,
west. north and south there exists
greater and more Important soil belt
than AL the others combined-indeed,
none OF these could exist and produce
without this-the. subhumid belt. It
is only about six inches in thickness.
and lies directly between the depth of
two inches from the surface and a
depth of eight inches. This is the
laboratory in which nature so mys-
teriously performs most of her func-
lions necessary to crop production;
and without this particular workshop
the earth would be a barren waste.
Our title says "subhumid belt.n Sub
means under and humid moisture. or
dampness. This belt, then, is under
two inches of surface soil, whose chief
office is or should be to act as a
mulch-a shield to ptotect sly nature
at work in her laboratory from the
gaze OF inquisitlve or unwelcome
guests. The. inventor, to prevent in
trusion, places ON his workshop door:
mo Admittace;" and nature means
the same thing by choosing to cloak
her operations with an earth covering
or mulch. The latter seems to have
little Or no other purpose, for as a
rule plant-roots get their nutriment
beneath this.
This belt is humid-moist. II is an
infiexible law of nature that plants.
like human infants, can take nutri.
ment only in solution. Infants would
starve with only solid food offered
them, and SO would plants. Plants
could no more consume lamp of fer
Utility than babe could slice of bread.
This belt, then, must have moisture.
ana that permanently, or plants will
not flourish. Moist to-day and dry to-
morrow would not answer the purpose
IL Is more important to have this belt
IN proper condition as to moisture than
it is as to fertility, because without
moisture nothing would grow.
One of the chief aims of the farmers
then, should be to preserve moisture
here To plow the ground eight inches
or more in depth will furnish a reser-
voir for water to be supplied by rains
and melting SHOWS. But here a guard
Is needed. Long continuance of too
much water is as bad as none,s There
should be suitable drainage totconvev
away surplus. Pour a chiId's cum Of
milk into barrel of water. and Il
could not take enough of the dilution
to sustain life. Capillarity of soil is
too little needed. When fine enouob
Tor growth OF plants it is full of pores,
or holes, and by capillary attraction
moisture will travel in all directions.
This is illustrated in the oil-lamp
where oil seems to climb up the wick.
For this operation the earth must
not be too fine or too coarse. If as fine
as dust, all the pores are obliterated.
and If in coarse Jumps, attraction is
notfpowerful enough to take moisture
from one lump 10 the other. Soil in
what is called s'good tilthr is in the
right condition, provided the particles
are sufficiently pressed topether. |
There should be no cavities or clods in
this belt. for they would defeat capil.
larry action. Some moisture will enter
this belt from the hard earth beneath
1T, but the main dependence is upon
that which falls from the heavens:
hence the necessity of the reservoir
described, which is so deep in the earth |
that, with proper prcaution, little more
moisture can escape by evaporation
than Is supplied by the hard earth be-
meath the belt. /
by that proper precaution." of |
course, is meant a dust blanket. or |
mulch of the first two inches of the \
soil. This completely obliterates ca
pillarity through it, and moisture can
not escape from the subhumid belt
by evaporation. And here lies hid.
den rock on which have stranded |
myriads OF farmers ships of fancy.
They do not properly prepare the sub
himid belt and then protect it with a |
dust mulch. Example after example
is reported where by the aid of these
two features excellent crops are grown
even in the driest seasons. By iudi- |
cious management one may be said to
be almost independent of weather con-
'ditiors. A pleasing thought is that |
we never hear of anyone abandoning
the system after trial or speaking iii |
of it.;
To operate right, the subsoil must be
somewhat compressed. Capillarity can
.netoccur in very loose soil. Let the
'harrowAteetlr be set to enter the
ground two inches. Then, after plow.
ing, harrow Thoroughly. until the SUR
face is thoroughly fined. BY this time
the tramping. of the team will have
properly frmed the subhumid belt, so |
that capillarity can occur, and the fine |
plant-roots get a firm hold. Any after
cultivation to be the same depth of |
two inches. Corn and potatoes
to be cultivated as soon after
every rain as the ground is
dry enough. No crust to be
allowed to remain longer than it. can
fnirlv be broken up. This system In !