Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-09-10
Maintaining Fertility.

One should always farm in such q
way as to maintain the fertility of the
soil II the farmer raises and sells off
the farm grain and hay to such an eX-
tent that there is not enough fertliz-
ing material returned to the soil 10
preserve its fertility he is on the road
TO ruin as far as the fertility Of the
land is concerned. The time win come
when either he or those who come
after him will find themselves on 4
poor WORKOUT farm that refuses to
yield them a support and the farm viii
have to be abandoned. The Prairie
Farmer says the only road to success
ful farming lies in keeping some kind
of live stock To consume the greater
part Of what grows out Of the soil, and
carefully saving and applying the
manure The man who thinks his soil
inexhaustible ls mistaken, and If he
lives on it long enough will find it out.
No man ever had "A soil so rich but that
continually checked out more than h.
turned to il viii in time exhaust it,
The farm is the farmers bank and
fertility is the cash deposit which may
be checked out. No man ever had 80
much money in the bank but that he
in time. would get To the end OF it IL he
continually checked out more than he
put in. 1t Is advisable in all localities
10 raise different crops on the farm and
practice regular system of rotation
rarely having the same crop on any
given field more than one year Withou,
some other crop Intervening. And in
this rotation clover ought 10 come in
every third or fourth year. A crop OF
clover will add materially to the pro-
ductiveness of the farm. Its long roots
penetrate the subsoil, thus breaking il
up, and improving the mechanical con
dition and bringing UP fertility from
below, where it has. to some extent.
been carried when there was a surplus
of water descending through it, II is
also one of the very few plants that
has the ability to extract nitrogen from
the air and deposit ii in the soil
The impression that the mere applica-
ton of few pounds of fertilizers 10 a
poor soil is All that is necessary TO make
1t produce q large crop has now about
disappeared from the mind of the average
farmer. a writer in the Farmers Re
view says this wisdom has been gained
from experience. but unfortunately this
same experience frequently proved to
be very costly. The more light that is
thrown upon this important question the
more prosperous will be the condition of
the farmer. In the opinion of the writer
the three great essentials which have
most to do with the successful culture of
the soil are good cultivation. proper ro-
tation and iudicious fertilization. Carry
ing these on. hand in hand. and taking
the seasons as they come the results will
more than gratify any soil tiller. The
three requisites mentioned are mutually
dependent upon one another. If the soil
Is in the best physical condition and this
can only be brought about by thorough
cultivation, it affords better opportu-
nifty for the plant roots to forage about
in search of food. Furthermore ii adj
mits the passage of air and enables the
water to move freely and unless the soil
admits of such the plant is retarded in
its growth, which of course means a re-
duction in the yiciu. As for the rotation
every farmer with experience knows that
ii is NOT good plan to grow the same
crop year after year upon the same soil.
1t rs this one-sided system that has
proved so disastrous to southern cotton
farmers and they are just now beginning
to get out of the rut by pricticing rota-
ton. Rotation as now carried on is very
closely allied to fertilization because the
insertion of certain crops in the series
means the enrichment of the soil in one
OF the three essential plant food ingre-
dents When we speak of plant food in
gradients we naturally refer to nitrogen
phosphortc acid and potash because
these are the elements that are usually de
ilcient in the silos and are practically the
only ones that the farmer has to consider
in applying fertilizers. OF the three men
toned nitrogen costs most when pur-
chased on the market in the shape of
commercial fertilizers. Hence any plan
that will admit of reduction in the cost
OF applying this element of fertility
should be boon to the farmer Fortu-
nately. however the means Is n very sim