The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-02-16
WHAT SHALL BE DONE WITH
DEPLETED SOIL9

Throughout the Southern and Cen
tral States there are to be found thou
sands upon thousands of acres that
have been 80 continuously planted TO
cotton, tobacco, etc that their further
culture has ceased to be remuneratlve,
hence they are thrown out OF cultlva
tion, and allowed to grow up in per
simmon, pine, briars and sage grass.
This would not be 80 bad were 1t not
for the fact that q ute considerable
portion of the LAND now in cultivation
in those States are but little, il any,
more productive than the rejected ''old
fields" What are we going do about
lt2 Shall we turn those acres out like
wise2 Or shall be try to maintain the
fertility of what we have left, and even
increase the productive capacity Of the
depleted portions7 We incline toward
the latter decision, for the main reason
that we see no other alternative. lG IS
''sink" or swim" ''renovate" or go
hungry with insufficient clothing;
build up or starve; or worse still, en-
slave ourselves and our children. Re
store the fertility of our depleted acres
we have got too; but, howe is the in
teresting query. Cow peas, crimson
clover, potash and phosphates, to
gether with a scrupulous saving of the
strictly home supply of manure, is the
only true, legitimate and satisfactory
answer"to the problem. But" says
one, suppose the land is so outrage
ously poor that it won't grow either
peas or cloverl What then9" In an
swer to this we would say that we have
been intimately acquainted with just
such lands; and wherever there is a
clay foundation, the lands are easily
brought to, even though one has to ma
nura or fertiiize the first crop Of COW
peas or clover.
Cow peas and clover will, when
used In conjunction with potash
and phosphates, succeed in bringing
up any land, let it be ever so poor.
Our we'll worn clay soils are notorious
ly deficient in potash; while our sandy
soils are seriously deficient in both pot
ash and phoe phoric acid. 1t is a we'll
established fact that COW peas and the
various members of the clover family
accumulate considerable stores of or
ganic nitrogen from the supply Of that
element already present in the soil and
! suDeOil, and also that they also attract
and hold for future use vast quantities
Of atmospheric nitrogen; but it is also
a fact just as we'll established but not
so wiz ely known, that the nodules on
the roots of the various legumcs (the
indus or hiding place of the microbes
that attire CT snd secr6te this asmo
! spheric nitrOgen) are present or absent
| in ratio or degree exactly correspond.
| ing with the diminuCiYe or luxuriant
growth of the leguminous crop planted.
II the growth of the renovating crop is
especially luxuriant, the accumulation
of nitrogen will accord Herewith and
vice versa, If the growth is puny, weak,
and spindling, the amount of nitrogen
accumulated will be corresponding y
small. Potash and phosphates are all
that is necessary to apply in order to
induce a luxuriant growth; and as
these are the cheaper forms of fertilizers
and are indispensable to the life,
growth and we'll being Of the renovat
ing crop while it is eng aged in the
work of capturing the more expensive
nitrogen, it is plainly manifest that
the more liberal we are in our applice
cation of these elements, the more
luxuriant the growth, the greater the
amount Of nitrogen stored up, the
faster the land acquires it's needed fer
tllity, and the greater the profit from
the investment. Organic matter, de
cayed vegetable matter, humus ol
mold, is what all these deplete soils
need; and the plan outlined above il
the fastest and cheapest way 10 which
it can be obtained.
g. Fl. TURNER
Burgess, Miss.
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