The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-11-01
No. 80

other agent for improving the fertility
OF the soil. The disintegrating action
OF frost is important, and it helps to
produce new mechanical relationship
between the particles that compose the
soil. Much of our food placed in the
soil in spring and summer is not imme-
diately available, and it remains in the
soil all winter By blowing the land
IN the fall we dissolve this undizeeted
plant food, and start it upon a new
process of decomposition. The raina,
frost and air of the winter season pre-
pare this plant food for its ossimina-
ton, and by spring there is a good
deal OF it lying around ready for i'm
mediate use. 1t is for this reason that
fall plowed lands produce a quicker
growing crop than the land not so
treated
Fall ploWiDg helps to bring up to the
surface and expose to the action of the
sun, frost and wind, plant food that
has been buried deep down in the sub
soil of every we'll fertiliz9d field. Ma
nures are spread over the land season
after season, and only part of them
are utilized by the plants The Undi-
gested part rer, aims in the soil until it
can be operated upon by the elemente.
So great is this accumulation of un-
used fertiliz ~, on market gardens
where fertilIzing is heavy every sum-
mer that some farmers skip a season
occasionally without adding more ma.
nure. Instead OF adding to the accu-
mutation, they give extra culture to
the soil. 1t is ploWed and narrowed
and stirred for several successive crops,
and every time it is plowed over plant
food is made available. It is g good
deal like q person who eats heartily
three times day. In time the sy stem
gets clogged up with the accumulated
material, and what it needs is not more
food, but more exercise and a little
dieting. In our eagerness to fertiIize
our soils heavily, we need occasionally
to give them little exercise and diet.
ing Fall blowing, followed by aspiring
blowing, ia one of the best ways to &C.
Complish this. It may not always be
convenient to ptoW in the fall, but If
one can find the time it will pay "A.
B. Barrett, Minnesota.
On the above letter the American
CultivatOr comments as follows:
MIR. Barrett urges fall blowing as
means Of enriching the soil, and ex
plains the q lite common neglect of fall
plo wing by saying that farmers are
ignorant of the advantages of this
practice. But the truth is that while
farmers whose land has moderate fer
tility can secure better crops by fall
plowing land and exposing it to the in
fences of winter air and frest, they are
sure to find later in the season that this
is always done at the expense Of fertil-
ity that cannot we'll be spared. II fer
tility is scarce it is best to be saving Of
it. In the instances that our CORE
spondent cites fertility is not scarce.
It is rather superabundant, and some
means to make it available, even if Rc-
companied by a certain loss of fertility,
may be ellowed. But where stable ma
nure has been used in large amounts
several years in succession, as is done
on market gardens, their managers do
not generally intermit using manure
for a year. They use instead potash
and phosphate, in which stable ma
nures are generally deficient Some
times in addition they also fall plow
the land. Yet we think few market
gar dehers would think of growing gar,
den crops after several years top dress.
ing with stable manure by using no
manure at all. Nor do we think that
farmers can afford to do so. After fall
plowing, mineral fertilizers drilled with
early sown or planted crops are sure to
produce particularly good effect"