The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-09

Agricultural operations must be carried
on with view to keeping the soil in a
condition for future usefulness. Too often
the humus is allowed 10 decrease to an
extent that greatly Injuries the capacity
of the land to produce good crops. Espe-
clalIy is this the case on sandy lands An
imal and vegetable matters decompose and
in the end form gases. But in the pro-
cess there is halfway station in which
the work Of decomposition has begun, but
is far from completion. In that state the
vegetable matter. and also the animal
matter, goes to form what is called hum
US. When leaf has moulded it becomes
humus, but this humus itself will in time
disappear by the processes Of nature and
nothing be lefHof ii but an inorganic dust
Humus is really mixture Of many vege,
table compounds.
Humus is not in iteslf plant food Bur
ii is a receptacle of plant food and
among all other things holds nitrogen
This quality is one Of essential value. Nj
trogen is thing thai slips away easily
and in sandy soils some hose need be pro-
vided for il. Humus acts as this
host 70 keep it In pace till the farmer
is'ready TO use It for the sustenance Of
his crops The change that is wrough,
in The humus is due to micrc-organis
IL Is the micro-organism that changes the
humus into plant food or transforms il
into dust. In light soils humus is value
bic, both as a retainer Of nitrogen and a
holder Of moisture Clay soils hold
moisture largely on account of
their texture, IRRESPECTIVE of any hui
mus held in them, but this is not true
Of sandy soils. Therefore the hninus must
be kept in good supply Men that have
farmed much know that a piece of sandy
soil well MANFRED VIII stand the drought
better than a soil slightly MANFRED, and
one reason for that is that The humus
holds The water. 3umus makes soil more
workable Farmers that have broken up
thin clay land know how difficult such
land is TO work the frsl years But If a
good supply of stable manure be put on
the soil. in a few years, sometimes in the
second year, becomes frlable. When il is
turned UP by the pillow or broken with the
hoe IL falls TO pieces and gives good bed
for seed Before the adding of the humu9
the clay was non-friable. That is, when
il was worked il did noE break 10 pieces
and il rema ned, to a considerable extent.
impervious to the roofs.
The bare fal,ow following long success
sions Of grain growing is particularly de-
structive to the humus. 1t may give a
better crop for the second year. for thu
reason that more of the humus has become
changed into plant food or into gas, but
ia not less certainly deDletes the humus
without replenishing the supply. LighA
soils soon become doubly subject 70
drought under this system. The Oregon
experiment station made some tests to
determine the loss. and came to the con-
clusion that in a single summer fallow
more OF the humus Is changed into oxides
than in five crops OF grain. There must
be great loss OF this valuable material,
both by escape of gases and by teaching
Waile Il Is true that the next crop is dou-
BILE. It Is also true that a great surplus or
plant food is lost, never TO be recovered.
From these things It Is evident THAI the
rotation must be such as 10 constantly
keep ,he land supplied with humus This
would be in the course of years q great
saving The losses by teachings and rains
are undenably greaf, but we have been,
in the past. too ignorant to know that II
was even going on.