Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1899-07-13

SoAno OP-CO-O1se Minus About Gull
tivation of the Soil and Yields
Observation-Disclosures, viticulture and
Horticulture.
Farming Without Stock Exhaustive.
A. G. True. director of the Minnesota
Experiment Station, says:
When the lands are grazed by sheep
and cattle the soil fertility is drawn
upon to the extent of the nitrogen,
phosphoric acid, and potash required
to build the blood, bone, and tissue OF
the animal body. This Is considerable
IN the case Of growing animals, but in
significant in case Of animals which
have made their growth Especially of
bone) and are simply maintained or
fattened on the pasture. II, however,
concentrated feeds are used in addition
to pasture, and the manure produced
returned to the land, there is an ac-
tual gain in fertility of the land. 1t
will thus be seen that exclusive grain
farming or continuous culture of
single crop has a much greater ten
dency to impoverish the soil than stock
raising or combined grain and stock
raising. A comparison of the amount
OF plant food removed from the soil
and the amount capable Of being re-
turned to it under different systems of
husbandry has been made by the Min
nesota Experiment Station. The sys-
TENS taken into consideration were all
grain farming, mixed grain and gen.
eral farming, mixed potato and general
farming, stock farming, and dairy
farming, examples being selected which
represented the different systems. In
each case the farm is considered to
contain 160 acres.
In the example of all-grain farming
selected no stock was kept and no fer
tilizers of any kind applied to the land,
the small amount of fertilizing mate
rial which necessarily accumulated was
disregarded, and the grain was all sold
from the farm. The entire farm of 100
acres was under cultivation. The crops
raised were 100 acres of wheat, 40
acres Of barley, and 20 acres Of oats,
yielding Is, 40 and so bushels per acre,
respectively. It is calculated that the
fertility removed from such farm in
the grain and straw of one years crops
amounted to 2,460 pounds phosphoric
acid, 1920 pounds potash, and $500
pounds nitrogen. This does not include
the fertility removed by the weeds,
which often is very large, and the
amount Of nitrogen lost from the soil
through teaching and the decomposi-
ton of humus.
In the example of stock farming Sc
lected for study, rs acres were sown
to oats, 20 to barley, 10 to corn, 5 to
peas, and acre each to potatoes and
millet. The remainder of the farm was
in meadow and pasture. The stock
kept in this case comprised 10 beef
cattle, and 10 dairy cows, 10 horses, S
steers, 10 head of young stock, 30
sheep, and 20 hogs. Five steers of L.
600 ponds each, 5 head of young stock,
5 horses, 10 hogs of $50 pounds each,
and 1900 pounds of butter were sold
from the farm. All the crops grown,
i1ncluding 40 tons Of timothy and 80
tons of clover, were consumed on the
farm. Eighteen tons of food material
and cords of wood were purchased
and consumed, besides the crops pro-
duced. Under these conditions there
was approximately a gain Of IS pounds
OF phosphoric acid, and a loss of so
pounds of potash, and 1913 pounds of
nitrogen. The loss of nitrogen was
more than balanced by the gain due to
the clover crop, so that on the whole
there was practically no loss of fer
tility from the farm.
In the example given of dairy farm,
30 cows, s head of young stock, 4
horses, and 20 pigs constituted the
stock kept on the farm. The crops
raised were 10 acres Of wheat, 20 of
oats, 10 OF corn, of rye, s of oats for
hay, 2 acres each Of roots and peas,
I each of millet and potatoes; rs tons
of both clover and timothy were pro-
tduced, and the remainder of the farm
was mainly in pasture. Sixteen pigs of
.250 pounds each and head of young
stock. 5000 pounds of butter, and all
the wheat and rye produced were sold
from the farm, while the rest of the
products were consumed as feed and 80
per cent returned to the soil as fertil-
.izer. Ten tons of feed and 5 cords of
wood were purchased and consumed in
addition to what was produced on the
farm. The figures given for dairy
farming show gain of rs pounds of
phosphoric acid and a loss of IS
pounds potash. and 300 pounds nitro
gen. The loss of nitrogen, however
lis again more than offset by the gain
Through the clover crop, so that there
lis practically no loss of fertility in
dairy farming under proper manage
ment. but rather constant gain.
Draining Barnyards.
There Is a commonly received opin-
fnn fhQf fi1o 1roS~r -