The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-01

verr important and interesting fact con-
corning this question, positive knowledge
having been acquired through careful ex-
perimentatio and investigation that the
serious loss of humus and decline in the
fertility Of the soil as a sequence are due
to causes which 1t is possible for every
farmer to remove to at least large ex-
tent, says the Farmers Voice.
As Illustrating what is meant by the
term lumus we may mention an island
sand oar, which formed in a river and
each year took on additional verdue and
plant growth until it was a perfect forest;
in about twenty years or more the soil
of that island was as fertile and produc-
tive as any soil could be, particularly in
humus that all essential element of fer
tilty which deccmposed vegetable and
animal matter form. For instance, the
leaves Of the trees and the grass when
partially decomposed are humus. and the
leaf crop dropping to the ground every
year in time will fill the soil with this
element Old. rotten or partially decom-
posed logs, rails, stumps etc. are humus,
and some farmers will go as far with a
team and wagon to get load of this stuff
as if it were high-grade barnyard or hem
house manure
There are soils that need humus more
than they need other fertilzng material,
and there are soils which have a sufficient
percentage for several crops yet TO be
grown; Inc question, therefore, which con-
fronts the farmer is what kind of soil
needs or does not need humus? Ordin
arily, prairie lands for the first ten or
twelve years after breaking contain
good supply of this substance, and swami
Ply, peaty and muck soils are seldom de-
ficient in humus. A sandy soil is likely 20
lose humus rapidly and soon be in serious
need unless green manures, farm manures
applied, which have the power, when de-
composed, of combining with the potash
and phosphoric acid of the soil, rendering
them available by plants. A naked soil
exposed to the oxygen of the air loses
humus very rapidly; fluids from which
the grass has been burned, plowed under
or otherwise removed suffer considerable
loss of humus, as it is this material which
makes humus
Any system of cultivation which leaves
the soil bare or the growing of a crop
which returns no residue to the soil are
well-known causes of the loss of humus,
which is not only the principal source of
nitrogen in the soil, but the means of rem
dering to a large extent, the phosphoric
acid and potash content of the soil avail
able for plant use. 1t has been noted
by the stations which have experimental
along this line that the retentive power of
the soil for water and fertilizers declines
in proportion to the loss of humus, and
that the more humus the soil contains the
greater its drought-resisting power.
For the farmer to make a practical APP
phcaton of the advice given by the sta
lions concerning iumus is just what the
soil conditions on many farms require in
order to make them profitable, and any
farmer will find he has ample material to
do this with. All kinds of green ma
nures-wth a systematic rotation of crops
in which grasses, preferably clover, ana
cowpeas and soy beans form important
faetors-will furnish this great plant balm
in abundance.
One of the things not to do IL it is de-
sired to keep the soil repete with humus
is to burn off the grass or leave the fields
bare through winter. This statement re-
fers to fan blowing for corn. In order
to avoid loss of humus by fall blowing,
rye should be sown which makes SPLEEN.
did pasture for calves and other stock
throughout the winter besides furnishing
a covering for the soil.