The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-04-28

Agriculture is now doing in the study
of the soils of the State
with the foregoing results, relating
| largely to sand soils and indicating that
potash is not specially needed on the
particular ones referred to- in mind.
we are led, to put tim idly, to think
| as to whether or not the prevailing
opinion among the famers in the east
ern, or sandy soil section, of this State
| is correct. when they maintain that
their soils are not specially in need of
phosphoric acid and that side from:
nitrogen, potash is the most need and
beneficial constituent of their fertilizers
| for all crops. This question appears all
| the more worthy o Thought, when it is
| known that the farmers of North Caro-
| lima will pay this year for commercial
| fertilizers not less than $6,OO0000, prac
tically so, 100000 being for phosphoric
acid, 81 100000 for nitrogen, and $1,000,
| coo for potash. If one Of these con
stituents is not needed or if used in
greater proportion than necessary, it
would mean tremendous saving to the
agriculture of the State, if reasonably
positive proof of the fact could be
given The only reasonable way of OBJ
, tanning such evidence is by sys-
tematic investigation of the soils of the
section or of the State and determina-
tion of their adaptability to the plant
food requirements of the crops grown
| or to be grown upon them. The inn
portance and magnitude of the problern
as measured by the expenditure for fer
| tilizers, to say nothing of the greater
profit that might come from increased
crop production, justifies, If it does not
| indeed demand that such work be done
THE division of soils of the United
States Department of Agriculture has,
| by the systematic and uniform meth
ods adopted, greatly increased the ef-
| ficiency and value of soil work. In
cooperation with the division of tha
national government the State Depart
ment of Agriculture made last year
soil survey of a strip of land eight
miles wide-four miles on either side
of the railroads-and extending from
Raleigh to Newbern, embracing about
900 sqaure miles. in the counties of
Wake, Johnston, Wayne, Lenoir, Cra-
ven and jones In this work, all of
the soil of the area was gone over and
carefully examined by an experienced
Judge of soils, and wherever in the
area surveyed the same soil was found,
it was indicated on accurately pre-
pared maps by the same color. This
may is now in course of preparation
by the division of soils and will show,
when out. the outlines and areas of
the several soil t. fes occurring between
Raleigh and Newbern. At the time
this work was done samples of virgin
and cultivated soils were taken for
chemical and physical examination.
Fifty of these have been examined
chemically in our laboratory and the
other $50 belonging to this area will be
completed, we hope, during the sum-
mer. Nothing is being spared to make
the analysis as complete and thorough
as possible.
AT present there are several parties
engaged in surveying a 800 square mile
section, included mainly in the coun-
ties Of Iredell, Davie and Rowan, with
small strips of Mecklenburg, Lincol:.
and Catawba. Progress indicates thae
this area will be completed by July 1st.
when the eastern section will be again
entered and considerable area, we
hope, added to that examined there last
year
his is one phase of the soil work in
which the Department of Agriculture
is engaged. 1t does not, however, pro-
pose to depnd entirely upon these field
observations and on the chemical ana
physical Analyses of the soils but rather
to make them the ground plan for
classifying and grouping the soils Of
the State into type areas with the view
of conducting thorough and systematic
fertilizer, culture and other tests on the
main soil areas-actually asking of the
plants themselves on the particular
soils what they need in the way of
culture and fertilization to give the
most probable returns.
''And you may De interested to know
that this work is not merely outlined
on paper, but is in actual operation. |
have already indicated to you that the
soil survey is proceeding with reason
able rapidity, and two test farms
have been established on type
areas in the East, on which
experiments of the kind referred
to were conducted last season. While
somewhat extended the tests are being
made again this year on exactly the
same plan as last year and it is hoped
to continue tn work in this way, taking
advantage of such progress in methods
as may come about, for a sufficiently long
time to obtain valuable and reliable re-
suits, having in mind that it is better to
confine investigation and experiments
tion to limited and well defined plans.
where funds are not abundant rather
than try to cover at one tine too much
of the bread field of agriculture. Much
good has already come from the owrk.
and we hope it is only the beginning and
that we may be able to throw additional
light from year to year on the fertilizer
requirements culture methods, and adap-
liability cf plans now used and not now
used to the different conditions and sec
tions of the State. In this work we are
earnestly endeavoring to thoroughly ac-
quaint ourselves with the practice of
farmers in the hope of bringing closer to-
gether art and science. and in making
science more practical and practice
more scientific