Crittenden press. [volume] (Marion, Ky.) 1879-1907, 1901-03-14
FARMER PLANTER.
IMPROVING WORN OUT LANDS.
A Matter of More than Passing I'm
pOrtancc TO the Farmers
of the south.

us the land cultivated growing bet
ter, increasing in productiveness, Civ
ing larger average crop returns as the
years go by?"
The manwhose fields give an aflirma-
tive answer to these questions may be
safely set down as 'succcssfuP'
| farmer, and whatever may be the
temporary profits obtained, the man
who at the close of each season leaves
his land worse than he found it, is
failure"
To begin with,we had in the country,
"a goodly heritage" in many respects
the richest and most productive in the
world. This very eNubcrance of fertili-
ty has in not few instances tempted
us to prodigality, winch is little less
than criminal. We have regarded the
soil as n bank on which wear after
year we could draw unlimited drafts
The deposit part of the business has
been largely ignored or forgotten.
And SO our drafts are coming back
protested" mo funds" says the soil
and so over large PORTIONS of our
country, poor crops, poor improve
ments, poor people do but emphasize
Il truth that should have been obvious
at the first. We can not forver con-
tinue to take from even the richest
soil without giving back something in
return.
Still even in the case of the most
'worn-out lands" the situation is
often not near as hopeless as it seems.
Where from bad systems of tillage
farms became unproductive, it is not
so much from the exhaustion of plant
food, as from he fact that it is locked
up IN inaccessible forms. The ques-
ton, how best to bring this elemental
nutriment within the reach of grow
ing crops, is often a Difficult one. OF
course, the same prescription will not
answer for all sick soils" any more
than the same dosage will answer for
all sick men. Still there are some gen
cral principles of soil improvement
which it is wise to remember and dill
gently apply.
Modern scientific research, coupled
with tme-honored experience, has
placed i'm the hands of the farmer a
good many keys that are of the great
est value in unlocking the buried
treasures that exist in the land. Lime
is one of these keys; legumiuous
plants another, and by growing his
own nitrogen and humus, draining
and aerating his soil, and adopting Il
proper rotation of crops. it is marvel |
Gus what changes an intelligent and |
progressive farmer can often produce
under seemingly most unpromising
soil conditions.
In many cases n liberal application
of lime a ton or so per acre, will in it. |
self set in motion a series of chemical |
changes in the soil, which are of
most salutary character. This aka
line earth has also the curious addi-
tional property OF rendering porous
soils more compact and dense, clay
soils more porus. 1t admrablypre-
pares the way for the subsequent Gull |
ture of leguminous crops.
Fortunately the number of these is
very large and there is no portion of |
the United States, where one or more |
may not be cultivated with the great
est advantage and success. In more |
northern latitude, the clovers, and |
Canada field peas, in the middle re-
gions, these with the lupines and the |
COW pea, whose range of usefulness
and of profitable culture is perhaps |
widest of all, and in the far south the |
velvet bean, furnishes a choice of |
soil renovators" which leaves little |
to be desired. In most cases any rap
id improvement of the land involves
the more or less liberal use of COM
mercial fertilizers. This is especially |
true in starting the train of upward
progress. While all directions that
can be given must be modified by local
conditions IN most cases, the use of
three or four hundred pounds OF
super-phosphate, and third as much
nuriate of potash per acre will prove
wise investment, especially as near
ly all of it goes back to the soil, and is
ready for the use of the succeeding
crop. 1t is undoubtedly better in
most cases to utilize the product of
these various legumes for stock feed,
save and return the manure to the
soil, and then adopt some intelligent
system of rotation of crops, adapted
to the latitude. There are very few
farms, however run down they may
appear. that can not in this way be
changed into increasingly productive
Tyson, in Southern Gull
tiyator.