St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-02-15

FARMER AND PLANTER.
SOIL AND SOIL TREATMENT.
Farms Run Down - the Result of Bad
Management, Not Of the De-
mands of the Crops.
The earth was made for the pul-
pose of growing plants, and it is well
and wisely made. The soil is perfect
ly adapted to growing vegetation. II
neither grows weary nor wornout IN
the work. So perfect is their adapta-
ton to this business, that instead OF
exhausting the soil, they leave 1T bet
ter by growing in it. The larger the
growth upon any given area TINS
year, the larger still is the possible
growth next year upon the same soil.
Such is the mutual relationship be-
tween the powers of the soil anu the
work of the plants in growing, dying
and decaying that it is possible TO
grow crops continuously upon the
same soil, with ever-increasing ca
pacity for growing more and larger
crops on the part of the soil. How
then, do farms get poor? It is the
result of bad management. and not
of the demands made upon the SOIL
by the growing crops. Vegetation
upon an average is Is per cent. water
90 per cent. air and only three per
cent soil. Good farming returns to
the soil so much of this organized
water and air, that it more than
compensates for the three per cent.
taken from the soil. Hence, it Is
mistake to say that the soil is ex-
hausted or made poorer by the small
part it furnishes the crop. Then you
ask why do we find fields and farms,
after years of cultivation, become
poor and non-productive? The causes
are many. Mainly bad management
in blowing when the soil is wet, and
in blowing so shallow that the solu-
BILE plant food is washed away or
leached out by the rain water. Con-
tinuous clean culture and burning
the waste vegetable matter helps to
hasten this condition.
Mechanical condition of the soil:
The power of any soil to produce de-
ponds largely upon the mechanical
condition of the soil. Hard, compact
soils will not turn loose their Gle
,oents of plant foodin sufficient guam
ties to make large crops. A good soil
must be finely pulverized soil. Shall
low soils with hardpan under them
will not yield large crops. They do
not permit sufficient root growth.
The tender rootlets can not pierce
this hardpan in search for food.
Again, they do not furnish sufficient
water for rapid and fullgrowth.
Plants require very large supplies OF
| water to furnish their food in solu-
ton and keep up healthy circulation.
About three hundred pounds of water
must pass through most plants to
leave one pound OF dry matter. This
would require about two thousand
| pounds to pass through cornstalk
to make one pound of corn, and sne
same to pass through cotton stalk
to leave one pound of lint. The soil
must be fine and deep and puverized.
must also contain rotting vegetable
matter to furnish the humus, without
which plants can not grow.
Rich soil: Soil in this condition will
bc rich. Tt will produce large crops.
It matters not if it be red or gray.
sandy or. clay. So much of our land
has been put in bad mechanical con-
dition that but few farms will pro-
| duce large crops. Hence the necessi-
ty of using commercial fertilizers.
These contain phosphoric acid and
potash readily soluble and valuable.
They greatly increase the yields be-
cause of this fact. They feed the
growing plant. The more vigorous
the plant, the more they he1p-just
az it pays to give extra food to q
thriving pig or beef. So we see that
even the helpfulness of fertilizers is
dependent upon the mechanical tex
:ala of the soil. The farmers con.
slant study should be "How can
improve the mechanical condition OF
my soil?' Upon his intelligence in
answering this question will depend
largely his success as i farmer. Your
bottom land is richer than your up
land because its mechanical condi
ton is better. Your garden is richer
than your farm, because its mechan
zeal condition is better. These are not
new discoveries, but so few farmers
are acting upon them that they need
to be restated.
Where the farmers use two, fou,
and six-horse plows, their soil is deeI
and fine and productive. Any soil may
me made SO by proper treatment
Your soil is largely a thing of YOU
own making. The success or failure
of your crops for the next year vii
depend very largely upon the condi
ton of your soil when you begin t.
plant.-Jas. B. Hunnicut, in Texas
Farm and Ranch.
The Modern Hog.
The modern hog is a very numer
GUS and popular animal on the farm