The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-06-03
Living Issues.
PRIMARY AGRICULTURAL C0EsIDERA-
TONS.
Graduating Essay Of Mr.. ]. s. Gates, Ala
nance County, N, c., at A, & M. College
Commencement, May %, 1902.

There are three primary fields of
work which constitute the basis of all
agriculture. These are the soil, the
plant, and the animal.
If led bv the fairy hand of geology,
we go back through untold ages and
study the preparation of the world for
human life, we find that the order of
development was, first soil, then plants,
then animals. Today, countless ages
from the origin, these same three di-
visions still remain, and the primary
consideration in developing the agri-
culture of any land is but the consid-
Grafton of the problems relating to the
development of the soil, of the plants,
and of the animal life of that land.
Each of these three great divisions is
to a large extent dependent upon the
other, but much more is man, lord, as
he thinks, of the animal kingdom, de-
pendent upon all of them combined.
His great problem of food production
is wrapped up in the preparation of
the soil, in the growing plant and in
the feeding animals. The extent of his
success in these marks the degree of
his civilization.
THE STUDY OF THE SOIL.
What an interesting and never end
ing study is that of the soil! Under
some conditions, chaos forever; under
others, chaos takes on complex forms,
and life, the mystery, is before us. But
subtle as are the workings of these
mysterious forces which are daily or
ganizing crude soil material into plant
and animal life, science has disclosed
many of their governing laws. The
geologiSt lbs learned of soil forma-
ton, the chemist of soil composition;
the Psychologist has found the essen
Cial clements for plant growth, and
under what conditions this growth is
most active. The soilsphysicist with
his mechanical analysis has gone even
hey ond the chemist, and is able to tell
which of two soils of the same chemi-
cal composition is best suited for GER
tain purposes. Then comes the bac-
~teriologist with his tiny germs-mak-
ing up In numbers however, what they
lack in size-and shows their impOr-
tant work as nitrogen gatherers in
leguminous crops, their nit~rifcation
of organic matter in soils, and a thou
sand other helpful things done by
these minute forms of life. 1t is now
for the farmers to make this philoso-
ply profitable, and i. is a philosophy
that will bear fruit whenever applied.
A MASSACHUSETTS EXPERIMENT
A striking example of the effect of
this minute way of studying soil con-
ditions is seen in some results recent
ly obtained in Massachusetts,. A spe-
cialist in soil physics in that State
was sent to Sumatra to study the
growth of the famous Sumatra tobac-
so, and to learn if possible it's pecu-
liar requirements. This specialist re-
turned home with full information as
to the character of the soil and other
necessary facts. Referring to the map
of the soil survey for his State he dis
covered that there was a strip of sew
eral thousand acres, with soil almost
identical with that of Sumatra. The
conclusion is easily seen. Sumatra to-
bacco was planted on the strip and the
world has watched eagerly for results.
A short time ago that Massachusetts
tobacco sold on the open market for
ten cents per pound more than the
real Sumatra article. There is a great
field for just such work in u own
State, and no doubt the near future
will see some important results.
SOIL ADAPTATION
OF equal importance in finding the
plant particularly suited to certain
soils, is the work of making certain
soils better suited to plants. This we
call soil improvement. In former
years little was known as to just what
took place in a soil when it's capacity
for producing was doubled, and less
was known as to what was best to make
such a phenomenon appear. Now the
secret has been disclosed, and this
work is no longer gone at blindly, but
the deficiency in required fertility is
first discovered, and the remedy then
applied.
THE
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