The progressive farmer., 1902-04-15

The question is often asked, What
should be the first thing done TO re-
deem a wornout f1eldP In the first
place, no land should ever be allowed
TO become so poor as to be aban-
doned and left to wash into gullies.
Yet there are a great many fields in
suoh state that it does not pay to
cultivate them unless a change be
made in the mode of farming.
The first thing toward improving
poor soil is TO
STOP THE WASHING.
This can be done by making terraces
with fall of not over one and half
inches TO every twelve feet; or by
means of small bitches, though the
former are better, as they do not
take up any room from cultivation,
Care should always be taken in
not plowing thin soil too deep. 1
have known poor fields made a great
deal worse by being plowed in this
manner and burying what little soil
there was, 1t is a very good rule to
plow shallow at first on thin soil and
go little deeper each year; that is,
TO turn up little clay every year.
By this process, the soil is deepened
gradually.
We cannot make large crop of
any thing the first year on poor land,
no matter how much we may fertil-
ize same, but at the same time, the
poorest of soils can be made rich in
a few years with care as to the mode
of cultivation, drops planted and
fertilizers used. No one must ex-
pect to make something from moth
ing so if poor land is made rioh it
must be done so gradually.
HUMUs NEEDED.
Neither wheat, corn, oats nor cot
ton should be sown on poor washed
land, as these crops tend TO make it
poorer What is most needed is
humus. We cannot grow legumes
unless there is a liberal supply of
potash and phosphorio acid in the
soil. 1t is generally thought by
some that clay soil has enough pot
ash and the only thing required is
nitrogen and phosphorio acid, but
my experience teaches me that this
is a mistake. Of course, there is
potash in the soil, but not sufficient
nor available for the requirements
of the growing crop.
To improve poor land at the least
expense we must first begin by rails
ing crops that do not leave the soil
poorer when matured than when
sown.
COW PEAS AND THE CLOVERs
are great land improvers, but if
sown on poor soil, and no fertilizer
be used of course there will be moth
ing made. On the other hand take
a poor piece of land, SOW about four
hundred pounds acid phosphate, two
hundred pounds kainit and one hun
dred and fifty of cotton seed meal to
the acre, SOW in cow peas about last
of May, out the crop when ripe,
which will be in September. Har
row the ground we'll and SOW in an
nual clover, using about three hun
dred pounds of acid phosphate, and
one hundred and seventy-five pounds
of kainit; the clover will be ready to
cut about the middle of May then
SOW the same land back in cow peas,
using say two hundred and fifty
pounds acid phosphate and one hun
dred and fifty pounds kainit. Cut
the peas as before and SOW annual
clover. When this crop is out plow
we'll, harrow thoroughly and plant
same in O. m, using some one hun
dred pounds acid phosphate and fifty
pounds of kainit 10 the acre. By
this process but little money is paid
out for nitrogen. None Is needed
after we once get crop of peas as
they make nitrogen from the atmO-
sphere, but should the first crop of
peas be a poor one, it would be good
idea to use some nitrogen when the
clover is sOwn.
When we have barnyard manure,
a good fertilizer would be, TO use
fifteen hundred pounds manure, two
hundred and fifty pounds of acid
phosphate, and one hundred and
twenty pounds of kainit to the acre,
D1owed in and narrowed well, when
The peAs are sown. I find that 1t 10 q
bard matter to improve land under