Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1902-01-09
FARMERAND PLANTER
SOIL AND SOIL TREATMENT.
Farms Run Down - the Result of Had
M.nsg-n~st. Net Of the De-
mad. of the Grop.

The earth Was made for the pur-
pose Of growing plants. and il j. well
and wisely made The soil : perfect
Is adapted to growing vegetation l.
neither grows weary nor WORKOUT in
the work - perfect j. their sdapta-
ton 70 this business. that instead OF
~eNhaustiug the Soil-fhry leave il bet
Ter by growing in It. The larger the
growth upon any given area this
year. the larger stiil is the possible
growth next year upon the same soil.
such Is b mutual relationship be-
~ zen the powers Of the soil and ,itc
work Of the plants in growing. diving
aud dscaying hat il j. possible To
grow crops continuously upon the
same sod. With rver-increasing ca
paciry FOR growing more and larger
crops on the part Of the soil. How.
them do farms get poor IL j. the
result % bad management. and not
OF the demands made upon the soil
oy The growing cror~. Vegetation
upon an average j. - per cent. water.
= per cent. air and only three per
cent soil. Good farming returns to
the soil 80 much Of this organized
water and air. that il more than
compensztes for the three per cent.
taken from the soil Hence. il is a
mistake To say that the soil Is ex-
hausted OF made poorer BY the small
part Il furnishes the crop. Then you
ask why do we find fields and farms.
after years Of cultivation. become
poor and non-productive2 The causes
are many. Mainly bad Management.
In blowing when the soil is wet. and
in blowing 50 shallow that the solu-
lie 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 ,o.i~e their Gle
inents Of plant foodin efficient .luan-
ties to make large crops \ good soil
must be finely p~ulverized soil. Shall
49, NAA WIN A4AAAAA AllfA NAfAAA
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 f~uIIgrowrh.
Ilants require very large supplies of
water to furnish their food in solu-
sEn- ~ -. - III
About three hundred pounds of water
must pass through most plants 10
leave one pound % ,irv matter. This
R"uld require about Two thousand
pounds TO pass through a ~eornStalk
70 make n pound Of corn. and ..e
same TO pass through n cotton stalk
10 leave one pound u lint. The soil
must be fine and deep and puverized.
not made into mud or mortar. T.
must also contain rottiug vegetable
matter % furnish the huuus. without
which plants ear lot row
Rich soil SoiI n this condition VIII
h Tch- Il VII pro1l~e large erou
IL matters not Z II - red OF FRA
sandy OF clay - much % our an1
has be~n pat N bad mechanical con
dition that bat few farms viii p--
Guce lar-e c-ups. Hence IT, u=eessi
" OF using commercial fertilizers
These contain phosphorus aczd ans
rrtash readily solabi= and aiable
They greatly increase the Yields 3D.
cause OF this fact They feed the
growing plant The more vigorous
the plant. the more they help-r1st
a. il PAYS 10 give extra food 20 q
thriving pig Of BEEF 50 ne Sc that
even the helpfulneSs OF fertilizers i
upon the ns-chariezi tex
.Jie Of the soil Ire farmers con
slant study should b ~Hsw ~
improve the mechanical condition Of
NY sOilTT Upon his inteIE-ense n
answering this question vii d~peua
largely his success as : farmer Tvar
bottom land Is richer than vaur m
land because its mechanical eanas
ton Is better Your garden : neher
than your farm. because is n~ehan
teal condition j. better ne@ are aat
new discoveries, but 50 few farmer
are acting upon them that they nees
+ b~ resfated-
Where the farmers Use two. fnar
and six-hoFse plows- their soil = a-~p
and me and productive. Any soiI nav
ne made 30 BY proper treatment
Your soil Is largely i thing OF your
own making. The or failure
Of your crops FOR the next year wlii
depend very largely zpon the eondi
tion OF your soil whea you begin TO
PIAnt--Jas- B. Hunnieut, in Texas
Farm and Ranch