The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-03-04
THE PERENNIAL QUESTION OF FERTIL.
IZING.

who occasionally contributes to the
agricultural department. of The Pro.
GREssIvE FARMER, has very timely
article, and thoughtful one as we'll
in the current issue of the Southern
Cultivator on the question of fertil.
izers for the farm. We quote:
Very much has been written and
spoken upon this subject, but the
annual return of the season for plant
ing brings up the subject again. So
very few of those who write upon
the subject seem to understand
clearly what is desired and how it
can be gained, shows that much con-
fusion of ideas still exists.
Nearly every one writes as if the
object was to change the soil power
of production by the use of ohemio-
ally prepared mixtures, called guanos,
fertilizers, aoids and 80 on. This is
a total misrepresentation of the basis
of the whole business, and has led to
all sorts of mistakes.
Manures from animals or decaying
vegetation do enrich the soil. They
increase it's productive power more
or less permanently. This is not the
case with commercial fertilizers as
generally prepared and sold. They
are made with direct reference to
feeding plants. They are used in the
soil because we cannot feed plants
direct.
Plants take all their food from the
soil. They take it in through the
little spongiole rootlets after it has
been dissolved and prepared by the
soil.
Hence we first prepare some article
of plant food so that it will dissolve
in water. We then put this prepara-
tion in the soil and the soil feeds it
to the plant, after working it over
and separating the useful from the
useless and hurtful.
WE FERTILZE CROPS, NOT SOILS.
We get hundreds of inquiries what
fertilizers, and how to use them on
such and such soils. The writer's
evidently think the soil is the thing
to be studied.
If a piece of land has a hardpan
and the water cannot circulate
through it, the owner wishes to
know what kind of fertilizer he must
use. If piece of land is water
soaked because the subsoil is too
hard for the water to drain away, he
at once wishes to know what sort of
fertilizer to use. If his land has
been skim-plowed and leached until
all the fine particles are gone and
the sand is left, he wishes to know
what kind of fertilizer to use. If
bad management has destroyed the
humus, he wants to know what fer
tilizer to use.
The idea prevails that if we just
knew the right kind Of fertilizer to
get we could remedy all the defects
of our soil and the errors of our
fathers.
Now what we really want to do is
to study intelligently the needs of
the crop we are going to plant and
fertilize the crop, not the soil.
THE MECHANICAL CONDITION OF THE
SOIL.
To farm successfully we need to
get our soil in good mechanical con-
dition. This is the great essential
point with all soils, whether red or
gray, upland or bottom, clay or
sandy. The soil to make a good
root-bed and water supply must be
deep and fine. The deeper and finer,
the better. We insist that this is
the foundation of all real success in
farming. This will require deep
bres king when dry, often narrowing,
mixing in much vegetable matter,
level culture, heavy manuring with
animal and vegetable manures, and
such like.
When you get your soil deep and
fine, and filed with vegetable mat
ter, then you are ready to take up
the fertilizer question.
God has 80 created and preserved
the earth that practically all soils
will make good crops when put in
good condition.
OF OUR ERRORS.
Bad farming has created the need
for fertilizers. They are not essential.
They are artificial wants Our lands
need fertilizers TO help the crops be-