The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1902-01-11
FARMERAND PLANTER.
SOIL AND SOIL TREATMENT
Hs'hs nun Down as tho Result Of Bad
Management, Not of the De.
mands Of the Crops.

mands of the Crops.
The earth was made for the pur-
pose OF growing plants, and it is well
and wisely made. The soil is ~perfect-
~ 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 it bet.
ter by growing in it. The larger the
growth upon any given area this
year, the larger still is the possible
grown next year upon the same soil.
such is the mutual relationship be-
tween the powers of the soil and the
work of the plants in growing, dying
n 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? 1t is the
result of bad management. and not
OF the demands made upon the soil
by the growing crops. Vegetation
upon an average is rs per cent. water,
~ per cent. air and only three per
cent soil. Good farming returns to
n Soil SO much of this organized
water and air, that it more than
compensates for the three per cent.
o the soil. Hence, it is a
to say that the soil is ex-
or made poorer by the small
furnishes the crop. Then you
by do we find fields and farms,
vvAnr1 80 1 ---
land non-productive? The causes
many. Mainly bad management
blowing when the soil is wet, and
blowing so shallow that the solu-
bic plant food is washed away or
cached out by the rain water. Con-
Ptinuous 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.
nents Of plant foodin sufficient guam.
ties to make large crops. A good sol
must be finely pulverized soil. Shall
low soils with hardpan under then
will not yield large crops. They dc
not permit sufficient root growth
The tender rootlets can not pierce
this hardpan in search for food
Again, they do not furnish sufficien'
water for rapid and fullgrowth
Plants require very large supplies O
water to furnish their food in solu
ton and keep up healthy circulation
About three hundred pounds of waite
must pass through most plants t.
leave one pound of dry matter. Tn
would require about two thuusan,
pounds to pass through a cornstal'
70 make one pound of corn, and vi
sasne to pass through n cotton stall
to leave one pound Of lint. The so
must be fine and deep and puverizet
not made into mud or mortar. ]
must also contain r~otting vegetabl
matter to furnish the humus, withou
/. which plants can not grow.
Rich soil: Soil in this condition wi
be rich, 1t will produce large crop
1t matters not if it be red or gra,
handy or clay. So much of our Ian
has been put in bad mechanical col
dition that but few farms will pr
luce large crops. Hence the necess
ty of using commercial fertilizer
These contain phosphoric acid al
potash readily soluble and vailabl
They greatly increase the yields b
cause of this fact. They feed II
growing plant. The more vigoro'
the ,plant, the more they helpful
pays to give extra food to
thru Ming pig or beef. So we see tn
- even the helpfulness of fertilizers
dependent upon the mechanical tc
tue of the soil. The farmers CO
slant study should be "How can
improve the mechanical condition
my soil?" Upon his intelligence
answering this question will depel
largely his success as Il farmer. 70
bottom land is richer than your u
land because its mechanical CONF
ton is better. Your garden is rich
than your farm, because its mocha
ical condition is better. These are n
new discoveries, but so few farme
are acting upon them that they ne
to be restated.
vheIe the farmers use two, TO
and six-horse plows, their soil is de
and fine and produ, i've. Any soil nj
me made so by proper treatmeI
Your soil is largely a thing OF 20
own making. The success or failu
of your crops for the next year W
depend very largely upon the cont
tion of your soil when you begin
plant.-Jas. B. Hunnicut, in Tex
Farm and Ranch.