New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1902-02-26

II D6SSluS LO.Qecdy gdS 6OOH dBs u6eOs AsWO
barrels of common cement will lay
about d section Of door ten feet each
way and If you will haul the sand and
gravel yourself. and do the mixing and
laying down, which yon can easily do,
there need be no further expense.
The details Of making this fool, are
all found in the Institute Annual, No.
~ to which the prospective builder is
referred.
Some of the advantages of the cement
floor are these, viz, the making of near
lily double the usual amount Of manure
BY the free use Of straw as an absorbent;
the saving Of the liquid manure, which
is worth two to three times as much as
the solid, and, as has been already stat
led, its durability.
Mr.. Terry then took up the subject
PLANT FOOD and T1LLAGE.
He said among other things: Any
land that is suitable for agriculture con.
tains enough plant food to grow good
crops for hundreds Of years. The ques-
ton, naturally, will be asked Why then
do we not get these crops? Nature has
SO locked up these supplies that emily :
little plant food is made available each
year through the action Of the sun, air.
rain or frost. B If the farmer wants large
crops he must work for them. Through
the increased knowledge which science
has given us, man can compel nature to
unlock its stores of food. How can this
! be doDe2
First Make the seed bed very fine.
If it is lumpy, crush the Jumps by means
of roller or clod-crusher until the soil
is as fine as 1t can be made. The finer
the soil the greater the feeding surface.
For example;a three inch clod of dirt
has 81 inches of feeding surface. Break
this into inch cubes and the surface has
been multiplied by three. Make the
cubes dust fine, and the increase Is enor
nous. 4 - "a
Second-The action of the acids in the
soil is materially advanced by this fnlng
process. Fer instance; carbonate of
lime coming in contact with potash in
the soil liberates limited amount of
plant food. By stirring the soil the
same lime is brought into contact with
other particles of potash, thus releasing
more food elements. :.
Third-The same idea is carried lit
tie further after the corn or potatoes,
for instance, are. planted, by means of
! thorough cultivation. Keep the soil
constantly stirred; frs. deeply, then
more shallow, as the plants get larger,
as long as the cultiyator can get through
the rows without injuring the growing
crop. This will not only increase the
yield of the present, but also future
crops for two or three years.
AS air acts chemically upon the soil
it is important that the soil be kept mel
low and fine to allow the air to pene-
trate 1t. Rain hardens the surface, and
as the action of the wind and dew tend
to the same result, see that the surface
is not left for any length of time with
out stirring.
The experience of third of a century
has taught me that the more labor that
is put upon field the better it PAYS A
third more bushels of wheat have been
grown per. acre, by reason of the in
creased cultivation given to the previous
crop of potatoes. - = ~
Mr.. Forest Henry then took up the.
concluding topic /
There are three things necessary in.
growing good crop of corn, viz: good
seed, good cultivation. The soil NAV
not be very good, naturally, but if it
Is we'll MANFRED, and has plenty of veg
etable matter to retain the moisture it
may fairly be called good. For old land
| would favor early blowing with occa-.
sional narrowing to terminate as many
weed seeds as possible, and to preserve
moisture. For tough sod, like June
or quack grass, / would advocate late:
fall blowing, with narrowing, as the
freezing and thawlng in winterkill many
Of the roots which are thus exposed to
the surface. In the spring start the har-
row early, and from then until planting
time, stir the soil deeply and frequent
"; for q field well prepared means 4
crep half cultivated. .
The seed corn should be selected with