The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1902-02-22

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From the Farne1x' Review: The In
nous clover sub-sofl pump has been
spoken of 30 much In farm pape4s ank1
institute lectures that It seems to hayer
gotten beyond the stage o9 mere ns-
ure OF speech. As q matter OF fact
c1overs have NO more power to draw
plant food from the sub soil thzm
every other crop Of an equal root AREA,
furthermore, there is always a great
deal more plant food in avaIlable form.
In the top soil than in the sub soil In,
many cases the penetration of roots,
into the sub-soh is OF very doubtful
value to the plant. Plants take Nd,
moisture through their roots and draw
moisture from depth just 4s q wick
draws up oil In q lamp This moisture
flowing as It does over and around sen
particles, dissolves very small quar-
tity of mineral matter. and in this;
manner in the aggregate, a Ereat deal.
OF plant food is brought to the plantsL
but this supply is too scanty and too.
irregular to be depended On for profit
able culture. II such plant food SUP
plies seems all that is needed, there
never would have been any need OF
what is called modern agriculture.
Clover makes growth where sue1p
crops as corn, wheat and timothy fa5a
because c1overs have the power OF sup
plying their own plant food nltroge1p
taking 1t from the air. OF course, they
must have potash and phospoTic acid
to do this. Soils after many years un-
Ger cultivation lose a great deal OF
plant food which they contained as
natural soil, and are apt to be shust
OF at least one Of the three clements:
OF plant food. As nitrogen is sabjeet
10 more losses in the soil than potasla,
and phosphate, SOILS are most COM
monty short Of nitrogen. hence clovszs
which supply their own nitrogen VIII
make good growth vixen non-Ie-
games fail. They 2re the potash and
phosphate and add to their own nitro
gen. This is about all there is to the
famous clover ''sub-sol pnnp''
we have often read that quick act
ing chemicals fertilizers are iniuyioos
to the soil beeause they stimulate the,
soil to the quick use OF all the aya1la-
bic plant food I'm sight, Really. the
e1evers are much wlu1e. flsan chem
lcals. Chemicals can 20 mo further
than an equal balance 10 the plant food
tney contain, while eDerezs supply all
the nitrogen needed to draw oat OF the
soil every bit OF its soluble potash and
phosphates. As 100 pounds OF nitro
gen acting through cloyezs takes eue=
about los pounds of potash and Is
poundS@ phasph thesa apeeass
OF this exhaustion becomes appa1ent
II soil contains say 800 pounds OF
soluble potash per acre, the clover VIII
furnish nitrogen to take up aN of II,
and no more, just as it win do 1t there
are but 100 pounds Of solobae potash
present. Hence the exhausaing natms,
of clovers is very seFese and lasting
in its effects We are als pretty fauadl-.
lar with clover sickness and know that
it means nine times out OF ten simply
soil exhaustion.
This exhaustion shonl4 be guarded
against by liberal applica4anms OF POT
ash and phosphate fertilization, where
clovers are used In rotation, and the
best time to use this is for winter
wheat. The corn has dawn heavily
upon the plant food stocked ZIP in tho
clover, roots and stnbhle, 80 that
there is. little. available mineral plant
food left for the wheat, and conse-
quently it is in no shape for spring
stooling- In this way e3erer exhans-
tion becomes q very serious menace to
profitable farming. It is useless to Try,
heavier seeding. deeper ploxlne, roll-
ing, etc, when the whale trouble Hes
in soil exhausted Of it's soluble min
eral plant tood by rank growth a1s
clover. OF course the e3over may he
returned to the soil as manure, bat tt
never pays to grow erop simply for
manure, al least not in cexeal farming.
Geo. K Wilson.
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