Evening journal., 1903-04-18
EXHAUSTION OF
DIFFERENT SOILS
Loss of Fertility the Fault OF
the Former in Majority
of Cases
MOISTURE AND WARMTH NECESSARY

Resisting Drought During Dry Per-
iods-Notes Of Interest in All Parts b
Of the Farm. Il
When soils become reduced in fertility p
there is always "a cause, and II Is the fault
Of the farmer IN majority Of cases. Many
Investigations have been made in the past
and are sull being conducted TO discover
the cause Of falling OFF in the yields of d
crops and TO increase the soil capacity. In
In work done at Cornell University it has
been demonstrated that when land is not
sufficiently titled it becomes cloddy, hard, :
! irresnonsive and foul When vegetable B
lmatter is withheld from soils there is a
lack Of humus, which can be supplied by
the use Of stable manure A rotation Of .
crops, plowing under a sod occasionally
or green crop Will restore humus, whilei
long g-contnued cropping with one crop
eends TO remove Il. The soil may also be
p wet and cold or may become acid, which
a may be remedied by the aid of lime OF
wood ashes, but the main cause may be
found in the lack of judgment IN the man
agement of the soil. Worn-out soils may |
contain an abundance of potash and phos- |
lhoric acid and lack nitrogen. or may he |
d deficient in potash or phosphoric acid,
n though as n rule there Is a vast amount
J, of potash and phosphoric acid in the soil
In an unavailable condition. The grow
y ing crops Will take some Of these plant
u foods in the SOIL reducing them slowly,
- burt the work of such plants will be large
lel ~ Increased when the substance lacking
oi Is given the soil. Nearly oil the soils thar
al are kept covered winter and summer,
et when proper rotation of crops is praoticed,
IN will retain fertility.
% Water in the soil, or soil water" is that
en- known as film water"-that is 1T is the
n water that adheres TO the small particles,
he which may be explained by comparing
by the moisture TO that seen on a marble
when the marble is dropped into water.
If the marbles are very small they will
. hold more water than Those that are larg-
"A er, because for the space occupied the
ha small marbles present more surface to the
en water; hence the more the soil IS pulver-
ny lied, and the finer its condition. the
greater its capacity to hold water. Stand.
ing water in undrained soils absorbs heat
and IL Il Is not drained Off it evaporates
and heat is thereby lost leaving the sol
ith cold. Every barrel OF water evaporatet
ed, by the sun takes as much heat as wouit
.,,. lie required to evaporate the same guam
md tity Of waiter in a cauldron. The soil nnS
of plants are chilled for want Of the heai
5ll- absorbed by the water Drainage warns
ow the SOL and prevents loss during drought
lce because i'm every soil there IS q plac,
sht where the free water stands. which plac
i'm is called the water table" 1T may be sli
inc inches down or many feet 1t is the bot
de- tom of the soil reservoir. or similar to
so dshpan. The dishpan, or the upper an,
lth tiliabe soil, is the reservoir. 1t is the par
zen in which the water ds held as films on tn
on- soil PARTICLES These films travel from
particle TO particle, the general tendenc,
the being upward, because the moisture
ace passing off near the top of The soil b,
, means of evaporation and appropriation
,ra by plants Moisture is constantly sup
piled from below through capillary attrac
= tion. The under drainage lowers tn
water level-lowers the bottom Of I'M
. dishpan-thereby making a deeper reser
voi- above 1t for the holding OF film
600 moisture and the distribution OF roots
w III the upper soil is we'll titled capillary at
ley. traction will bring the waiter up. Tn
IN IN water table, being lowered, THE air Is ad
OF mitted, and the soil does not puddle, bu
pre- becomes nne and dry because the fre
ct water is removed
ing Some soils contain enough plant foo,
be for hundreds Of crops. but it is locked up
bic The average Of "a analysis gives to eacl
re- acre of land, eight inches deep. 32i
ho o- pounds Of nitrogen, 1886 pounds phos
iase phoric acid and 1887 pounds potash. an
,aa .ne this does mot include that contained Il
per the stones sand and gravel of the sol
be which Will not pass through meshes o
zeal one-fih OF an inch. This enormous stor
aid OF plant food is locked up, as stated. els
ans would have leached from the soil o
dav been used up long ago, but by careful hus
bandry II is made usable every year. an
the better the management of dhe Ian
the more of this food lis available +
OF plants. Plant food is available when IT 5
law In such condition that the plants can us
tns II. Plant food that is not soluble in raj
the water may still be soluble In film water
the Yhica contains acids derived from humus
I ms - while uhe acid excreuons from the roots O
NV plants assist in rendering it soluble. Tn
plant foods are soluble to some plants an
not to others, because some plants prefe
so foods best adapted to dheir requirement.
The inicro-organisms also perform inpor
tant duties in assisting to prepare food.
and the soil is a mass Of continual actiy
r. ity when the conditions are favorable
When the soil is said to be impoverishe
lt is not always implied that its store q
plant food is exhausted. but that its powe
UNI TO appropriate its food is gone becaus
ia rs miero-organsms are not at work. IN
humus is lacking. ahere Is no film water.
the air does not enter and ithe soil Is cold
G by cultivation. rotation OF crops and as
ne sisting plants TO secure stand by IN
,u- aid of fertilizers that have been rendere
ok soluble or available the soil can sooner q
10 later be restored TO fertility.
ood
10