The Colfax chronicle., 1904-05-14
FARMER AND PLANTER
RECLAIMING OLD LANDS.
Response to an Alabama Farmers
Inquiry With Reference to HIS
WornOut Land.

This is by no means an isolated
case All over the south there are thou
sands of acres of "worn-out" land.
Land that has been SO misused and
abused that it can no longer produce
crops that pay for the cost and trouble
of cultivation is called worn-out land.
What shall we do with these lands?
This is an interesting and important
question. Can they be made to pro-
duce paying crops again? If so how
shall we proceed to make them do so!
It will help us in answering this
inquiry to examine into the history OF
these lands and see if We can find
what has made them poor. Many or
them were originally the finest and
richest farms in the south. Many
things have contributed to bring them
to their present almost worthless con-
dition Among these We find three
prominent causes.
Chief among them is washing and
teaching. The water has been per-
mitted to run down more or less steep
grades and carry the finest particles OF
the soil with it.
Soils generally contain all the ele-
ments or ingredients Of fertility. These
are found in an insoluble condition.
In this state they can not help the
crops grow. To make them soluble and
available for plant growth we must
fertilize the so-. The fine particles
of soil dissolve in the water and the
plant food is thus fed by the water
to the growing plants. Hence these
fineI particles make the soil rich or
productive. II we take these away the
soil is left, with its plant food insolu-
ble Such a soil we call poor.
Washing soon makes any soil poor.
Often this washing produces gullies
and takes off the fine soil and leaves
the hard clay soil exposed. Very often
1t does not do this, but only takes the
fine dust particles out and leaves the
coarser particles. This we call leach
ing. Both of these results generally
go along together.
Another source of damage to the soil
results from stirring the land when 1t
is wet. AS soon as the sunshine and
wind dry off such land, there are thou
sands, yea millions of little brickbats
produced. These are absolutely worth
less to the growing crop.
BY constntly blowing when the clay
or subsoil is wet, we make a layer
of very compact earth just below where
we plow. This we call hardpan. This
layer prevents circulation OF water,
increases the washing and interferes
with the growth of the roots OF the
crop. Shallow plowing helps the wash
ing and the formation of this hard
pan.
Another great source of damage to
the land is the habit or custom OF
burning off the grass, trash and other
vegetable matter. All of these are
needed to make humus in the soil
which they do If permitted to rot. Nc
vegetable matter should ever be burned
on a farm. without humus 1t is i'm
possible to make large crops. We
thus see that by a misuse Of fire and
water we make the lands poor. These
are intended to be our greatest farm
blessings. We make them our greatest
curses
Now, having briefly shown how these
lands were made worn-out lands, we
are prepared to see how we can re-
claim them.
First of all, stop the washing and
teaching. This can be done by plow.
Ing deep and on level.
Repeated experiments have showr
that land plowed fifteen to eighteer
inches deep will hold all ordinary
rains. Below that depth the earth !:
always sufficiently porous.
First. then, break your land so as tc
destroy this hardpan and hold the rair
water. Many have advised that thi!
be done gradually, a few inches eacf
year. This is not the best. Do 1t a
once and do 1t thoroughly. 1t will
generally be found impossible to dt
this with one plow. In such cases ust
a subsoil plow to follow the first. Th'
first plow should be a turn plow, 1
there is any vegetable matter to turr
under. II the land is clean, then 4
does not make any material difference
what kind of plow you use. 1t is no
the plow, but the plowing that is i'm
portant.
Stirring wet land does more harm
than good. Be sure the soil is dry
Make dust is the meaning Of pulverize
Masking mortar has been one of th'
great curses of southern farming
Make dust.
Most of us have been taught that a
| this wornout land is generally hard
we must break it when wet. But thi
is a great error. This plowing shouk
| be done in the summer or fall.
We want deep. fine soil, and VI
need humus. So we can do all thes
along together When you have broker
this old, wornout land as deep as yo'
can, then harrow 1t as fine as you cal
make It, and begin at once to grow
some kind of crop on it. Generally
| convenient plan WIFI be to sow oats o
wheat in September or October. A
soon as you cut these. for hay o
grain, then sow in peas, with sorghum
| Cut this crop for hay, and sow oat
again. Continue this rotation a fev
years and mix all the stubble in tn
son. and the land will become rich.
This plan does not cost anything
The hay crops and grain crops NOR