Mrs. Grundy. (Tracy City, Tenn.) 1903-1930, 1904-06-23
BY ROBERT GALLAGHER,

by the program committee for the
subject, hesitated to accept as
| felt my inability to present the
subject as it should be, in an en-
tertaining and instructive man
ner; and yet knowing that / have
heen successful in q practical
experience Of years along this
line, l concluded to give this
body of farmers the benefit Of it.
In the first place. one should
carefully study the kind and con-
dition Of soil he wants to i'm
pSove. and also the influence the
climate and natural surroundings
NAV have on il: whether the land
has been worn out by continued
and careless cultivation, thereby
reducing or exh4usring the natu-
raj supply Of plant food, or
whether tie soil has been leach
Cd and washed by our heavy
rains, or, perhaps. as j. very fire.
guent the case, the plant food
has been rendered insoluble and
unavailable by blowing and
tramping by stock when too wet.
Long continued cultivation is
by no means the only cause of
the impoverished condition of
our poor land. Other causes have
brought about the larger part of
the ruin-no proper rotation of
crops, shallow and careless plow-
ing, thereby starting washes;
leaving our corn and cotton fields
bare and unprotected, exposed
to the heavy winter and spring
rains, to be leached and washed
away. and, as before intimated.
allowing them to be trampled by
stock while soaked with water,
or blowing or cultivating when
too wet. These are the princi-
pal causes Of our soil impoverish-
ment and the job is usually COM
pleted by turning out and aban-
doning the field.
We cannot give too much at
tention to what has been the
cause of the wearing out of our
farms; if we want to stop the
waste, we must know where it is
and the cause.
Scientists have proven that
the average farmer allows more
of the fertility of the soil to 90
to waste than is taken up in the
production of crops; thereby
exhausting the humus or vegeta-
bic matter IN the soil, leaving it
more liable to wash, and render
ing what plant food there is
unavailable on account of the
soil not being able to hold
moisture enough to make it
soluble, and this is why these
poor lands are so easily affected
by drouth not so much on ac-
count Of the lack Of fertility, as
the lack of moisture and avail
ability of plant food. Having
learned the condition Of our
soil and the cause of the unpro-
ductiveness, we should consider
/ the means at our command to be
used in its improvement. The
first thing is to restore the humus,
as it performs a number Of
different functions in the soil
which are Of vast Importance to
crop production.
1t influences the temperature
and filth Of our soils--a dark
soil full of humus is always
warmer that bare clay; it con-
trolls to a high degree the supply
Of moisture and indirectly the
nitrogen, phosphoric acid and
potash.
The first step toward improve
ment is to stop the wastes, fill
the gullies and pillow thoroughly
in winter or early spring, and
leave until sometime between
May 10 and June ], then work
thoroughly with disc or spring
tooth and drag harrow, and SOW
to peas, using about one bushel
Of peas and 200 or 300 pounds of
a high gr@de acid phosphate per
acre, adding potash also if your
land will be smooth to NOW over;
if the season is favorable, the
peas will be ready to cut some
time in August, and the hay
should be carefully housed and
fed to stock, the manure saved
and returned to the land.
If the latter part of the season
is favorable, there will be a