Smyrna times., 1905-09-27
TREATMENT OF SOIL OR THE
PRESERVATION OF HUMUS
PRIZE ESSAY WRITTEN BY E. W. JENKINS
OF DOVER TO DELAWARE STATE GRANGE.
The Preservation and introduction of Humus
in the Soil Shown to be One of the
Fundamental Principles of Farming


Fundamental Principles of Farming.
The following is the essay which was
awsrded the $500 prize offered by E.
W. Jenkins, of Dover. for the best es-
say on the Preservation of the HUI
mus" at the Grange Fair, held at
Brandywine Springs. August 3Oth, S1st
and September 1st, 1905:
The preservation and the introduc'
tion of humus into our soils is one of |
the fundamental principles of our
farming operations. Where crops have |
been grown continuously and no at
tention is given to the supply OF humus
N the soil, whether commercial fertlll-
Zers have been or have not been added,
the soil gradually gets poorer and |
poorer until it is finally exhausted.
A good example of this kind of farm
ing is in the single cotton growing
sections of the South, where the land
gets so poor they hav to abandon 1t or
turn it out to let it rest. What is HUI
mus? Humus is a vague word applied
to decaying organic matter in the soil.
Any soil to produce good crops must
be supplied with humus and with a
sufficient amount of mineral plant food
to meet the requirements of the plant
The mineral plant food which is lack
ing in the soil may be furnished by
using commercial fertilizers. But to
keep the soil supplied with humus is
harder proposition.
There are two general ways of sup
plying the soil with humus and plant
food, for these two go together, if we
supply humus we supply plant food
also. First, by plowing under green
manures. Second, by feeding the pro-
ducts of the soil to the ANIMALS of the
farm and then returning the ma
nure to the soil.
Adding humus to the soil by means
of plowing under green crops has been
steadily gaining favor within the last
decade, especially among the fruit
growers of this State. The legumin
GUS crops, especially crimson clover,
are mainly used, although turnips,
rape, oats, or any catch crop may be
used that will make growth while the
land is idle, may be used for this pur-
pose. In this State crimson clover is
used more than any other plant for
green manuring. 1t may be sown in
July or August in the orchard or in the
corn field after the last working of the
corn, it will grow through the winter
and early spring and be ready to turn
=. lndessa. late April or early May. The
= ssninous plants are used whenever
possible, on account of their beine
able to extract nitrogen from the all
through the nodules on the wots and
store it in the plant. Just how much
nitrogen the plant gets from the sol
and how much from the air is no
known. A ton of green crimson clover
will contain about Sc lbs. of nitrogen
2.6 lbs. of phosphoric acid and 9.S lbs
of potash. If we value the nitrogen a
15 cents per pound, the phosphori
acid at Z cents and the potash at 4
cents, we have the fertilizing constitu
ents of ton of crimson clover value,
at $3.50.
The second method of adding humu
TO the soil, by the addition of stabl
manure is far more complicated, for i
here comes the question of how
handle the manure to get it on the Ian
with the least loss of plant food an
the least amount of labor. At the pre-
ent day all seem to agree that IL
cheapest and best way is to haul ii
manure direct to the field every day
soon as it is made, Then there can
NO loss from teaching or from heatin
When the country was young. the SO
was we'll filled with humus and goC
crops could be harvested without Il
addition of humus Manure was 7
garded as waste. 1t was often throw
into washes, creeks or even burne
In time the ground became poor, |
cause the soil became depleted of b
mus and plant food, then the settl
cleared other land working westwa
all the while. This kind of farming
what has ruined the South and I
East. At the present day they are |
ginning TO keep more stock and {
trying to improve these lands by t
addition of humus.
In this county, New Castle, VIII,
every farm has It's daIry, the supply
humus is returned to the soil in
manure. The hay and grain are fed
the animals on the farm and the C.
centrated feeding stuas which
bought increase the value of the IN
ure. A ton of wheat bran conta
about SO lbs. of nitrogen, Sc of ph
phoric acid and 80 of potash. If
value the nitrogen at Is cents,