The progressive farmer and the cotton plant., 1905-03-14
BUILDING UP THE OLD FARM.

lhc nfSt step III Dulldlng up an ola 1arul, 10 lily
mind. is to improve the physical condition of the
soil Thorough tillage is essential step in this
direction. The gulleys will disappear as the plow
goes down in the SOIL and as the plow goes down
in the soil so will productiveness and wealth come
out of it. Our soils are washing away that
there is not depth enough to admit the surface
water to go down into the soil depths Where
blowing has been followed for some time to the
depth of three or four five inches heavy rain
Is not needed to be continued long until that three
or four or five inches of top soil is thoroughly
saturated with water. The water has gone down
until it has come to the hard pan, and it can go
no further. At least it will require time
for it to get through that stiff blanket beneath it.
Hence. if the water continues to come from the
skies above the shallow TOP soil will become so
heavily ladden. that it will wash away and leave
q gulley to mark its track. On the other hand
if We gradually deepen the top soil until it gets
to be six eight ten twelve inches deep.
mellow. fine and loose. water will 60 down and
down and finally sink away into the lower depths
Where deep plowing is followed you certainly will
find the washing of the land reduced to mini
mum. / think then soil improvement means ply
steal improvements gradual deepening of the
soil.
The next step after improving its physical con-
dtion is to get humus into the soil. And we
need this these old worn-out soils as much as
we do thorough tillage. These old Southern soils
were good soils one day. They were fertile and
productive. and choice as could be found any
where. And they contain to-day the same poten-
tial energy for production they did but
they need better environments to enable them to
do their best. Let thorough tillage precede and
humus supply follow, and you will see what these
soils of capable of doing. The deeper |
the soil the larger the pasture ground for the |
roots. You cannot expect tiny little root to get
many favOrs from a hard compact soil or a stony |
clod. Neither ought you to expect the air to get
in that it may crumble that clod to mellow
earth. 1t will do in time but that will not help
the next years corn cotton crop. Humus |
stimulates the soil to greater activity 1t is the
spirit that causes it to do this. In it's decay and
decomposition it carries soil particles and soil
Jumps and the soil itself down to decay and de- |
composition. And after all. that is all soil max
ing is-simpy soil rotting. The more roots that |
are left in the field. the more humus is left there
The more leaves and straw and manure that are |
added to the soil, the more humus is accumulated |
in the soil. And for this reason livestock of some
form should go along with soil building and soil |
Improvement.
The average Southern farm should he a great
manufacturing plant for making raw materials
And those materials ought to be manufac-
tured into finished products on the farm. So we
ought to raise hays of all kinds and corn and
corn stovcr and pasture grasses all of which are
raw materials. These ought to be made into milk
and butter, and beef, and pork and wool. and
mutton. and in their manufacturing there will 90
hack to the farm all the waste materials and all
OF the manurial materials, which will be stored