Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-11-28

We must put this question to
every farmer to whom this paper
comes: Are you farming or mining?
We are in grave doubt as to whether
some Of our readers are farmers or
miners. Let us see about it. 1t is
not necessary in order to be miner
that you put on a miners cap with
a lamp in front, and carry pick.
When the miner takes gold, copper,
or coal out of a mine he leaves vacan-
cy. There is just that much less of
the material in the ground. There
is no more made; no more will be
msste in the next thousand years.
,;assse tue farmer, on the other
hand, is creator. The corn he
raised this year never grew in the
wide world before. 1t was created
out of raw material. 1t is a new
creation, not in the sense of making
something out Of nothing, as in the
first verse of Genesis, but in the
sense of making a new creation out
of old material, as in the sense of
the six days of the creation. The
farmers raw material in the sun
shine, the rain drop, the carbon of
the air, and the available fertility of
the soil Out of this the farmer
creates crops from year to year. The
farmer, however, who draws upon
the fertility of the soil without re-
storing it in some way is not a
farmer but a miner.
Let us think about this matter a
little further. What do we mean by
the essential fertility Of the soil?
AS our readers know, most of the
soil is useless except for the mere
mechanical purpose Of holding the
plants in place. The supply of real
fertility in the very best of soils is
very small, mere fraction. 1t con-
ist Of potash in its various COM
binations, phosphorus, lime, nitro
gen, and humus or partially decayed
vegetable matter. Carbon and nitro
gen in combination. exist in the
humus, which, therefore, came most
ly from the air, the ash particles
only coming from the soil.
Given soil containing an
abundant supply of potash, phos-
phorous, lime and humus, all that
is necessary to produce good crops
is TO put the soil in first class physi-
cal condition; that is, to have it fine
enough to allow the rootlets to come
in close contact with the soil, solid
enough below and loose enough on
the surface so that it will hold water
on one hand and give it out slowly
on the other.
| What we mean, therefore, when
we say that farm is mined out
is simply that some Of these essen
tial elements have been sold off the
farm to such an extent that the soil
does not furnish sufficient plant
food in the form of that particular
element. Prairie soils for the mos,
part have an abundance of all these
essential elements Of fertility. They
are rich in humus besides.
The first element to disappear is
humus, and withita considerable por
ton of the nitrogen. Generally il
the central portion of the corn bel
this is all that is lacking when {
farm is said to be worn out. Botf
nitrogen and humus can be supplied
| by the use Of clover. In the south
ern portion of the corn belt, say il
southern Illinois and Missouri, ther,
is section of country that was no
SO we'll supplied with phosphorou
in the BEGINNING. Bad farming ha
decreased the original supply, ant
these lands need phosphates. Glove
cannot supply that, although b.
reason of its long root system it ma
bring up from below what was avail
able before.
Many farmers, feeling that thei
soils were being exhausted of NOR
than humus, have gone heavily int
the p urchase Of commercial fertile
ers. The fertilizer man is alway
ready to sell, and wishes to sell q
many elements of fertility in th
fertility aspossible. Now, tits ute
foolishness for any farmer