The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1906-10-19
Maintaining Fertility Of the Soil.
CONTINUED From Last Week. }

Let us suppose that the readers
lives in the corn belt of southern
Illinois or Missouri, where both corn
and small grain can be grown. We
will suppose that he owns 100 acres
Of land, and wishes to practice a
complete rotation that will main
tain the fertility of his soil, How
should he build rotation that will
40 this?
In the first place, We would d.
vide the land into four fields as
nearly equal as possible. One field
we would have in clover meadow,
another in pasture, another in corn,
and the fourth in small grain. Next
year / would pillow up the pasture
sor corn. turn the cattle onto the
old meadow for pasture, SOW the
corn stalks TO small grain and Glow
er, and what was in small grain
this year would be for meadow
next year II the soil is very poor
llwould make this change every
year If not, two crops of corn
can be grown in succession and thea
one of small grain and another of
corn before the change is made. BY
such a rotation the farmer may ex-
pect to raise loo head Of hogs;
the farmer in the locality named
should have at least five acres in
fruit; In the pasture he should be
able to maintain at least twenty
head of cattle, preferably milk cows.
In addition to this he should keep
six head Of mares with which 10 do
the farm work.
From such farm stocked as sug-
gested the farmer may expect re-
turns as follows: From fruit, $1,000,
hogs. 1880; milk, butter and calves
$1,000; colts. $500; truck, grain and
farm products not needed TO feed
farm stock, $500; total, $4,000. The
farmer could not expect more than
this IL the entire farm was in any
one crop, so that 1t is just as profit
able to follow this rotation as it
would be to keep the ground in no
thing but corn, oats or wheat all
the time,
Let us see II mixed farming as
above suggested will maintain The
fertility of the soil In the first
place. we will suppose that the corn
will average fifty bushels per acre
and that both the grain ana the
fodder are removed from Che ground
and the fodder fed on the pasture
or In the lots. This means re-
moving of something like eighty
pounds of nitrogen, thirty pounds
of phosphorus and seventy pounds
Of potash The average yield o.
small grain of the section wouid
mean a removal of thirty pounds o
nitrogen, fifteen pounds of phospho
rms and thirty pounds of potash
This makes total of 4,4OO pounds
Of nitrogen, 1900 pounds of pho'
phorus and 1000 pounds Of potash
each year from the forty acres o
corn and forty acres of wheat
To offset this loss, the horst
aside from what is lost on the
highways, will produce per year ne
less than six tons of manure each
This totals thirty-six tons for the
six horses. The United States De-
partment Of Agriculture, in one Of
It's recent bulletins. shows that
manure has been found by many an
alyses 10 contain O.5 per cent nitro
gen. O.26 per cent phosphorus and
O5 per cent of potash Six horses,
then. would void 400 pounds OF nit
rogen. ~ pounds of phosphorus and
400 pounds of potash in a year II
the manure is properly preserved
and applied. The department has
also found that observations show
that the average milk cow will void
twelve tons Of manure in year,