The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1907-08-02

the oats or wheat have been remove
or rye or vetch after the corn ha
been gathered, and pillow these unde
in the winter or spring to replenis
the organic matter of the soil. Oh
ganic remains of plants improve tn
physical condition of the soil. 1t SUI
plies food for the soil bacteria and in
creases the water-holding capacity o
the soil and in the process of deca.
not only returns to the soil that which
was previously taken from it, blu
also assists in making more OF tins
mineral matter available for plants.
z. Feed your grain and forage
crops. By SO doing you not only real
ize a better price for them, but you
reduce the cost of transportation by
marketing a less bulky and finished
product, such as pork, beef or butter
but you are also enabled to keep the
farm labor constantly employed. The
most important point in connection
with feeding the farm crops is the by
product, the manure from the animals
to which they are fed The estimated
value of this by-product for our whole
country is enormous 1t amounts to
several hundreds of millions of dol
lars annually.
s. Save and utilize all of the ma
nure you can produce. Protect it
from rains and the consequent leach
ing and apply it to the soils that are
low in organic matter, and for the
crops that profit most by it, Its eff
fects are not all dissipated in the first
year. You will see the benefits in
surrounding crops.
8. Use commercial fertilizers judic-
lously and as supplements to other
means of increasing the fertility of
he soil rather than making them the
main dependence. | know of no other
business in which there is so great
waste as in the use of commercial fer
.ilizers by our American farmers. As
certain what ingredients, if any, your
'oil requires in order to make 1t pro-
luce better by actually trying the va
ious ingredients on your own farms
nd for the various crops that you are
rowing There is no other method
O satisfactory as this! Remember
hat nitrogen makes plants grow. II
on cannot produce fair-sized corn
talk you need not hope for large
ar of corn You must first have the
liant Cotton seed meal, sulphate of
and nitrate of soda are nj
.ogenous fertilizers, but we can u.s.
ally reduce the necessity for these by ;
rowing leguminous crops, such as
cas- and clover Phosphate makes
lants fruit. 1t assists in seed deyel-
pment. So when you produce large
ants that fail to yield satisfactory
'op of seed, phosphate is usually t
eeded, although it may be both phos-
hate and potash that are required '
our Tennessee phosphate is good
Rough for the corn growers up in q
diana, Ohio and Illinois, and he is
wv using it in the finely ground state il
ithout being calculated. If it is good
Tough for him it should be good o
Iough for you in case your soil or
ops demand that ingredient Pot
h tends to increase the starch of
ants, and therefore is most frequent
required for the potato crop. 1t
so gives quality and good color to a
lits and improves the burning quail
! Of tobacco. It Is as secure as
init or as muriate of potash or as
lphate of potash, and is imported
lefty from Germany. q
10. Mix your own fertilizers. What a,
the use of paying the freight on the S,
er that is used In a low-grade fer r.
zer and paying the manufacturer q,
the mixing, when you can buy the nj
ton seed meal and the ground rock g,
d mix them yourselves and save "a T,
on. ~
n conclusion, Mr.. Gardner advised w
farmers not to cultivate more d,
res but to cultivate those acres
ter; to grow two bushels Of corn
ere they now grow one and two A.
IS of hay on the same amount of CO
d that is now required to produce n,
, ton, BY the adoption of improved na