The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1908-07-25

may finally cover 1t is lmposslhl,
TO see ~ the present time the bear.
lng that some oi the observations
M tide ~ The laboratories may hav,
~ their Application under held con.
dilions aud cultural methods. tn,
enough has been demonstrated III
indicate the substantial soundness
oi the position which has been tax.
en-.
One OF the most important prob.
lens now confronting the agri.
cultural public is the intelligent
use OF commercial fertilizers. In
some sections Oi out country, rs.
pcclally IN the south and east, the
quantities now used are enormous,
and this use is gradually extend.
ing. That the amount, OF money
annually invested IN fertilizers by
the farmers OF the country now
amounting to upward OF SIoo, ooo,.
COO, will continue To Increase seems
certain. But Just as certainly a
large percentage OF the money Der.
haps a third is annually wasted
and brings no adequate return,
owing to a lack OF understanding
OF the soils requirements.
This problem has been engaging
the attention OF the Bureau OF soils
tor a number OF years, and il has
been found that this wastage OF the
farmers capital is due in large
measure TO incorrect ideas which
have long prevailed regarding the
manner IN which the soils feed our
crops and the influence OF i%ertili.
zers upon this feeding. As might
be- expected from their origin, soils
contain numerous fragments OF the
common rock-iormlng minerals.
These ira mrpts are accompanied
more OF less by alteration and de-.
composition products.
II is rarely il cver true that a
soil IS formed from al, particular
mineral OF rock, but owing to the
action OF streams, winds, etc the
rock powders comprising the soil
are much mixed and intrrminplcd.
Consequently It has been found
that practically all soils contain
more OF less of all the common
forthcoming minerals, containing
among other things the important
plant food ingredients, potash,
phosphate acid, and lime. The
important element, nitrogen, is OF
course supplied from other than
mineral sources. either hc decom
position ut organic remains Or from
the atmosphere through living or.
ganIsms.
The widely ditiuSrd minerals O
the soil are all slightly soluble in
che soil water, and u has bern
shown that this solution is the
natural source OF TODD supply Tor
the plants, As the di solved plant
nutrients are removed, either H.,
the growing plants or other natural
agencies, the minerals continue 10
dissolve and thus rrplcnish the
solution. As these minerals AZ,
so widely distributed in various
soils, the mineral composition OF
the plant.tood solution is not very
ditlrrcn. IN different soils. The
natural processes following cvap.
Grafton At the surface OF the soil
from plant leaves, etc, causes an
upward movement OF soil moisture
from I'll" suhsolI, and often from
great depths. these solutions ris-
ing from below carry dissolved
mineral plant nutrients; but when
they reach the surface soil the
strength ul the solution there IS
not much increase, owing TO a
power ol absorption or the fixing
o. these salts which the soil pos
srsscs. Thus the soil Is III n SENSE
enriched 10y these desirable cou-
stitnenis, although the actual iccd-
ing medium Tor the plant is not es-
scntially altered. Similarly, arti-
ticIal enrichment OF the soil by
commercial fertilizers does not
materially affect the mineral com.
position OF the soil solution, rs is
popularity supposed, but has other
profound end iaI-rcaching iunc.
lions which our rccent researches
are now making clear,
Ii has been found that intertility
IN soils is very frequently due to
the presence OF bodies deleterious
to plant growth, and the Difficult
task oi isolating and identity ing
these bodies and studying their
effects on plant growth has been
undertaken IN the work OF this Blu
reau. Several OF these substances
have actually been removed from
the soil and their properties de.
termiaod. II has been shown that
these bodies oil organic origin re.
suit, under uniavorahle soil condi-
tions, from the decay OF plant tis.
sue, from excreta OF terminating
seeds, and from excreta oil roots OF
growing plants. Under favorable
soil conditions and under cultiva.
ton, proper drainage, suitable crop
adaptations, crop rotations, and