The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-08-05
Maintaining Soil Fertility.

No other problem connected with agrlcn.-
ture ia go important as this; IL is not a,n,
cult. while the soil Ia still virgin, 10 proouce
good crops OF those things that grow well 10
q eertain locality. AS the years pass, now
ever and crop after crop Ia removed Irom tne
land without any adequate Ie,nfm nnfii nnaeT
the combined influence Of erosion and aepie-
tiop, the producing power OF the iand mI 1aI,s !
heIow the point where it is prohtable. Inls
is q matter Of common experience ana oDser'
The land is the ultimate source from wh,Sn
the worlds Inhabitants must optain tne
means OF living. Population ls raplay IN
creasing, and 1t is evident that II proaucnio,n =
~ the soil must be mainteined and even IN
creased. Not In isolated instances VIII tnls
he necessary, but everywhere The proolem
Ia not confined to any. country, Dut ID Woiiu-
Wide. We OF America nave mos Saea 1es' ,o oraat
We have been accustomed 10 reeaao tnSm % the Ss
practically inexhaustible: But as ~! tne
available land is being settled, II ls pecomins r
evidenL that there Is q limit even 10 tne re.
sources OF America. 1t will not be 30 very
long before we will be In the position OF En'
rope az regards soil. To the noitn VI lug
United States lies Canada, Win lts Wesoean sosna
area that remain in North America open 70
the settler. When they are occupied, lne
problem will be to support rapidly lncreas-
Ing population on fixed amount OF isnu sui SUI,
face This enables US 70 and enSsnc.
ing the productive power OF tne lano, W .nni ,,i
in the Years to come each tillable acre VIII
produce the maximum amount OF WHICH, ~ 10
Rhis ia a very imperfect outline Of the SUB
loot in its wider aspect. AS REGARDS us lDol
yidually. II resolves itself into questlon OF
keeping up the fertility Of the oreS n0%e baye al
ready suffered much. perhaps. and II RENE. n,.
dial measures are not put into practlce tney
are destined to suffer still more. IN ofue, "
do this it will be necessary 10 aoopI 9etret ;pe
farm practice, There ls TS Ioon Inops 3p we study
This subject, the more we VIII see ~ ;his S =.
iearn- X is like all other subjects IN This re-
spect. When one horizon Is reacneo; anotnea ot ea
and a wider one opens up. II Woulo not Se
nossible for each one OF US to study ont an the M
pTohIems ourselves but we can prom D9 tne
rases rch and experience OF others. IL ls Lhis
need OF more Information OF an aCoulate
Kind that has called into existence tue agri
HnItnraI n colleges and experiment stations.
The frst thing to be done before tnere cau
no o. Enforcement in the soil OF the farm, 10
n atop the washing that is 30 comm ~ IL
mani in the farm until we learn TO prevent
Tho GOOD soiI from being carried away oy eV'
ery rain that falls. BY terracing, oeep plo~,
Ing. rotation of crops. the use OF cover oiops
ni,eh this We may not find II possible 10
pprevent all soil erosion, but II can be reduced
10 such an extent that 1t will not be appreola
bic. If we can prevent soil erosion, .nen W. W.
NAV consider that we are In fair way 10.
wayds building up the farm. At least the
tirst step will be taken, and the others can %
learned. a ,,e ,nbarant
streneth will depend on the nature OF its Tor
nation. Some soils are naturally more prSduc dus
tive than others. and Will last longer; Nea,.
iy all the kinds OF soils contain tne eieenss ,ea
needed by plants. In sufficient quantities.
The three that are likely to become scarce are
sod bs and aTsaon n5r0sen e man
tain,ng the fertility OF the farm is one OF
Seepine in the soil a su fdciency OF these three
elements. If this can be done, there peea DC
No fear of the soil becoming Impoverished.
IA regards the first two, those VINO nave
studied the soil tell US tnat gen orally there 10
a sufficency OF them, but not h siWays .r6aoS 10
supply is likely to be lost more easily, II steps
are not taken to replace what 10 Washed OUT
by the rain or taken off ip the crop.