The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1908-08-14
SOIL. RESTORATION
AND MAIN TEN ANCE.
Rv RoBERT EWING.

EWING.
farms Of New England and New York have to b.
again rendered fertile and again made capable O
producing, as they once did. but the fertility O.
the great Central States Of the West will have IL
be preserved Signals Of distress from that quar-
ter are now flying, and something must be done
or the prices of products will continue to I'D
vance.
| rhe heretofore superior advantages .ofithe fai
West in the matter of animal raising have been
such that the farmers of these Central western
States have not, in recent years, been compel
ing Their farmers havefot, therefore, enjoyed
the almost inestimab1ea advantage which the rails
ing and feedingof stock on the farm naturally
gives. Crops have been raised, year after year
and sold off Of the farm, in the open market, not
as was to have been desired. in the far more
lprohtable form of increased flesh on cattle hogs
and sheep. The effect on the land of this changed
policy is becoming distressingly noticeable The
experiment stations Of such States as Ohio I'LL
nois and Indiana alive to the tauee Of the stu
alton, are calling attention to the depreciation in
the productive power of the soil. OF course
farms i'll ItFh States can not be abandoned. But
sonethin will have tobe done. owners are men
OF intelligence. They read-observe and think.
1t is heprovince of these experiment stations to
ascertain facts-fft4ss experiments, and, with
these as basis, suggest recourse which, if fol-
lowed will doubtless accomplish the desired re-
suit. Those who carefully read the printed bull
letins these ntelligently conducted stations issue
from time to\ ae are bound in ordinary justice,
TO admit than ey are doing great work and
fact that the soitIs showing evidences of exfaus-
ton. They say that long cultivation has drawn
from it those elements which make it productive;
that these must be restored and kept in the soil;
that farmers mustgo back to the raising of cat
tie, horses, hogs and sheep; that under changed
conditions they now compete with the far
West, i'll this pursuit on fairer basis-that they
must raise grasses-leguminous crops of all kinds
and feed these to animals and look for their profit
to their increased fesh-that such crops will give
the needed nitrogen, and that the weddings of
these animals will supply huinus to the soil, to
| its great advantage. While these stations give
this sound advice they also dwell on one thing as
specifically needed. They say that the land must
have put back on it that most needed of all these
elements, viz phosphoric Abandoned farms
can not be recovered. nor can depreciation in the
fertility of the soil be checked without phosphor-
ic acid-simply because it is one of the essential
elements of fertility. Leguminous crops-crop
rotation-even manure itself will not restore it
in the quantity in which it should be restored.
Dairying on intelligent lines will do much to-
wards restoring fertility; but the small quantity
of phosphoric acid which can be obtained in this
way renders this too slow process for large
o+-a
ton are not suited for the dairy business. Some
more vigorous step will have to be taken What
is this step? The purchase outright of phosphorus
acid and putting it upon the land either in the
form of commercial fertilizer, of which ii is an
important constituent or i'll the form of raw pull
,yerized phosphate rock, Those who wish i'm
mediate results will purchase in the first form,
UT those who seek a more permanent improve
r1ent of their land and a more thorough restora-
Us. to its original state should purchase in the
.Tr form and mixing it with manure or DE- -rS-
Agetation, to produce humic acifeiativns
<:::= 200 pounds on each acre. The
::::@ [ as quick as if commercial f.
n Vt they will be sure, It is clmily X
Na. SNT the phosphoriGea.r~ -
kT l,sed and it CO.. ierfy ~
%R.> b land in timeS
ssA b s,ationsa sum,
Xat hs .rsasSf Mis-
Ryed a neig1