The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-10-15
Why Southern Soil is Liz

clover and that the clover had left it
in the surface soil.
Why Southern Soil is Light.
The loss of fertility from teaching
and weathering in these northern states
and Canada is very small compared
with that at the south. In travelling
you may have noticed that southern
soils are much lighter in color than
northern. That is due to the fact that
during some five months in the year
northern fertility is locked up In cold
storage and hence the organic matter
which gives the dark color Is retained
much more completely.
DR.. Hopkins has no patience witt
the toxic theory set forth by Prof.
Whitney and DR.. Cameron. The theory
in brief Is that each plant throws off
toxic substance into the soil which
is poisonous to itself. He regards the
theory as absurd and says that there
are no facts to support it. Also that
it is only the position which Prof.
whitney occupies as the head of the
bureau of soils, which makes it neces-
sary to consider the theory in a dis
cussion of the subject.
Right down through the centuries
man has recognized the Importance of
maintaining the productiveness of the
soil as assuring the progress of the
race.
varro (B. C. 116 to 2S) wrote: '"The
land must rest every second year or
be sown with lighter kinds Of seeds,
which prove less exhaustive to the soil.''
Virgil says: "Linseed, poppy and
oats exhaust the soil"
Still will the seeds, the chosen with
toilsome pains
Degenerate, II mans Industrious hand
Gull not each year the largest and the
best.
IT'S thus by destiny, all things decay
And retrogade, with motion upper
ceived."
Columella in the first century A. d.
writes: mo one gifted with common
sense will ever permit himself to be
persuaded that our earth has grown
old, as man grows old. The sterility
of our fields is to be imputed to our
doings, because we hand over the culti-
walton of them to the unreasonine
management of ignorant and unskillful
slaves" Columella also recommended
the growing of alfalfa and vetches
commencing their virtues in the high
est terms.
Baron Won Liebig wrote in 1859 rela.
tive to these sayings and quoted from
Columella. He says:
"AH these rules had, as history tells
us, only temporary effect; they hast
ened the decay of Roman agriculture;
and the farmer ultimately found thai
he had exhausted all his expedients
to keep his fields fruitful and reap re.
munerative crops from them. Even II
Columella's time, the produce of tht
land was only four fold.'
He quotes Abraham Lincoln as fol
lows:
"The thought recurs that education
l-cultivated thought-can best b.
combined with agricultural labor, o.
any labor, on the principle of thorough
work that careless. half performed
slovenly work makes no place for sucl
combination; and thorough work
again, renders sufficient the smalles
1 quantity OF ground to each man: an,
! this, again, conforms to what mus
/ occur in a world less inclined to war
and more devoted to arts and peac
than heretofore. Population must in
crease rapidly, more rapidly than Il
former times, and ere long the mos
valuable of all arts will be the art 0
deriving a comfortable subsistence
from the smallest. area OF soil. NJ
community whose every member pos
gesses this art, can ever be the victir
of oppression in any of It's form. Sue
community will be alike Independent
Of crowned kings, money kings an
land kings"
! Public prosperity Is like a tree
agriculture is It's roots; industry an
commerce are its branches and Leaves