Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-11-25
QUESTION AND ANSWER DEPARTMENT
Some Influences Affecting
The Fertility of the Soil
PART I.

PART l.
Many factors enter into the problems
OF SOL fertility. and il one pauses to
consider all Of them there is often a
tendency TO confuse the mind of the lay
man. with respect TO which is most
essential Probably the four most i'm
pOrtant factors demanding immediate
consideration and which VIII do more
TO render infertile lands profitable when
cultivated are the following: The hrst
OF these Is drainage; the second, the
correction OF acidity; the third, the sup
plying OF organic matter; and the fourth.
establishing an equilibrium in the soil
through the use Of commercial plant
food II these four conditions are ad-
justed to meet the normal requirements
Of plants and place the soil in friend
" relation to the activities. Of growing
crops. most OF the land which is now
cultivated al a meagre profit and some
times at a loss may be brought into con-
dition to produce a good revenue to the
owner. and hence quickly enhance In
value
There are thousands Of acres OF land
cultivated at the present time that are
sadly In need OF drainage. From surface
indications one might often not believe
this 20 be true. but in boring some holes
recently IN red clay soil on which an
value OF explosives versus Flowing in the
preparation OF land for crop growing IL
was observed that the auger brought
the soil quite wet al a depth Of two
and a half 10 three feet Sufficient rain
fall has not fallen on this land in three
months to prevent its cultivation. and
only once during that time has a shower
OF any moment occurred. This indicates
how tenaciously a soil OF this character
may hold water. and explains why il
makes such a fine record in a dry sea-
son as compared with sandy land which
Is --aDle 10 leach Undoubtedly on many
soils where there are no indications OF
a surplus amount Of water there are
underground streams which approach so
closely 10 the surface as 10 prevent the
soil performing its functions satisfac-
torily. OuIy when the water table can be
lowered In the soil to a depth. say, of
two and a half to three feet can the
best results in farm practice be antic-
ipated- Presenting. for instance. that
the greater part OF the upland soils OF
the Piedmont region do not need under
draining, there are still thousands upon
thousands Of acres OF low-lying lands
at the foot Of hills and along creeks
and rivers which do not now produce
more than one-third OF the crop they
are easily capable Of doing IL they are
underdrained- This Is a serious ques-
ton but ii is one which must receive the
immediate consideration Of all who own
lands OF I..as character.
Many farmers will say at once that
they believe under draining advantageous.
but that IL costs too much. There Is
some truth in this statement since a
satisfactory system on the average land
viii probably entail an outlay OF SIS per
acre. but there is absolutely no use 70
try TO cultivate land which Is not in a
condition 10 grow crops. One could hard
~ advise the farmer TO so into debt for
draining. but one must advise him 10
cease wasting his efforts and energy and
put his land into condition where he can
hope to cultivate II with profit, and al
the same time permanently improve IL
The list Of books TO which you refer
as having been published in a recent
issue of the Semi-Weekly Journal can
be purchased from the Macmillan COM
pany. New York, N Y, or through any
large book store The cost will vary
from 81 to Ills per volume. Probably
some Of the books may run little high
er in price, but the whole lot will hardly
average more than s1Z. You will find
them q good set of books TO have for
reference and II read with care and the
more important facts applied an improve
ment IN practice can be fiected and the
knowledge Of the reader greatly in
creased. These books are written in a
clear and simple style, and are intended
not only for use as text books in ele-
mentary schools and colleges, but for the
general information OF the average lay
man who may desire TO Increase his
knowledge of agricultural matters.
.s-
There are numerous types of drains
which may be used, but there is only one
which may be looked upon as permanent
Iy satisfactory IL properly put down,