Lower coast gazette., 1910-01-15
SATURDAY. JANUARY l5' 1910.
The Maintenance OF Fertility.

The Maintenance VI ici'i'il|
THE a)llvia} soils of Louisiana are the accu-
no,,.t;on here of ages OF the erosion oi u0
1ondc for m in the West and to the ROCKY
Mountains, and the lands there. Here we nave
learned that our lands. although ol W a u,
nary fertility in the beginning VIII st"'u"'S
lose a part of that fertility and to get lie '"''
res,]ts the tillers of the soil must conserve q"
bact tbev can what natural fertility the sou ho"
rosspsses and supplement that with as stch Dr.
tifcial fertilization as shall restore any 'os' e.
tilitv. Nebraska is one OF the typlca! sta'eS "
the great plain that lies between the Ai,es"a"'
Mountains and the Rockies, known as the MIS-
s;cs;nni Valley. The Missouri River separates
the state from Iowa, lying on It's east sue aau
the state has various water courses eao,"s '"'o
the Missouri. From the erosion or the la'oS . l
Nebraska and of such lands as these our own
country here has been built up and we prize
h;oh]v the ~alluyial soil thus brought to Us our
ing the ages past.
That the soil is excellent is demonstrated by
Tho fact that Nebraska has about eight million
.cros Of it in corn and produces nearly two
hundred million bushels OF that cereal. OF loor
times as much as Louisiana. Illinois IS the Dali
ner state in corn production, Iowa coming next
with Missouri, Indiana and Nebraska following
IN tho order given, They are all states OF ths
qreat plain and the erosion OF their SOILS lids
given US the wonderful country that we no"
possess.
A comn]aint now comes from Nebraska that
the soil of that state is losing Its great lei'''.S
and the inquiry has arisen as to why th's loSs 10
occurring? Nebraska is a comparatively ne"
state and it's soils have been IN cuIuVa'oh
scarcelv sufficiently long to have become I'M
poverished, and yet complaints are now making
in that direction, which has led to an lnVesIga'
t;on Of the matter by the University or n eofas'
la, Under the auspices of this University
Prof, F. ]. Away has made a study OF the mat
ter from the Nebraska point Of view and pub
]shed it in bulletin No. III OF the State Agr'
cultural Experiment Station 1t IS touno u1a
the soils of Nebraska give an analysis iron
which thew would be rated very fertile and IKE
" to long maintain their capacity II kept !
GOOD nhvsical condition and if supplied VIII
nitrogen and organic matter. These W 1tehls
or elements, in the soil fertility seem to De IN
ones that are becoming exhausted, Nebrask
is exposed to severe winds and 1t IS thoogl
that the organic matter in the top SOIL may
lost largely by being blown away and the n'tr
oen of the soil will be exhausted by repeatf
cropping without growing thereon any llasum'
Gus crops.
The loss of fertility of the lands does n
seem to be one of diminished phosphorlc ac1
potash. or lime, but it is caused by the loss
nitrogen and humus in the older fields, this II
being directly due to the washing or olo"l
awav of the surface soil. Prof. Away ure
mon the farmers of that state that IN order
nreyent erosion by water and by VINO,
burning of stalks and straw should be aVole
and all harvard manure should be returned
the land. These precautions being taken, u
The cultivated fields should be rotated W
leguminous plants. such as clover or ana
with which culture he believes that the SOILS
Nebraska, now depreciating, will be restored
their original fertility. Our experience h
with the soils that we have borrowed IN a la
mart from Nebraska would lead US to the S;
conclusions.
On the other hand, we have such aggres
insect life in the way of cotton Dol wee
cane borers and other forms, that we are le
burn off our lands to defend ourselves aga
these destructive insects. Somewhere betV
the two methods doubtless lies our proper
ME~spt = ce opttop