The Ordway new era., 1911-02-24

;. Productivity Of the soil.
I. Subsistence for live stock.
s. Farm profits at end Of season.
The tetrm rotation Of crops" 10
used to designate . system Of crops
which give recurring succession OF
field plants with different plant food
requisites. This covers q period Of
years and are maintained in different
or alternating fields of the same farm.
The primary purposes Of crop rota.
ton are: First. prevention Of crop
sick" soils. the result Of continuous
cultivation Of the same crop for q
period Of years: second. the elimina-
tion Of weeds. insect pests and crop
diseases: third. increase in the pro-
ductivity OF the field crops by. conserv-
ing the soil fertility.
The first crop to be grown to any
appreciable degree under the ditch"
was wheat Wheat followed wheat.
year after year. until its yield fell be-
low 80 per cent OF what 1t first gave
the farmer. This was especially true
in northern Colorado. the Arkansas
valley. the San Luis valley. and the
river plain farms of Utah. where wa.
ter was first used. It IL like feeding
the family a diet Of bean soup three
times day for an indefinite period.
Nature wants a change. The single
crop idea 10 not successful on the irri-
gated farm. any more than 1t Is In the
South where cotton has 80 long prov
en- the need Of rotation Of crops.
The San Luis valley wheat grower.
in his despair. sent to the chemist Of
the State Agricultural college. He
told the farmer that his soil was
crop SICK" too much wheat growing
for the soil. He recommended field
peas. They were tried. and were a
successful crop from the start. These
practical farmers brought in lambs
from other parts. and thus they drive
the pea crop to market" 1t has prov.
en- the beginning OF good husbandry
in this large valley.
Our Rocky Mountain soils are Of
granitic origin. ground out Of the
solid rocks Of our hills. Granite is de-
composed. forming that superior bal
last used for railroad and street sur
facing. The next step Is for 1t to sep
arate. in the natural processes which
follow. into the elements OF which 1t
Is composed: quartz. feldspar and
mica shist. From the quartz comes
our sand. from the feldspar our clay.
By the process Of erosion and through
the decaying Of animal and vegetable
matter. some organic matter gets In.
and thus we obtain humus, or vege-
table mold. which holds nitrates In
the soil. and q good percentage Of
moisture.
The different elements contain diff
ferent foods upon which the plants
feed. Since all plants take their food
In solution. the food must be soluble
In water-we can see there must be
a fineness Of soil Just right, and we
must have the proper amount of mois-
ture In that soil for the plant to OBJ.
tain food. We have many different
plant foods In all soils, but the fertil-
ity of soil is determined by the
amount Of potash, phosphoric acid.
and nitrogen in the form in which the
plant can use 1t, which that soil con.
tains. These are considered the bar
ometer of soil since the lessened
amount Of any one OF these three most
seriously affects general crop culture
Right here we need to emphasize the
value to the irrigation farmer Of the
quantity of humus in his soil, which
the down-East farmer calls the very
life OF his SOIL"
1t is this important element that
helps are farmer, after he irrigates.
to store the water in the capillaries
that abound In humus and enables It
to hold water like a sponge, and acts
therefore as an underground storage
reservoir from which the tiny rootlets
can draw at will, and which enables
those soils to liberate quantities of
plant food in the form the plant can
use It,
Our western soils are rich in potash.
but deficient in humus and nitrates.
Hence we need early in our cropping
to take such steps as shall enrich our
soils In humus. It Is the easiest plant
food to supply. but 1t Is considered
the most costly to buy. Therefore.
the one thing the irrigation farmer
needs to impress on himself is this:
Get humus into the soil. Feed the
soil constantly that 1t may in turn
feed your crops.