The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1912-04-11

with SufnclenL frequency III LuSiI choP
rotation system to exert continual
influence upon the soil. 1t, is their be-
lief that to this procedure the soil OF
Europe owes its ability to produce the
| five staple crops of rye, wheat, barley,
oats and potatoes in a ratio of about
two to one per acre<over our own
yields.
The efficacy Of the sugar beet as a
soil medicine is due partly to the
service it renders sick soils. or those
which require merely to be invigorated.
partly to the peculiarities Of it's growth
and partly to the fact that it gains its
chief sustenance directly from the air
and takes practically nothing of value
from the soil. Even this little may be
returned to the soil by the farmer
since after the extraction of sugar
from the beet the residue may be used
as fertilizer.
If the soil has indigestion the sugar
beet acts in several ways to eradicate
the trouble. 1t roots very deeply in the
soil, Ave or six inches deeper than
other crops. and when taken out leaves
its tenuous auxiliary roots in the
ground. These constitute a well dis
tributed supply OF Indispensable or
ganic matter which is readily changed
to humus, very permanent soil con-
stituent which forms it's digestive ele-
ment with ability to render harmless
soil toxins The soil is also loosened
up which permits proper breathing, SO
to speak, and this in turn accomplishes
the destruction OF harmful organic
h.
escape of injurious gases, performing
function for the soil which closely
approximates that which the lungs
perform for human beings. Beet cul-
ture also insures favorable condition
for the retention i'm the soil OF the
proper amount of moisture.
Too much moisture in the soil or an
over-supply of soil blood is a simple
ailment which the soil doctor is usu-
ally able to overcome by prescribing
the proper drainage systems. Too lit
tie moisture is more complex trouble
but the soil doctor not infrequently
finds that it is due to misconception
on the part of the farmer as to the
circulatory nature Of the soil. Com
trary to popular belief moisture will
ton from layer of moist soil to one
which is dry. Cultivating field
serves a double purpose. 1t not only
permits the greatest amount Of wa
ter to soak into the soil but brings
about its retention once it is stored.
If the surface of the soil is cultivated
frequently during drought and thus
kept perfectly dry, evaporation is pre-
vented rather than increased. A lab
oratory test in the soil doctors Office,
usually an agricultural experiment sta
ton, proves this conclusively. Two
cylinders six feet long are filled with
soil Of equal moisture and the lower
ends of the cylinders are placed in
water. over the surface of one tube
current of, cool air is blown while
| over the other passes current of hot
air. The natural presumption would
be that the warmer air, raising the
| temperature of the soil, would increase
evaporation and consequent waste of
moisture. The exact reverse is the
since the warm air forms a crust up
on the surface of the soil and when
this is accomplished the moisture be-
low ceases to move upward In the
| tube where the soil surface remains
comparatively cool and moist evap-
oration is much more rapid. The same
conditions obtain in the open field and
it is for this reason that the soil doc
tor prescribes frequent surface culti-
walton in times Of little rain. This
peculiar action of soil moisture is the
secret of the so-called dry farming,
The new profession makes it posi-
BILE for the farmer nowadays to accom-
plish the selection of the proper fer
tilizer for his land in from ten tc
twenty days whereas formerly years
might have been consumed in the same
process with less success Instead Of
experimenting with whole fields tht
soil doctor conducts experiments viii
small quantities of earth taken from
the fields under Investigation, A
number of baskets are made of wir,
mesh and after being filled with eartl
are dipped in boiling paraffine and al
impervious coating formed on til,
earth. After an analysis fertilizers O
different kinds and in different uuan,
! titles are added to the soil which goe,
into the small baskets. Wheat seed
lings perhaps are grown in each Dot
BY a simple process of selection ant
elimination the desired formula for |
| fertilizer is obtained and this is thel
applied to the farmers field.