Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1912-02-02
THE CONSERVATISM OF THE
SOILS OF VERMONT.
the State Agricultural Col
leee, Burlington.

| OF Natural ResourceS.)
New England is rugged and some
what barran upland area, sixth part
of which is improved land. Vermont is
its most favored section, in that three
eighths of its land area is improved,
the remaining five-eighths being either
forest clad or best adapted to forestry.
Vermont farming suffers from many
ills. Plant food depletion; the develop
ment of western areas and industries,
which have wooed away many of her
best and brightest; the scarcity of farm
labor; the difficulty experienced in main
tanning proper physical condition of
her rough, stony fields; the competition
of mills and factories for labor; the lure
of the city; the cityward trend of the
schools; the decreasing birthrate of the
old New England stock; these and other
causes have been at fault. With the
causes of and remedies for the socio-
logical conditions the present article
has nothing to do; but in most condensed
form seeks to point out methods of soil
| conservation and restoration,
Soils become impoverished in many
ways - some natural, some artificial.
These conditions may or may not be
remediable. Soils become surface de-
nuded by water and by wind; nitrogen
wasteage occurs, due to bacterial activ-
tiles; inadequate tillage and drainage
entail faulty moisture relations; the
filth is inferior; the available plant food
may be relatively lacking, acidity ex-
cessive, the humus supply deficient.
Any one, two, several, or all of these
conditions may obtain in given case.
Erosion, or surface denudation, an ex-
tremely important factor in world agri-
culture, is so minor factor here that
no special reference is needed. Nitro
gen wasteage, however, is great. Yet
thanks to clover and alfalfa gathering
nitrogen from the air through bacterial
means, ard to calcium cyanamid and
lime nitrate, which are artificial atmos-
pheric nitrogen containers, her soils
need never lack nitrogen. Let the ind-
vidual farmer keep his land crop-clad
the year around, grow clover freely,
use land plaster and absorbents in the
stable, and frequently apply manure to
the fields, and he need not fear nitrogen
depletion.
-Four hundred square miles of Yer
mont's area is in dire need of under
drainage and much of it is worth re-
claiming. This is equivalent to ten
per cent of her entire improved area
Most of the rest of it at times lacks
water and would be bettered bv ade-
quate tillage operations, rightly en-
ployed at the right time.
The lack of available plant food NAV
be due to inherent soil poverty, to mis-
use, or to under-use. Few Vermont
soils are exhausted, though many are
tired. Their permanent producing ca
pacity is not seriously impaired, but
their immediate producing capacity is
lowered by misuse. Many causes are
apt to be at fault, causes remediable by
tillage, drainage, rotation, green manur-
ing, and the use of farm manures.
These constitute the best keys for
unlocking the unavailable plant food;
tillage, to promote the solubility of the
soil particles; drainage, to augment soil
aeration and root penetration; crop ro-
tation, to bring diverse roofing habits
to bear upon different soil area; manur-
ing-green and farm-to promote solu-
ton by chemical and biological action.
Vermont soils are often acid. When
sorrel or moss abounds, when white
daisies, brakes, and blackberry bushes
flourish, when clover fails, acidity may
be suspected. Ashes, lime, mari,
sprinkled on the plowed burrows and
narrowed in, or otherwise applied, may
prove happy remedy for a desperate
condition.
The maintenance of soil fertility is
largely matter of the upkeep of its
humus content. The "frst aid to the
injured" soil, abused and worn out.
usually should be to furnish ample guam
titles of humus. 1t supplies plant food,
augments its water holding capacity,
increases its warmth, betters its tex
ture, and promotes bacterial growth
Its supply is lowered by the continuous
growth of titled crops; by i'll advised
rotative cropping; by deforestation; and
by the continued and sole use of CONNER
cial fertilizers. 1t is augmented by an
adequate crop rotation; by the use of
farm manures; and by the practice
of green manurng.
Vermont farmers are increasingly ex-
porting their real estate to Boston and
New York. An average milk train
removes approximately 500 worth of
plant food beyond our borders. This is
not conservation. If. however. the