The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-03-25

LEARN THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SOIL
6Y ISAAC l..

eY ISAAC L. TOTEM.
What are the fundamental condi-
tons that are vitality important in the
produce of a good crop:
That question is not difficult to ans
wer, is it:
bed, good eed and thorough cultiva-
ton.
Whenever we fail to provide any one
of these conditions We lessen our pros
poets for a bountiful crop.
All of us know this, but somewhow
we do not always do just what we
know we should do. Perhaps it is be-
can say?
OF course, u ideas vary regarding
fertile fields, and good seed, and a
good seed bed, and thorough cultiva-
ton.
The kind of seed corn that would
suit one farmer might not suit his
%neighbor, and it is quite frequently the
case that our ideas regarding a GER
tain variety of corn make us preju-
dice to a fault.
There are very few farmers today.
however. who are not good judges of
seed corn. That is. from it's general
appearances; none Of us can tell how
vigorously the seed will terminate I'M
til it is tested and even the germina-
ton test e not tell us all; we must
carry the test to the field to get the
final decision.
Very few farmers disagree as to the
requirements of a good seed bed, yet
we do not always prepare it as we
know We should.
Some of us do not have quite enough
patience.
Some of us try to farm over too
much territory; this means that the
work which should be put on one acre
to get it in the proper condition is
spread out over three or four acres.
We. who do this, know full we'll that
1t should no be done, but
Different farmers have different
ways Of preparing the seed bed. One
farmer may use one kind of an imple-
ment and another farmer may use an
other kind, yet the object is the same
and when seed time comes they usu-
ally have equally good seed beds, that
is. if one of them does not get in too
much of a hurry.
Perhaps more farmers disagree re-
garding the cultivating of a crop than
in any other operation connected with
it's production.
One farmer believes in deep cultiva-
@s~y, v,HS1~ hs~ ,,~s~hh~ n H. -L-1
low methods, and it is not an easy
matter to convince either of them that
there may be some virtue in both sys-
tens.
Although We are coming more and
more to the surface methods of cult
Walton, we must admit that under GER
tain conditions the deep cultivating
has a value. In a series of tests made
by several of the agricultural expert
ment stations it was shown that the
shallow c%ultivating produced but very
little better results han the deep cul-
tivating, and in some localities the
deep cultivating brought the better
yield. Do not construe this to mean
that we advocate deep cultivating; be-
cause We do not.
Suppose we take it for granted that
practically every farmer in Wayne
county selects the very best seed OBJ
tainable. tests it thoroughly for ger
mination, prepares the seed bed so
that it is in the very best possible on
dition to receive h seed, INC that
he cultivates the crop in a painstak-
ing way, in fact, coaxes it along all
that the weather will permit.
Suppose. just suppose that he does
all this, but fails to provide a fertile
soil.
Would he get the maximum yield?
OF course not; we all know that.
Although we are all aware of this
fact, why is it, We wonder. hat SO
many of us slight this one vital funda-
mental requirement in the production
Of the maximum crop.
Perhaps its the time consideration.
And perhaps again It isn't.
When we find that our soil is becom-
ing SO depeted that We must either be-
gin to build it up or move on to the
newer sections, We are forced to look
around a bit and get busy.
We can do lots Of things under pres
sure. Many things that We imagined
impossible for us to do. we somehow
manage to get done when forced to
do 50.
The old adage, "A stitch in time
; saves nine" holds true in connection
with the restoring and maintaining
of fertility. The time to begin to keep