The Ordway new era., 1912-03-15
CONTINUED from

|
gr0wth Of the plant as water; In fact,
they are interdependent. and IL must
be remembered that the ability and
amount OF plant food depends to Il
great extent upon the condition of the
seed bed. II the plants receive their
food from the seed bed It stands to
reason that deep bed would contain
more food than a shallow one. 1t is
also plain that plant roots seek the
course OF least resistance and their
abundance, energy and strength de-
pend upon the freedom they have and
the amount Of nOurishment provided
for them. Hence 1t should require
no argument to convince the farmer
of the advantages Of deep, thorough
ly made seed bed, well stocked with
the elements that go to make a bal.
anced ration, and keep In mind the
fact that the availability OF plant food
depends upon the chemical and physI.
cal condition Of the soil.
Plant food compounds land all the
elements must be resolved into com
pounds) are made by the union OF In
organic base elements with acids, and
the work is accomplished by the action
OF air. water, bacteria and humus.
We have discussed the problems Of
air and water, and will now consider
bacteria and humus as factors In max.
ing the seed bed productive.
Plant food elements must, before
they can be utilized, undergo changes.
and right here the phenomena Of
plant development is very exacting.
Organic matter In the soil Is essential.
Through the action Of one form OF soil
bacteria 1t Is torn to pieces and passed
through a process OF decay, forming
carbonic acid and ammonia substances
instrumental In dissolving organic
material aud forming chemical com.
biEations. The organic materials are
charged by bacteria and chemicals
into humate, another substance ab.
solutely essential-in fact, a promi.
nent ingredient In fertility, but rather
as a vehicle than component part OF
plant food. Specific soil bacteria
have specific duties to perform, and II
conditions are not right, the chain OF
changes Is broken aud the plant food
Is not made available.
To illustrate: Organic materials,
whether they are vegetable or animal,
in measure contain nitrogen-that
is, organic nitrogen, an element that
Is not available until IL has undergone
certain changes. One class of soil
workers tear organic matter to minute
particles and start a process of fer.
mentation which results In the for.
nation OF ammonia. This class OF
soil bacteria has no substitutes, nor
can the operation be eliminated III
nitrogen Is made available. The
ammonia is Immediately taken up by
another class OF workers and changed
into nitrite (HNO2). While this SUBJ
stance is, Ia way, poisonous to soil,
the step is necessary to place it In
shape to be further rectihed, which is |
Immediately done by another class OF
living organisms. These last workers
transform nitrite into nitrate (HNOs J,
or nitrogen, in the only form it can be
used as plant food. These nitrfyiug
bacteria are very exacting in two par
ticulars, namely:
Their work is incomplete in sour
soil, and they cannot live in soil de.
void Of oxygen. Hence the necessity
Of the first essential operation In max
ing perfect bed, namely, ventilation
and sanitary environments.
The process Of making other ele.
ments available being just as exac ting
as the complex operation of preparing
organic nitrogen for use as plant food,
1t behooves the farmer to cooperate
with natures elements to the fullest
degree.
CONTINGENCIES TO CONSIDER
Conditions of the soil call for dif.
ferent treatment, and in such matters
the farmer should exercise good iudp-
ment.