Albuquerque evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1911-1914, 1912-12-16

The mkllcs which trouble the.
farmer arc uf tNu general classes.
NnItc. ilkali and black ulkhIl Whtir
hlNaII rs largely composed ut com.
mon salt, GtuUvT.S salt, Gypsum,
Epson Sli, ana q few ulh'I COM
pounds II IL called white Hlkuli be-.
cause when these salts are brought q"
the surfa." az the ground they appear
~ a Whit" iluky crust BLACK alkalt
iR composed of sodium CurppuItc tsHl
sodHJ aud sodium biraTbonatr tCom-
mon sudd II is called black ulkau
because II appears black at the sur
face ut th" ground. due 10 the nrtIuu
ur these .lls on the organic matter
present Black ulkIli In much less
prevalent than Is white alkalI II ls
moro harmful also. but may be ur"t-
ed successfully in small areas by tho
addition ol gypsum while gypsum
In Itself one of the white alkalI"s II
IL practically unharmful To plants aud
b. rs use ,hr black hlkgli Is converted
int" comparatively harmless com
pounds
Tho uhtU,s are All soluble ia wat
cr and move freely In the soil when
In solution. They are brought To- the
surface, of iir soil by capillary attruo-
ton Cu.l as oil In brought NJ In the
WICK 90 t ltmpD and when the water
CNIpuIttr- 'Ho salts are LETT Ia "a crust;
cor they may bo washed down into tlc
soil hN rams or irrigation II there N
uudcrdruiuaEy. Because OF this pues-
ton of unarTdrainagr lands whose
water uhl. - near the surface are
lcrA Troublesome, while those whose
surface ls hI,h above the water table
ave cusi, managed, 10 fact IN the
latter Cus, lHv lands are not known
as "alkali lands" at all because the
salts are krpt washed down below
the root zone. n, on the lands that
naturally move their water table near
the surface. u drainage system "t
open 81 covered bitches can he Install
ed, the ngut ls almost won, II only
requires tI,u sufficient flooding Of the
land To wash the alkali salts out Of
the iirst i"V lr"t OF soil.
But adequate drainage IL not always
possible. Two courses are lett; re-
moval Of considerable amounts of the
selts and the growing al resistant
crops, Considerable amounts of the
injurious salts can be removed by
scrnping az the crust with a shovel
ana hauling II on the land. This
should be repeated as new cFusts are
formed This method IN applicable
where the ulknli spots are small.
Considerable amounts OF the salts may
also be removed by growing crops
that take up large quantities OF these
salts into their tissues and removing
these plants from tho land. sage
brush has been used for this purpose,
This method II very slow and not very
satisfactory,
There arc certain crops that resist
considerable amounts ~ alkali. A
list IL given below. In Attempting Ia
grow these crops the alkall must be
prevented from accommodating near the
surface. Keep the alkali down as FAR
as possible. especially while the plants
are very young and tender. This can
be done by frequent irrigation. Where
frequent Irrigation Ia Impossible, pre-
vent excessive surface evaporation by
cultIyating the land. Az stFted above
evaporation brings the salts 20 ths
surface. where they are ieft IN crust
Land that Is baked at the surface loses
water rapidly,
Sugar beets, miilet, barley for has
crop, oats for hay, milo maize. kniiii
corn, and alfalfa are among the more
resistant crops. With the exception
OF altalfa,i these are shallow rooted
crops, TO grow alfalfa the alkai
! must be kept away from the root