Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1912-03-08
DON'T oVERDRAW YOUR SOIL
BANK.


Consider the soil as a depOSi
bank. If you are checking on you
deposit you will soon exhaust it, I'm
less you put in more than you take
out. The more you leave there The
ncher you are. AS Poor Richard said
always taking out and never puttina
in, one soon comes to the bottom o.
his meat tub" Your soil is youl
meat tub.
Our farmers to get the most reli
able results must do a good deal Of
experimenting for themselves. 1t is
we'll stated that "the only safe way
to determine what the land needs is
tc experiment ON the land itself
Plants in their growth in the soil will
tell one what the chemist cannot tell
It will tell what particular form Of
plant food is lacking and also the
form needed to be supplied. Farmers
generally buy commercial fertilizer:
according to their commercial valua
ton, and while they may be theil
true value ON the market, the value
ri the article on their land may be &
very different thing, and they may b.
spending money for what they do mo-
, need and be buying too little of what
they especially need. The farmer cal
find out this for himself, and no one
else can tell him beforehand.
The needs of soils vary 50 greatly
even on the same farm, that true
farm economy indicates that the farm
er. himself must be an experimental
In order to discover what no expert
ment station can discover for him
But any of the experiment stations
IN the various states will readily he'll
the individual farmers in the various
states in conducting these expert
mentS. We would impress the fac
that If the experiments ane to be o
value and are to show what you want
they must be conducted with grea
care and accuracy.
There are about seventy elements
but only about fifteen Of them are
needed in our soils; these the farmer
ought to get to know and learn how
to treat them to secure the best re
suits in farming. There may be toc
much or too little of certain of thest
elements. Some of the element:
necessary to plant growth come from
the earth and some from the air.
If the crops aUe repeatedly remove,
from the soil, some element or ele
metS will become exhausted, or, al
We ordinarily say, the land become.
-. poor.
Different crops do not remove al
equal amount Of the elements, ant
even different specimens of the sam,
crop vary considerably in the amount
OF amy one element that they take VI
from the soil. Some plants take {
great deal of nitrogen from the sol
and return only portion of it; 9th
ers take only small amount of nj
rogen from the soil and give muct
back; the former make land poorer
the latter make it richer in nitrogen
The same is true in regard to plants
using potash and phosphoric acid
When a piece Of land becomes tired
Of one crop it Is often able to produo
some other in fair quantity. To keel
soil in such condition that it will pro
,duce a crop in paying quantities, We
must keep the fifteen elements in
sufficient quantity-we must tertilize
properly.
It is well for the farmer to have
plain ideas about manure The name
manure is used for all forms of de.
: composed decayfng matter in barn
yards; whether 1t be animal excre.
ment or other such matter. Its true
value varies greatly, not only as to
It's source, but also as 10 the manner
In. which it Is kept. When it is kept
in the usual way 1t Is worth from 81
to- 81 a ton. About 90 to 80 PEI cent
ot the whole weight is water, 9 to 15
pounds Of 1t Il nitrogen, . to Is