The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-01-31
VERMONT SOIL CONSERVATION.
By Dean Joseph L. Hills Of State Agri-
cultural College,

iIIFpdItu ~ tdt tfIbtNh WI ttif u
mont commission Bn The conservation
of natural resources
New England Is rugged and some
what barren upland area, a sixth part
Of which is improved land Vermont
is It's most favored section, in that
three.elghths OF lta land area is inn
proved. the remaining five eighths being
either forest clad or best adapted 10
forestry.
Vermont farming suffers from many
ills, Plant feed depletion; the deyel.
opment 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
the rough, stony fields; the competition
OF mills and factories for labor; the
lure of the cityt the citywsrd trend
Of the schoolss the decreasing brthrate
of the old New England stock; these
and other causes have been at fault,
With the causes Of and remedies FOR
the sociological conditions the present
article has nothing TO dol but M most
condensed form seeks to point out meth
DDS of soil conservation and restbra-
Soils become impoverished in many
ways--seme natural, some artificial.
These conditions may or may not be
rem ediable. Soils became surface de-
nuded by water and BIZ windl nitrogen
wssteage occurs, due to bacterial active
tiles, Inadequate tillage and drainage
entail faulty moisture and relations;
the filth is inferior; the available plant
food may be relatively lacking, acidity
excessive, the humus supply deficient
Any one, two. several, or oil Of these
conditions may obtain in given case
Erosion, or surface dcnudation, an ex-
trenely important factor in world agri.
culture, is so minor q factor here that
no special reference IL needed. Nitro
ger wasteage however, IL great. Yet
thanks to clover and alfalfa gathering
nitrogen from the air through bacterial
means, and to calcium eyanamid and
lime nitrate, which are artificial atmos.
pheric nitrogen containers. her soils need
mover lack nitrogen. Let the individual
farmer keep his land crop.clad the year
around grow clover freely, use land plas.
ter and absorbents in the stable. and
frequently apply manure 10 the fields,
and he need not fear nitrogen deplea
ton.
-Four hundred square miles of Yer
mont's area Is IN dire need Of under
drainage and much of II is worth re-
claiming. This is equivalent to ten per
cent of her entire improved area, Most
of the rest Of il at times lacks water
and would be bettered by adequate till
age operations, rightly employed at the
right time.
The lack OF available plant food may
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 capacity is
not seriously impaired. but their immedi-
ate producing capacity is lowered by
misuse Many causes are apt TO be at
fault, causes remediable by tillage, drain.
age, rotation, green manures. These
constitute the best keys for unlocking
the unavailable plant food; tillage, 60.
promote the solubility of the soil parti-
cles; drainage. to augment soil aeration
and root penetration; crop rotation, to
bring diverse roofing habits to bear upon
different soil area; manuring green and
farm-to promote solution by chemical
and biological action.
Vermont soils are os.en acid When
sorrel or moss abounds, when white
daisies. brakes. and blackberry bushes
flourish, when clover fails, acidity may
be suspected. Ashes, lime, mari sprin-
kled on the plowed burrows and har-
rowed in. or otherwise applied, may
prove a happy remedy for desperate
The maintenance of soil fertility is
largely matter of the upkeep of its
humus contents. The first aid to the
injured" soil. abused and worn out
usually should be to furnish ample guam
titles of humus. Ii supplies plant food,
its water holding capacity i'm
creases its warmth. betters texture, and
promotes bacterial growth. It's supply
IS lowered by the continuous growth of
titled crops; by i'll advised rotatiye crop
ping; by deforestation; and by the con
tinued and sole use of commercial fer
tilizers. 1t IS augmented by an ade-
Iuate crop rotation; by the use of farm
and by the practice of green
Vermont farmers are increasingly ex-
porting their real estate to Boston and
New York. An average milk train re-
moves approximately 500 worth OF
plant food beyond our borders This
: not conservation. If, however, the
milk shipper grows clover and feeds cot
.onseed meal ossother rich concentrates;
{ from the air the sub-soil, and from
Dixie land and elsewhere as much of
,lant food is restored as is removed. he
nay both eat his cake and have it