The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1912-04-05
IMPROVEMENT OF
SOIL ESSENTIAL AS
GOOD CULTIVATION
GROSS INJUSTICE TO LEAVE
LAND IN AN IMPOVERISHED
CONDITION..
CONSUMPTION EXCEEDS PRODUCT
Practice Rotation In Crops, Keep
Something Growing All the Time
And Always Have Winter Cover
crop and Success viii Follow,

And Always Have . Winter Cover
Crop and Success viii Follow,
jBy Capt T. F. PECK, Commission
er Of Agriculture.)
Last week we talked about soil
moisture and the effects it had on
crop production. This week we want
to go over the question of soil i'm
movement. We have discussed the
subject before but it means the diff
terence between success and failure
20 our farmers and should command
their earnest consideration.
The early system Of farming was
sucn az to leave much of the land in
m Impoverished condition not de-
pleted Of it's plant food, but Of its
-humus and the mechanical condition
unsatisfactory. Land was plentiful,
hence the farmer did not see the i'm
portance of improving and maintain.
ing its fertility. They cleared new
fields or moved into better or new
territory, there to repeat the same
practice. This system Of farming
that impoverishes and depletes the
soil bias not fallen into disuse, many
present day farmers instead of i'm
proving, or at least maintaining the
fertility are rapidly depicting 1t. We
hear much now days about the con-
servation of our mineral resources.
the conservation of our timber, the
conservation of our coal. at the same
time we do not hear enough about
the conservation OF our most valued
resource, the soil. There is every
reason why the practice and system
of farming should be such as to
maintain and improve the fertility
of the farm land. We should main
tain the fertility of the land in order
that our children may have an equal
chance with ourselves. 1t is gross
injustice to them to leave the soil
to them in an impoverished condi-
ton. That system of farming that
improves the soil is most profitable
to us. The farmers who are improv-
Ing their soil are making money.
They have better homes and are get
ting more out of life on the farm
than the shiftless farmers. As the
country grows older much larger
population must be supported from
.ahe products of the soil. This will
necessitate large increase in the
products of the soil. We hear at
present, many theories advanced as
10 the high cost Of living. 1t is sim
ply that consumption is increasing
Easter than production. Increased
production may be simulated by
giving more attention to plant i'm
provement, by better care and cult
walton of the crops. However, the
main stimulus to increased produc-
ton of farm production will come
as a result of improving and making
the soil more fertile.
AS we have explained before in cur
talks on fertilizers, the mineral ele-
ment of the soil furnishing plant
God are: Sulphur, magnesium, iron,
chlorine, sodium, silicon, calcium,
phosphorus and potassium. The first
six named of these elements are al
ways found in abundance In the soil.
The phosphorus and potassium are
usually abundant in the soil, but not
always in available form. Calcium
in the form of lime is often deficient
from the fact that soil needs it to
correct acid conditions. So we see
that soil improvement as relates to
pant food involves but four elements.
Phosphoric acid, potash, nitrogen and
lime. These four elements make up
but to per cent of the plant food.
In soil Improvements we must know
how best to supply these elements
most economically. Lime is usually
abundant so far as plant food is con-
cernea. but it is often needed to cor
rect an acid condition of the soil.
An application of two tons of crush
ed limestone per acre will serve for
ten years. Wood ashes would serve
since they contain about thirty per
cent lime. Nitrogen can be supplied
in the form of commercial fertilizers,
or by growing leguminous crops such
as clover, witch, COW peas or soy
leans
These crops can be turned under
or fed to live stock and the manure
saved and returned to the land. The
leguminous crops have the ability
through the bacteria that work on