The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-10-27

is one thing Of which the author feels
convinced, namely that a proper bio
logical study of sell and crop SANTA
ton, associated with proper seed
handling, will give us a new basis for
constructing the system of CROP rota-
ton which can be clearly understood,
and when it is so understood, we can
expect our farmers to carry it out.
The chemical theory of crop rotation
necessitates an explanation every time
a crop falls down, which reads some
thing as follows: You over-did the
tii:age wocK and made too much
fertility available, which resulted in
poor straw quality, and deteriorated
seed" " You over-did the application
OF fertilizers which made a soft, weak
straw and made the land too fertile"
Everyone remembers these eXplana-
tions.
This should not be take. to indicate
that there is not some truth in such
explanations regarding over-tillage
and Decentralization, but our expert
ments teach that crops have more Sc
lect1Ve w than we have ever Civ
en- credit for, but that they cannot do
much II their roots are eaten off and
their stems badly destroyed by para
sites which heretofore have not prop
erly been taken into account.
The problem of soil biology, there
fore, becomes one which needs more
careful attention before a statement
may be arranged for the best crop ro-
tation for a specific process. When
the matter has thus been carefully
studied, it will be found that there is
no material conflict in good methods
which have been worked out by long
experience and those which are coming
from new or carefully planned expert
ments on soil and seed biology.
There have been very many valuable
experiments, and very valuable plans
of soil Improvement, which have been
Initiated because of the fact that these
have been studied only in their theor-
| etical relationship to the soil.
Usually the eXperimentor has not
asked what is the matter with the
crop, but almost invariably what is
the matter with the soil. He has usu-
ally analysed the soil from which de-
Perforated grain has peer removed to
find out what is the matter with II
and has analysed the seed or. grain
which came off such soil to find out
what is in it.. and has drawn theories
accordingly, with the result hat he
! a almost Invariably assumed that
the characteristics of wheat, for ex-
ample. which is described as low
grade by the miller, as white belli-
Sus PIE, DdlleQ, SURVEYED" 'bleach-
ed" etc, is deteriorated in type. due
to. peculiar chemical conditions Of the
soil. Our observations are such as 70
show that these characters are not mat
tiers of soil variation. but are primari-
" u to a disease. problem superim-
posed upon the problem of soil quail
ty and climatic conditions. A soil NAV
be very poor in it's chemical constitu-
ents, yet the wheat which it raises
very perfect. There is. indeed, no hio-
logical reason why a soil which is
rather deficient in some particular
chemical, other conditions being equal
should fail to produce wheat grains Of
normal type. There are, however yerv
many reasons why the most fertile
soil, under ~unsanitary conditions of
seed and soil, cannot be expected r.
produce wheat of normal Character
even though the quantity in bushelage
be large, which, however. is seldom fbe
case when the quality Is very low.
The wheat of the northwest. m old
cropped lands, does not produce nor
NAL plump, properly colored berries
because the land lis infertile. but hess
, cause the roots and straw are SO thor