The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1913-06-27
SOIL ANALYSIS.
BY Capt T. F, Peck, Commissioner
OF Agriculture.

II is almost a daily occurrence at
the Department of Agriculture to re-
ceive letters from farmers wanting to
know where and how they can get
their soil analysed, so they can have
a fertilizer made up to supply the de-
ncient plant food.
Some people imagine II they had an
analysis Of their soils they could sup
ply the deficiency in plant food with
slt cial fertilizer, and that would
be doomed to disappointment. II
would be next to impossible to get an
average sample of soil, because the
analysis Of two samples taken 100 feet
apart would vary greatly.
The farmer needs to know how to
make available the plant food he has
in his soil great deal more than
he does the exact amounts his soil
contains. His soil could be well sup
piled with nitrogen, phosphoric acid
and potash, the principal elements
needed, and they could be looked up
so as to be unavailable for plant food.
Any farmer knows what happens
to his soil If he works it too wet. He
also knows that If he takes every
thing off Of his ground every year and
turns no vegetable matter under, his
land is inclined to run together and
bake, break up cloddy, and this ten
dency increases each year because is
is losing its vegetable matter (humus) :.
Such soil will not give the plant
growing on 1t the plan food it con.
tains.
IL the farmer wants to make a sue
cess in farming he must make the
plant food available in his B)il. He
must study nature, as well as books,
If he does this. We know of many
fields that during our boyhood days
produced good crops, but with constant
cropping, taking everything of and
putting nothing back, they ceased to
be profitable They were abandoned
and allowed to grow up in weeds,
briars and brush After several years
those fields were cleared up and again
would, for time, produce profitable
crops until the supply OF vegetable
matter they had accumulated was ex-
hausted.
Nature, II left alone, and the land
prevented from washing, will restore
land to fertility. What does it add?
Vegetable matter and a small amount
Of nitrogen from the air. The action
Of the air, rain and frost mixes the
decayed vegetable matter with the soil
and subsoil, making it loose and
loamy and the plant food in it avaDa-
BILE.
Now il you want to build up your
soil and make the plant food in ii
available, just use the good, hard, com.
mon sense God has given you and fol-
low Natures plan. The first thing
Nature does is to increase the vege.
table matter and mix it with the soil
and subsoil so that the water, ali
and frost can penetrate it.
l want to ask you farmers to tell
me the difference between the soil
on top and the subsoil below Except
alluvia sois)? Is there any differ.
ence except the vegetable matter that
has accumulated in the top soils? We
know that all our soils were fertile
according to the formation they were
derived from. We know that the
soil above ana the stibsoil below are
the same, except the soil has had
vegetable matter added to make II
porous so the water, air and frosts
could penetrate it. We know that we
have plowed shallow and allowed the
rains. to- carry away the vegetable
matter.
We have no worn out lands. We
have much with the surface soil wash
ed away, but We can follow Natures
lead; we can get green crop to turn
under; we can break up some of the
virgin subsoil and mix with the sur
face soil and vegetable matter during
the winter; the rain, frost and all
will work for us in making the plant
food. We can grow leguminous crops
such as peas, beans, clover and
veatches to increase our nitrogen
We can use, with care and intelli
gence, reasonable amounts of acid
phosphates, potash and crushed lime
We can, by following Natures lead
restore our lands to their virgin fer
tlity and get a fair compensation fol
our labor.
Brother farmer, we have been look
ing for some hard problem to solve
We thought there was some scientific
short cut to big crops. We have neg
lected the simple things we could do
We have ignored Nature as our teach
er and we have paid the penalty. We
have tried to jump from the bottom
to the top of the ladder at single
bound. We cannot do it. We mus
climb a round at a time The sci<n
fists at the top reached their position
by study of Nature and NATURAL con
ditions. Each step made the next ono
possible.
If we succeed we must do the things
within our reach. We can REBUILD
our soils. We can unlock the plant
food and make it available, but We
must follow Natures plan. We mus
think about our work and profit by
cur opportunities. Too many Of u:
think more about other peoples bust
ness than our own. They are getting
the profits. Let's give our best
thoughts and energies to the things
that are justly entitled to-tbe re
wards
1.-THE heights by great men reached
and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight;
But they, while their companions
slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.
TULLAHoMA NOTES.