The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-07-24

them for the cost of one concrete or
tile silo.
My object in preparing tho matter
for these columns Is 10 try to give the
farmers just what they want to know,
and not to write essays, that. however
good they may be, do not touch the
matter that some one wants informa-
ton about.
Hence am more and moro inclined
to believe that in the replying to let
ters from farmers | can help them
more than in any other way, for then
the writer of the letter certainly gets
what he wants. and other far ers
may have been desiring information on
the same point. | use no ones name
or address In these columns. and hence
no one need fear that their letters Will
make them too conspicuous. | am glad
that the readers Of The Times Dispatch
are taking an interest in these col
umns. and / depend largely OH their
letters to make the column interesting
and helpful.
The Greatest Need Of Southern Soils.
The soils OF the South differ widely
III formation and condition from the
soils found north of Maryland and
Virginia The ancient glacier era
ground up the Northern soils. and
made them fine and compact, and IN
modern time the heavy snowfalls
packet Gown the forest leaves to de-
cay and formed the living soil of to-
day, we'll filed with vegetable decay,
which. as a convenient term, we call
humus.
Ia the South The conditions are az
ferent. The clay and sand mixture
forming the foundation of the soil is
OF coarser texture. and hence more
easily washed into gullics because OF
the lack of the ancient grinding or
the glacier ice The open forests on
the uplands lacked the heavy snow
falls, and the dry leaves blow away
and 4 smaller amount of organic de-
cay exists in the virgin state of the
soil than in the North When first
cleared from the forest. thcSa soils
were productive But the old pluuta-
tion practice rapidly used UP the
smaller amount of humus. till hnaliy
there was left only the old dead mix
ture OF sand and Clay. and the land
was said To be worn out. and was
turned out as -"old fields" ana more
fresh land cleared to so through The
sane process Of depletion.
Put 10 land that is originally fer
tile and Of good mechanical texture
can ever be worn out. l;y injudicious
cultivation it may he brought into Il
very unproductve state III which ma
ture locks up her store and forbids
further vobbinG uf Ihc SOIL The old
held is not worn out, and nature alb
h"rs hare land. ana % once covers the
old h,ld with broomscd=c grass. for
broomscdre Hill SLOW whore tho soil
IS too acid for better crops and The
broninS, dyc has been The salvation OF
the Southern urland Tor in its shell
ter tic wind blows The light seed OF
the old fold pine the pine has a
wonderful subsoilcr IN tlic shape OF "a
long tap root, tnat strikes down into
the subSoil below where the scratch
plowin, went, ANA year after year the
Pine tree grows and pumps up mineral
matter from below, and covers the
lard with its fallen leaves to decay
ana restore what man has wasted
Finally the farmer wants some fresh
land for his tobacco, ana he clears ou
The pines aud finds a fresh and pro-
ductivc soil. made so throuGh natures
unaided efforts. Just rs il vas made in
the beginning.
Nature thus shows us what is need
cd and il becomes the duty Of the
farmer to initiate nature and beat hc.
at thu work. doing in a few years what
nature has taken q generation TO ac-
complish the restoration and maintc-
nance Of the humus In fact through
proper mana cement and the rotation
Of crops with the lcGuncs. We can
greatly Increase the natural supply OF
humus in the Southern soils. Talking
once with an excellent farmer in the
upper South, who had developed the
productivencss OF his land in n won
dcrful degree. ! remarked that ono of
his fields. noticed. was newly cleared
land, and said that doubtless 1t would
make good crop. New ground is
the poorest land have for have
built UP my soil TO far greater produc-
ton than the new ground" said he But
MS case was a rare one. and showed
what real farmer can DO. " lao fully
realizes the great need Of our Southern
uplauds, tho accumulation OF vegetable
decay. and its constant adding to
through good rotation OF crops ana
the growing and feeding of the lcgumc
crops like peas and clover. which not
only aiGi Ms In the restoration of the
hunus. but get for MS the nitrogen
that is i'm great abundance over every
acre in the air. The growing OF
lceume forage and the feeding of cat
IL" aud other stock lie at the very
foundation of all rational soil imri oNe-
mcnt. The old planting idea in the
south, exposing the land continually
IN clean. cultivated crops To the sun.
the great destroyer O. bacteria that
help the farmer and the using Nh OF
all tha organic decay in the soil which
reduced the soil TO the old dead mix
ture OF sanl and clay---dcad because
the bacteria thar made II Il living soil
have been starved out. The great
need Of tho Southern soils. then. is the
restoration ana Increase through good
farming OF this organic decay that
makes the soil really living soil
How TO do this We will from time TO
time try TO cNplain
AIfnIfn on Poor Land
Il contemplate sowing small piece
al alfalfa next fall on very poor sandy
land. ana will thank YOU 10 give me
Information as 10 preparation of the
ground, fertilization and cultivation. -
With a very poor piece Of sandy land.
l. do not believe that any amount OF
commercial fertilizer viii give YOU sue
cess with alfalfa Possibly by cover
Ing il heavily with stable manurc YOU
may he able to get stand. The ply
steal condition of the soil, as well as
its poverty. Will be aEaina, success
with alfalfa. But by getting a con
siderable amount Of organic decay like
that in stable manure, the soil will be
rendered more retcntivc OF moistur.
: heavy application OF pulvcrizcd oys
ter shells VIII also help. But really
D 1