The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1914-11-14

the soil. In the primeval forest trees
60 on undisturbed and no waste oc-
ours from the food and shelter which
they furnish 10 its untamed inhabi
tants. Leaves and decaying branches
go on forming tie moisture retaining
mulch. and the fertility extracted
from the soil Is returned to II WHEN
the tree has ended It's usefulness
Layer upon layer OF new soil Is thrs
formed and the fertility thereof r.
enriched by the humus-forming mn.
terial. the remnants Of insect and an
imal life and the activities OF bac
terial life. Windstorms, the iudis
pensable purifiers OF the atmosphc~e
sweep down periodically portions ~
the forest and trees in the prime OF
life are uprooted, burying the newly
formed soil, carrying 20 the surface
partly decomposed rocks and large
quantities of virgin soil which mix
inG with the new transforming ma
terial offers a more congenial home 20
the next free generation and TO n
greater variety of plants. Thus the
lesson of scientific agriculture is com.
plete. and were modern man more Oh
serving there would be less need for
agricultural schools ana extension
work so-called would be unheard OF
Value Of Humus in Soil Fertility.
II now remains 20 define the func-
tions of humus in the process Of soil
building and its relation 10 the fer
tility OF the soil Humus is the most
important factor in soil fertility, for
without Il plants cannot grow except
urder costly artificial conditions I'm
der ordinary field conditions, newly
formed soil In the shape Of decom.
posed rock with its rich store Of min,
eral fertilizers Is still an inert mass
It's activity begins only and Is in.
creased as generation upon genera.
tion Of plants grow upon e. During
the decomposltions of the plants
which give rise 10 humus. acid sub.
stances are formed which act upon
the rocks in such a way as to make
more OF the plant food available. Car.
bCnic acid gas. one OF the products OF
decay or fermentation, when dis
solved in soil water, is an important
help I'm disintegrating the rocks.
Roots Of growing plants also secrete
an acid substance that has n solvent
effect on the rocks and on the min.
eral matter Of the soil. and roots also
assist mechanically in breaking
down the rocks, An example OF this
in the shape OF grooves or burrows
upon solid rock may be frequently
seen when removing the roots OF
growing trees which extend across the
rocks The roots OF the plants pene,
trate the soil sometimes 10 great
depths. and as they decay after death
of the plants they leave in the soil
little channels which serve TO carry
Down water laden with carponic acid
as we'll as TO introduce the oxygen
OF the air which In its turn Is a fac.
tor I'm bringing about chemica;
changes i'm the soil which assist I'm
! making plant food available This
formation Of humus with its attend.
ing chemical changes increases at the
same time the bacterial life within tho
soil and prepares Il for the growth OF
leguminous plants The peculiar prop
erty OF these plants consists IN then
ability TO draw part Of their food from
| the free nitrogen OF the atmosphere,
and as these plants die and decay.
the nitrogen compounds accumulated
Oy them eventually become a part of
the So thds adding TO It's original
fertility Humus increases the pow .
OF the soil to absorb and retain wa.
! ter. The amount OF water held in a
CT bic foot Of different soils is as fol.
lows:
Sand ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. Lbs.
Sandy Clay ............. ........3S.S Ids.
Loan ............. ...........4l4 Ids
Ilumus NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. Lbs.
Humus improves the physical con.
dition OF the soil Sandy soils arc
made more compact and are thus bet
ter able to supply the growing plants
with moisture. Clay soils which ars
likely to become too compact arc
made more mellow by the addition o.!
transforming material, In other
words humus forms loan, for sandy
loan is simply a sandy soil well sup
Piled with organic matter, and a clay
loan Is clay which has been made
light and mellow by the same mater.
ial Humus regulates the temperature
OF the soil A soil containing a sur.
ficient supply OF organic mattm
warns up more slowly and retains it's
heat for n longer period II has been
frequently observed that orchards we'll
supplied with organic matter are
least damaged during periods Of I'M
seasonable cold weather. IIumus Is
storehouse for plant food, especially
for nitrogen, for most of this fertiliz
ing material is formed in the more OF
less decomposed organic matter, while