Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-03-19
v.

ENRo
CHAPTER ".
The spring and summer, in fact, the
whole year was a very busy one 1oI
Sam. And it was not less so Tor
Florence and Mrs. Powell. Florence
often helped her brother when the
work crowded, and Mrs. Powell put
in her spare time in the garden, melon
patch and orchard.
On the contest acre Sam was forced
to do all the work himself. The rules
were strict on this point, n after
Sans patch had been laid off and
measured by a committee, he himself
planted the corn and no n else
struck a lick in it's cultivation.
Sans first planting was the irish
potatoes. He bedded up an acre.
dragged down the beds almost fiat and
planted them early in March. Next
came the contest acre, and when that
was finished, he planted four more
acres in corn, making five in all, men
turned to the cotton.
Next came the cane, and Sam sowed
this broadcast and very thick, for he
wanted to make hay Of it. If the
stalks grow large and stiff 1t doesn't
make good hay.
The young farmer wound up the nrst
round of planting by sowing the or
chard in rye. His idea was to let no
bit of ground lie idle, but to keep some
thing growing on it instead of weeds.
The weed problem was a pretty hard
one for Sam, so many had gone to seed
on the place. But he determined thai
not one should make seed this year.
So he was the busiest farmer in the
whole community. He plowed and
hoed constantly, but it was mostly
blowing, for Sam soon learned that
hoeing is a mighty slow way to Kill
weeds and grass compared with plow-
ing.
People passing along by the Powell
place marveled at the clean, we'll u l
tivated little farm. But Sam consid-
cred other needs Of the crops besides
cultivation.
The soil of the place was not nearly
so poor as the neighbors had said 1t
was-not even so poor as Sam had
thought. The trouble was that the
surface Of the ground had merely been
scratched, and he had remedied this by
thorough cultivation. Still the crops
lacked something, and he found that
each acre had certain qualities. AS he
studied the farm he began to see that
each bit of land was strong in certain
ways and weak in others.
There was no time to have soil an
alysis made this year, but he began to
study closely the wild vegetation and
trees growing about and to read the
bulletins and the book he had bought
on How Crops Grow" 1t wasn't an
easy subject by any a Sam read
and re-read the book and finally went
over it slowly and studied it page by
page. Pretty soon he knew nearly as
much about the soil he was c~ultivating
as any expert could have told him,
Here is what he learned about soil
fertility:
Acid in soil that causes crops to fire
and die is indicated by sorrel growing
on the land. Acid a easily be detect
ed also by getting a slip Of blue itmus
paper for a nickel at the drug store
and pressing it in a ball Of the sol
If it turns red there is acid. An appli'
cation Of lime cures this.
Crops and plants of all kinds are fec
by several elements Of the soil, but
| there are three more important thar
| the rest-nitrogen, potash and phos'
| phoric acid.
Nitrogen forms the leaves OF plants
that part Of the plant body which
breathes.
Potash makes the trunk, stalk ant
tuber of plant or tree.
Phosphoric acid reproduces-sets tn
blooms and makes abundant seed ant
fruit.
Sam learned these things from read
ing. But, when he knew them, all n
had to do was to look about the farm
and learn more things by observation.
Where trees grew or had grown wei
he knew that potash was plentiful. l
leaves were rank, nitrogen was album
dant. If flowers formed and fell of
the plants before they should he knew
the soil needed phosphoric acid.
Finally the young farmer formed
what he had learned into nine rule
and wrote them down in the back o
one Of his books, as follows:
Il. Nitrogen Cor ammonia) encour
ages strong leaf. vine and bush growth
20. Potash makes firm tuber, bull
and fiber.
IS. Phosphoric acid makes blooms
set and seeds and seed pods form
abundantly.
Il. If the wild growth on your farm
is profuse and your tomatoes and mel
on vines run to leaf your soil is ricl
in nitrogen.
rs. If trees do not thrive, onion
seem soggy and tomato vines lacl
sturdiness of stalk the soil needs pot
ash.
&c. If your tomatoes, grain, melon
and cotton fail to set plenty Of see
and fruit, phosphoric acid is calle'
for.
~. If you expect to take from you
land a crop rich in leaf, as lettuce, in
crease the proportion of nitrogen II
your fertilizer.
"S. If potatoes or onions are desire
provide plenty Of potash.
80. If abundant corr, wheat, cotto'
bolls, melons, peaches. strawberries o
tomatoes are wanted, see to the phos
phoric acid"
Sam made use Of what he had learn
ed in planting and cultivating hi
- ~ -otohal tharo olocalv on