The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1915-02-18
Fulton County Soils.

who related them are workers,
and students of agriculture, and
they will not object to our pass
ing the stories along.
While talking with Associate
Judge w. B. Stigers about the
strawberry-lime story printed
elsewhere in this paper, he said
that he sowed a cover crop of
rye on a piece of deep sandy loan
like Mr.. Fassett's with the inten-
ton of ploughing it down when
about kneehigh. Circumstances
prevented his ploughing down
the rye until it was horsehigh
and then some. With the aid of a
heavy logchain, used in the well
known manner, he buried the
straw deeply and then cut it up
fine by disking crosswise of the
furrows, and secured firm seed
bed with good contact of top soil
with the subsoil. The field was
planted to corn and the best corn
was gathered where the rye was
ploughed under. AS in Mr.. Fas-
sett's case, with similar soil, he
has found no bad results from
the fermentation of such a big
dose of green manure. This in
dicated to Mr.. Stiger's mind, and
to that of ourselves, that this
sandy loan is fortified against
acidity by the presence of large
quantities of disintegrated lime
stone which was deposited there
probably during the glacial period
County Chairman of Farmers
Institutes Frank Ranck, relates
that he was recently prevented
from ploughing down a cover
crop of rye until it was well out
in head, and he too, had a fine
crop-indeed, he called it a very
fine crop-of sorrel. Having no
particular use for so much sorrel
there was nothing left for him to
do but to resort to lime to restore
the soil to a friendly condition to-
ward more profitable crops. Mr..
Ranck's soil differed from Mr..
Stiger's, the former being good
quality of that found in that
great belt that runs from Hunt
ingdon county down through Tay-
lor, Licking Creek, Belfast, Beth
ell, and Thompson, townships to
the Maryland line. Here were
shown two opposite effects from
the same cause, and it affords
food for thought, and proves
conclusively that there can be no
infallible rule laid down for soil
treatment, but every man must
master basic principles, and then
apply them with judgment to in
dividual types of soil.
Jury Commissioner ]. c. Hix-
son confessed to US this week
that he is but recent convert to
the use of lime. He tried it on
one field of red shale with the re-
suit that he obtained a splendid
crop of wheat, and maybe at this
moment he is leaning his arms
on top of the fence and admiring
the finest stand of clover and
timothy he ever had. Mr.. Hix-
son told US that, barring climatic
accidents, he expected to see his
stock revel in fine hay next win
ter. Mr.. Hixson is converted to
stay converted" on the lime ques
ton as it relates to his soil. Per-
haps some of our readers who
have red shale soil will recall
that three months ago we pub
lished an account Of experiments
with about a dozen types of soil
to determine which one respon-
ded most readily to lime, and red
shale stood at the head of the
list as giving up its stored plant
food promptly when ''tickled"
with lime. The resultant in
crease of growth insures stiff
sods, stiff sods insure increased
humus, humus makes a better
crop that is, when we do not
follow up the lime effects by rob-
berry.