West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1916-04-13
CHAPTER n.
Joe Begins Experimenting.

lOln hehlOn WIS EeU eNeu
and surly from the effects OF
~ the liquor he had drunk the
night before with Jim Sullivan and
moped about the house. snarllng and
swapping at his wife and little Ample
and Joe.
AS soon as breakfast was finished
Joe took his precious volume about
agriculture and slipped off to "A shell
tered nook behind the barn. He pored
over IL until dinner time; then he closed
his eyes and reviewed in his mind the
essential points OF what he had read.
First Of all, that plants must have
food, just as human being do; that lack
Of enough food or proper food made
puny plants, just as II does with PEG
pie; that the principal source of food
for plants Is the humus or decaying
vegetable matter I'm the soil. From
this largely comes the nitrogen, the
phosphOric acid, the potash and 9th
er essentials to plant life. absorbed
through the thousands OF tiny roots Of
the growing plant above.
Also he learned that the soil becomes
barren and exhausted and devoid of
vation; that the crop takes these nee
essary things from the soil year by
year. and something must be put back
into the land or it will become sterile.
THE wise provisions OF nature are
SEEN" said the book, ain the annual re-
newal OF the soil. The grass, weeds.
trees, shrubs, all take from the soil I'm
the summer, but they pay back the
debt with interest I'm autumn, when the
grass dies and the leaves fall to the
ground. They are beaten into the soil
by the winter rains and by the next
summer have decayed and have giver
more TO the land than the plants that
bore them have taken away"
"And ! never knew before" said Joe
to himself what makes newly clear.
ed ground 40 rich and give such large
crops. or course Il Is the humus from
the leaves that have been dropping al
the years"
After dinner he began TO devOur the
book again. by dusk he knew that, In
order 10 get the largest amount OF
plant food 10 the plants TO fatten them
as it We're q deep blowing or breaking
and loOsening NJ the soil was essential
until it was light and mellow. Thl,
allowed tho tiny rootlets. each with
hundreds of minute hungry mouths. e
have a wider range I'm search OF tn,
life giving juices IN the soil and there
by furnish the strength 60 make larger
more virile plants The stronger IN,
plants the more fruit. the better and
larger fruit they made as reward t.
the planter Tor this care.
Daddy" said joe Monday morning
please come ON aud let's pick ont On,
four acres SIR Somervllle and me ar,
Going 90 WORK.
"All right Iu give you part OF tina
field across from tie oak grove. Iti
50 blame poor 90 won't sprout peas.
want 10 see what you an are going &,
DO with that"
Come on down. then Let's lay 81
on, know how poor Il g.. and IN,
sooner something f. done 20 e the bet
ter"
A iope line Wos secured and the plot
of four acres. two ~ Toe sc,eg abut
ting on the road was marked via
stakes 10 was poor land, dlstressiugly
g'o', ~ tHe aIuhted dead grass and
scantly n0urIshed weeds attested. u
was part N au old field that bad Desf
aI S.... ~, ..Ay .g'l. .
u'N guess you % 90 mueh VIII
,r,r,o,ga,, .-,, '' "''" "''0
'Ii-i'iI "hhi grim
ltf pretty bad buc ven Do the bes