The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1917-02-24
WINTERS LEGACY
1t Leaves Riches In the Soil Which
Can't Be Bought.
LIME CAN HELP THIS ACTION.

Lime Up to the Limiting Factor" Not
Beyond-After This Help Out With
Manure and Phosphates-lt Is Only
In That Way You Can Get the Best
Returns For the Cash Investment.
Some men are dead lucky. They
Just sit tight, doing nothing in par
ticular to get along. when a plum
falls into their laps out of a clear sky.
People suddenly begin to take a liking
to some corner of a town. Nobody
knows why. Old residenters leave the
homes that were always good enough
for them, before. for houses with mod
ern improvements in the new section.
So real estate booms. the land-poor
of former days. runs down. New rail-
road branches are spreading over the
country and cheap farms become
valuable. because the getaway for
general crops or market and orchard
specialties is easy. No extra horses
and wagons have to be kept for long
hauls and the children have a better
chance for good schools.
Most of us get the go-by from for
tune and it's natural to get sour, es-
pecially owe the good luck of those
who have never deserved it. But
what's the use? To cultivate a bilious
habit only makes every days work
grow harder.
All very well for "Cheerfulness Socie-
ties" to preach the New Thought
and that kind of thing. The trouble
with them is that they just talk and
never give a practical idea.
There are lots of things hat bring
increase, which we do not earn. Look
out of the window at that frozen plow-
ed field, the clods thawing and crack
ing in the sunshine. 1t is working and
making plant food for next seasons
growth. 1t is the winter with it's ele-
ments of hard weather that crack and
leach the soil particles for new sup
plies for further crops. We can figure
the value of that unpaid action of frost
and thaw in dollars and cents, for ii
is what keeps a sufficient supply of
plant food available in the soil TO make
about twelve or more bushels of wheat
year after year. Deduct from this the
actual cost of blowing and seeding
and what is left. say the value of eight
bushels per acre, is your %unearned in
crement.
Well, it is not much and then every
body gets it, so what is the use? Just
this, that you can bait this hook of
winter action for fishing more fertility
out of the soil. with common sense.
and that is something that everybody
has not got. Just seei Try to wash
axle grease off your hands in clear wa
ter. How much good does rubbing do
toward getting them clean? But, use
soap or put ammonia in the water.
How about it then? Now, that is
chemical action. it gets dirt loose. And
chemical action gets plant food loose.
Ammonia would do it, I've would do
1t, but they cost too much. For price
and results there is only lime, and the
strongest is the cheapest. Lime and
winter weather for getting the biggest
unearned increase from the soil. But
mind you, they will only get out the
plant food that is ready for solution.
1t may not make more than a fair crop.
More lime than the right amount may
force a larger one but generally it does
not pay. That is where extra plant
food comes in, to give a better return
for your labor. Lime up to what the
professors call the limiting factor"
not beyond. Then help out with ma.
nure and phosphates. Then and only
then will these costly additions give
you the best return for the cash in
vestment. That is profit. Winter
weather and common sense give you
all of natures unearned increase and
that plus profit spells prosperity.