Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-11-07

to the growth of certain crops. SO
we see at once that the land is the
fundamental resource of mankind
and that through a proper under
standing of it we may by artificial
means charge it's natural character
istics and adaptability and transfer
it from one use to another and make
it an asset instead of a liability.
The question of soil building is,
therefore, a subject worthy of our
most careful study and investigations,
because we cannot establish perma-
nent type Of agriculture unless we
understand all the processes involved
in the economic handling and man.
agemeEt of soils and the mainten-
ance of their fertility on basis
which will make their cultivation
profitble through all the ages yet to
come. If the state, the nation or an
individual had some millions OF dol
lars to invest in building an expert
engineer would be employed to draw
plans and sJperirt tend the construc-
ton. This engineer would have
spent years of his life in acquiring
all the knowledge which engineering
science has brought to light He
would be a Super-eXpert in his line,
understaE ding all the stresses and
strains to which the materials in the
structure would be subjected and
knowing how, through artful brac-
ing, to make the structure safe ard
strong, even though it be reared to a
height of 20, 80 or 40 stories above
the ground. When the building was
completed it would stand as a monu-
ment not only to it's builder but to
1r,hn nd c
money with which to erect it. Indi-
viduals passing by would stop and
look at it's mighty dimensions with
awe and wonder. 1t would in all
probability constitute the show place
of the city in which it was located.
And yet it would be a comparative
ly simple matter to perform an ur
dertaking of this character as COM
pared with discovering, collating and
making known in practical and
| understandable way a few of the
mysterious processes by which the
| soil is able to collaborate with the
| plant and make the earth beautiful
| and fruitful for the benefit of mar
kind. You are quite familiar with
| the fact that we have endowed great
institutions for agricultural science.
Man has always been anxious to build
visible monuments to himself, but
! we have only begun to suspect some
thing about the hidden mysteries of
the soil ard it's relation to civiliza-
ton and the needs of humanity. 1t
will be far more difficult to unravel
the dark and complicated processes
hidden away in the bosom of Mother
| Earth than to determine the stress
and strain to which a piece of fabri-
Gated steel may be subjected. And
yet man, if he is to reach the zenith
ofs his power and abatement, can
only do so by making the earth ever
increasingly fruitful.
So I feel that it is clear to all
thinking men that a more concen-
trated study of chemistry of the soil
| and the means by which plants may
be most economically and adequately
nourished is necessary to the future
welfare of our nation. Happily we
have made some progress in the right
direction. The value and essential re-
| lationships of chemistry to a correct
knowledge of the soil and increased
yields is more widely understood and
appreciated than ever before. The
lessons of the great war have helped
to emphasize and drive home this
truth, and the problems associated
with the high cost of living will GER
tainly tend to stimulate research
along agricultural lines. Moreover,
we have been working for some years
on soil surveys in various parts of
the United States and so a some
what superficial knowledge of many
of our better-known soil types has
been secured. While basic data of
10
cured, the public is not generally
aroused as yet to the essential char
acter of this work and it is only re-
Gently that farmers have begun to
take an interest in this matter. That
a change in this respect is evidenced,
however, is shown by the enthusiasm
with which the cultivation of bright
leaf or flue-cured tobacco has been
undertaken in south Georgia on some
80 900 acres of land on which it has
never been grown before. The soils
best adapted to it's use occur eX-
tensively and comprise various
phases of the Orangeburg sandy loan
and the Triton and Norfolk series.
The fact that it could be profitably
cultivated on such soils was made
known to the farmers of Georgia
through the cooperative soil surveys
conducted by the Georgia State Col
lege of Agriculture and the U. S. bu-
reau of soils. These surveys reveal
the fact that many of our soils pos
sess the physical qualities and other
characteristics necessary to the pro-
duction of a high-grade and quality
of bright-leaf or flue-cured tobacco.
Without this information the counties
in question would not have been able
to engage in the cultivation of to-
| bacco successfully and thus pro-
| tect themselves from the inevitable
! losses which the invasion of the boil
weevil would have brought about.
How simple, wonderful and neces-
sary a thing a little exact and def
mite data becomes in unraveling and
overcoming the perpleXing difficult
| ties by which the agriculture of
| given section of the country may
suddenly be surrounded as a result
| of the infeStation of the territory in
| question by a small and apparently
| insignificant insect. This illustra-
| ton demonstrates more forcefully
| than words can portray the funda-
mental relation of a chemical and
physical soil survey to the progress
of a given community.
| Georgia is a great state, contain
ing approximately $4,000 square miles
and more than 100000 acres of
land varying in height from sea level
to an altitude of 5000 feet. There
are four great soil provinces in this
great commonwealth. First there is
| the coastal plain. covering the lower
half of the state and roughly de-
fined by a line travelling across it
| and terminating along the northern
| line of Muscogee and Richmond coun-
| ties. Next comes the Piedmont
plateau. bounded on the north by
! line running across the lower part
of Polk county and the southern half
of Habersham county. Then there is
| the Appalachian mountain section,
| com nric SING what we know as north