New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1919-01-01
KEEP YOUR FARM YOUNG.

AT the present time we hear much
talk about increasing farm production
Taking the country over, how we are
going to do ite Are we going to dc
pend on opening up new lands hither
to unused for agricultural purposess
Hardly practical. True, this sort of ar
rangement would enable us to increase
production temporarily but the time
will come when we have no new lands
to open up. In the long run we shall
have to depend upon the land which
is already under the pillow.
This means that to secure the desired
results we must figure out better, WAYS
OF handling our land We cannot 90 on
indefinitely raising wheat, corn, and
oats with a little rye or barley thrown
III without draining our soils of very
important plant foods. We hear a great
deal about the worn out farms of orr
eastern states which are being reclaimed
at the present time. This is slow and
expensive process. It is far easier and
cheaper to keep land up in good con
dltion than to reclaim it after it has
been cropped to death. Without doubt
some farms in this section are approach
ing this worn out state but need never
reach it because we are able to profit
by the mistakes of our neighbors in
the east.
One OF the most important plant
foods and one which is most easily lost
from the soil is nitrogen. In addition
to being used in the growth of the
plant and being removed with the crop
it is lost in the drainage water. Some
thing must be done to replace this nj
trogen or the succeeding crops will suf-
fer. This need is supplied in part by
the use of manure, blowing down weeds,
corn stalks, and stubble and by the use
of commercial fertilizers. Corn stalks,
straw, and stubble, unless infected with
disease should never be burned, since by
burning, the valuable nitrogen which
they contain is set free in the air
where it cannot be used by plants. Nj
trogen secured in commercial fertilizers
is very expensive and the use of such
fertilizers is not recommended since
we have cheaper ways of securing the
same results.
The owner of a quarter section of
land is also the owner of many thou
sand pounds of free nitrogen since the
air above his farm is almost so per cent,
nitrogen. Since plants cannot use free
nitrogen the problem resolves itself
into one of getting this nitrogen into
a form which the plants can use. The
answer is easy. Use legumes such as
the clovers, alfalfa, soybeans, cowpeas
or vetch. Any Of these win do the
trick if they have been inoculated with
the proper bacteria These bacteria,
whose presence is shown by the little
nodnies or knots on the roots of the
plant, gather nitrogen from the air in
the soil and fix it in form which can
be used by succeeding crops after the
iegume crop has been plowed under
However this is not all, for the decay
ing plants put the soil is much better
condition, making it work better.
This is one way to keep your farm
Young. A part of the farm should be
left in some legume crop each year as
part of your regular crop rotation.
Results will be most pleasing after you
have tried this plan for few years.
You will build up store of plant food
which will show itself in greatly in
creased yields. No doubt phosphorus
fertilizers can be used to good advan-
tage on nearly every farm in the coun-
~ but for the present, the supply of
nitrogen and organic matter in the soil
is the pressing need
The Farm Bureau will be glad to as
sist you in planning rotations and Sc
curing seed. If notified in time the
Bureau will be able to get pure Gull
tures to sow. The United States De,
partment is cooperating in this work
Eby furnishing the cultures to those WI
wish fo use them.