The Carlisle independent., 1920-04-22
PROPER SOIL MANAGEMENT
 FIRST, FERTILIZERS NEXT

Proper condition Of the soil as re- gards drainage, cultivation and humus in the soil must be assured before best crops can be produced either with or without fertilizers is the sub stance of warning to Arkansas far mers by Martin Nelson, Vice-Direc- tor of the Arkansas Experiment Sta tion and Agronomist of the College of Agriculture.
 ''The future of the cotton market is on a precariouS basis" says Mir. Nel- son. Europe is unable to buy the us ual amount of cotton. It is necessary for cotton growers to fortify them selves by increasing the acreage of food and feed crops. There is much evidence that farmers are thinking. Scores of inquiries are coming to the Experiment Station about the use of fertilizers.
 A few people are systematically urging the use of fertilizers as means of increasing crop yields and producing the usual amount of cotton on fewer acres of land. This rec ommendation is alright when other conditions are taken care of, but it is a well known fact that farmers in many localities are planning to use fertilizers under conditions that make a profit impossible. Right here the farmer must examine his own meth ods and the condition of his fields to see that they are just what he should make them. There are a few things that must be fully understood by cot ton growers to avoid disappointment They are as follows:
 1t is a waste of money to a3pl5 fertilizers to crops growing ca land that is poorly drained. It is 2 waste Of money to put fertilizer on lard that has been plowed only two or three inches & is the case in some sa 'tions Of the state. It is waste If money to apply fertilizer to land that has been permitted to form hardpan three or four inches below the surface. It is questionable whether fertilizer will pay on land where the supply of or ganic matter has been almost com pletely used up, leaving the soil in con- dltion where it becomes hard quickly and cannot stand dry weather. These conditions must be corrected before one can expect good results either with or without fertilizers. In this day and age when good tillage imple- ments can be had and the poor re- suits coming from bad practices are understood, the practice of blowing only two or three or perhaps four inches deep should be abandoned com pletely and no one should think of raising crops on an average soil where land is plowed less than five or six inches deep. The great mistake of blowing shallow has been driven home to thousands of our people all over the state, and many of these people who were blowing three inches deep only few years ago are how blowing eight or ten inches deep and do not hesitate 10 say that they are positive that t pays them well and they can not see why they ever did blow land a. shallow as three or four inches.
 One should use some degree of caution in beginning to blow deeper. To turn mp TWO or four inches of sub soil that has not been disturbed by .he plow before. should be done with eation. especially when blowing in the spring. It is best to blow about one inch deeper each year in the case Of spring blowing until one gets down to the depth that he expects to follow from then on. In case of fall blowing one may blow up as much as three inches of subsoil and let it lie exposed to the weather over winter. Another way of safely stirring the soil deeper immediately is to follow the surface blow with a subsoiler, thereby break ing up the subsoil without turning it CT top. T. should be borne in mind that we must have considerable depth of soil for plants to grow in before we can make a profit from the applica- tion of fertilizer.
 '.The presence of a reasonable sup ply of vegetable matter in the soil is absolutely necessary for the growth of good crop. It is impossible to grow profitable crops on land that is impoverished in vegetable matter. Or ganic matter should be supplied by us- ing manure or by blowing under crops that can be grown conveniently for the purpose, such as rye, COW peas, soy beans, velvet beans, vetches or clover.
 "We believe in the use of commer- cial fertilizers but wish to make the warning very clear that commercial fertilizers cannot offset bad drainage, lack of humus in the soil and poor con- dition of the soil resulting from very shallow blowing. These must come first because satisfactory crop growth requires it regardless of the use of commercial fertilizers. Farmers should so manage their soil that when