The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-05-15
USE HUMUS AS
SURE REMEDY FOR
SANDY GROUND
The Soil is Vast Workshop in
Which Billions of Tiny Germs
Called Bacteria are Working
TO Bring About the Max
ing OF Plant Food.

Cwritten for the United States School
\ Garden Army.)
You have often heard of soils so
poor that they would scarcely grow
hill of beans Generally such a soil
is good deal like a sand bank. It
is Light in color and is made up of
hrre sandy particles
Such soils have several faults when
you try to grow garden crops in
them The chief faults are the fact
that water runs through so quickly
the plant roots suffer in dry weather
and the fact that there is very little
plant food present for the roots OF
the plants to absorb. Now, plants
are like humans in this respect-to
grow well they need continual sup
ply of water and food.
The one Important way to improve
a sandy soil is to add humus to it. AS
compared with ordinary, rich, dark
codored garden soils, the great lack OF
these sandy soils is hurnus
So the first thing to do to improve
"a sandy soil is to add humus and
woTE the soil over and over again to
get the hunus thoroughly mixed
with the particles of sand When
this is done the soil will hold mois-
| ture better, because the humus acts
as a sponge in catching and holding
the water as it filters through the
| SOIL So one great step VIII be taken
in making the garden more produc-
| tive
/ The plant or animal materials
| leaves, lawn clippings, manures,
compassionate you add to the soil
i to make humus are generally not in
\ condition IN hsn ITaYno3i1f al
\ plant roots For the SOIL is not
simply a mixture of fine rock particles
| and dead leaves 1t is rather a vast
workshop i'm which billions of tiny
\ germs. called bacteria, are working to
1 bring about the making Of plant
| food EVEN the wisest scientists dc
| not pretend To understand all about
how it happens, but they assure Us
| that the humus is the basis of exist
ence of a, large proportion of these
helpful germs
| The practical lesson from all this
| study of the bacteria in the soil is
! that it is we'll worth while SO to real
the land that these germs viii bt
free To develop under as favorable
conditions as possible They live il
dead plant or animal forms or exc
cutions, SO these must be furnished
They require oxygen, 50 the sol
must be drained and titled The!
do not thrive in acid soils. SO 1imt
must sometimes be applied Ii
4 short, the better the agricultural
methods, the more completely cal
these tiny organisms carry on thei
ben eficent-
May crops are planted every yea
| on clay soils which have not 77tel.
been used for gardens To insure sue
| cess, follow these Suggestions
L Be careful not to work the sol
: when it is too wet Wait until II i
dry enough TO crumble between tn
fingers.
| 2 If wen-rotted stable manure
available, pillow in or spade. in a goo
dressing of, it Or turn under a laye
of old leaves or almost any kind o
, vegetation that you can get
} 5. After the garden is p1owed o
spaded, and before it is narrowed o
raked, spread lime evenly over tn
surface If it is line carbonate, spreas
J it on to a thickness of at least hal
. an inch Then work the lime thor
, oughly into the soil
i. 4. After the lime is thorough
reked in. spread on a light dressin
Of commercial fertilizer ad rake it il
Or, il preferred, work in a 1ittl
: commercial fertilizer in the bottom c
| each drill or furrow just before SOW
ing the seed
Il s. Select these crops for sue
9 soils: Lettuce. Swiss cland, swee
corn, beans and tomatoes. The roc
| crops are not likely to do well unit
| the garden has been worked over
season or more and a large amour
d / of hunus has been thoroughly WORK
ed into it