St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1921-03-26
Why the Soil Deteriorates
In Spite OF Commercial
Fertilizers.
DRAINAGE HASTENS
ODECOMPos1TION
Other Soil Problems and
Value of Glover and
Legumes.

/ "Hogging" off or grazing down the
crops with live ,tock is recognized as
methods Of general farming. In this
drainage plays very important part
In addito to previously mentioned
advantages of drainage. The chic.
difficulty in using the grazing or
foraging system is the damage done
to the soil if tramped by livestock
when the ground is wet, for thereby
the soils, especially clays, are ..pud-
! died" and the crop is considerably
wasted by tramping into the ground.
With good drainage such damage is
prevented, and the stock can be put
in the fields very quickly after rains.
| | quoted statements in my fast
art Gle concerning the need for pro-
tein food (of which the velvet bean
is an important one), to supplement
sweet potatoes fed to the livestock.
Here is a very important exception to
those statements when the potatoes
! are fed in the field, as set forth by
DR.. w. H. Dalrymple in Modern
Farming":: Eve find the sweet pO-
tate vines are rather rich in prote n,
the last fifteen or eighteen inches OF
the vine running high in this ingre-
| dient, even higher than alfalfa, and
/ / think the explanation OF TIL the ..aFge-
| returns that we have had at this
station in hogging off sweet potato
fol n hn ~ 1y in ha
| fact that the hogs eat good many
Of the v-nes, especially the tende-.
tips that are rich in protein" This
statement made by so careful and
! stinguished an authority gives an
enhanced conception of the value Of
the sweet potato for stock feed.
The chief agricultural advantage
Of the South is its ability to produce
crops throughout the winter and
provide continuous grazing for stock.
The sweet potato, velvet bean, cow
peas, chufas, corn and rape are sue
ceeded by the winter grains and Glow
ers, which carry stock on to the feed
ing season of spring and summer
| crops, Of which the sorghum and
coWpeas are the most important. 1t
is this continuous succession of feed
ing crops which enable the Southern
farmer to produce stock feed to be
fed in the field more cheaply than
e sewhere. This system of farming
reduces the labor cost to the mini
mum, and as the stock do as well
as when fed in the feed-lot this is
the kind of farming which the farm
er should strive to engage in. But
to do so he must get his soil in con-
dition to raise the succession Of crops
required to make the "hogging" or
grazing system a success. Drainage
is the Indispensable condition to as
surance of crops and only by drain
age can the soil be gotten into a
high state of fertility and so main
tanned.
Drainage is necessary for the win
ter crops, because it conserves mois-
ture and promotes soil fertility.
will Illustrate this chiefly by quota
tions from United States agricultural
experts concerning two most import
ant winter-grown crops, oats and
crimson clover.
Soils for Oats, and Drainage.
The soil for oats should be rea
sonably fertile and should hold
moisture well, as this crop requires
a large quantity of water and may
be severely injured by drought. =
Let the reader remem Der what was
said in previous articles to the effect
of drainage as a conserver Of soil
moisture The soil must not be wet,
but moist A well fertilized sandy
or sandy loan soil will generally
prove more satisfactory, particularly
if it is well filled with humus, so
that it's moisture-holding capacity is
high. Good drainage is essential,
however, as winter killing is most
likely to occur on poorly drained
land Rust and other diseases are
also most severe on low, poorly
drained areas y
Drainage and Preparation for Grim
son Glover.
Crimson clover can be grown
successfully on almost any type Of
soil if it is reasonably rich, well
drained, and supplied with organic
matter and the proper inoculating
bacteria 2 1T succeeds well in the
humid reg; ;ons4 near the Gulf OF
Mexico. .Crii1son clover has been
an important factor in increasing
yields N soils that have been abus-
ed, but it is not crop for land which
is naturally very poor. It does not
do well on rough, newly cleared
areas, raw subsoil, hard, dry clay, or
@terile sand: For .s,ich soils soy
beans, cowpS rs and Xel1et beans are
better suited and sh6d1d be used for
the first three or four years until
crimson clover can be successfully
grown. Crimson clover can be made