Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-08-01

from the Bureau of Soils, Washing
! ton, D. c., or from the member of
congress from the district in which
! the county is located. 1t is a valu-
! able bulletin, and should be in the
hands of the farmers and landown-
ers Of the county.
The college follows up the work of
the physical survey by making
chemical analyses of typical samples
of each soil type found in the coun-
ty, believing it important that the
plant food content Of soils should be
known in order to furnish a rational
basis for their Improvement. It is
only by this means that we can de-
termine which Of the plant food con-
stituents are deficient and which are
abundant in the soil. With this in
formation at hand, the farmer can
more intelligently undertake the i'm
provement of his soil by supplying
those elements found to be deficient
as well as by taking steps toward
making the abundant ones available.
In other words, the chemical an
alyses furnish exact information as
to the needs and possibilities Of the
soil from the standpoint of the plant
food it contains. Any system Of
permanent agriculture must be
based to large extent on these con
siderations. - .
It must be remembered, however,
that the chemical composition is
only one of the factors which deter
mines the productivity of a soil.
The soil type, the physical condi-
ton, drainage, structure Of the soil
and subsoil, the cropping system.
etc., must also be taken into con-
sideration. Thus, it may happen that
two soils with approximately the
same chemical composition may
vary greatly in their power to pro-
duce crops, owing to some of these
factors. 1t is, therefore, important
to know the soil type and the vari.
GUS physical conditions influencing
it as we'll as the chemical compost.
ton in order to make Intelligent
recommendation for it's improve
ment.
To make use of the information
contained in these reports with ref
erence to any piece of land one
should first locate the tract of land
on the soil map, remembering that
one inch Of the map represents one
mile, and that one square inch
equals $40 acres. The types are
identified by comparing the colors
on the map with those on the legend
For example, a farm lies four
miles north of Blackshear, along the
public road at Progress school. BY
measuring four inches on the map,
it will be found that the farm begins
at the cross roads, one-fourth of q
mile east Of the school house. The
farmer will know the position of
his land by it's relation to the roads
and streams. Assuming there are
$40 acres in the farm, it will be
represented by one square inch on
the map. By comparing the colors
on this portion of the map with
those of the legend on the margin,
it will be found that the farm con-
sists of Triton sandy loan, Norfolk
fine sandy loan and loamy fine
sand, Plummer sand and fine sand,
and narrow strips of swamp along
the streams. In laying out the farm
the adaptability of the various soils
for different crops should be consid-
cred. The Triton sandy loan and
Norfolk fine sandy loan are best
adapted to general farm crops such
as cotton, corn, oats and peanuts
while the Norfolk loamy fine sand is
best suited for sweet potatoes, to-
bacco, early truck, and cowpeas and
other forage crops. The poorly
drained Plummer soils and the
sWampy areas should be devoted to
pasture.
In the body of the report will be
found descriptions Of the various
types of soil and a discussion of
their crop adaptations with sugges
tons for improvement. The chem
lical report, issued by the Georgia
State College Of Agriculture, gives
the analyses of these soils and sug-
gests methods of management and
fertilizer treatment, based upon
their chemical composition and phys
ical characteristics. These recon-
mendations include building up the
fertility by making use of the natural
resources of the soil and the judi
cious use Of commercial fertilizers
for increasing yields.
The agronomy division fthe col.
lege is conducting field experiments
on the principal soil types of the
state. It is hoped through these ex.
periments to work out system of
soil management and fertilizer treat.
ment best adapted to the various
soil types in the different sections Of
the state.
The soil type influences the fertil.
| izer requirements and determines,
to large extent, the crops that will
do best on any tract of land. For
this reason the soil Investigations Of
| the college are being conducted with
the view of obtaining information re.
garding each soil type. 1t is i'm