Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1924-07-17
Soil Building

"A good mechanic has good
tools. A successful farmer takes
care of his soil. Therefore, soil
building is the first and foremost
subject that engages his atten-
ton. The successful farmer s
capital is in the fields he cult
Yates.
When the farmer learn how to
increase the producing power of
soils by methods that will allow
good margins for profits from
crops produced, he will be in
position to make farming more
profitable industry, says the edi-
tor Of Farming an agricultural
monthly.
We should bear in mind that
most of the soils of the South
need humus, that the best way
to supply organic matter is to
grow legumes and to plow them
under, and that this method en-
ables the farmer to utilize for
succeeding crops the nitrogen
which is drawn from the air by
these plants.
Legumes-such as soy beans,
COW peas, clover, tc.,-should
have permanent place in crop
rotation. They are soil improv-
ing crops and furnish feed for
livestock--and the best system of
farming includes livestock in its
program.
Where farming in the South
IS not self-supporting industry,
it is mainly the fault of the
farmer. Farming can be made
to pay through a system of corn,
legumes, COWS, hogs and cotton.
By turning under green crops
and feeding forage and grain to
livestock and returning the ma
nure to the fields in which the
crops are grown, a steady in
crease in the producing power
of soils will be assured, as well as
increased profits from cotton or
other money crops"
Our soils, by reason of the
manner of their formation, our
climatic conditions and system
of agriculture. are at present
greatly in need of more organic
matter, says T. S. Blue, agrono-
mist, Clemson College of Agri-
culture. Continuing Mr.. Blue
says:
Too long have we practiced
the continued removal of all
crops produced, which can only
result in the soil being depleted
of its supply of available plant
food. If we are to continue to
produce crops economically we
must increase the supply of or
ganic matter in our soils. In prac-
tically every case the solution will
be the planting of more legumin-
Gus crops for soil building, as
any system Of farming which has
as its object the economical pro-
duction of crops must have some
provision for the return to the
soil of at least a part of the
plant food removed.
Despite the many handicaps the
farmer may labor under,
scarcity OF leguminous crops
adapted to his local conditions is
not one Of them. The farmers
of no other section of this coun-
try have such a variety of soil
building crops from which to Sc
lect. The corn belt farmer prac-
tically has to sacrifice a money
crop in order to plant a soil
building crop. 1t is not neces-
sary for us to do this, however,
for with our climatic conditions
there are various legumes which
may be planted rs companion or
catch crops, and which will not
interfere with our regular crop
ping system.
Soil building or soil mainte-
nance should come first in the
plans of the farmer. Food crops
and cotton, properly rotated,
along with hogs and cattle, will
build up and maintain our lands,
The farmers slogan today
should not be how many acres
can / plant, but how much can
! harvest from each acre. There
in lies prosperity,