The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1947-11-28

of all known phosphate rocks in the United States.
Phosphate unlike nitrogen hydrogen and carbon which
provided by air and water, comes only from the
earth and when taken from the earth by cropping, must
be replaced by if the fertility of the soil is to be
retained. Large scale development of these Rocky
Mountain phosphates is contemplated under the Murray
MVA bill, and the eva proposal
To the uniformed this may pose the question:
whats that got to do with me?" The is
everything soil studies the past hundred years.
and particularly during the last two decades have
shown that when soils lack minerals then that lack of
minerals shows in the livestock fed on the products
of those soils Going step further-also shows
in human beings who obtain their nourishment from
either the plant animal products of such Soils In
tensive studies have proven that many human diseases
and widespread human physical degeneracy, as with
animals directly traceabe to the lack of sufficient
minerals in the soil.
Pointing up the Importance of soil minerals-the
critical five percent which not provided by air
water-a recent study by the IVA 1.-THE Nations Stake
in Soil Minerals, states:
"Air and water provide 95 per cent the elements
nature uses to make the food eat, both vegetable
and animal. These air and waterprovded elements
are carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen There
plenty of air; rainfall and irrigation provide water
But, as the pig and the know well, not all soils
contain the mineral elements that essential to
growth-to life
Neither nature get along without
calcium, phosphorus potassium, magnesium iron sui
phur, manganese zinc "copper" boron, iodine, cobalt
sodium, and chlorine, all of which have been proven
essential to either vegetable animal life or both
Lacking a suffciency one or more of those min
erals especially calcium and phosphorus plants exhibit
hunger signs that familiar the plant phvsi-
oog1st as are the symptoms of human deficiency
eases-rickets, scurvy, peagra-to the physician"
Further emphasis is laid in the IVA booklet on
studies which have been made by the British in India
where wide contrasts in physical animals and
humans available. These studies have shown that
throughout southern the soils are acuev deficient
or phosphorus-the phosphorc acid of the for
age being frequently only third as in good
SOILS Ihls has resulted in diminuative stature and
greater susceptibility to disease, with animals and
human However, in northern India, where the soils
are especially rich in phosphorus and other minerals
tne people are extraordinarily large is livestock
Plant life has far more mineral food value than the
plant life of southern India. Studies by British Amer
that the rate of growth of the young percentage
of fertility and the health of animals directly propor
tonal to the mineral content of the soil
EXHAUSTING OUR SOIL $500.
Bearing the above in mind it is understandable why
American soil scientists look with alarm at the rate
Americans exhaustng the mineral content
SOIL IN most parts of the nation. Professor Scarseth
University Of Wisconsin agronomst, in testifyng for
S. 1851 see story elsewhere in this issue) has
shown that phosphoric acid is being drained from
American soils at rate of AS million per annum
while replacement is being made of only million
tons which represents total plant production
acity of phosphate fertilizer.
Scientific studies have proven that it takes 25
to feed every American-that if every citizen had
sufficient diet it would take 35 acres per person
provided soil fertility remained constant. However
our soil fertility particularly in producing cereals
neWa1 of Drce controls NAV not he authorized