Show raw making 11 money conall M VJ on the farm arm II 11 maintaining fertility by G V GREGORY author of ot home course in modem modern agriculture copyright 1903 1909 by american press pr VOI 01 uh all laula lauds need tua tile dral nuie ma 2 but there are none 0 on 11 alku alb the em of m maintaining fertility 1 not an important one I 1 erti fertility lity of the land in its brond broad eat est sense means its ability to produce lare lame crops one of 0 the tb important factora factors in flu e acing ft ii 1 the amount of I 1 plant ilant f food cod C od in th IN noil soil ren linie car bon hyll hydrogen rogen oxygen calcium ilag neelum tron iron sulphur nitrogen BLU MILL ill and I 1 are necessary to the groath or of planta plants k 1 roni 00 to OB DS per t i nt of the dry matter of plants ii 1 made up tip of carbon oxygen and by drogin drog n blikh ahli tire obtained froni from air md d water or of the others only three nitrogen nod and pota salum slum are used in budi such large quantities that tho the supply in n the bolt soil 1 im likely to become exhausted these three are tire usually spoken of ne its the plant foods i amount of plant food in soil soils thase plant foods are present in laiying amounts in all till soils in many casee cases it li is necessary net eBsary to t increase the supply by the use of commercial fer ter tili the real need of most soils how ver la Is not the addition of more of these materials but the judicious use of those already there it Is esti chilt there Is enough phosphor ui ut in the upper dereu inches of soil li 1 a the mississippi valley to raise a u hundred bundred bubbels or of corn to the aero acre every year for sixty yeara years and enough alum to last COO CM years at the ame rate much of this phosphorus zd and potassium la is combined with other materials in nuch much a forni form that it la is un on available for the use or of tho we plante one of the principal problems of the farmr farm then la Is to make this ON stored to ter wily ATAl available lable one of the moat most effective a means of doing this Is by keeping tho the soil oil plen supplied with humus humus Is 1 the name given to decaying organic matter in tap soil it la Is the humus that gives the dark rich color to solla soils tt leave leaves that brown streak in the furrow that farmers have long regarded aa as an indication of fertility blumus the oil anti a spongy texture and greatly increases Inc if its water holding capacity it ulso makes the boll soil lighter and nd warmer bolla soils which contain largo large amounts mount s 0 of f humus do not bake or become e cloddy loddy en easily lly they are me mel low and respond r readily to cultivation humus 10 ont wins alna consider considerably ablo nitrogen aad and aurnt furnishes bei a home for bacteria I 1 which it bild id in maki making ng plant food avail able certain acids are also formed ID in the decaying of bucu that aid in making the phosphorus and lum avail ble ible it might almost be aid that the chief problem of main fertility Is the problem of keepin keeping ing the BOH moll supplied with humus maintaining the th humus supply provably bly the best v 1 y of maintain lag ing this humus supply lj Is by ohp liberal use ue of barnyard manure the surplus straw should be used for bedding so aa all to save all the liquid portion and add to the bulk of the manure shred ded fodder Is also good for this pur pose the manur should be harlod 7 flo III OP OF to the land as fast as formed heri hen it 0 decay in the barnyard barnard of the nitrogen li 1 lost and rains tailing failing tin it ali alo 1 wash ash out other ele the manuro manure 1 I 1 reader la Is an implement that should be v found in tiery ery barnyard lar nyard the manure can be loaded direct from the stabat to tile 1 spreader tp reader nt all of the year and spread in an at even layer upon the th field ith a spreader the manure can be made to cover twice as much ground so 0 o that the tile whole bole farm can bf be gone over oftener NN bale barnyard manure la Is edly one of tho the beit medna of imin milo kalning fertility lit it cannot always atay be had many farmer 4 because of their Im location lation near markets which aich demand certain crops find it more profitable to supply crops than to rat rala rate e live stock other grain farmin farmans because it Is lesi less cond confining ning buch far farm era ers mut have some method or at main taming fertility which doe q not depend primarily upon manure th the value of cloar the best substitute for or manure ts 1 clover clover lits 11 an abundance of nitrogen toe the not rapidly need used ol 01 the three essential reent lal elem sitta three fourths of the th air Is 11 made up f nl at trogen clover and other leguminous crop 8 are able to get nitrogen from this source bj by meana means of bacteria which live on their root roots these bacteria change the ni nitrogen of the air into nl a form la which it can be usel used by the plant plants rully oily one third of the a nitrogen collected ly I 1 y the clover plant Is left in the noil moll in the root roots and stubble one rop crop of closer cloer in a four year rotation will furnish nearly enough nl at u roen fr A r the r ri three crops in in the rotation I 1 1 his 1 at cheaper forin form of at obtaining nitrogen than by purchasing it U in fertilizers nt at 10 to 15 nuts cots a pound it la Is much more brodt ible able to kei kep 1 the supply fairly coni tant by tie the continue continued use of a ro to tation with legume than to add a large ari amount lit at one in the forin form of I 1 nitrates la is readily soluble e and ettry rain somo of it out of iho the boll soil thia is not truo true of the other essential es elements to any marked extent to liberal a supply of nitro ga agn n nt at one limp time tends also to promote too rapid leaf growth nt at the expense of fruit or grain 1 the stubble and roots of the clover together ether with the cornstalks and other rubbish III do a great deal to keep up tip the humus s supply in addition to 1 fla IV allu DER this if it no manure at nil all la available some humus way have to bo be supplied from some other source this Is espe dally trie ir if tho soil poll la is naturally poor in humus one of the simplest Imp lest ways to supply this la Is by green this meana means the turning under of a green crop such as clover or some other legume this supplies both humus and nitrogen the best time to plow under uch such a crop la is in the fall so that it will have time to decay before spring A large mass of material plowed under in the spring checks the upward movement of moisture and Is liable to make the land our sour another method of adding to the bu hu mils mus supply Is by mowing a crop of clover about haying time ond and letting it lie ile on the ground the second crop can be cut in the same way or used f fall feed or for seed clover sick soil after clover has been grown for it c considerable onside rable length of time especially if much has been plowed under for green manure the land Is 13 liable to become I 1 clover sick this Is caused by an excess of add acid in the soil this add acid can be neutralized ne by the applina tion of ground limestone caustic or quicklime Is not RO so good as limestone since it burns bums up large quantities of humus and in general Is too violent in its action lime has another addan tage on clay soils in that it causes the particle to adhere together in larger masses bus thus making the soil more porous the usual rate of application la 13 from twenty to forty bushels to the acre with the application of or lime ns as well aa as with the adoption of any other new ne method it Is best to try it on a email mail a scale first then if it proves profitable its use can be extended the jullious jud klous lIous use of clover or some other legume will effectively solve the humus and nitrogen problem pro blema there remains the quei tiou of the potassium and phosphorus supply clover also aids with there these the humus formed from it helps to dissolve the unavailable materials and prepare them for the uia of the plant As stated before there Is dough enough potassium la to the upper seven inches of the average prairie soil oil to last GOO OW years under the most intensive alture culture ul ture and enough chorus for fifty years clover changes this seven inches into twice as many feet clover roots go down ten or a dozen feet or farther alfalfa roots go 90 down twenty feet or more these deep roots brine bring up minerals from the lower layers of soil and leave them where the shallower rooted grain crops et can ket thoi making fertility available gypsum or land plaster has a tur cor st lerable effect in to making and phosphorus available applied at the rate cf or COU GOU pounds per acre it t will ill often increase crop told cm con bildt it also bis his a beneficial ft er elect on aik oik ill bolls sous uw use one or two to bushel to the acre the most effective way ay if t making PI potassium or 4 alti ulti tit cr er plant foods ural available lable 14 1 by il frequent and anti thorough cul t avati 11 the noil moil une fine lid ind mellow f fi I 1 lors or the tile I 1 bm cal processes by chiti locked up pliant food Is made available it must le be remembered homeer that the faster these materials are lib it caled the sooner will the supply be come N aien hen rotation with alth leal legumes loles tillage and nod the application of lime and gypsum no longer produce satisfactory results it Is a eign that there la Is a laok of potassium or or both in the soil soll chos li Is more liable to become scanty la in amount since the supply la 13 smaller Ilon emeal and ground phosphate rock are the bl bet forms in which to apply this material the former Is quicker in its action but considerably more expensive potassium luto Is usually bought tn in the forca form of or su lobate |