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Show CITIZEN THE WEEEJ WE EAT? BD By II. 0. Cowles, analyst Department of Mining and Metallurgical Research, University of Utah, and Intermoutain Station, United States Bureau of Mines Editors note: The following paper, presents, in language, the importance of the mineral fertilizers to agriculture, particularly in Utah. Mr. Cowles is a student whose work has already contributed much to the available knowledge of this .subject. There are few who doubt, or even question the considerable deposits of valuable minerals in Utah and adjacent states. The problem is to utilize them, to enrich the people, to bring in new industries. The Citizen believes that this phase of the question deserves vastly more attention than has heretofore been accorded it. non-technic- This article is presented with the view of of creating a clearer vision of the the two most important industries of this intermountain Empire, namely, mining and agriculture each being dependent on the other for its economic welfare. A great demand is placed on Utahs agricultural products by those in the mining industry much money is spent in the state through the medium of wages and taxes. The direct benefit of this great amount of money in the purchase of Utah products stimulates business in all lines and good will pervades all sections of the state. All enjoy the rewards of rich mines and fertile soil. What is enjoyed today we owe to the conservation and foresight of past generations we may pay this obligation by planning for the welfare of the generations to follow. The first duty is the maintenance of the fertility of the soil. A trip through sections of the south and southeastern parts of the United States, where thirty years ago hill side farming was carried on, now presents a devastated picture of gullies and clay exposures on every hand and is the more convincing evidence that soil conservation is necessary in western farming. It is true that western soils, western methods and conditions are vastly different than those presented in the east still the fundamental principles are the same. Soils which have proven the basis of value for Utah agriculture are well worth the greatest efforts for conservation. The continous removal of mineral salts from the soil affords several problems for research. For example : (a) The loss of mineral fertilizer il in (b) The amount of mineral fertilizer utilized in crop production, (c) The leach made by irrigation waters and lost in run off. (d) The character of the waters used for irrigation and their action on the soil. . Another problem offered, is the correction of excess alkalinity by sulphates. Many alkali soils so corrected are excellent producers and such a problem offers a large area for reclamation which could be converted into profitable holdings. Advance in Both Lines While mining and metallurgy have forged ahead in their special fields of endeavor, namely, with the ferrous and minerals; stock raising and agriculture have made similar advances in animal husbandry and in the combat of insects and bacteria, which have been so destructive to plant and animal life. However, 9 the sources of the means and methods of economically supplying the necessary mineral salts in growing foods have been grossly neglected. This is one of the principle reasons why plant and animal life can not withstand the invasions of the host. Their immunity to disease is be- inter-relati- on sub-so- . de-wateri- ng, 3 al low par and disease once established is difficult to eradicate. Such conditions may be traced to faulty metabolism regardless of the supposed balanced ration. Mineral salts lacking in soils is the inhibiting factor in the production of hardy plants and, in turn, the lack of mineral salts in organic food compounds as they should occur in nature, cuts off the system from the activating principles so necessary to produce correct metabolism. These soluble mineral salts combine with the carbohydrates and proteins of plant life when supplied to the soil and may be called the organo-miner- al food compounds. The correction of these conditions affords a problem whose solution depends on the cooperative effort of the metallurgist, the soil expert and the agriculturist. Their problem is to supply to the soil the mineral constituents necessary to the normal growth of the plant. The rounding out of the cycle in human, animal and plant life requires food so proportioned as to be in equilibrium carbohydrates, proteins and fats combined with organic-miner- al compounds. All metabolic life processes depend on the activating vitamin and mineral constituents of foods.. The basis f lifes achievements depends on the gleanings from the soil. Undernourished Soil Sick Plant life must have chemical and mineral enrichment in the soil where it is to be matured. The selective action of root, forage, or grain crop for some special mineral element necessary in the plants individual life means that when this element is depleted in that particular soil, the yield is dwarfed. One plant may demand iron, another phosphorous, another potassium, or a combination of mineral elements, but an impoverished soil (which has produced crops demanding the same mineral elements and on which similar crops have grown year after year) is devitalized robbed of its humus, its processes of oxygenation are insufficient it is sour and foul the fatigue point has been reached due to undernourishment. Such a condition must non-ferro- us In sending a woman to prison for life for selling liquor, Michigan could have obtained still more publicity by making the commitment on Mothers Day. Milwaukee Journal. -- The saxophone is the only instrument that sounds as well while you are learning to play it as it does afterward. Lawrence (Kan). ' be reflected in growth attempted on such a soil. An undernourished soil is sick the labor and seed used in cropping such a soil becomes a liability. Stock fed from crops grown on such soil lack the vital factors the plant food should have furnished. Their gain in weight is below normal and milk products from such feeding do not contain the butterfat the rich vitamins so essential to child life. Therefore, as a final resort, an attempt is made to establish normalcy in diet by use of an expensive stock tonic, rationed with regular feedings, and with the anticipation that the animals digestive system can convert and absorb crude mineral compounds into the system in the same manner as it would take up natural, soluble, edible formed i nplant growth. There is the fallacy in dependence on tonics. While stock tonic accomplishes a physiological good, a properly fed soil shows a highly profitable yield and keeps down stock feeding costs. A ration fed from the soil under such conditions requires no artificial tonic to produce healthy animals. Burden Falls to Man The decline of all agricultural communities organo-com-poun- ds and their dependent industries (beet factories, etc.) follows the vandalism of the soil. The reason why so many farmers went gypsying in past years was because the old farmstead had been cropped out and new fields promised more so the system of depletion began again with the westward march of agriculture. Nature, however, in her lavishness has reserved for the future economic and physical well being of the race, vast storehouses of limestone and feldspar rock masses. In her own leisurely manner she carries from her hills those enriching elements and they become a part of the soil. Increased population and accompanying food demands have made it imperative for man to reclaim these resources by more rapid methods. The metallurgist must be able to recover the minerals demanded by the soil in such an economic manner that they may be utilized by all agriculturists. The soil expert through his knowledge of the soil content and amount utilized by crop production may be able to direct the most economical replacement of soil nourishment. The agriculturist through hi3 cooperation with the metallurgist and soil expert should reap a profitable financial benefit-thro-ugh the increased yield and the supply of normal foods to humanity. The vast expanse of raw agricultural land is gone. Limitations for new holdings face one on every hand. The time to retain the richness of the land is now by keeping it supplied with the elements necessary for profitable production. It is a plain business proposition quit feeding the soil and she will quit feeding you. |