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Show HOW TO TREAT ALKALI SOILS Evaporation of Moisture at Surfsce Bring Injurioua Salta to Laval, Injuring Plant. The Kansas Industrialist, published by the agricultural college at .Mary hnttan, coutulna In a recent taaua a brief article on liow to handle alkali soils. It la pointed out lu the first Idaoe that audi crops aa cane and ksfir corn mar be grow n on lands not too badly affected by alkali. It ms that alkali lu any aui) eomes from the subsoil -away rfown dwp, Evaporation Evapora-tion ct aoil moisture at the sur ie la what brings the alkali to,,, level where the main Injury lt"j,laiita happens. If evaporation la prevented, these strong, Injurioua salta will not tome to the aurfuQo, and, rttt th lender plants, then, la one, Vsy to re- claim. And It flon- hjs prtYf-Hon prtYf-Hon Qt IVaporation In three mrys: shading, mulching and keeping the oil the surface welj cultivated. Mulching la practiced in Uie rase of young orch&rda. The young tree, are protected In thla way until they bo-come bo-come large enough to protect them-elvea them-elvea with their own ehade. when the mulch la needed no longer. Straw, leaves or manure may ba uaed to make the mulch. Theae In, volve more trouble and expense than the almpln maintenance of a looae Bu face aoll mulch throughout the dry eaaon. Aa auch a mulch la nces-ary, nces-ary, anyway, to the cultivation of ome garden cropa and hoed field crop, It la an luexpenalvo method of reclamation. Some field cropa, when once eaiab-Halted, eaiab-Halted, will do well on a allghlly alkaline al-kaline aoll. provided a good atand haa been obtained. Thla la true of alfalfa. The alfalfa aeed la eenalilve to "black" alkali and la very likely to be ruined by It. To prevent thla. It la well to ue gypaum when Bowing alfalfa. Thla neutralise the "blurk" alkali and leavea It hartnleaa. Then, when the alfalfa haa grown to a good aland It may live for mnny yeara without a algn of Injury. Then there la the "leaching down" method of reclamation, In which the aoll la kept flooded with water from three dny to a week, when tho alkali salta will be carried deep enough Into the aoll to prevent further Injuryfor a few yeara at leaat. Thla method la not ponalble except where un abundance abun-dance of water la acceaalble. It la uaed In Irrigation dlatrlcia. The final and unlveraal treatment for alkull Holla la underdrainnge by tile. This treatment of a land will remedy all the evils of alkull. Its only drawback la the flmt expense. I'rlvntw persona use the underdraln-age underdraln-age method sometimes, but generally It requires co-operation or assistance from the government to make thla method feasible. When once thla drainage system la built It n.ualns good Indefinitely. . I |
