Show the land doctor uy by vivian shearer my talk about the list last week seems t to 0 have touched off a train of 0 ti thought ought 1 that calls toi for looking in 0 on n the other forms of life that are aie to be found in the soil they are aie all spoken of as the file organisms of 0 the soil As 1 I have we already said plain raw law mineral dirt Is not soil it Is the parent material mate ilal from which soil is developed it becomes soil oil only ly after tt it has become the home af 0 organic life both plant and animal both large and also till ml cio cro each kind each indi vidual bidual lias has its individual job in building its home the soil out of raw parent material the work ft aik oik of each dove dovetails tails into the work of the others it takes the work of all of them to get the job done the plant forms are aie in the great majority animal forms in the minority those that cannot be seen without a microscope are far more moie numerous than those that can be seen with the naked eye As we look them over let us start with the larger sizes and work out way vay on down to the smaller smal lei lets take the animals first til st should we skip tile the coyotes and foxes that sometimes burrow burlow in the ground what about the badgers prairie pi all ie dogs and gophers but now nov it is your soul turn to name a few till we come to the worms and insects of various kinds all of these forms or of life do their part pait in a big way in the development of the soil they pulverize it they nwe move it about and mix it their nork aik oik helps the penetration of air and moisture into the ground they add organic substance by ca candying ryang leaves leases and straw into their burrows even een leave leae their own on bodies to enrich it when lien they die let us take a special look at one particular form of animal life iffe the earthworm they eat a lot of mineral foods which atter passing through their bodies and having been acted upon by the digestive juices make a valuable al contribution to a soil c I 1 I 1 growth on land where they thrive it Is said that enough dirt passes through their bodies each continued on pare page four the land doctor continued from page one year to amount to about 16 tons per aero acre it might be mentioned as a matter of interest that earthworms have lime secreting glands and so they cannot be happy in soils that do not haye plenty 0 at replaceable calcium lime that la Is that have add to any considerable degree have a low ph the job of these forms of animal life Is largely one 0 of preparing the physical condition of the soil boll by loosening it up mixing it lt adding organic matter and assisting in the penetration of air and moisture tho the smaller or cant be seen sizes have i a somo somewhat what different job we will pay them a visit later meanwhile let us once again consider the fact that the soil Is a living thing it was born it lives and unless it Is rejuvenated by the continual thrift and energy ot or the life processes within it it will become weak and a to the owner owner |