OCR Text |
Show When Soils Cease to Produce The trouble with soils when they cease to produce as they did when new is not that elements of plant food are actually exhausted from the soil, but the necessary 'force for the liberation are exhausted. One of these forces is bacteria. It i3 esti mated that in the common soil there are 150,000,000 bacteria to the ounce These bacteria must have for their food humus, then they will liberate food for the growth of plants. To be a good farmer one needs to grow egumea and other cover crops plants to turn under for humus, and to encourage en-courage these beneficial bactor.a to perform their functions in the soil |