EXIIALSTIOX OF THE SOIL AND FERTILIZATION OF THE CROP. 440 



leafage, its prolonged life, and its root system, which enables it to seek 

 pup|>lies of food from the subsoil. It is then obvious, that, with these 

 far greater facilities for securing food, clover, even though requiring 

 far more food from both the atmosphere and the soil than does wheat, 

 is adapted to thrive where the more dainty wheat plants would fail. 

 Not only this, but the clover plant, during its growth, accumulates an 

 enormous amount of plant food from the atmosphere and the soil, 

 which is left in the soil by its roots : these, by their decomposition, 

 being sufficient to supply the limited demands for such food liya future 

 crop, as of Avheat. It must not be concluded that such crops as sor- 

 ghum or clover, because growing where other crops fail, are, therefore, 

 not exhausting crojDS ; for, (ju the contrary, few crops remove so much 

 plant io >d from the soil as do these. They must inevitably impoverish 

 the soil sooner or later ; and it is, therefore, of supreme importance 

 that correct ideas shall prevail among our sorghum growers, before it 

 is too late, concerning a matter of such fundamental necessity as that 

 of maintaining the fertility of our lands. Indeed, one of the leading 

 motives which should prompt us in our efforts to produce our own sugar 

 is, that this important commodity is wholly derived from the at- 

 mospliere, and therefore may be produced in indefinite quantities, and 

 for unlimited time, upon our soil, without in any way decreasing its 

 fertility. On the other hand, it is probable that our soils would be- 

 come more productive, provided only that care be taken to return to 

 the soil those constituents which, in the seed, bagasse, leaves, and the 

 scums and the sediments of the sugar, will have been removed from 

 the land. 



The system pursued at Eio Grande, New Jersey, appears in the 

 highest degree judicious. By means of several hundred swine, the 

 entire crop of seed is consumed upon the plantation, and the bagasse 

 is thrown into the pens to be incorporated with the manure ; thus fur- 

 nishing, for the enrichment of the laud, an abundant supply of good 

 fertilizing material. In addition to this, quantities of soa-weed and 

 muck from the adjacent beach are added to the accumulations of the 

 pens. It has been found that the hogs thrive when fed no other food ; 

 and the profit derived from this disposition of the seed and bagasse is 

 estimated as sufficient to enable the company to raise and deliver their 

 cane at the mill entirely free of cost : the sugar and syrup obtained 

 "from the cane costing only the expense of its manufacture. It is esti- 

 mated that one acre of seed, with the bagasse, will prove quite suffi- 

 cient for the production of one hog weighing from 350 to 400 pounds. 

 This estimate appears reasonable, since, as is well known, the sorghum 

 29 



