THE SOIL AS AN ASSET 227 



radical bases turned into "soluble salts" be- 

 fore they can be utilized by plants. 



What if it were true that the weathering 

 process is not necessary? What if it were true 

 that ordinary potash and phosphorus are 

 capable of entering into solution in sufficient 

 strength to feed plants as fast as plants could 

 make use of this mineral te plant food '"? 



Such is actually the fact if one may have 

 confidence in the results obtained in experi- 

 ments by the Bureau of Soils chemists. 



Furthermore, these experiments seem to es- 

 tablish the fact that the absorptive powers of 

 the ordinary soil are such that no matter how 

 much soluble salts in the form of commercial 

 fertilizers is added the strength of the solution 

 present in the soil is always constant. It is 

 beyond the power of the farmer to change the 

 balance of the plant food solution which Na- 

 ture herself establishes and maintains inexor- 

 ably. 



Here is a simple experiment illustrating the 

 point. Take a sample of any farm soil, and 

 extract its soluble salts by agitating the soil 

 in distilled water. Heat the water if you 

 choose, let it remain in contact with the soil 

 grains an hour, 10 hours or 100 hours. Then 



