40 OREGON FARMER 



fertility. The soil should be seen dry as well as wet as nearly always 

 it becomes darker and richer looking when wet. The darker a soil 

 becomes on wetting the richer it is as a rule. 



Chemical and physical analyses of soils are of service in aiding 

 the scientist in judging fertility. They are of little value to the 

 farmer who cannot interpret them. Unfortunately, chemical 

 analysis cannot show the availability of the plant food contained 

 in the soil. It is chiefly valuable in showing a marked deficiency in 

 the total supply of any important element in soils where some defici- 

 ency is apparent. A physical analysis is more readily interpreted 

 and in most cases is of greater value, as it determines the proportion 

 of the mechanical components in a soil and thus bears immediately 

 on the aeration and drainage and upon the chemical and bacterial 

 activities which have so much to do with the rate at which plant 

 food becomes available. Physical analysis shows also the ease 

 of handling and the crop adaption possibilities of a soil. The 

 interpretation of a soil expert familiar with the soil and other con- 

 ditions in the different localities of the state, is necessary, to make 

 any analysis of the greatest value. The best thing for the newcomer 

 who is in doubt about the fertility, value and use of a soil in which 

 he is interested, is to take with considerable care, pint samples 

 representing the average surface soil to a depth of 10 inches and the 

 average subsoil to a depth of 30 inches, and send these with a complete 

 description of the land, its exact location, topography, previous 

 cropping, sub-strata, etc., to the Soil Department of the State 

 Experiment Station for examination and advice. 



In no case should the farmer fail to make borings with a post 

 hole augur or spade to determine the character of the subsoil, depth 

 to rock, gravel, "soapstone", or other underlying strata presence 

 and character of hardpans, distance to standing water in poorly 

 drained land, etc. There is no man so expert in judging fertility 

 who can estimate it by looking at the surface soil alone. Subsoil condi- 

 tions are seldom indicated by surface appearances. For many forms 

 of production the depth and character of the subsoil is more import- 

 ant than anything else. In Western Oregon the depth of soil and 

 natural drainage are the most important points to be observed, and 

 in Eastern and Central Oregon degree of sandiness, hardpan, and 

 drainage, as indicated by alkali excess. Presence of alkali is readily 

 shown during the summer months by brownish stains or whitish 

 salts by "slick" spots where the soil is badly run together and 

 cracked, or by salt-grass or greasewood and the absence of black sage. 



The physical character of the soil its lightness or heaviness 

 affects farming operations more than any other single feature in 

 ease of soil handling, earliness of seeding and quickness in maturing; 

 as well as in retentiveness of plant food and moisture or the opposite, 

 inclination toward acidity, the kinds of crops best adapted, etc. 

 Hence, the physical qualities should be given close attention in 

 selecting the land. 



The climatic conditions on the individual farm must also be con- 

 sidered. A slight elevation on the long, gently sloping flanks of 



