392 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



December, 1906 



Renovation of Worn -Out Soils 



OVERTY in soil may be due to poor tex- 

 ture, unfavorable structure, lack of humus, 

 deficiencies in the amount, form, or propor- 

 tion of plant food, and to the presence of 

 harmful mineral and organic compounds. 

 With the exception of nitrogen, most soils, 

 even those that are very poor, usually contain an abundant 

 supply of plant food, though sometimes other elements are 

 lacking or are present only in those forms that plants can 

 not use. 



To increase fertility we must improve texture and add 

 plant food and humus. Tillage may do much to improve 

 texture, but tillage alone will not suffice. We must add 

 humus. In doing so we add plant food, and make the soil 

 more permeable to air and water. 



There are three general methods of supplying humus to 

 the soil. The first and best is the addition of stable manure. 

 When properly managed it adds large quantities of both 

 plant food and humus. But manure is not always available. 

 When such is the case, the best thing to do is to make it 

 available. Raise more forage, keep more stock, and make 

 more manure. But this takes time and capital, so that other 

 means are sometimes necessary. When stable manure is 

 not to be had, we may plant crops for the purpose of turn- 

 ing them under, thus adding large quantities of humus at 

 comparatively little cost. Plowing under green crops is 

 called green manuring. Under certain conditions this is 

 an excellent practice. Crops adapted to this purpose and 

 the method of using them are discussed farther on. 



A third method of adding humus is to grow crops like 

 clover and timothy. These crops are usually left down for 

 two years or more. During this time their roots thoroughly 

 penetrate the soil. Old roots decay and new ones grow. 

 When the sod is plowed up, more or less vegetable matter 

 is turned under. This, with the mass of roots in the soil, 

 adds no small amount to the supply of humus. Another 

 advantage from the cultivation of clovers and alfalfa is 

 found in the fact that they are deep-rooted plants, and 

 when their roots decay they leave channels deep into the 

 earth, thus aiding in the absorption of rains and letting in 

 air to sweeten the soil. 



Properly handled, stable manure is by all means the best 

 remedy for poverty of the soil. Very few farmers handle 

 manure so as to get even as much as half the possible value 

 from it. There is probably no greater waste in the world 

 than in connection with the handling of manure by the 

 American farmer. Five-eighths of the plant food in manure 

 is found in the liquid part of it. This is usually all lost. 

 Not only is this the case, but the solids are piled beside the 

 barn, frequently under the eaves, where rains wash away 

 much of their value. Fermentation in these manure piles 

 also sets free much of the nitrogen to escape into the air. 



W. J. Spelman, of the Department of Agriculture, states 

 that he has seen few farmers who had no apologies to make 

 for their methods of handling manure. He has seen one, 

 however, who believed he was getting every particle of value 



from the manure it is possible to get. The farm in question 

 was a dairy farm, and the methods used are not applicable 

 to all types of farms. The cows were kept in their stalls the 

 year around. Every day in the year they had either silage 

 or green stuff from the fields. They also had enough dry 

 hay to keep the manure from being too washy, and what 

 grain they needed. Behind each row of eight cows was a 

 ditch eighteen inches wide and eight to ten inches deep. This 

 ditch was cleaned thoroughly every morning after milking 

 hours. After the cleaning, a small quantity of wood ashes 

 was sprinkled in the ditch to dry it; then a layer about 

 one and one-half inches deep of rotten sod or leaf mold was 

 added. Next morning the contents of the ditch were lifted 

 into a cart by means of forks, and the cart went immediately 

 to the field where the manure was scattered. In exception- 

 ally bad weather the ditch was sometimes left for two days. 

 This farmer always had a place to put manure. 



This method may not be applicable to all dairy farms, 

 but it is the ideal to be followed as closely as circumstances 

 will permit. If there is no sod on which to haul manure in 

 wet weather, it is well to have a cemented pit under cover, 

 in which to place the manure until it can be hauled to the 

 field. When the ground is frozen in winter, manure can be 

 spread on almost any field. Generally speaking, it should 

 be spread on the field next to be plowed. The above method 

 of handling manure gets both liquids and solids on the land. 

 If any leaching occurs, let it be into the soil where the leach- 

 ing will do the most good. Recent investigations indicate 

 that when liquid manure is applied to the soil, the plant food 

 in the manure is absorbed and held in the soil, and is not 

 immediately washed out if not made use of by the plants. 



The practice of plowing under green crops as manures is 

 not very general, and we do not know as much as we should 

 like to know of the value of this method. Some crops do 

 not thrive when sown on land into which a green crop has 

 recently been plowed. This is particularly true of those 

 crops that like a solid seed bed, or which are sensitive to 

 acids. When a heavy green crop is plowed under, it goes 

 through a fermentation not unlike that which occurs in a 

 barrel of kraut, resulting in the formation of a considerable 

 amount of acid. 



Alfalfa is particularly sensitive to acids, and it also re- 

 quires a compact seed bed. It is unwise, therefore, to green- 

 manure the land just before seeding to alfalfa. The cereals, 

 particularly wheat and rye, do not do well after a green 

 manure. On the other hand, potatoes and corn are not 

 seriously injured by green manures. In fact potatoes are 

 benefited by them, since the resulting acid condition of the 

 soil prevents the development of potato scab. This, of 

 course, is a consideration of positive value. 



Generally speaking, when it is desirable to plow in a 

 green crop before fall-sown crops, it should be done a month 

 or six weeks before planting time, and the soil should be 

 harrowed frequently or otherwise compacted. A few good 

 rains will wash out most of the acids and aid in compacting 

 the soil. The acid may also be counteracted by adding lime. 



