37o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
May 25 
Part V. 
We now wish to discuss the humus or 
organic matter that is found in the soil. 
Naturally, if we accept the theory ad¬ 
vanced as to the formation of the soil 
out of the melted rocks, we must admit 
that all the organic matter must have 
been formed since the rocks were ground 
up. The nitrogen in the soil, too, must 
have all been placed there, since the in¬ 
tense heat that formerly existed would 
have driven it off. There was no organ¬ 
ized matter on earth until life appeared 
—life of plant or animal. Vegetable life 
came first. Moss or lichens first appeared, 
not only aiding in the breaking up of 
the rocks, but drawing substance from 
the air, and thus at their death and de¬ 
cay. adding that much bulk to the soil. 
As time went on, other and more rapidly 
growing crops appeared, and this process 
of growth and decay went on faster and 
faster. We must remember that, of the 
entire weight of most plants, not over five 
per cent are of mineral or soil origin. The 
remaining 95 per cent really comes from 
the air. In growing, the plant fixes and 
solidifies the carbon and other gases of 
the atmosphere. Of course, when this is 
burned, it again passes into gases by 
combustion ; but when the plant simply 
flies and falls on the ground, or is plowed 
into the soil, instead of burning quickly, 
it slowly decays and adds more or less to 
the bulk of the soil. For ages, this growth 
and decay have been going on, and this 
humus or vegetable matter has been 
added to the original ground-up rock, 
both by decaying on the surface, and by 
sending roots down through it. 
Animal life, too, has contributed vast 
stores of this organic matter to change 
the character of our soils. As we have 
seen, the first animal life was of a very 
simple nature, growing higher as the 
earth became more distinctly separated 
from the water ; but from the first, ani¬ 
mals by consuming vegetable or plant 
life, changed it into new forms and in 
time died and gave back to the earth 
their bodies as fresh organic matter. 
And the animals do more than plants, 
because they return to the earth as ma¬ 
nure the food taken into their systems 
which is not needed to sustain life. 
Worms, ants and burrowing animals, 
too, have for ages carried this organic 
matter deep down into the soil. 
And so, for years, this life of plant and 
animal, has been going on mixing the 
organic matter of the atmosphere with 
the plain ground rock, to make what we 
call soil. When you think of it, that is 
just what has been done. Let the air 
circulate through the soil, and there 
would be no increase of bulk. The dry 
ait would remove some of the soil water, 
but the bulk would remain the same. 
Let us grow 100 pounds of dry hay on 
that soil. The soil itself has lost but 
five pounds by that crop, while the other 
95 represent the gases which the crop 
has taken out of the atmosphere and 
made into a solid, organized body as it 
grew. Let us take the 95 pounds of dry 
hay, chop it up fine, and mix it all 
through the soil so that it will decay. 
That, on a small scale, is what has been 
going on for ages. If, to start with,, we 
took a big box of absolutely pure ground 
rock, with no organic matter in it, and 
then grew our hay, we would know, on 
a small scale, what vegetation has done 
for the soil. 
This continued decay of the hay in that 
ground rock, would in time produce cer¬ 
tain results—that is, if plenty of water 
were present, and heat and air in the 
right proportions. In time, the ground 
rock would become darker colored. You 
notice a difference in this respect be¬ 
tween the upper or surface soil, and the 
subsoil. A black or dark-colored soil is 
generally considered strong and desira¬ 
ble, when made thoroughly dry and 
sweet by drainage and liming. When 
vegetable matter decays underground in 
well-drained land, it becomes dark 
brown or even jet black in color, yet 
gives little or no color to water perco¬ 
lating through it. When buried under 
water as in peat bogs, such vegetable 
matter becomes a light brown, and gives 
off a coffee-colored water, evidently 
showing that some of its soluble proper¬ 
ties have been leached away. A soil 
full of black humus or decayed vegeta¬ 
ble matter, indicates that this has not 
been leached out, but has retained its 
fertility. Dark-colored soils are always 
warmer than those of lighter color, just 
as your light summer suit is more com¬ 
fortable at a picnic in August than your 
black Sunday clothes. Some farmers 
scatter black muck over light-colored 
soils in order to warm them up earlier in 
spring. Sprinkle soot in strips over the 
snow, and you will find these strips 
melted first. There is a difference of 
over a week in the ripening of melons, 
fruits, etc., on black soils as compared 
with light ones with equal drainage 
facilities and culture. The Germans have 
conducted experiments to learn the dif¬ 
ference in temperature produced by 
colors. Strips of a field were coated 
with lamp-black and magnesia, alter¬ 
nately, and records kept to show the soil 
temperature. This varied from 6 % to 8 
degrees in favor of the black-colored 
strips. There is every advantage from a 
practical point of view, in having a dark- 
colored soil. Large quantities of iron in 
the soil may produce the characteristic 
iron rust which gives the soil a red color; 
but the black, rich color so much desired 
by farmers, will come only from the.de¬ 
cay of humus or organic matter under 
the right conditions of moisture and air. 
This color effect would be noticed, there¬ 
fore, in our pure ground rock after re¬ 
peated mixing of the chopped hay with it. 
Another thing you would notice, after 
continued mixing of the hay with the 
ground rock, would be that the result¬ 
ing “soil” would not only be warmer, 
but that it would hold water better, and 
give you better control of that water. 
That is another great service that humus 
performs in the soil. We may under¬ 
stand how this is so by a little thought. 
Perhaps the most important thing about 
a soil is its porosity, or the manner in 
which its particles are divided. Its fer¬ 
tility is largely due to its structure, for 
that, of course, determines the action of 
the air and moisture through it. Natur¬ 
ally our control of moisture and air in 
the soil depends largely on our ability 
to modify their action by changing the 
soil's structure. The chief difference 
between gravel and sandy soil, lies in 
the fineness of the particles. To put it 
in a simple way, the finer the soil parti¬ 
cles, the greater number of spaces there 
will be for water and air to circulate ; 
other things being equal, the most fer¬ 
tile soil will be that with its particles 
most finely divided. That is so, not so 
much because of the actual plant food 
in these particles, but because this fine 
division gives the air and water a better 
chance to circulate through the soil. 
The air brings the needed warmth, and 
the water not only supplies drink, but 
with the aid of its carbonic acid, dis¬ 
solves and washes out plant food. The 
finer the particles, the more surface can 
the air and water reach. 
Yet some heavy clays are anything but 
fertile in wet seasons. According to 
this rule, they ought to be, because a 
clay represents the very finest division 
of the soil particles. That is true; yet 
this very fine division of the soil may be 
a detriment, unless we are able to con¬ 
trol or change it. This very fineness 
makes the soil more liable to be washed 
together, and to dry out into brick-like 
hardness; and so humus or vegetable 
matter, acting like a sponge to hold water, 
may hold light soils together, or help 
loosen clays, and thus bring about the 
proper degree of porosity. 
Live Stock Matters. 
FORKFULS OF FACTS. 
L. G. L., Bradford, Minn. —We got 
rid of our chickens last winter for lack 
of feed. What kind of hens are best for 
laying ? Are the Brown Leghorns the 
best? 
R. N.-Y.—We would choose Leghorns 
or Minorcas for layers. The Browns 
lay a little smaller eggs than the Whites 
but on the average lay a few more in 
the year, and are hardier. 
Dangerous Cotton-seed Mead. — A 
writer in the Kansas Farmer after speak¬ 
ing of the danger in feeding too heavily 
of cotton-seed meal says : 
Careful inquiry at tbe Kansas City stockyards 
develops the fact that cattle fed on cotton-seed 
meal come to the yards in sick condition, and that 
when they are slaughtered there are found in the 
stomach and intestines ulcers and suppurating 
sores, about the size of a man’s thumb-nail. In 
other words, it is found that the reason the cattle 
cannot stand the strain of this feed, is because it 
destroys the stomach, and sooner or later—not to 
exceed 90 days on the average—will cause blood- 
poisoning, which means death invariably. This 
condition of things is not found in animals fed on 
any other manufactured food. 
In spite of the many good reports from 
feeders of this stuff, we have never 
changed our advice. We would never 
feed over three pounds per day, and 
(Continued on next page.) 
lUisceUanrcutf £\dvntisinp,. 
Id Fashioned 
|—compound cathartic 
pills, ‘ ‘blue pills, ’ ’ cal¬ 
omel or other mercu- 
rial preparations, 
should not be used in 
these days of enlight¬ 
ened medical science, 
when it is so easy to 
get a purely vegetable 
pill in concentrated 
form, sugar - coated, 
in glass vials, at any 
store where medi¬ 
cines are kept. 
Dr. Pierce was first 
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people. Many have imitated them, but none 
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true worth, or value, for all laxative and 
cathartic purposes. 
Once Used, they are Always in Favor. 
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