EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL.

Bruce Herald, Volume XII, Issue XII, 14 November 1879, Page 2 (Supplement)

EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL.

(Ohio Farmer). It does not take a very wise man to run down the best of farms. A narrow range of agricultural products, if followed year after year, is sure to do it. One hundred and fifty years ago, upon the Delaware peninsula, it was tobacco, tobacco, tobacco, as the only rotation. Fifty years later, in tbe Middle States, it was wheat, corn ; wheat, corn ; and a little later wheat, corn, oats ; and still later, wheat, corn, oats, barley. When ihe soil became too much exhausted for profitable cropping in this mannei*, it was left untilled until chemical operations steadily going on in the great laboratory of mother earth restored, in some measure, the elements of plant food carritd away by the unskilled farmer. No law of science is more settled and inflexible than this : Whatever elements are can ied away from the field by cropping, must in some manner be replaced if the fertility is kept up. Some crops remove some elements in greater proportion than others. Some derive their nutriment from or near the surface, as nearly all cereals, turnips, onion* 3 , etc. j others go down deeper for the elements that give them active growth, as clover, lucern, beet, parsnips, etc. Whiie the former of these classes exhaust the surface, the latter will grow and thrive when the surface has been exhausted, with a very little start from some stimulating fertilizer. Clover, luc?rn, beet, parsnips and carrots are aii improvers of the soil, by going d"wn with theii* long tap roots I and bringing up the alkaline elements j which had already gone down into the soil so far as to be beyond the reach of all surface growing plants. Hence the importance of a wise succession of crops as a prevention of exhausting ! the soil. Surface growing crops should { be succeeded by deep rooting, as wheat by clover; clover by wheat, coin, or turnips. Deep ploughing in some soils will, of course, make the elements of plant growth hold ont longer, but cannot obviate the ] necessity of a judicious rotation of crops. The philosophy of the rotating system lies in applying alkaline substances, as lime, potash, soda, and also phosphates and nitrate-* to surface growing c»*ops, then following these by deep rooting plams. Thus the greatest amount of good will be derived from these expensive chemicals. Caustic alkalines, as lime, soda and potash, and wood ashes should be applied to the surface, after plowing under sod, or stubble covered with rag or other weeds. They act directly on such organic matter going to .decay, and form respectively the nitrates of lune, soda and potash, which are readily convertible into plant food. Another important point, if we would use fertilizers to the best advantage without impoverishing the land is to supply fche plant food which the crop requires, when it needs for its growth. Ammonia Cdl plant food, when necessary to be supplied should be applied to the germinating plant to give health, strength and vigor to its leaves. Large leaves are as necessary to a plant, as large and strong lungs to a man. I'hosphoric acid, potash and soda should only be applied when wheat, for instance, begins to tiller in the spring, and the plane begins to prepare for 'the" seed, Auiinoaiaca! fertilizer!*- go to mako leaves

—foliage — white phosphoric acid, potash and soda enter much more largely into the seeds and fruit of the plants. We are fully convinced, both by theory and from experiments, tbat the countryhas sustained an immense and unnecesl'sary loss by applying potash and phosphatic substances to wheat in the fall, which had done much more good if they had been sown in ?laich "or April when the plants were demanding such food. We do not feed our animals until their nature requires it — -never a few weeks before. So we should treat our growing crops, unless we are willing to have much of our purchases washed away by long winter rains before the plants require their peculiar nutriment.