Lake County Press. PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY Arrowtown: October 4, 1906. FARMERS-YOUR ATTENTION.

Lake County Press, Issue 2138, 4 October 1906, Page 4

Lake County Press. PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY

Arrowtown: October 4, 1906. FARMERS-YOUR ATTENTION.

The trud that's tjlvni ihee t/nard, inul to Utysej he just.

A discussion on the different classes of soils would, wo think, bo very useful to our farming community. We propose to suggest in this issue a few hints which may serve as a base for the consideration of a useful and most interesting subject. Soils, as we indicated in a previous issue, are by scientific men divided into four classes

—viz., clayoy, sandy, calcareous and peaty. Peaty soils of all others contain most volatile matter--as much as 95 nor cent. The remaining five aie culled fixed matter, As we shall have to use those terms—volatile aud fixed —very frequently in the course of this article, we had better at once explain what they moan. If a portion of soil bo placed on a clean iron over a strong fire it will darken in color, and if the 'neat be continued it will bo further found that the darkened portion shall

disappear altogether, leaving a quantity ol ashed behind wliich resists the action of the fire. " The part that burns away" says Professor Baldwin, "is composed of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon, together with a, little sulphur and phosphorous, and may be called the volatile or combustion portion of tho soil, and the part that does not burn the fixed matter." Wo shall say very little of peaty soil, because, as far as we know, ihero is very little area of ii, if any indeed properly such, in tho Lake County. We think it well to remark, however, that its combustion portion is of a different formation to that of other soils, and of course its nature and composition is entirely different. "It is," says a great authority, " composed of plants or the remains of plants very low in the. scale of vegetation, which plants differ in composition from cultivated plants; while, on the other hand, tho volatile or combustion matter of other sals is composed either of tho parts of cultivated plants not removed from the soils, or the manure produced from animals fed on them." I>r Baldwin maintains that the first soils formed contained little or no volatile matter ; and that tho earlier vegetables must have obtained the elements that composod their com-

mstion mattor chiefly from the air. \Ye see many of the plant! that grow m our mountain rocks—on soil almost Institute of volatile matter—still ob.aining ;i sufficient supply. Houee we mist conclude that those plants obtain t from tho atmosphere. Volatile natter oxists in various states in tho ■oil. A part of it exists in a fibrous tate, and in this mode it exhibits wnething of the structure of tho or;anisotl subslanco from which it has icon derived. Experts say that in his state it exerts no direct influence in vegetation. It is evident the;] to ommou sense that tho practical and nccoHsful farmor must promote its deomposition This is done by oflicient illage and by the application of line. jiine as a manure acts chemically and iboratos this volatile matter so nocesary for the raising of crops. As we ntond to treat on manures in a separate iticlo we refrain from saying more ust now about lime. fa wellultivatod soil the volatile matter xists as a fine brown powder inimately intermixed with the fixed lutter of the soil. By some writers, 'ith whom we are acquainted, tho amo " humus" has boon applied to lis finely-divided matter. Experts avo proved beyond yea or nay that lis li humus" contains many coinounds. They call those compounds ic products of the partial or complete of the volatile matter. dlicieut tillage admits the air loroughly through the soil. By the "ion of the air the compounds of the humus" are converted into carbonic •id, water, and ammonia. Those onients are necessary to the plants to lil'i up their combustible part Du! hilo this procoss gees on another and ■en mora useful one also takes place, rofess >r Baldwin says: "The car>nic acid and the salts, which the nmonia forms by its combinations ith the acids, commuuicato to the uter the power of dissolving, and thus aivey into the plants sonic of the moral constituents of the soil that :)uld otherwise, remain insoluble." iero has been not a little controversy

j over the relative value of the perconj tago of the volatile matt r of soils. j Homo hold that the value of the soil is to he measured by the quantity of this kind of matter it contains. But as far as we ourselves have been able to ascertain we think the weight of authority is in favor of the opposite opinion Dv Baldwin says that the average quantity in productive lands is aboui five per cent; and that he found soils containing about four or live per cent, more productive than others containing eight or ten. lie quotes Professor Johnson as saying that " cats and rye will grow on a soil containing only one or one and a-half per cent of it; that barley required two or three per cent., while good wheat soil requires from four to eight per cent, and if the soil be very stiff and clayey it would require 10 or 12 per cent. ; that turnips, mangel-wurzel, and cabbages thrive best where there would be 14 or 16 per cent" We must now examine the iixed matter of soils and find out where it comes from. There is scarcely found anyone to deny that it was produced originally from rocks. Chemical and mechanical agencies have been from the beginning at work; they are at work as we write ; and shall be to the end. Lot us quote the Glasnevin professor. " First," he says " the oxygen, carbonic acid, and water of the air are constantly wearing down the rocks and soils. When, for example, we expose a piece of polished iron to the air it becomes oxodised or corroded —that is covered over with iron rust. Most rocks contain iron, which is very susceptible of atmospheric inlluences and therefore easily worn away. Again silica and potash occur in great variety of rocks in the slate of silicate of potash ; and by the action of the carbonic acid gas which exists in the atmosphere the silicate is decomposed and the potash combines with the carbonic acid forming the soluble substance carbonate of potash, which is washed out of the rocks. Secondly, rain water, which always contains carbonic acid, exercises a powerful action in wearing down rocks." Wo see from the words of this most learned export that air and water, by their chemical and mechanical properties, contribute most powerfully towards the fixed matter of soils. To further quote him, " but,"he says, "the most interesting mechanical way in which water acts in producing soil from rocks is by its freezing. Rocks absorb water. When water is raduced to a temperature below 8(5 degrees F. it increases in bulk. It ruptures the rocks with a force and to an extent

proportionate to tho amount of water absorbed. In thawing, tho water is reduced to ita original bulk and liquid state and the particles of the rocks ennoble down. The action of frost in mellowing and pulverising the land is precisely tho same. Toe ay lion of the iiir and water on the rocks is promoted by lbs oonstant alternations of beat and cold producing cracks and fissures iu the ricks which adroit air and water. By constant expansion and contraction of the soil and its rock fragments, fissures are formed by which tho air and water are always adding to the finely divided matter of the soil on which plants feed." We make no apology for quoting this most learned professor at such length. One can see at a glance that our farmers can learn most important lessons from what he has laid down in regard to the action of rain, water, frost, and the atmosphere. We see the paramount importance of ploughing up the land in duo time, and exposing it during the winter months to the frost and air We leave each of our readers to work

out foi* himself what will happen whore the laud has beeu well and duly ploughed A soil which contains one-sixth of its weight of what is known as clay is tunned a clayey soil Tiiis ingredient called clay is that which is held in suspension or mixes with the water when a soil is washed in a dish or other vessel. It is an impalpable matter, and contains 30 or -10 par cent, of alumina, three or four per ceut. of oxide of iron, and a trace of lime. In a wet state clay cuts like soft cheese and feels greasy and slippery under foot. Owing to the prosonce of alumina clayey S)ila are the most, adhesive of all sods. Hence the cultivation of such lands require the greatest amount of horse and manual labor; anil while a little moisture makes it soft a little drought makes it hard. In order that the ordinary implements of husbandry and the ordinary amount of labor till such soils, they must contain 40 per cent, of sand. But clay soils generally contain such an abundant amount of plant food, though often in the dormant state, that the husbandman is always amply compensated for any extra labor ho may skilfully bestow upon their cultivation. Experts have found by chemical analysis these soils to be exceedingly rich in all the most valuable constituents of plants. Drainage is the first and most essential step to ha taken in the improvement of clay land. Another means is mixing with sand and lime. From what we have been saying it seems to us that it would be a most useful pastime for our farmers, and especially for our young farmers, if each would engage in an examination of the soil on his farm and endeavor to treat it accordingly.

Soils are termed caloareoua when I they contain nothing loss than 20 per cent, of carbonate of limo. It' wo pour muriatic or sulphuric acid on a soil containing a per cent, or upwards of carbonate of lime, bubbles of carbonic acid will escape. When the carbonate of iimo is not leys than 5 per cent, aud not up to 20 per cent, the soil is said to bo marly. Wo have said above that the fixed matter of all soils have been formed for tho most part from the disintegration of rocks. Hence it is scarcely necessary for us to say hero that calcareous and m trly soil are mostly formed from tho disintegration of limestone. These soils sometimes suffer from drought, for, although limestone soils, owing to their porosity, quickly absorb moisture, owing to ttie same cause they as quickly part with it again. But on the whole they are for the most part sharp, kindly and

productive soils well adapted to the growth of turnips, and other useful crops. Now a word about sandy soils. It has been generally held that any soil that does not contain seven-eighths of its own weight should not be calle 1 sandy. A sandy soil generally possesses Little value. It i.s poor and has scanty herbage. But a sandy soil that has a certain degree of eohesiveness in it:-; particles may acquire considerable value. If located in a suitable climate, wherecrops are early matured, and if attention be paid to improving itordinary productiveness may be attained, and very often has been. As we said above wo have endeavored in this article to throv/ out to our farmers a few hints that may serve as a base for the discussion of a subject which appears to us to be one of the most useful and interesting that could well engage their attention. They can find out for themselves the nature of the 3oilg on their farms; how to treat them ; how to improve them ; what to grow on them ; how to make them pay best, etc. etc. To promote such a discussion is, we opine, the chief function of the A. and P. Associations. When the Farmers' Union was founded, we, in common with many others, expected great things from it, but we all have, been very much disappointed. That body as far as we know, and we watched its workings, never put anything practical before the farming communities—never gave any hints how to attain the maximum of production with-. in minimum of labor. Of course before it marched far on its career it was. evident to all that it was nothing more or less than a political engine—but an engine whose internal works were so bad in their fittings that it soon came to a sudden standstill. It is different, with the A. and P. Associations. They are of the whole people and for the education of the whole people, and we do hope that individually and col-. lectively the A. and P. Associations will make the most of the grand opportunities within their reach.