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tt1 Garden VOL. T.XTTT in edtest e 9 1908 INDIANAPOLIS OCT 10 1908. NO. 41 TIH3 — Our Greatest Asset. Editors Indiana Farmer: In the great conference of Governors, at Washington, recently, Secretary Wilson, of the National Department of Agriculture, used the following language: "The soil is our greatest asset, and we are doing all in our power to exhaust it as rapidly as possible." A great truth and a lamentable fact are both expressed in this single sentence. The Secretary showed that no country in the world was spending so much for the improvement of agriculture as was yearly being devoted to this purpose by our national and State Governments. Lest this fact serve to continue the complacency with which we have here-to-fore regarded all warnings against the results of our national improvidence, an equally forceful statement made by another speaker at this same conference may appropriately be placed beside that of the Secretary. Mr. J. J. Hill, in speaking of this rapid exhaustion of the soil by our wasteful system of farming said: "No civilized country in the world, with the exception of Russia, has so low a condition or so wasteful a system of agriculture." If any proof of this unpleasant condition was needed it is found in the fact that though our wasteful and irrational methods of farming have in a few generations nearly exhausted the original great fertility of the American Continent, there are many other countries where long centuries of a more provident agriculture have maintained the original fertility of the soils. In the interesting address of Secretary Wilson one fact stands out as of great practical importance. It must be borne ip mind that he is the official head of the greatest and most effective system of agricultural investigation and assitance in the world. He and his department have never been slow in presenting their claim for public recognition or for actual achievement. Yet notwithstanding all that expensive scientific effort, notwithstanding all the advocacy of improved methods, all the introduction of new plants and crops, notwithstanding all the claims advocated for soil inoculation, the Secretary has but two suggestions to make for the saving and economical use of our "greatest asset"—the soil. With all the resources at his command, he has nothing new to offer. He falls back on the old and tried practice of "rotation and fertilization." Our greatest asset is the soil. It feeds our- people and produces the exports which maintain our balance of trade. It keeps our railroads busy, the factories occupied and the greater part of the people employed. This asset, this great natnral resource, is being steadily depleted. It is constantly growing less productive. trnless a radical change in present methods be made and the end of all the pros- rerity founded on the soil is a matter of cnly a fiw years. How is this calamity, almost in sight, to be averted? This question deserves the thoughtful consiaaeration of every citi- zpn. It should become the key to the Practice on every farm. It is one of the most vital problems considered at the recent remarkable conference. The answer to the quesiton is found in *he simple practice of rotation and fertilizing." Rotation—change of crops—conserves fertility by allowing the soil to recuperate from the exhausting effects of one crop "Wore producing nnother of the same kind. Fertilizing either restores the plant food taken from the soil, or directly supplies the needs of the crop. In either case the result is to prevent soil exhaustion. The importance of rotation being recognized, the necessity for including a legume—air feeder—in every rotation should be insisted on. With many crops this eliminates the need for supplying nitrogen in the fertilizer. There remain bnt two other substances to be supplied to the soil to maintain it as our greatest asset,—phosphoric acid and potash. The average crop removes fully twice as much potash as phosphoric acid from tion to the manner of application and distribution of nny commercial fertilizer we may select to use. It is highly important that its distribution be such that the roots of every plant may come in contact with it at once after germination takes place. This means that it must be evenly and thinly spread at a depth equal to the seeding, a condition most satisfactorily brought about through the use of a fertilizer drill. Hand sowing and harrow ing in will usually givegood results, but !s not as advisable where the former method can be followed. In this way small amounts of fertilizer can be used with the assurance that it will be properly distributed. cates sufficient nitrogen in the soil but a li>ck of available mineral elements. The application of 200 pounds of acid phosphate and 3 pounds of muriate of potash per acre would undobutedly prove very profitable under these conditions and would be well worth trying, as would also the complete fertilizer where the grain crops show more nearly the average soii condition. H. E. Young. the soil. The sources of supply of the latter are very mueh greater than the former. It therefore follows that a more intelligent use of potash is absolutely necessary to the continued maintaining of our ''greatest asset." H. B. Stockbridge. Profit in Fertilizing Wheat. Editors Indiana Farmer: The past season has demonstrated that even in good wheat years, when fields without special treatment plrove profitable, the application of fertilizer pays. If such can be said of the practice in such years as these then how much more can be legitimately claimed for it in years when the general crop proves a failure. Then it is that the greatest benefit from its application is recognized. One of the chief functions of the commercial fertilizer with wheat is to furnish the young plants with plenty of available plant food right at the start, enabling them to make a rapid, vigorous growth ft the time when it will mean most to the later development of the plants. With such a start the roots soon reach down into the soil where they may gather food from the less available sources and there is no standing still of the plants just after germination, as is often the case where no fertilizer is nsed. The most perfectly prepared seed bed will not present the conditions for the most rapid growth unless there is plenty of available plant food near the surface where the first formed rootlets can readily find it. And! right here do we also find the reason for the necessity of giving special atten- As with fertilizers for other crops, the selection of the particular mixture to use for wheat is often a quandary, especially to those farmers to whom the use of the commercial product is new. Just what is the best formula to use depends almost entirely upon the condition of the particular soil upon which the crop is to be grown. This, of course, can only be determined by a close study of the plant growth thereon, supplemented by actual experiment with various fertilizers. But for all practical purposes it is well enough to arrive at a starting point by a trial of an average grain fertilizer as recommemled for ordinary soils. After mailing such a trial it is time enough for one to concern himself with the proposition of finding out just what is best for special soil conditions. For ordinary good wheat lands a fertilizer having a formula of about 2-8-6 will be fouud to give good results when applied at the rate of from 200 to 600 pounds per acre. This, of course, is understood to mean one showing 2 per cent of nitrogen, 8 per cent of available phosphoric acid and 6 per cent of actual potash. A mixture of this kind furnishes the required elements in about the right proposition to be most useful to the wheat plants under average soil conditions. There may be special cases where some other mixture would come nearer giving the best results. For instance, on soil where the straw yield is too heaby in proportion to the yield of grain it would be better to use a fertilizer carrying no nitrogen. The excessive growth of straw in proportion to graia development indi- Crimson Clover. Editors Indiana Farmer: During the past few years I have had brought to my notice several examples ol the wouderful renovating power and the feeding value of the crimson clover. Ia some sections of the country the plant s not succeed, because of the cold. This variety of clover is more apt to winter-kill than the common red clover, l.ut it is well worth the trial, where there is a possibility of its thriving. In this lo- crlity (Northern Ohio) I have seen som* very fine fields of this plant and have been much interested in the results of feeding it to stock, as well as noting the great beneficial eFect upon poor, wornout soi^s. The see.l of the crimson clover is large* than the red clover and is oval in shape. New seed has a high polish and is of a bright, reddish yellow color; as it becomes older it changes to a reddish brown, then loses its polish and becomes a dull, dark brown. Let such seed alone. The crimson clover should be seeded at the rate of 12 to 15 lbs. per aere, either broadcast or with the drill. We usually broadcast ours in the potato or corn after the last cultivation and do not cover. If ii is to occupy the ground alone, slightly harrow or roll it in. We sow the seed between July 15th and September 15th, but m the South it should not be sown before August 15th. It will then mature the following spring from three to four weeks before the red clovers. As soon as it comes into full bloom it should be cut, if wanted for hay, as the matured blooms are injurious to stock. Crimson clover thrives in a lighter, sandier soil thnn any other clover and it reqireg but little humus, and comparatively little moisture. It is of great value as a green manure upon poor soils and a rank growth quite insures a satisfactory succeeding crop. If the soil is not already fertile, it will pay well t>. apply 600 pounds per acre of mineral fertilizers containing 9 per cent actual pot- £j_- ash and 8 per cent available phosphorie acid, and on very poor soils the addition of one or two per cent nitrogen will make Kr the catch more certain. The fertilizer can easily be broadcasted by lowering tho hand through thegrowing crops, if it is desired to grow the clover there. The amount of fertilizer may seem excessive, but not when we recollect that not all of the material possesses fertilizing value. All clover soils must contain n oonsiderabe amount of potash, as well as phosphoric acid and lime. If the soil is made rich so that the clover roots are able to penetrate to a good depth before freez ing weather, we are pretty sure of a good crop the following spring and do not look foi winter-killing. Stock for fattenin;.- ond milch cows make great returns when led crimson clover hay. Ohio. E. A. Season. A GREAT HELP. I have been a reader of the Indiaim Farmer for two years and like it very much. I don't see how I kept house without it. It is a great help to me in different things. Mrs. H. C. —Thank you, very much.
Object Description
Title | Indiana farmer, 1908, v. 63, no. 41 (Oct. 10) |
Purdue Identification Number | INFA6341 |
Date of Original | 1908 |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Agriculture Farm management Horticulture Agricultural machinery |
Subjects (NALT) |
agriculture farm management horticulture agricultural machinery and equipment |
Genre | Periodical |
Call Number of Original | 630.5 In2 |
Location of Original | Hicks Repository |
Coverage | United States - Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Collection Title | Indiana Farmer |
Rights Statement | Content in the Indiana Farmer Collection is in the public domain (published before 1923) or lacks a known copyright holder. Digital images in the collection may be used for educational, non-commercial, or not-for-profit purposes. |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Date Digitized | 2011-03-23 |
Digitization Information | Original scanned at 300 ppi on a Bookeye 3 scanner using internal software. Display images generated in CONTENTdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
Description
Title | Page 1 |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Agriculture Farm management Horticulture Agricultural machinery |
Subjects (NALT) |
agriculture farm management horticulture agricultural machinery and equipment |
Genre | Periodical |
Call Number of Original | 630.5 In2 |
Location of Original | Hicks Repository |
Coverage | Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Collection Title | Indiana Farmer |
Rights Statement | Content in the Indiana Farmer Collection is in the public domain (published before 1923) or lacks a known copyright holder. Digital images in the collection may be used for educational, non-commercial, or non-for-profit purposes. |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Digitization Information | Orignal scanned at 300 ppi on a Bookeye 3 scanner using internal software. Display images generated in CONTENTdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
Transcript | tt1 Garden VOL. T.XTTT in edtest e 9 1908 INDIANAPOLIS OCT 10 1908. NO. 41 TIH3 — Our Greatest Asset. Editors Indiana Farmer: In the great conference of Governors, at Washington, recently, Secretary Wilson, of the National Department of Agriculture, used the following language: "The soil is our greatest asset, and we are doing all in our power to exhaust it as rapidly as possible." A great truth and a lamentable fact are both expressed in this single sentence. The Secretary showed that no country in the world was spending so much for the improvement of agriculture as was yearly being devoted to this purpose by our national and State Governments. Lest this fact serve to continue the complacency with which we have here-to-fore regarded all warnings against the results of our national improvidence, an equally forceful statement made by another speaker at this same conference may appropriately be placed beside that of the Secretary. Mr. J. J. Hill, in speaking of this rapid exhaustion of the soil by our wasteful system of farming said: "No civilized country in the world, with the exception of Russia, has so low a condition or so wasteful a system of agriculture." If any proof of this unpleasant condition was needed it is found in the fact that though our wasteful and irrational methods of farming have in a few generations nearly exhausted the original great fertility of the American Continent, there are many other countries where long centuries of a more provident agriculture have maintained the original fertility of the soils. In the interesting address of Secretary Wilson one fact stands out as of great practical importance. It must be borne ip mind that he is the official head of the greatest and most effective system of agricultural investigation and assitance in the world. He and his department have never been slow in presenting their claim for public recognition or for actual achievement. Yet notwithstanding all that expensive scientific effort, notwithstanding all the advocacy of improved methods, all the introduction of new plants and crops, notwithstanding all the claims advocated for soil inoculation, the Secretary has but two suggestions to make for the saving and economical use of our "greatest asset"—the soil. With all the resources at his command, he has nothing new to offer. He falls back on the old and tried practice of "rotation and fertilization." Our greatest asset is the soil. It feeds our- people and produces the exports which maintain our balance of trade. It keeps our railroads busy, the factories occupied and the greater part of the people employed. This asset, this great natnral resource, is being steadily depleted. It is constantly growing less productive. trnless a radical change in present methods be made and the end of all the pros- rerity founded on the soil is a matter of cnly a fiw years. How is this calamity, almost in sight, to be averted? This question deserves the thoughtful consiaaeration of every citi- zpn. It should become the key to the Practice on every farm. It is one of the most vital problems considered at the recent remarkable conference. The answer to the quesiton is found in *he simple practice of rotation and fertilizing." Rotation—change of crops—conserves fertility by allowing the soil to recuperate from the exhausting effects of one crop "Wore producing nnother of the same kind. Fertilizing either restores the plant food taken from the soil, or directly supplies the needs of the crop. In either case the result is to prevent soil exhaustion. The importance of rotation being recognized, the necessity for including a legume—air feeder—in every rotation should be insisted on. With many crops this eliminates the need for supplying nitrogen in the fertilizer. There remain bnt two other substances to be supplied to the soil to maintain it as our greatest asset,—phosphoric acid and potash. The average crop removes fully twice as much potash as phosphoric acid from tion to the manner of application and distribution of nny commercial fertilizer we may select to use. It is highly important that its distribution be such that the roots of every plant may come in contact with it at once after germination takes place. This means that it must be evenly and thinly spread at a depth equal to the seeding, a condition most satisfactorily brought about through the use of a fertilizer drill. Hand sowing and harrow ing in will usually givegood results, but !s not as advisable where the former method can be followed. In this way small amounts of fertilizer can be used with the assurance that it will be properly distributed. cates sufficient nitrogen in the soil but a li>ck of available mineral elements. The application of 200 pounds of acid phosphate and 3 pounds of muriate of potash per acre would undobutedly prove very profitable under these conditions and would be well worth trying, as would also the complete fertilizer where the grain crops show more nearly the average soii condition. H. E. Young. the soil. The sources of supply of the latter are very mueh greater than the former. It therefore follows that a more intelligent use of potash is absolutely necessary to the continued maintaining of our ''greatest asset." H. B. Stockbridge. Profit in Fertilizing Wheat. Editors Indiana Farmer: The past season has demonstrated that even in good wheat years, when fields without special treatment plrove profitable, the application of fertilizer pays. If such can be said of the practice in such years as these then how much more can be legitimately claimed for it in years when the general crop proves a failure. Then it is that the greatest benefit from its application is recognized. One of the chief functions of the commercial fertilizer with wheat is to furnish the young plants with plenty of available plant food right at the start, enabling them to make a rapid, vigorous growth ft the time when it will mean most to the later development of the plants. With such a start the roots soon reach down into the soil where they may gather food from the less available sources and there is no standing still of the plants just after germination, as is often the case where no fertilizer is nsed. The most perfectly prepared seed bed will not present the conditions for the most rapid growth unless there is plenty of available plant food near the surface where the first formed rootlets can readily find it. And! right here do we also find the reason for the necessity of giving special atten- As with fertilizers for other crops, the selection of the particular mixture to use for wheat is often a quandary, especially to those farmers to whom the use of the commercial product is new. Just what is the best formula to use depends almost entirely upon the condition of the particular soil upon which the crop is to be grown. This, of course, can only be determined by a close study of the plant growth thereon, supplemented by actual experiment with various fertilizers. But for all practical purposes it is well enough to arrive at a starting point by a trial of an average grain fertilizer as recommemled for ordinary soils. After mailing such a trial it is time enough for one to concern himself with the proposition of finding out just what is best for special soil conditions. For ordinary good wheat lands a fertilizer having a formula of about 2-8-6 will be fouud to give good results when applied at the rate of from 200 to 600 pounds per acre. This, of course, is understood to mean one showing 2 per cent of nitrogen, 8 per cent of available phosphoric acid and 6 per cent of actual potash. A mixture of this kind furnishes the required elements in about the right proposition to be most useful to the wheat plants under average soil conditions. There may be special cases where some other mixture would come nearer giving the best results. For instance, on soil where the straw yield is too heaby in proportion to the yield of grain it would be better to use a fertilizer carrying no nitrogen. The excessive growth of straw in proportion to graia development indi- Crimson Clover. Editors Indiana Farmer: During the past few years I have had brought to my notice several examples ol the wouderful renovating power and the feeding value of the crimson clover. Ia some sections of the country the plant s not succeed, because of the cold. This variety of clover is more apt to winter-kill than the common red clover, l.ut it is well worth the trial, where there is a possibility of its thriving. In this lo- crlity (Northern Ohio) I have seen som* very fine fields of this plant and have been much interested in the results of feeding it to stock, as well as noting the great beneficial eFect upon poor, wornout soi^s. The see.l of the crimson clover is large* than the red clover and is oval in shape. New seed has a high polish and is of a bright, reddish yellow color; as it becomes older it changes to a reddish brown, then loses its polish and becomes a dull, dark brown. Let such seed alone. The crimson clover should be seeded at the rate of 12 to 15 lbs. per aere, either broadcast or with the drill. We usually broadcast ours in the potato or corn after the last cultivation and do not cover. If ii is to occupy the ground alone, slightly harrow or roll it in. We sow the seed between July 15th and September 15th, but m the South it should not be sown before August 15th. It will then mature the following spring from three to four weeks before the red clovers. As soon as it comes into full bloom it should be cut, if wanted for hay, as the matured blooms are injurious to stock. Crimson clover thrives in a lighter, sandier soil thnn any other clover and it reqireg but little humus, and comparatively little moisture. It is of great value as a green manure upon poor soils and a rank growth quite insures a satisfactory succeeding crop. If the soil is not already fertile, it will pay well t>. apply 600 pounds per acre of mineral fertilizers containing 9 per cent actual pot- £j_- ash and 8 per cent available phosphorie acid, and on very poor soils the addition of one or two per cent nitrogen will make Kr the catch more certain. The fertilizer can easily be broadcasted by lowering tho hand through thegrowing crops, if it is desired to grow the clover there. The amount of fertilizer may seem excessive, but not when we recollect that not all of the material possesses fertilizing value. All clover soils must contain n oonsiderabe amount of potash, as well as phosphoric acid and lime. If the soil is made rich so that the clover roots are able to penetrate to a good depth before freez ing weather, we are pretty sure of a good crop the following spring and do not look foi winter-killing. Stock for fattenin;.- ond milch cows make great returns when led crimson clover hay. Ohio. E. A. Season. A GREAT HELP. I have been a reader of the Indiaim Farmer for two years and like it very much. I don't see how I kept house without it. It is a great help to me in different things. Mrs. H. C. —Thank you, very much. |
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