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VOL. LXIV INDIANAPOLIS, MARCH 27, 1909. NO. 12 The Value of Swamp Lands. BY H. S. Chamberlain. Muck soil, llie product of well drained swamp land, is now recognized as one of the most valuable assets in modern agriculture; because chemical science has taken hold of the black soil — problem and has effectively solved it. Formerly only half way results iu crop production could be obtained from reclaimed swamp areas, for the reason that the real nature of the ss.il was not unslerstood. Recent research and experiments have definitely shown what must be done to make such soils produce good crops regularly. Since muck soils are the result of sedimentation from streams flowing into ancient lakes, and subsequent deposits made by the growth and decay or aquatic njants and water-loving shrubs, it is readily seen that a great deal of fertility abounds iu the formation. All the snil essentials, potash, phosphates, and nitrogen were triginally contained in this sedimentary deposit; the potash usually iu the form of carbonate, and of ready solubility in water, the phosphates generally as the eal- cicum compounds, and nitrogen as nitrates and humus. The potash being very easily dissolved in water quickly disappears, sinking into the strata underlying the muck measures. A small amount, of course, is held in the upper masses of the soil by adhesion to the soil granules. The other essentials to fertility, with the exception of the nitrates, are insoluble in water and hence are left in the place where they were first deposit od. Any one dealing with black muck soil has doubtless noticed that, although the first crops grown on lately tamed swamp land are quite good, subsequent attempts to produce grains, cereals, or vegetables are dreary failures. The reason for this is, that what little potash was retained by the soil has been ap- I ropriated by the first crop and the supply of this important ingredient has been exhausted from the upper areas of the ground. The greater quantities of the potash have either sunken to a depth below the reach of the plant roots or have been carried a-way by the underground s( reams. The application of fertilizers high in potash or of the commercial muriate or sulphate of potassium will restore the productivity in a most remarkable manner. This has been tried in recent years with astonishing success, in the case of ''sin. wheat, celery and potatoes. There is no need of using fertilizers to furnish phosphorus or nitrogen to muck soil as there is an inexhaustible supply of these two elements held ready and available for plant use. The black appearance of the soil is due primarily to the presence of decayed vegetation and the nitrogen holding humus resulting therefrom. The farmer having a swamp, possible t.t good drainage, has a tract of land possessing great promise of substantial crop returns. The reclaimed swamp lands •if Summit and Stark counties, in northeastern Ohio, are the most valuable and productive of any found in the Buckeye State. From almost valueless marshes. applied with a drill to swamp land before cropping should suffice for several successive yields. Kainit possessing from 12 to 30 per cent of potash, may be also applied to the land by machinery at tho rate of frdm 300 to 500 pounds per acre, if the soil is pretty well run down. Tobacco stems should be given quite gener- A Team of Imported Percheron Mares. through drainage, proper tillage and judicious use of right kinds of fertilizers, these tracts of land have been made invaluable for the growing of celery, onions, corn and potatoes. Since well drained swamp soil under tillage soou ceases to produce satisfactory crops and since this effect is due almost entirely to the lack of potash, it is up to the farmer to supply this deficiency if he would bring the land into continual productiveness. Potash may be appled in several ways and forms, as: (1) wood ashes, (2) coal ashes and cinders, (3) muriate or sulfate of potash, (4) kainit, a mineral containing potash along with other salts, (5) tobacco stems and ashes (.f cotton seed hull. Owing to the scarcity qf wood ashes this method Of supplying potash to muck soil is almost precluded. Though when a farmer lives near a coal mine or manufacturing plants, coal ashes s.nd cinders may be obtained free of charge, in fact most manufacturers are glad to get nd of them. Because of the low content in potash, it is necessary to scatter from three to five tons of these nshes and cinders on every acre of muck land. The muriate or sulfate of potash may be purchased from almost any reliable dealer in fertilizer. When pure it should contain at least 50 per cent potash. Prom 200 to 400 pounds per acre, smsly to the land as the potash occurs in tlieni in quantities of only 3 to 5 per cent. I'he ash from cotton seed hull has a potash value of from 7 to 9 per cent and consequently should be applied so as to give the land from 75 to 1.00 pounds per acre. Any of these fertilizers when applied carefully and well worked into the soil, will effect a ivouderful change for better crop j ielsls. News From Arkansas. Editors Indiana Farmer: We have things going down here. Gardens are all made; potatoes planted and coming through the ground, and two patches of corn in; spring oats doing well. An oil company has opened up here and leased quite a lot of land. We are near the now famous Caddo Oil Field, r>nd there is good indications of oil in this immediate vicinity. A number of Indiana men have been here prospecting this year, and some of them have bought land. Many inquiries have come to us from folks back in our old Hoosier home, regarding Arkansas. Well, we can certainly say it is all o. k.; and all we need U more people. W. W. Isenhower. Arkansas. The Kherson'[Oats. Editors Indiana Farmer: In 1897 the Nebraska Experiment Station through one of its representatives secured a small sample of oats from that part of Russia called Kherson. This seed was sown on the Station farm where it has since been compared with all lead- ing varieties and it has proved to be the heaviest producer and oue of the two earliest maturing varieties grown. During recent years seed has been distributed throughout the state and farmers who have been enn- ducting cooperative experiments are practically unanimous in the assertion that it is a much heavier yielding variety thau any other grown in the state. Knowing its popularity in Nebraska, the writer, who formerly lived in Addison, Lenawee County, Michigan, which is in the southern tier of counties iu that state, where conditions are verisimilar to those in Indiana, sent sufficient seed to that locality to give this new variety a fair trial. A Hi- acre field was sown early iu May after other ssats bail sprouted and the Kherson was cut and put in the shock before the early sown oats were ripe. They were not affected by the blight which did great injury to other oats that year, which may have had something to do with their yielding more bvshels to the acre than other well-known varieties. Last season a much larger acreage was seeded and another field of heavy weighing oats was secured. Oue grower of that town makes the following obser vations, after the two sea- sous' experience with these oats, this being the farthest east these oats have been grown on an extensive scale: "The Kherson oats give n very satisfactory yield on southern Michigan soil, fully as high as ether well-known varieties and during one season the yield was heavier. They ripen from 10 to 14 days earlier than other varieties, which early maturity coupled with the fact that they are light in straw, makes the Kherson a most excellent oats for a eover crop in securing a good stand oC clover. Its light but stiff straw makes it especially well adapted for black humus soil where it does not lodge as do other varieties. The kernels are of small size but more numerous in the head. They weigh more to the bushel, because of theirthin hull and are therefore much better a.lapted for feeding swine." H. R. S. A company of farmers, stockraisers and alfalfa farmers in Boone County Neb., have recently organized a stock company and built an alfalfa meal mill, at Albion, Neb. Alfalfa meal is coming into general use in many sections as one of the best and cheapest feeds for dairy cows, horses hogs and poultry. It is well that such companies as the one referred to are being organized to meet the demand that is sure to come.
Object Description
Title | Indiana farmer, 1909, v. 64, no. 12 (Mar. 27) |
Purdue Identification Number | INFA6412 |
Date of Original | 1909 |
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 | 2011-04-07 |
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 | VOL. LXIV INDIANAPOLIS, MARCH 27, 1909. NO. 12 The Value of Swamp Lands. BY H. S. Chamberlain. Muck soil, llie product of well drained swamp land, is now recognized as one of the most valuable assets in modern agriculture; because chemical science has taken hold of the black soil — problem and has effectively solved it. Formerly only half way results iu crop production could be obtained from reclaimed swamp areas, for the reason that the real nature of the ss.il was not unslerstood. Recent research and experiments have definitely shown what must be done to make such soils produce good crops regularly. Since muck soils are the result of sedimentation from streams flowing into ancient lakes, and subsequent deposits made by the growth and decay or aquatic njants and water-loving shrubs, it is readily seen that a great deal of fertility abounds iu the formation. All the snil essentials, potash, phosphates, and nitrogen were triginally contained in this sedimentary deposit; the potash usually iu the form of carbonate, and of ready solubility in water, the phosphates generally as the eal- cicum compounds, and nitrogen as nitrates and humus. The potash being very easily dissolved in water quickly disappears, sinking into the strata underlying the muck measures. A small amount, of course, is held in the upper masses of the soil by adhesion to the soil granules. The other essentials to fertility, with the exception of the nitrates, are insoluble in water and hence are left in the place where they were first deposit od. Any one dealing with black muck soil has doubtless noticed that, although the first crops grown on lately tamed swamp land are quite good, subsequent attempts to produce grains, cereals, or vegetables are dreary failures. The reason for this is, that what little potash was retained by the soil has been ap- I ropriated by the first crop and the supply of this important ingredient has been exhausted from the upper areas of the ground. The greater quantities of the potash have either sunken to a depth below the reach of the plant roots or have been carried a-way by the underground s( reams. The application of fertilizers high in potash or of the commercial muriate or sulphate of potassium will restore the productivity in a most remarkable manner. This has been tried in recent years with astonishing success, in the case of ''sin. wheat, celery and potatoes. There is no need of using fertilizers to furnish phosphorus or nitrogen to muck soil as there is an inexhaustible supply of these two elements held ready and available for plant use. The black appearance of the soil is due primarily to the presence of decayed vegetation and the nitrogen holding humus resulting therefrom. The farmer having a swamp, possible t.t good drainage, has a tract of land possessing great promise of substantial crop returns. The reclaimed swamp lands •if Summit and Stark counties, in northeastern Ohio, are the most valuable and productive of any found in the Buckeye State. From almost valueless marshes. applied with a drill to swamp land before cropping should suffice for several successive yields. Kainit possessing from 12 to 30 per cent of potash, may be also applied to the land by machinery at tho rate of frdm 300 to 500 pounds per acre, if the soil is pretty well run down. Tobacco stems should be given quite gener- A Team of Imported Percheron Mares. through drainage, proper tillage and judicious use of right kinds of fertilizers, these tracts of land have been made invaluable for the growing of celery, onions, corn and potatoes. Since well drained swamp soil under tillage soou ceases to produce satisfactory crops and since this effect is due almost entirely to the lack of potash, it is up to the farmer to supply this deficiency if he would bring the land into continual productiveness. Potash may be appled in several ways and forms, as: (1) wood ashes, (2) coal ashes and cinders, (3) muriate or sulfate of potash, (4) kainit, a mineral containing potash along with other salts, (5) tobacco stems and ashes (.f cotton seed hull. Owing to the scarcity qf wood ashes this method Of supplying potash to muck soil is almost precluded. Though when a farmer lives near a coal mine or manufacturing plants, coal ashes s.nd cinders may be obtained free of charge, in fact most manufacturers are glad to get nd of them. Because of the low content in potash, it is necessary to scatter from three to five tons of these nshes and cinders on every acre of muck land. The muriate or sulfate of potash may be purchased from almost any reliable dealer in fertilizer. When pure it should contain at least 50 per cent potash. Prom 200 to 400 pounds per acre, smsly to the land as the potash occurs in tlieni in quantities of only 3 to 5 per cent. I'he ash from cotton seed hull has a potash value of from 7 to 9 per cent and consequently should be applied so as to give the land from 75 to 1.00 pounds per acre. Any of these fertilizers when applied carefully and well worked into the soil, will effect a ivouderful change for better crop j ielsls. News From Arkansas. Editors Indiana Farmer: We have things going down here. Gardens are all made; potatoes planted and coming through the ground, and two patches of corn in; spring oats doing well. An oil company has opened up here and leased quite a lot of land. We are near the now famous Caddo Oil Field, r>nd there is good indications of oil in this immediate vicinity. A number of Indiana men have been here prospecting this year, and some of them have bought land. Many inquiries have come to us from folks back in our old Hoosier home, regarding Arkansas. Well, we can certainly say it is all o. k.; and all we need U more people. W. W. Isenhower. Arkansas. The Kherson'[Oats. Editors Indiana Farmer: In 1897 the Nebraska Experiment Station through one of its representatives secured a small sample of oats from that part of Russia called Kherson. This seed was sown on the Station farm where it has since been compared with all lead- ing varieties and it has proved to be the heaviest producer and oue of the two earliest maturing varieties grown. During recent years seed has been distributed throughout the state and farmers who have been enn- ducting cooperative experiments are practically unanimous in the assertion that it is a much heavier yielding variety thau any other grown in the state. Knowing its popularity in Nebraska, the writer, who formerly lived in Addison, Lenawee County, Michigan, which is in the southern tier of counties iu that state, where conditions are verisimilar to those in Indiana, sent sufficient seed to that locality to give this new variety a fair trial. A Hi- acre field was sown early iu May after other ssats bail sprouted and the Kherson was cut and put in the shock before the early sown oats were ripe. They were not affected by the blight which did great injury to other oats that year, which may have had something to do with their yielding more bvshels to the acre than other well-known varieties. Last season a much larger acreage was seeded and another field of heavy weighing oats was secured. Oue grower of that town makes the following obser vations, after the two sea- sous' experience with these oats, this being the farthest east these oats have been grown on an extensive scale: "The Kherson oats give n very satisfactory yield on southern Michigan soil, fully as high as ether well-known varieties and during one season the yield was heavier. They ripen from 10 to 14 days earlier than other varieties, which early maturity coupled with the fact that they are light in straw, makes the Kherson a most excellent oats for a eover crop in securing a good stand oC clover. Its light but stiff straw makes it especially well adapted for black humus soil where it does not lodge as do other varieties. The kernels are of small size but more numerous in the head. They weigh more to the bushel, because of theirthin hull and are therefore much better a.lapted for feeding swine." H. R. S. A company of farmers, stockraisers and alfalfa farmers in Boone County Neb., have recently organized a stock company and built an alfalfa meal mill, at Albion, Neb. Alfalfa meal is coming into general use in many sections as one of the best and cheapest feeds for dairy cows, horses hogs and poultry. It is well that such companies as the one referred to are being organized to meet the demand that is sure to come. |
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