The fertility of the land: a summary sketch of the relationship of farm-practice to the maintaining and increasing of the productivity of the soil

Front matter

ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY

AT

CORNELL UNIVERSITY

Contents

PAaES A CaAT WITH THE YoUNG FARMER 1-8

■CHAPTER I.

An Inventoet of the Land 9-33

CHAPTER II. TiA; Evolution of the Plow 34-60

Importance of the subject— Definitions.

Development op the plow in the old world. Plow mentioned in the Bible— East Indian plow— Egyptian plow— Early French and Dutch plows— English inventions— Jethro Tull's ideas— Scotch plows— The English idea of plowing ....... 34-43

(ix)

Contents.

Development op the plow in America. An early Yankee plow— Thomas Jefferson— Evolution of the cast-iron plow— The American idea of plowing— Interchangeable parts— Webster's and Burrell's plows — The subsoil plow . . . . ... 44-52

Prairie plows. The problem on the prairies- Prairiebreakers— The glass plow ...... 52-54

Development op contemporaneous plows. Chilled plows— Gang-plows— The modern light plows— The importance of the plow ....... 54-60

CHAPTER III. Tilling the Land . . . . . . 61-107

Tilling is the fundamental labor— The work of Tull.

General remarks on plowing. Why do we plow! — Pulverizing the soil— The character of the furrow— Surface tillage influenced by plowing— Sowing without plowing—More than one plowing sometimes necessary . . 62-72

Some specific results of plowing. Hffect on soil mots^ure- Puddling and percolation— Subsoiling— The importance of compacting the land— Deep plowing. —X)j^jnj and warming the layid — Forming a hard-pan— Storage capacity of the soiZ— Deep and shallow soil-resarvoirs- Undrrdraining. —Aeration promoted hy plowing SoW may be too compact or too open— Importance of aeration.— Nitrification promoted by plowing —Nitrogen most essential early in the life of the ^IsLnt.— Physical conditions improved by plowing —Importemce of well-pulverized soil— Roots should go deep.- Plowing to bring fertility to the sur/ace— Upward movement of plant-food— Amelioration of alkali lands— Boot-pruning.— Pioi«i«3 to bury trash— Disposing of weeds and vegetable matter .... 72-87

Times and methods of plowing. When to plow— Fall plowii'.g- Wire-worms — Spring plowing. — Tfi'ieM not to plow— Plowing when too wet or too dry.— Sow to plow— The shape of the "lands"— Plowing for surface drainage—Deep and shallow plowing— Arrangement of the

Contents. jti

PAQES

driTing lines for three horses— The plowing team.— £i»je of draft in plows— The traces and the evener— Figures

of draft 87-99

Surface tillage. The seed-bed— Eeasons for tilling the surface— Experience in California orchards— Tilling to destroy weeds— The tools— Intev-tillage. — Implements for surface tilling — The roller — Flankers — Harrows — Spring-toothed harrows— The Acme harrow type. — Cultivators are of numberless patterns — The form of the blades— Inter-tillage for the cereals — Seeding with an associate crop ......... 99-107

CHAPTER IV. Conservation of Moisture 108-119

Necessity of water to transport plant-foods— The philosophy of moisture-storage and the earth-mulch— Shading the soil— Mulching— The herbage-cover of grass lands- Humus— Details of the earth -mulch— Compaction of the sub-surface soil— Puddling— Depth of the earth-mulch— Cover crops- Late tillage— Potato culture— Conserving moisture in sowed crops— Boot habits of the plants.

CHAPTEE V.

Irrigation and Drainage . . ... 120-130

Relation of the chapter to the previous discussions.

Irrigation. A problem of engineering— Irrigation in dry and in humid climates— The practice to be largely governed by the price of the product— Work in the upper Mississippi valley— What are deserts?— Some areas not worth irrigating 120-126

Drainage. Philosophy of under-draining— Ammonia from rain-fall— Improving the physical characteristics of soil -Method of laying tiles 127-130 xu

Contents.

CHAPTER VI. Farm Manures

Definitions.

General considerations respeotino the use of MANURES. They are unbalanced— Metliods of comparison—Value of manures depends in part upon the plants— Demands made by wheat— Composition of manures- Availability of the elements in farm manures— Application of manures to different types of land — Conclusions respecting the use and value of farm manures

Factors which determine the quality of farm MANURES. That from young animals least valuable- Varies with the species of animal^Also with the use to which the animal is put— Manure of mature animals — What the animal takes from the food— Extent of carbonaceous matter— Potential energy of foods— Kinds of food influence the kind of manure — Individuality of the animal—The water drunk influences manure— The bedding— The bedding may injure the manure ....

PAOES

131-148

132-141

141-148

CHAPTER VII. Manures Produced by Various Animals

Manures vs. fertilizers— Computed values of manures. A discussion of the manure of cattle Studies op horse manure ....

Livery stable manure Discussion op sheep excrements Manure and excrements of swine Analyses of the excrement of fowls Miscellaneous statistics of animal manures

149-182

CHAPTER VIII. Thk Waste of Manures

. 183-187

Contents. xiii

CHAPTEE IX.

PAGES

The Care, Preservation and Application of Manures . 188-213

Importance of saving manures.

Loss IN MANURES DUE TO WEATHERING AND EXPO- SURE. Importance of housing manures — Liquid manures—The open barnyard — Statistics of loss in manures—The relation of the manure to the food consumed. 188-201

Covered manure yards. The present conditions- Importance of cover for both animals and manure- Description and pictures of manure sheds . . 201-207

The application of manures. Why manures may be applied to land— Fall and spring applications— Place of manures in the rotation— Applications to orchards— Too liberal use of manures— Manure on clay and grass lands— Spreading manures ...... 207-213

CHAPTER X. Nitrogen and Nitrification . . . 214^248

How to detect the presence of much nitrogen— Potential nitrogen is abundant— Nitrogen made useful by tillage— Nitrogen shows in the vegetative growth— Experiments with wheat— Potatoes— Maize— The need and office of nitrogen— The importance of direct questioning of the soil and the crop— Sources of nitrogen in farm lands— Cover and catch crops— Lime and nitrification—Gypsum and nitrification- Fallows in relation to nitrification— The conditions in the south.

Prevention of loss in nitrogen in stable manures. Abstracts of the opinions of Immendorft— Loss due to access of air — Conditions of nitrogen-loss — Straw, muck, and earth to save nitrogen— The action of lime, coj)peras, gypsum, kainit and superphosphates- Experiments in stables— Conclusions, recommending the use of dry earth 232-244

XIV

Contents.

PAOES

Explanation op nitkipication. The changes In nitrogen-compounds— Nitrification a biological problem- Conditions favoring the micro-organisms — Liming the land-Denitrification . 244-248

CHAPTER XI. The Phosphoric Acid and Potash Supply . . . 249-259

Variation in amounts and usefulness of these plant-foods.

Husbanding the mineral plant-foods. How far shall tillage and farm-practice be invoked to utilize the stores of native plant-food? — The amount in the soil— Abandonment of wheat farming— Cover crops to utilize these materials— Lime and gypsum in relation to potash . 249-256

Comparison op native soils with those cultivated FOR SEVERAL YEARS. Facts from the Red River Valley- Depletion of humus, and therefore of moisture-holding capacity and of nitrogen ....... 256-259

CHAPTER Xn.

Commercial Fertilizers 260-302

Statistics of the fertilizer industry— Future of soil-production— Productivity of the land and national prosperity.

General remarks upon the use of commercial fertilizers. Questioning the soil— Numerous brands of fertilizers—State laws— Can farmers afford to use chemical fertilizers ?— Do fertilizers deplete the soil ?— Do they stimulate it !— Timeliness of application- Complete fertilizers ..... . . 264-273

Some specific advice as to fertilizers and crops. High-priced products may be heavily fertilized— Applications of nitrogen— Some soils respond more readily than others do— A specific example on Cayuga Lake— Fertilizers should be adjacent to the seed— Effects in succeeding crops ... ... 273-277

Contents.

XV

Estimating the commerciai/ value op fertilizers. Tables of trade values— Average prices actually paid in New York State— Actual value cannot be determined- Sample guarantees— Insoluble phosphoric acid and its value— The farmer must experiment for himself

277-289

Home mixing op pertilizeks. Sample mixtures, and the manner of computing them— Conclusions . . . 289-297

A WORD ON THE CHEMISTRY OF THE SUPERPHOSPHATES.

Elements and compounds— The three calcic phosphates- Treatment with sulfuric acid— Reverted phosphoric acid . 298-302

CHAPTER XIII. Lime and Vakious Amendments

. 303-341

Definition of amendment.

Lime. Its source— Historical sketch— Cover crops and liming — ^Weight of lime— Effect of hydrated lime on sandy land— On clay land— Decomposes organic matter- Accelerates nitrification- How to slake it— How to apply it— Conclusions . . .... 303-312

Liming to correct acidity op soil. The experiments at Rhode Island Station— Opinions of chemists— Clover and timothy fail on sour lands— The plants which are indicative of sour lands— Sourness not confined to low lands— Soils containing lime may still be sour— Pictures of experimental crops ... . 313-327

Gypsum, or land plaster. Used less than formerly — Variation in Its composition— Why and when plaster is valuable— Use on alkali lands— Gypsum and moisture . 327-33a

Ashes. Composition and value— Table of analyses— Coal-ashes 333-335

Cotton-seed hull ashes. Method of making— Composition-Value as a fertilizer ...... 335-336

RiVBR and swamp mud, and peat. Analyses of— Value of 336-337 xvi Contents.

PAGES

Mabl. Constitueuts of— Value as a dressing for land . 337-338

Muck. Various analyses— Value as a fertilizer . 338-339

Salt. Its uses on land— Plants seem to lack it- Conserving moisture by salt— Conserving fertility . . 339-341

CHAPTEK XIV.

Green Manures and Fallows ... . . 342-355

Clovers. Why clovers are valuable— The root system—Composition of clovers — They remove plant-food— Alfalfa— Composition of late-sown clover— Other green manures . . . . 342-349

Fallows. An ancient custom— Benefits derived from fallowing — How often to plow— Green fallows — Short fallows— Conclusions ....... 349-355

CHAPTEK XV.

Rotations . . 356-372

Difficulty of determining what plants need— Different needs of different crops — Some crops need extra care whilst young — Rotation in trees — Some plants feed mostly from the air — Plants vary in assimilative power— Comparisons with animals.

Specific directions upon rotations. They receive small attention in America —What rotation may accomplish—Influence upon weeds— Wheat and clover rotations— Rotations increase productivity — Pour-year rotation— Inter-tilled crops followed by spring cereals— Com- I>anionships of weeds and crops — Rotations on grass lands— Rotation may economize plant-food — A rotation for the clover root-borer— Insects and rotations— Distribution of the work of the year —A three-year rotation for light lands— Long and short rotations compared . 361-372

Contents. xvii

Pages

Authorities cited — Animal excrements — Animal products—Bedding materials— Chaff, hulls and shells— Commercial plants— Fertilizing materials — Fruits, leaves and nuts— Green fodders— Hay— Leaves, etc., of vegetables- Mill products — Boots- Seeds— Straw- Vegetables .

Index 405-4ir

THE FERTILITY OF THE LAND.

A CHAT WITH THE YOUNG FAEMER.

In the hurry and unrest of a new country, few have time or inclination to become familiar with plant and animal life as seen in the field and wood, and fewer stUl have looked upon the surface of the earth as anything but a mass of dirt, the particles of which are to be avoided or removed whenever they offend the sight or interfere with comfort.

Fill a flower -pot with the soft, dark earth and mold from the border of the wood, and carry it to the student of entomology, and see if he can name one -half of the living forms of this little kingdom of life ; or hand it to the botanist, well trained in the lower orders of plants, and see how many of the living forms which these few handfuls of dirt contain he can classify. Present this miniature farm to the chemist and the physicist, and let them puzzle over it. Call in the farmer, and ask him what plants will thrive best in it ; or keep the soil warm and moist for a time, and have the gardener say of the tiny plants that appear as by magic which are good and which are bad. Mark well what all these experts have said, and call in the orchardist to tell you how

2 The Ffrtility of the Land.

to change dead, lifeless, despised earth into fruit ; ask the physiologist to explain how sodden earth is transformed into nerve and brain. With this extended little field in view, choose the profession of agriculture if you love rural pursuits, but comprehend fully that in doing so you are entering upon the most difficult of all pursuits : dif&cult in ordinary times, doubly so under the present conditions, which have come about so rapidly that they are almost incomprehensible.

The American inherits from his European ancestors an inordinate desire for landed estates. In earlier days, many farmers acquired land by the square mile, and all secured more than they could farm well. The Federal Government sold at nominal prices, gave away and indirectly forced land upon all comers, not even reserving the hilly timber lands which, if they had been reserved, would have tempered the climate and have been an ever-present source of wealth. The Homestead Act has not brought unmixed blessings. The whole course of our federal policy towards public lands has tended to produce soil -robbers, not farmers. Transportation by steam power has made the products of vast inland areas salable, giving value to lands which were valueless, but the same power has also brought the products of Asia, Africa and South America into competition in the markets of the world.

From 1861 to 1865, vast numbers of men were transferred from the producing to the consuming class, and the prices of farm products became abnor-

A Ghat with the Young Farmer. 3

mally high when measured by an inflated currency. These conditions could not fail to mislead and disappoint many when the population and the currency were restored to normal conditions. At the close of the CivU War, in addition to a vast influx of foreigners, there were added to the farming community many soldiers who, in the high prices, saw quick and large returns from the rich lands which had by this time been opened to settlers by the construction of extended systems of railway. During the third quarter of the century inventive genius so improved the appliances of agriculture as to quadruple the productive power of each farmer.

From 1870 to 1880, the percentage increase of new farms was 50.71 per cent, while the percentage of increase of population was 30.8 per cent. From 1880 to 1890, the increase was but 13.86 per cent, but the increase of population was 24.86 per cent. This shows that, for a time, the percentage increase of farms vastly outran the percentage increase of population. It also shows that the conditions prevailing before 1880 are being so rapidly reversed that the percentage increase in population may outrun that of farms far enough to greatly improve the home markets of many farm products in the near future. Be this as it may, the farmer is wise who adjusts himself quickly to present conditions, so unlike those of. his father. To do this, he must see clearly and think straight ; he must have good executive ability, as well as training and practice in well-defined business methods. To see clearly, the eye must be trained to take in a multitude of objects quickly, to sort, compare and photograph on the sensitive brain those which are worth preserving. To think straight, many scientific ficts, or items of knowledge, arranged in order, must be acquired, and these can be secured only by long, painstaking effort.

But to know is not enough ; the ability to execute must be joined to knowledge, and executive skill is acquired in its highest form only by the direction and management of large affairs. It cannot be learned in the class-room, nor formulated in a text -book, and it is seldom learned by the farm boy because of want of opportunity ; hence the lessons of the beginner are usually manifold, the tuition for the first term high, and the whole is paid for from his own resources, while young teachers, professional and business men get free tuition because they learn at the expense of their employers. What has been said of executive ability applies with nearly equal force to business ability, the lack of which in city and in country is evidenced in the newspapers by the word "assignment."

To the clear eye, to the intellectual equipment, to executive ability and trained business methods, must be added manual dexterity. Until recently the untold fertile acres, the favorable conditions, and the simple wants of the people, have arrested, in agriculture, the operation of that great law — the survival of the fittest. It has been said that ''anybody can farm." That was, but is not true. From this time

A Chat with the Young Farmer. 5

on the struggle in farming will be such as it has been in mercantile affairs for some time. The unfitted in agriculture will have to yield for the same reason that many little factories, located off the lines, of transportation, furnished with inadequate power, machinery and brains, have been abandoned. Many hillsides will be left to cover their nakedness with a new growth of hardy vegetation. It will thus be seen how well equipped the farmer should be, how fertile in brain, in imagination and in resources ; how full of wisdom, of enthusiasm, of faith ; how quick to see, how prompt to execute, how patient to endure under difficulties, if the fertility of his land is to be transformed into abundant and perfect fruits and flowers.

This book is dedicated to the young farmers of America. I am well acquainted with you all, though you are not acquainted with me, and being acquainted and older than you are, I cannot forbear entering into a little familiar chat. I know your thoughts, your toils and sorrows and discouragements; your aspirations, hopes and joys. I know, too, what fiber, endurance and patience farm work gives to the boys who make the most of what an outdoor life with nature has to offer. I know how hot it is in August under the peak of the flat-roofed barn, how large the forkfuls are that the stalwart pitcher thrusts into the only hole where light and air can enter. I know how high the thistles grow, and how far the rows of corn stretch out. I know, too, the freedom, fun and work of the old farm that make one expand.

6 The Fertilify of fhi' h<t,i<l.

enjoy and grow, and leave no bitter memories. I know you well, my boy, — how green and brown you feel when you come to the noisy city, and how you would like to be free and cool again !

You have seen for the thousandth time the long, wavy line of smoke as the train goes swinging by, winding in and out among the hills. Then you have longed to drive that mighty iron horse, feed him on fire, and make him leap away in wild freedom. Or, perhaps you do not aspire so high, and would be content to run a street -car. You have even admired the bright letters on the caps of the motormen, and you would exchange your freedom for the blue coats and shiny buttons. So intently have you longed to have some great corporation brand and number you, when the tasks at home were hard, that you have even planned to slip down those huge porch posts at night with your little bundle on a stick. But when night came you fell asleep, and the morning sun found you with thickened blood, temptation gone and courage for another day. Love and inherited pluck saved you. You were not ready for the city ; you lacked knowledge, seasoned fiber and judgment. We never send colts to the city ; they lose their heads and get " stove up " by rapid pace and rough, hard streets. The city may need you later, but sidewalks are hot and hard, while the country roads are soft and cool.

My scientific reader is getting anxious to know what manner of book this is, and in his heart he thinks I would better have been telling you how

A Ghat with the Young Farmer. 7

energy is changed into heat, heat into motion, and then back into potential energy again. But let him wait ; you and I are to finish our chat before we sit down to hard study.

All are greatly interested in you, my boy ! We cannot see how to get along without you, and yet no one cares very much where you were born, where you live or how low you start, how high you climb or what you do, so long as you do right and lead a useful life. The world cares how you work, and it is interested in the progress of civilization. It asks that every one of you start from just where you are, without grumbling and with courage, and climb faithfully, honestly and in harmony with nature's modes of action, and the bars which guard the wealth of soil and the accumulation of man's toil will then fly back at your bidding. But wealth should be sought not for the pleasure of securing and possessing it, but as a means to higher ends. When rightly used, it relieves its possessor from a too severe struggle for mere existence, and gives time and opportunity for acquiring useful and pleasurable knowledge, which in turn naturally leads to a fuller comprehension of the real and enduring verities which, though unseen by the natural eye, are all that remain at the close of life. Financial reserves and mental training are the two great stepping-stones by which mankind may reach a higher plane of existence. On this higher plane, the environment is so broad and grand, the air so pure and thoughts so lofty, that all work, however menial, becomes inspiring, and study, however hard, is pleasant and ennobling.

So, my young farmers, — who should be the pride of the nation and the anchor which holds the thoughtless from drifting towards anarchy, — be honest with the soil and with yourself. As you acquire health, fiber, purpose, and courage in mounting the first step, do not stop at the second or the third. Aim high, for it has been written: "Aim at the sun, and you may not reach it; but your arrow will fly far higher than if aimed at an object on a level with yourself." In the hurry of this intensely utilitarian age, not only may health and life be curtailed, but the better and loftier sides of our nature are in danger of becoming dwarfed. While I may not stop to discuss the moral bearings of our profession, yet may I not ask my young reader to study what I have written in a broad and generous spirit, in order that the higher ends to be sought by study of the utilitarian side of the farmer's activities, which is presented in the following chapters, may be kept in mind!

Chapter I. An Inventory Of The Land

The term fertility is commonly used in a special sense, meaning an abundance of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, but its true meaning is productive power. One acre of land may contain thousands of pounds of plant -food and yet be infertile, while another one may not contain a liberal supply of the elements of plant growth, and yet be productive. If land contains a reasonable amount of potential plant-food and fails to give satisfactory results, it would appear to be both unbusinesslike and unscientific to add plant -food rather than to use that already in possession.

Large quantities of plant -food have been locked up in the fields since their creation, and might as well not have been created for all the good which they have yet rendered mankind. The first problem, therefore, that presents itself for solution, is how best to make available the stores of potential fertility in the soil. Before entering upon the subjects of cultivation and the physical characteristics of the land, an investigation should be made by questioning the soil, to discover approximately the amounts and availability of the plant -food in the land, what di-afts it is desirable to make upon it, how it responds to the demands, and what is likely to be brought to the land from home resources.

Some soils respond quickly to tillage, and a portion of the potential plant -food which they contain is easily made available. Most light and sandy soils are of this character. Others, as heavy clays, in which the abundant elements of plant life are likely to be tenaciously held in combination with other matter, require skill and expensive treatment to make these elements available. Still another class contains deleterious compounds, which must be oxidized, or leached out, or some chemical action must take place to change the compounds into new forms which may be beneficial, or at least not injurious to plant growth.

A careful investigator discovers at once that productivity is not the simple question of lack or abundance of potential plant-food in the soil, -and thatj although productivity may be increased by adding or withholding one or more elements, the problem of how to most economically increase production is complex. It is not necessarily solved by the mere adding of fertilizing substances to the soil.

One writer has said that the best fertilizer for heavy clay land is blind drains ; another, that deep plowing is the chief agent. Yet some portions of New Jersey were changed, between 1820 and 1850, from a sandy semi-desert into fruitful fields of wheat and maize, producing two or three times as much as the average yield of the state, by plowing which was seldom deeper than four inches, Others,

Agencies Affecting Fertility. 11

whose opinions are not to be despised, believe that the red clover plant is a universal panacea for the ills of impoverished soils ; while Jethro TuU, that thoughtful benefactor of English agriculture, held strongly to the belief that frequent and appropriate horse -hoe tillage would result in maximum crops for an indefinite period of time.

The modern thought is to keep many domestic animals, and return in their voidings much of the plant-food removed from the land. But, manifestly, all persons cannot put this method into practice, and if they could, this scheme does not provide for waste and toll in many forms which must occur between the harvesting of the plants and the return to the fields of the residuum. Then, too, the physical conditions of the soil, the moisture stored in it, its temperature, the amount of sunshine, and other climatic influences, all play such important parts in the final results, that they not infrequently become a primary, and plant -food a secondary, factor in production. It is needless to multiply illustrations to show how complex and difficult the question becomes.

THE NATIVE PLiANT-FOOD IN THE SOIL.

The following tables give forty -nine well authenticated analyses of American soils. In compiling them, care has been taken to use no analyses which seemed to be phenomenally low or high, as well as to secure those made by chemists of wide reputation :

The Fertility of the Land.

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Soil Analyses.

t-cDooooacocMT

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The Fertility of the Land.

m n

■JTOi

•;s^IBav us o=H 'sqi

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Analyses of Subsoils.

•sajnos

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!5

■Iiosnigpag

1,930 1,953 3,666

21,749 3,722 3,375

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Total . .

Average .

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The tables reveal the fact that even the poorer soils have an abundance of plant -food for several crops; while the richer soils in some cases have sufficient for two hundred to three hundred crops of wheat or maize. The average of thirty -four analyses (Table I.) gives to each acre of land, eight inches deep, 3,217 pounds of nitrogen, 3,936 pounds of phosphoric acid, and 17,597 pounds of potash, and this does not include that which is contained in the stones, gravel and sand of the soil which will not pass through meshes of % millimeter (1-50 of an inch) , which, by weathering and tillage, slowly give up their valuable constituents.

Some plats at Cornell University grew, in 1895, 6,967.8 pounds of dry matter per acre of maize and stalks in hills, equal to 31,600 pounds of green material containing 77.95 per cent of water ; and from other plats were harvested 26,000 pounds per acre of green oats and peas in 1896, containing 75 per cent of water. Samples of the soil from one of the plats, which grew the corn in 1895 and the oats and peas in 1896, were taken July 10, 1896, to determine the proportion which would pass through meshes of 1-18 of an inch, the amount of moisture, the weight of a cubic foot of soil, the composition of the soil which passed through the sieve, the proportion of pebbles which would not pass through, and also the composition of the rejected portion (the pebbles and stones), which was finely powdered by mechanical means and then separately analyzed. The results obtained are as follows :