Identifier: schoolfarmtreati00egge (find matches)
Title: The school and farm. A treatise on the elements of agriculture
Year: 1902 (1900s)
Authors: Eggert, Charles Agugustus, 1853- (from old catalog)
Subjects: Agriculture
Publisher: Chicago, W. M. Welch & company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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of an acre of soil, unless eithervery barren or unusually fertile, contains about 3,600pounds of nitrogen, 5,000 pounds of phosphoric acid,and 6,000 pounds of potash, in a form available forplant growth. It is these elements, to which shouldbe added black humus, the value of which consistslargely in its capacity of retaining moisture, that con-stitute a large part of the farmers capital; it is thesewhich he really sells when he disposes of his crops. Heactually sells in farm produce a part of his soil. Hencethe necessity of preparing worn-out lands for a cropby proper manuring, and by economizing the fertileelements in the soil by a change of crops. In a ton of wheat the farmer sells 38 pounds of ni-trogen, 19 of phosphoric acid, and 13 of potash, andthese amounts are lost from the soil. In a ton of milk, on the other hand, his soil losesonly about 12 pounds of nitrogen, 4>4 pounds of phos-phoric acid, and 3^^ pounds of potash. Hence, other circumstances, such as markets, roads, 59
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60 RAISING AND ROTATION OF FIELD CROPS. 6l etc., being equal, the dairy farmer will be in possessionof a greater amount of his original soil at the end often years than the wheat raising farmer. These facts should be well considered. Whether toraise one crop rather than another depends on manycircumstances; sometimes it is simply a question as tothe quickest way of obtaining some ready money. Itis for this reason that tenant farmers are often so de-structive in their treatment of the farm. The owner,or any conscientious farmer, will look ahead, make hisplans a number of years in advance, and will use allpossible care and diligence to prepare his land in sucha way that each crop to be raised shall find all the con-ditions favorable. (Fig. 8.) We have learned that natural soils which have neverbeen used for raising crops contain humus and all theelements of fertility needed to produce paying crops.But we have also seen that some crops need more min-eral elements than others, that they e

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