Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 225, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 September 1912 — SOIL INSTRUCTION [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SOIL INSTRUCTION

BY M. L. FISHER, Soils and Crops Department, Purdue Experiment Station. „ Purdue University Agricultural Extension.

K» phase of agricultural practice Is Of more vital interest to Indiana farmers today than the improvement of the soil. The instructional work in soils at Purdue is intended to give the student a grasp of the principles underlying successful soil management. Much Indiana land needs drainage. Students tearn the effect of a waterlogged soil on the circulation of air through it. They also learn that the movement of water through clay, sand, loam and muck is at different rates. Thus it la apparent that lines of tile must vary In their distances apart to drain effectively these different types of soil. The crumb structure of a soil is an , nt item In its tillage qualities. Liming makes hard, close soils more open and easier pulverized. Organic matter loosens compact soils and at the same time enables them to hold moisture and plant food in a form readily available to the roots. The student learns by experiments in the laboratory that the addition of either lime or organic matter modifies the crumb structure of soils. Further study teaches him when lime Is need-

ed and when organic matter is needed. The texture of a soil has an Important bearing upon the crumb, structure. Coarse grained soils have practically no crumb structure, while very fine grained soils have a tendency to form masses (clods) not easily penetrated by roots. Mechanical analysis shows the relative amounts of large and fine particles in a given- soil. This knowledge enables the student to explain the results obtained in many of his experiments. Given a statement of the mechanical constituents of a soil, the student is enabled to judge the tilling qualities of that soil, as well as to make a fair estimate of its crop producing power. The effect ot fertilizers- ofr the producing power of soils is carefully discussed in the class room. The relation of soil structure and composition to the bacterial life In the soils are also carefully studied. The whole purpose of the instruction In soils is to give the student a knowledge of how to manage the soil so that it will have the best conditions possible physically, chemically and biologically,

At Work In the Laboratory.