Newspaper Page Text
5T. ,i 1
VOLUME VI
l&0Hjfc*!**m THflw*
E Cf I PAGh
FV t*v
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
(By Thomas Curtis Clark)
He was a true American,
A king of earth in yeoman's guise,
A freeman whom the truth made free,
A patriot whom love made wise.
He held that might is born of right,
That God is Master of the State,
That only nations sternly just
In his eyes are accounted great.
He taught that earth will never see
The true democracy of man
Until each soul, a son of God,
Shall live by God's eternal plan:
Free as the winds, but each close bound
By sober sense of truth and right
Proudly insurgent, yet in each
A reverence for the inner light.
Democracy for him was not
The howling mob's unthinking wrath
A blind subservience to crowds
Should lead no man from reason's path.
He was a true American,
A king of earth in yeoman's guise,
A freeman whom the truth made free,
A patriot whom love made wise.
"Then gently scan your brother Man,
Still gentler sister Woman
Tho' they may gang a kennin wrang,
To step aside is human
One point must still be greatly dark,
rhe~mtvftrg"
thejrdcr it.
And just as lamely can ye mark
How far, perhaps, they rue it.
"Who made the heart, 'tis He alone
Decidedly can try us
He knows each chord, its various tone,
Each spring, its various bias
Then at the balance let's be mute,
We never can adjust it
What's done we partly may compute,
But know not what's resisted."
Robert Burns.
INCREASING SOIL FERTILITY
The soil has two distinct functions to perform,
i. e., a home for the plant to live in, and the produc
tion of plant food, so that the plant may grow and
produce in abundance. Good seed may be obtained
_j ,~f nl nM
T'#&?"
"Work is a Splendid Tonic for Dissatisfaction"
RED LAKE, MINNESOTA, JANUARY, 1920
by careful selection and storing of the previous
crops. Every farmer ought to save his own seed,
as seed grown in his locality and soil does better
than seed obtained from away.
The soil is not all plant food, but largely an inert
mass of very small particles of rock, brought to its
present finely pulverized condition by ages of
weathering and decomposition. Through this mass
a redistributed small quantities of mineral elements
called plant foods.
A fertile soil also contains organic matterthe
partially decayed remains of plants and animals,
which is called humus. This substance is the basis
of soil nitrogen, which is the most important ele
ment of plant food, because it is the one most
quickly exhausted.
Humus has a great influence on the texture of
the soil, it giving the dark, fertile appearance, holds
moisture, tends to prdouce a mellow, warm condi
tion, and is the medium through which bacterial
life exists. These bacteria, so essential to the de
velopment of available plant food, thrive only in
the presence of a good supply of humus. Soils
which lack humus are unproductive and crops will
not grow.
The texture of the soil is nearly always more im
portant than mere richness. The maintenance and
improvement of soil texture is more dependent
upon plowing than any other tillage operation. It
will add neither humus or richness, but if properly
done, will maintain a good condition and make
plant food available.
A finely pulverized mellow soil is more productive
than a hard lumpy one of the same chemical com-
and mor~ favorablU environmen for plan roots
absorbs and retains more moisture, has better aira
tion and less variable extremes of temperature. It
also promotes nitrification and the development
of aviable plant food by giving favorable conditions
for the development of soil bacteria, also for the
decomposition and solution of soil minerals.
Plowing, especialy in the spring tends to venti
late, warm and dry the seed bed. If properly done,
it lessens evaporation from the deeper soil by pro
ducing a mellow mulch above it.
Deep plowing brings up new stores of inert plant
food, enlarges the moisture reservoir, deepens the
seed bed, gives more root room, and more material
for the soil bacteria to work over into available
plant food.
Deep plowing or subsoiling serves to break up
a hard pan, which is often a desirable thing to do.
RED LAKE INDIAN AGENCY
|Ji 11 ifM*U**WUW
NEW S
position, because it affo*4fr-ras ^ftdJsg^rUM4i^atkrkyHB^ ti/ev^e^Oi^S^t^zmAm^et^^&i^ it ,'ys
Hyj a% yi t"
Fall plowing is an efficient means of destroying
weeds, because it prevents them from seeding. It
also destroys many kinds of insects. Careless plow
ing is never done right. Do not cut and cover or
ship any soil. If the plow is thrown out, go back
an dclean out the furrow. It will pay in extra yield
and make the field look better Never plow the
field the same way every year as this makes ridges
and brings the dead furrow in the same place. Do
and clean out the furrow. It will pay in extra yield
soil in it so that the drag will fill it up. A deep
dead furrow is a waste of land and makes the field
rough.
Spring plowing on light sandy soil should be done
early so as to save all the moisture from the snow
and early rains, and to make the soil firm, to check
evaporation.
It is a good plan to plow sometimes before plant
ing, so the soil may store moisture and become
settled into good seed condition. This practice also
allows the surface tillage which destroys weeds and
makes plant food available.
It is not a good practice to depend upon plowing
just before seeding, because the condition of the
soil and bad weather may interfere with the work,
delaying planting beyond the time when the seed
should be in the ground. There is a "proper time"
to plant each crop and the successful farmer will
prepare his soil and await that time, for it will
never wait on him.
It is better to plow some soils when too dry than
too wet. Very light mellow soils or coarse sandy
soils are improved in'texture by plowing when wet,
because the compacting effect of the moulboard
leaves it less loose and porous. Clayey heavy or, -fn-v rnrvhs., nn-n \\a cttTniAari Vto/ismce tVie nflrt.inlfis are SO firmi'V
can be avoided becaus th particleS are so firntfy
packed together that drying produces hard chunks,
which plant roots, air or water, cannot very easily
penetrate. In the case of fall plowing the freezing
of the wet soil causes it to break up into a mellow
condition. The texture of gumbo land, which can
hardly be plowed unless it is wet, is greatly improv
ed by deep fall plowing. Some soils wh
tendency to blow should not be plowed in the fall.
It is better to leave it with the stubble or cover
crop and plow in the spring.
The advantages of fall plowing, are destruction
of weeds and insects, a well settled seed bed and
accomplishment of part of the labor of preparing
the land when other farm work is pressing.
It is not always best to plow deep, because in
dry seasons very deep plowing, unless great care
(Continued on Last Page)
ii |i NII H, II i iitlliMWIli 1Ti JjEffW^
4
ch have a
"I"
&*?&
JV4M HitL 900*
NUMBER 6
/*&i?
FEB 28 1920
