The Farm That Won't Wear Out
By Cyril G. Hopkins
Preface
THE FARM THAT WON'T WEAR OUT
WAS FIRST published serially in THE COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, the privilegehaving been granted the author of subsequent publication. It is nowissued in book form in response to numerous requests comingespecially from the Central, Eastern, and Southern States.
CYRIL G. HOPKINS.
CHAMPAIGN, ILL.
"Population must increase rapidly, more rapidly than in formertimes, and ere long the most valuable of all arts will be the art ofderiving a comfortable subsistence from the smallest area ofsoil."—Lincoln.
"It is not the land itself that constitutes the farmer's wealth,but it is in the constituents of the soil, which serve for thenutrition of plants, that this wealth truly consists."—Liebig.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I: What Goes To Make Up Permanent Fertility
CHAPTER II: The Nitrogen Problem And Its Economical Solution
CHAPTER III: Phosphorus: The Master Key To Permanent Agriculture
CHAPTER IV: Permanent Soil Fertility: Its Relation to Profits and Future Values
CHAPTER I
WHAT GOES TO MAKE UP PERMANENT FERTILITY
IT IS an old saying that "any fool can farm," and this was almostthe truth when farming consisted chiefly in reducing the fertilityof new, rich land secured at practically no cost from a generousGovernment. But to restore depleted soils to high productive powerin economic systems is no fool's job, for it requires mental as wellas muscular energy; and no apologies should be expected from thosewho necessarily make use of technical terms in the discussion ofthis technical subject, notwithstanding the common foolish advicethat farmers should be given a sort of "parrot" instruction inalmost baby language instead of established facts and principles indefinite and permanent scientific terms. The farmer should be asfamiliar with the names of the ten essential elements of plant foodas he is with the names of his ten nearest neighbors. Safe andpermanent systems of soil improvement and preservation may come withintelligence—never with ignorance—on the part of the landowners.
When the knowledge becomes general that food for plants is just asnecessary as food for animals, then American agriculture will meanmore than merely working the land for all that's in it. Thisknowledge is as well established as the fact that the earth isround, although the people are relatively few who understand or makeintelligent application of the existing information.
Agricultural plants consist of ten elements, known as the essentialelements of plant food; and not a kernel of corn or a grain ofwheat, not a leaf of clover or a spear of grass can be produced ifthe plant fails to secure any one of these ten elements. Some ofthese are supplied to plants in abundance by natural processes;others are not so provided and must be supplied by the farmer, orhis land becomes impoverished and unpro