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a essor Henry G. Bell i! Conducted by Ha this department is BEART Fe Sather on all subjects tare of wher the answer a The Business of Farming.--VI. ow to know what to use.--(Continued.)--We do not wish to Prolon the discussion of the point beyond valuable information, but we To ns teived so many enquities bearing on the analysis of the soil within the last few months that it seems time that this point was clearly so that men who are anxious in improve their soils would not be work alo; un; active lines. In fact, we have heard of men going into fields a! claiming that they can make a ready chemical #halysis of the soil and tell the farmer from the chemical analysis just what he should use. Our state- ent of the facts of the Sage dow How Hosind this claim is, We wish only ement our statement t of certain leading soil scienti bape this feature. ne ssieutis 7 What Analyses Can and Cannot Show. . It must not be understood that these 366 analyses will give all the information needed about Towa sails and how to deal with them. emical analyses cannot do that. For instance, they cannot show just what fertil- izers are necessary and in exactly what amount they should be applied. This is true mainly because chemical analyses merely show what elements the soil contains and cannot show how much of those elements is available for plant food and how much is unavailable as previously pointed out. Chemcal analyses may show that two soils contain the same amount of phosphorus, but in one enough of the phosphorus may be available to insure good crops and in the other so little as to insure.crop failure, and chemical analysis will not that difference."--W. H. Stevenson, Prof. of Soils, Iowa State College of Agriculture. ertilizers and Crops. "It was formerly thought that a chemical anfilysis of any soil would readily furpish information regarding the amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassfim, which would enable one to know whether any of these con- stituents was lacking and to what extent, if any, one needed to add to the soil the deficient constituent or constituents in order to insure an abundant crop. It is not difficult for a trained analytical chemist to determine the amount of each plantfood constituent in a soil, showing the total amounts held as a store for the future, but such results furnish no.information as to how much of these total amounts js immediately available for crops growth . . . . The actual value of soil analysis in determining posi- tively and definitely the plantfood needs of the soil has been and is still a matter of dispute. All agree that the results of soil analysis are nega- tively helpful in enabling one to reach conclusions, when jt is shown that . the total amount -of any plantfood constituent is present in very small] | "amount or wholly absent. However, there appears to be no general agree- ment as to what shall be regarded as the lowest amount of any particular lantfood constituent calling for special addition to meet crop growths." an Slyke in his book, "Fertilizers and Crops," page 4 Dr. A. D. Hall, late Director of Rothamsted Expeniment Station, Eng- I land, in a report before the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1910, page 585, in speaking of the soil survey, which he was con- ducting, states as follows: "Mechanical analysis is considered the most intportant. of the various determinations made in the course of soil analysis, and it is believed that for agricultural purposes the size of the soil particles is more significant than their actual composition. This is emphasized by the controlling influence of the size of particle upon available .water supply and tillage." \ Now it is not our purpose to make a lot of destructive statements and leave nothing constructive, hence we ask the question again, "How shall a man know what to use?" It is now general knowledge that certain types of soil contain characteristic supplies of plantfood as noted by the tables given previously. This is true the world over. It is furthermore well known that farm crops have their own characteristic individual needs for the various constituents of plantfood. These are concisely shown in the following table: i Farm Crop Regiurements. AVAILABLE PLANTFOOD. Nitrogen Phosphoric - CROP. (ammonia) Acid Potatoes, mangels, car- rots, sugar beets.... Good supply Turnips Small supply Wheat, barley Corn (husking) Corn (silage) Fair supply Meadows, pastures and fodder crops Good supply Medium Small supply . No matter what source this plantfood comes from, whether from the soil, from manure, or from fertilizers, the crops must have iit, and that in abundant - supply, if they are to make largest growth and produce fruit of 'best quality. With these two facts in mind then, the practical business man on the farm knows from the results which he is obtaining from his crops whether or not the plantfood of his soils is properly balanced. If not properly balanced he can by the use of manure and fertilizers regulate hig practices so that the material added will make up for the deficiencies in the soil and will meet the special plantfood requirements of the crops. It is often said that every farm is an individual problem. This is perfectly true, although the truth must not be misapplied. The foregoing statement does not mean that while every farm is an individual problem the principles and practices of maintaining plantfood must be worked out anew for every farm. If such were the case we would not get anywhere in the matter of soils and crop food studies. It does mean, however, that the individual history of the management of every farm must have a large place in determining fertility practices which shall be employed in order to ghiain bent, Josults i 0 make plain, supposing your farm has grown a large amount: of legumes and you have returned a considerable amount of livestock manure to the fields that you are preparing to grow a maximum crops of wheat, You should use a fertilizer with a medium small amount of nitrogen, a large amount of phosphoric acid and a medium amount of potash, looking at the problem from the crop standpoint and in view of the fact that the manure and legumes have made contribution to the plantfood in the soil. Now, if the soil is a sandy soil, to begin with, necessarily you will have to increase the amount of nitrogen and potash. If on the other it is a good clay loam, both the ni en potash, especially the latter, can be greatly diminished in the ferti that is added. No oneican tell you exactly what quantity or of what analysis will be mest profitable under your conditions, This is the Sioment of individuality of the problem. The thing to do is to 800 lbs. of fertilizer per acre, that Potash Medium Abundance Abundance Small supply Abundance Abundance Abundance Fair supply Small suppl Small supply x PY Small supply «Small supply supplement th - pein e sons you > and analysis of the plantfood so that rate of interest on money you have invested in it. more frequent than they are. The man ios ye ung in, hie wu tutes. 'the whole : Fon not care RVing about it. He rable | & good influ A-splendid-Guide: iv Garden: or 1919, of _ that even a real protection to large fencing, write'us, Ask for our li Ing and gates. Dealers nearly sufficient] ] the plantfood when in his soils with up the can tell you exactly what to has been accumulating for the Tt garden will . Make your garden the big provider this year, Improved Golden Wax Hollow Crown Detroit Dark Red Aster Select Comet, Mixed Sweet William oe weet Alyssum For Borders Make your selection from the Reanio Catalogue end have the nearest dealer fill your order. If he canmot suppy all your requirements, write us direot. A copy of our tool oatalo tioulars on gerden tools. . TAGE ve WINNIPEG, MAN : aed TRIAGE MONTREAL VANCOUVER bt of two big horses. And tbat without a top or bottom board is fowls and little ehicks too, 11 you are interested We also fence everywhere, = Live agents wanted in wnassigned territory. bit of stock manure obtainable in the best way | often in order to keep the reaction right or the charactenistic weakness of his soils needs of the crops. The most profitable fertility is not a thing for snap judgment. Do not be misl Improve by the 100 years. 3 ' no means & new practice; it has been largely instrumental if the production of food for intensely populated Europe. ; 2 growing in its importance on the American continent as a"means of operat- ing North American farms most profitably. (To be é&ontinued.) by experience _ pay--and pay well. VEGETABLES 3 Ymproved Stratagem Frowsns : Mignorette Sweet Grandifiora Morning Glory Climbing Neasturtiom Climbing Mixed oi Sih Nil v8 You lil par COMPANY LIMITED )., LTD. ible and lime his soil and should supplement {fertilizers suited in analysis to make and to meet the special management of your soils ed by anyone that claims fund of experience which The use of fertilizers is by It has for the last 50 years been GPouliry7s If the litter in the poultry house is damp_and dirty it should be cleaned out and fresh straw replaced. This will help to keep the hens busy until the spring days when they can range outside, One of the large items in poultry work is giving the hens plenty of clean scratchirg material and it is one of the factors in keep- ing the flock healthy until better con- ditions on the range arrive to fur- ther invigorate them. Hens on free range seldom. eat feathers. When they form this habit 'in the poultry yard it means that something needed in the ration is lacking. A balanced ration will often remedy the trouble. If one hen starts feather-eating she should immediate- ly be isolated or killed before teach- ing the habit to other members of the Rock. T If there is little storage room for feed it sometimes pays the farmer to buy a few bags of some pouliry mash which contains all of the ments needed for egg production. Such a& mash Will help to keep the hens healthy and maintain plenty of vigor. Many poultrymen feed commercial mashes throughout the ear and some farmers who have not tried them at all, will find that a few hundred pounds during the hardest part of winter will help out wonder- fully with the poultry feeding prob- lems. Where there is plenty of "stor- age room for various materials the mash mixtures can be made by the farmer in a sati manner. Where there is no time for mixing the matenials, the commercial mashes form a good substitute and they have ence on. egg production when fed to vigorous bred-to-l flocks. ¥ It 5 ot 00 late to onder the inc | bator and brooder but the time 3 thest returns when fed as silage. Corn SID hier Last fall several farmers were dis: cussing the problem of how to feed their cows profitably with the present high prices of all mill feeds. One man suggested, in a joking way; that since we were having so many 'wheat- less and meatless days, we could solve the feed problem by starting grainless days for the dairy cows. They were of the opinion that such a method would result in milkless days. But that i$ just what is happening in the herd of Mathew Michels, a dairy- man of Wisconsin, . Every day is a grainless day for his cows, x "Too many dairymen," said Mr. Michels, "are still of the opinion that milk cannot be produced without the use of expensive feed. To raise all the feed neéded for dairying is en- tirely practical where alfalfa can be grown. "It has a feeding value equal to wheat bran. 'So, in feeding, I supply the protein in the form of alfalfa hay. / : "After alfalfa lay, corn silage is the next most: important feed. It should be remembered that the var- iety of corn that gives the largest yield of shelled corn will give the with big stalks and little grain does not make the silage wanted when feeding without concentrates. Be sire that the corn jis fairly well ma- tured before it goes into the silo." The item of expense is not the only objection that Mr. Michels has to feeding of concentrates. He poinbs = being overfed, contract various dis- It 'will be of interest of feeding: Alfalfa | asked him in surprise. wll children's teeth were s -| an invariable Tule that the teeth shall The reason why most people have such heavy dentel bills is because in childhood theéir teeth were not started " oe hat on earth do you mean?" 1 the same pa "Not at all," he replied. 0 children are 'given a splendid chance for a sound, permanent set of second teeth, while others are foredoomed to spend their lives paying dentist's bills. It all depends on the habits insisted - on by their parents when they are tiny tobs." "The most important one is that of keeping the teeth scrupulously clean and beginning this even before the first teeth appear. Baby's gums should be washed daily with a solu- tion of weak boracic aqid, applied on a bit of absorbent 'cotton or a soft piece of clean linen wrapped around the mother's little finger. This should be thrown away and a fresh piece of material used every time. hen a number of teeth have been cut, a very small, soft brush should be pur- chased and sofhe antiseptic tooth powder or else a tooth paste with a leasant taste, and the teeth should Ee most carefully scrubbed with that, taking care not to hur} the tender gums of childhood. "When the child is about three 'years old, he can be easily taught to care for his own teeth. If it is made be brushed night and morning, this habit will continue through life to the great advantage of the appearance. It is better still to insist on their be- ing brushed after the noonday meal as well. "If the first teeth are not cared for, the permanent set will not be strong and white and the gums may not be healthy. Dental floss #hotild be slip- ped between a child's teeth if they are close together to remove any par- ticles of food that may have lodged there, for this will quickly cause de- cay. And eny indication of tartar should be at once destroyed by dip- ping an orapgewood stick in powder- ed pumice-stone and gently scrubbing the teeth with this, taking care to rinse the mouth well after the op- eration." / "Doesn't that hurt the enamel?" "Not at all if it is carefully done. But if the child is very small I should advise using powdered chalk instead of pumice. . "Whenever much candy has been eaten it is a good plan to rinse the mouth with half a glass of water in which a good pinch of bicarbonate of soda has been dissolved. If these things are attended to in early youth and the habit of brushing the teeth two or three times a day is faithfully kept up, a mouthful of pearls will be the result and the owner of the teeth will spend very liftle on dentist's bills in after life," The other day middle-Rged friend of mine' who has the complexion of a pretty girl of eighteen was talking to me about the children of some friends of ours. "They have three of the dearest and prettiest little girls I ever saw. =F a 5 Es i' 2 28 : 2 Egg Zh : a 2 Net i 8 {8 bk of a little pure witch hazel used on the scalp until the hair js normally dry. In children; however; most cases of oily hair are caused by insufficknt «If the hair of young children ds. washed once a week and once every two weeks hen they are of school age, there will be ng trouble with oiliness, Ke Every child; boy as well 'as girl, has 4 right to good looks, and Mother should do everything 'in het power to secure them. Be wun) + From any economieal point of view, it 'is best not to crowd the horses when first beginning the (spring work. If they get tired out, nothing will re store them except a few days' com- plete rest. : _ Especial care milst be given in starting . the plowing. . It worries 'horses, especially heavy ones, to trav- el over newly plowed or un ground. Frequent short rests a the worry and prevent the h from becoming overheated: The harness must be 'given careful attention to prevent the forming of galls and sores. Wherever it rubs, the horse sweats, particles of dust col- lect, afid by pressure of the harnest cut into the skin, forming sores. If not taken care of they become so seri ous as to necessitate laying off work A good plan is to have clean water and a sponge handy, and to wash and dry the places before putting on the harness again. A wash of equal parts of tincture of myrrh and soft water, used two or three times a day when. the sores first start, will assist a great y deal. Another thing that worries the Horses is to have them hitched un- comfortably to farm machinery. The traces should always be fastened at | equal distances, thus bringing the = singlestrees and double-trees at a - right angle to the way in which the team is going. 3 It is not' permissible to photograp) in China. But\l do not think they will grow up So looking because they have a family wash rag. I don't quite mean that everybody in. the house uses it but I myself saw the mother wash all the kids' faces with the same cloth, Horrid--not to say unsanitary!" | My children always have individual 'wash cloths. They are thoroughly boiled once a week in borax water to sterilize them and get them scien cally clean. I see dren wash their faces before going to! bed. It is even more : Te a ian, ja i the little one eo tr ith ; this will 'coarsen the complexion even does not cabee an ertption. r "to it that the chil-" important to! ts way into the tiny pores and | |