Crops and Methods for Soil Improvement


Read by KHand

(4.7 stars; 5 reviews)

This book is not a technical treatise and is designed only to point out the plain, every-day facts in the natural scheme of making and keeping soils productive. It is concerned with the crops, methods, and fertilizers that favor the soil. The viewpoint, all the time, is that of the practical man who wants cash compensation for the intelligent care he gives to his land...Experiment stations and practical farmers have developed a dependable science within recent years, and there is no jarring of observed facts when we get hold of the simple philosophy of it all. Summary from the Introduction (4 hr 51 min)

Chapters

Introduction 13:44 Read by KHand
The Need of Lime 13:47 Read by KHand
Applying Lime 16:12 Read by KHand
Organic Matter 11:14 Read by KHand
The Clovers 14:58 Read by KHand
Alfalfa 14:07 Read by KHand
Grass Sods 10:51 Read by KHand
Grass Sods (Continued) 11:18 Read by KHand
Sods for Pastures 10:03 Read by KHand
The Cowpea 10:52 Read by KHand
Other Legumes and Cereal Catch Crops 13:33 Read by KHand
Stable Manure 11:01 Read by KHand
Care of Stable Manure 11:26 Read by KHand
The Use of Stable Manure 12:29 Read by KHand
Crop-rotations 12:56 Read by KHand
The Need of Commercial Fertilizers 13:36 Read by KHand
Commercial Sources of Plant-food 20:29 Read by KHand
Purchasing Plant-food 11:29 Read by KHand
Home-mixing of Fertilizers 13:07 Read by KHand
Mixtures for Crops 13:23 Read by KHand
Tillage 11:39 Read by KHand
Control of Soil Moisture 8:10 Read by KHand
Drainage 11:33 Read by KHand

Reviews

Very Technical


(4.5 stars)

This book, written sometime between the great advances of chemistry, but before the day of the tractor, is packed with practical information about crop rotation, nitrogen/phosphorus/potassium balance, relative nutrient values of various livestock feeds, mulching, best practices for manure spreading, etc. Most interesting, and unexpected, he gives farmers the tools to figure out what to plant when, how to amend the soil so the nutrients don't wash away, and how to balance the needs of cash crops, livestock, and the soil so the farmers need not end up in debt. I think much of this information is still valuable for today's family farmers.