CHAPTER XXXIII

THE DIAGNOSIS AND PRESCRIPTION

WINTERBINE, ILLINOIS,

December 4, 1 903

Mr. T. O. Thornton, Blairville, VA.

MY DEAR SIR:—­I beg to report that I returned home a few days ago and found my mother well and busy as usual.  We have definitely decided that we will not accept your kind offer to sell us a part of your farm, but we appreciate nevertheless the sacrifice, at least from the standpoint of sentiment, which Mrs. Thornton and Miss Russell were willing to make, in order to permit us to secure such a farm as we might want in a splendid situation.

As a matter of fact we are thinking very seriously of purchasing a farm in Southern Illinois.  My mother much prefers to remain in Illinois, and for some reasons I have the same preference on her account.

While in Washington I was fortunate enough to find that a soil survey had been completed for your county and also that a partial ultimate analysis had been made of the common loam soil of your farm, such as we sampled.  Following are the number of pounds per acre for the surface soil to a depth of six and two-thirds inches,—­that is, for two million pounds of soil.

610 pounds of phosphorus

13,200 pounds of potassium

1,200 pounds of magnesium

3,430 pounds of calcium

As compared with a normal fertile soil, your land is very deficient in phosphorus and magnesium, and, as you know, the soil is acid.  It is better supplied with potassium than with any other important element.

I would suggest that you make liberal use of magnesian limestone,—­at least two tons per acre every four or five years,—­and the initial application might better be five or even ten tons per acre if you are ready to make such an investment.

I am sorry that the nitrogen content of the soil was not determined, or at least not published in the bulletin.  There can be no doubt, however, that your soil is extremely deficient in organic matter and nitrogen, and you will understand that liberal use should be made of legume crops.  The known nitrogen content of legumes and other crops will be a help to you in planning your crop rotation and the disposition of the crops grown.

As to phosphorus, it is safe to say that in the long run fine-ground rock phosphate will prove the best investment; but for a few years it might be best to make some use of acid phosphate in addition to the raw rock, at least until you are ready to begin turning under more organic matter with the phosphate.