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| DETERIORATION OF SOILS 
 
 Ol. OcEVEO, 
 
 BY M. B. BATEHAM. 
 
 COLUMBUS: 
 NEVINS & MYERS, PRINTERS. 
 
THE DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 
 
 BY M. B. BATEHAM. 
 
 ‘‘ Based upon actual observation as to the cz uses leading to the deterioration, and the 
 best and cheapest means of recuperation.” 
 
 That the soils of Ohio, especially the older settled portions of the State, 
 have generally declined in productiveness, no one who has given atten- 
 tion to the subject willdeny. The fact is generally admitted, and has 
 often been publicly stated at our agricultural conventions, and in the 
 reports and papers. 
 
 There is, however, a great lack of definite information as to the extent 
 and kind of soil-exhaustion, as well as in regard to the manner in which 
 
 t has been occasioned, and the means of its prevention, or the remedies 
 .or the evil. Hence, we find the speeches and reports on the subject are 
 ‘oo general and vague to be of practical utility to the majority of farmers. 
 
 In a residence of over thirty years in the State, most of the time 
 engaged in tilling the soil, and in writing upon agriculture or horticul- 
 ture, and visiting different sections of Ohio, I have often had occasion to 
 notice instances of the deterioration of soils by their obvious misman- 
 agement, which convinced me that there is a sad lack of information on 
 this subject among the mass of our farmers; and I have had, for several 
 years, a desire to devote some special investigation to this important 
 problem: How can this work of soil-exhaustion be arrested ? For, cer- 
 tainly, no problem relating to our agriculture or the future prosperity of 
 the State, is of such grave importance as this. , 
 
 Accordingly, I made arrangements the past season to visit among the 
 farmers in different counties and districts, for the purpose of making 
 observation on this subject, and at the same time writing a series of ar- 
 ticles on “ Ohio Agriculture” for the Country Gentleman. 
 
 The information that I thus gained has convinced me that, although 
 there has been much of soil-abuse and decline of fertility in Ohio, there 
 is not as great a degree of soil-exhaustion as has been commonly supposed. 
 
 65596 
 
2 DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 
 
 In other words, I am convinced that the majority of our soils, even 
 where the longest cultivated, still contain a sufficient supply of the 
 essential elements of fertility to allow of their being easily recuperated, 
 when their owners shall set about the work with the requisite intelli- 
 gence and determination. 
 
 In attempting to write an essay on this subject, the difficulty is, the 
 the field is too wide—like the territory of our State—and embraces quite 
 too much for the brief space that can be allowed. In fact, a whole 
 volume might be written on the. subject with advantage. In order, 
 therefore, to avoid treating the subject too cursorily to be of practical 
 advantage, it is necessary to divide the field, and take one or two sections 
 at this time, and perhaps give attention to the rest at some time here- 
 after. Those who heard, or have read, the remarks made at the agricul- 
 tural convention last year, by Professor Orton, on the soils of Ohio, are 
 aware that there is great diversity in these soils, as to their origin, 
 character or composition, and productions ; and all who are at all familiar 
 with our agriculture, know that the various districts or sections of the 
 State often present marked differences as to soil and leading productions; 
 consequently, the methods of farming, or of treating the soil, and of 
 causing its deterioration, are also diverse, and need to be treated of 
 separately in order to be clearly understood. 
 
 THE WESTERN RESERVE DAIRY LANDS. 
 
 The dairy farming of the Western Reserve is perhaps the most dis- 
 tinct branch of Ohio agriculture, both in its methods and location. It 
 occupies the larger part of the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull, and 
 Geauga, with considerable portions of Portage, Summit, Medina, and 
 Lorain, besides parts of Lake, Cuyahoga, and Huron. The surface of 
 these dairy lands is mostly undulating or nearly level, and the soil 
 clayey, but differing somewhat in texture, color, and natural fertility, 
 owing, doubtless, to differences of origin. While all of it is of drift forma- 
 tion—not chiefly composed of the ingredients of the underlying rocks— 
 it is evident, I think, that all of it was not drifted into position at the 
 same time or from the same directions; and, also, that some portions 
 were formed more largely than others, by the grinding up and pulver- 
 izing of the rocks and shales near at hand. Hence, we find in the 
 eastern section of the Reserve, the dairy lands, while clayey, have more 
 of whitish sand in their composition, derived probably from the con- 
 glomerate rocks of the district, mingled with the pulverized shale from 
 the basin of the lake; while the soils of the western section have less 
 
DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 3 
 
 sand, are of darker color, and contain more lime, derived from the lime- 
 stone and shale formations of that and of Lake Erie. We find, therefore, 
 the clay land or dairy soils of Lorain, Medina, and Huron counties more 
 tenacious and also more fertile than those of the eastern section—resem- 
 bling, in fact, the broad stretch of strong clay soils of the more western 
 counties composing the Maumee Valley, of which so full an account is 
 given by Mr. Klippart, in the agricultural report for 1876. 
 
 Owing to their greater depth of fertility and their more recent settle- 
 ment, the dairy lands of this western portion of the Reserve do not show 
 as much deterioration as those of the eastern and older section; still, 
 there is much decline in productiveness of the older pastures, from the 
 same causes that have been operating so disastrously elsewhere, and 
 which I am about to mention. 
 
 The pasture lands of the north-eastern section of the State—the old 
 dairy farms—show the most decline of productiveness of any soils in the 
 State, as far as my observation has extended. I do not believe, however, 
 that these clay soils are so badly exhausted of their natural elements of 
 fertility as many of their owners suppose. On the contrary, I am con- 
 vinced that they still contain a sufficient supply of nearly all the essen- 
 tial mineral elements, so that with proper tillage and rotation of crops 
 enduring productiveness would be generally secured. 
 
 In proof of the absolute necessity of reform in the management of the 
 dairy farms, I would state from personal observation and inquiry, as well 
 as from the testimony of experienced resident farmers, I am convinced 
 that the average productive capacity of the pastures has declined fully 
 one-half, or fifty per cent., in the past twenty years. At a meeting of 
 dairy farmers held at Jefferson, Ashtabula county, last September, at my 
 special request, for the discussion of this subject, the extent of the evil 
 as just stated was distinctly avowed and sustained, though denied by 
 some farmers, who evidently owned better lands than the average, and 
 had treated their pastures more rationally. I was present also at a sim- 
 ilar meeting of dairy farmers in Geauga county, where the same topic 
 was discussed, and the same general facts were admitted, though with 
 seeming reluctance, and with evident anxiety in regard to the future, or 
 the way out of their difficulties. 
 
 The statistics, or assessors’ returns for these counties, also confirm what 
 has been stated as to the extent and rate of decline of the pastures. We 
 have the amounts of the pasturage only for the past eight years, and 
 taking the first two and the last two years of that period (so as to avoid 
 temporary causes of variation), we have as follows: 
 
4 DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 
 
 ASHTABULA COUNTY. 
 ree 
 SS — — EE EES ESS Eee 
 
 Acres 
 YEARS. No. sheep. No. es pasture, 
 AGRO E secs vescendawes - vs occ eeeeees 87,524 32,211 119,870 
 RBOUIs on celia sce abe vs o-oo ees a. 83,107 32,323 113,381 
 Lis Ae ee RR) ee 24,406 36,202 132,340 
 AD cBige& <i obens waive Sinn saMOEe pic's 25,410 35,227 142,408 
 
 —_—e_N_—_—eaaaeeeeeeeeee ee ee 
 
 Geauga county has less than two-thirds as much territory as Ashtabula, 
 but is more exclusively devoted to dairy farming. The corresponding 
 figures for Geauga are as follows : 
 
 Acres 
 YEARS. No. sheep. No. cattle. pasture. 
 Ee eae oii ivisin ne Scig din lane aeiteraece=s 40,996 25,697 94,312 
 Deities cil s canines Buen fe:ce ce ee tae se wp 27,691 24,741 93,464 
 De aerate sss aahl san awn «tet Seeries dae 15,218 22,297 120,643 
 Meenas aldelviinalen sae tx aceeee sac ces 18,761 22,353 120,698 
 
 Seven to nine years ago, it will be remembered, dairy farming was 
 found more profitable than sheep farming, and in consequence most of 
 the sheep in these counties were sold off to make room for cows. But 
 owing to the already reduced production of the pastures, which had for 
 some years been overstocked, it was necessary to increase the amount of 
 pasture lands in order to keep up the number of cows. Hence, by an- 
 alyzing the figures, we find that the number of acres of pasture in each 
 county was increased in the eight years over thirty per cent., while the 
 amount of stock maintained was actually reduced. If we estimate the 
 sheep by the usual rule, counting eight sheep as equivalent to one cow, 
 we shall find that in 1868 the amount of pasture was at the rate of a 
 little less than three acres to each cow, while in 1876 it was at the rate 
 of over four acres to each in Ashtabula, and a trifle less in Geauga; and 
 this latter rate accords with the facts as I found them on the average 
 dairy farms the past season. And even this rate is found to be more 
 than the pastures can maintain without injury, so that large numbers of 
 cows have recently been ‘sold off, especially from Ashtabula county. In 
 fact, the business of dairy farming, as it has been conducted, with the 
 
= 
 
 DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 5 
 
 prevailing prices of the products, has become so unprofitable that many 
 of the farmers are of necessity keeping a less number of cows, and say 
 they intend to devote more of their land to plowed crops. 
 
 The necessity for this change will appear from what has been said re- 
 specting the income from the soil. A farm of one hundred acres will 
 only maintain an average of a dozen cows and a pair of horses. These 
 will require not less than fifty acres of pasture, and twenty-two acres of 
 timothy meadow for hay. Counting six acres for orchard, garden, and 
 buildings, there remain twenty-two acres for plowed crops. As the tim- 
 othy will not hold good more than three years on an average, one-third, 
 or seven acres, must be seeded afresh each season. The usual rotation, 
 therefore, is a simple three-years shift—first year, seven acres of timothy 
 sod, with manure, plowed under for corn and a few potatoes; second year 
 oats, and third year manure again and seed with wheat and timothy. 
 
 As a rule, the dairy pastures are never plowed and are never manured, 
 except from the droppings of the cows. All the manure saved on the © 
 farm is required and used for keeping up the fertility of the land used 
 for plowed crops and meadow. All of the grain produced, except a little 
 _ wheat, is commonly needed for feeding during winter and spring, and 
 in times of drouth; so that very little besides milk, or its products, can 
 be sold off the farm; and as the average cash proceeds of the cows is 
 only thirty to forty dollars each per year, any one can see that the net 
 income of such a farm is very small indeed, and it is no wonder that the 
 farmer’s sons are seeking other homes and more profitable occupations. 
 
 HOW DETERIORATION HAS BEEN CAUSED. 
 
 It is usual for the writers who undertake to explain how soils become 
 exhausted, to begin with quotations from the formule of agricultural 
 chemists, Liebig, Johnston, and others; and showing by analyses what 
 elements of the soil are removed by successive crops, lead to the conclu- 
 sion that some of the essential elements of fertility have become ex- 
 hausted or deficient in quantity. This being settled, of course there is 
 a short and easy method of solving the problem, How to restore fertility ; 
 for it is only necessary to discover what elements are wanting, and then 
 supply them! Those, however, who are familiar with the practice as 
 well as theory of agricultural science, are aware that farmers have met 
 with difficulties and disappointments in their efforts to derive profit by 
 these teachings; and I find there is at this time much of prejudice in 
 the minds of the majority against any arguments derived from the les- 
 sons of agricultural chemistry. This is to be regretted, and will need to 
 be overcome before much progres3 can be made in restoring the fertility 
 
6 DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 
 
 of soils; for the science of agricultural chemistry underlies all improve- 
 ment in this line. In deference, however, to this popular feeling, and 
 hoping thereby to make this. essay more generally useful, I shall seek to 
 avoid, as far as possible, the use of scientific terms and formule. I can 
 do this the more readily, as the class of soils of which I am now treat- 
 ing, do not, in my opinion, show much exhaustion of their mineral in- 
 gredients, but chiefly the need of a better system of management. 
 When first cleared of the forest, these clay lands were rich in vegetable 
 matter from the decayed leaves, etc., and the mineral elements of the 
 surface soil were readily available for plant growth. So well suited was 
 the soil for grass, that red-top, blue grass, and white clover came in 
 spontaneously, after a year or two, without any seeding; though, of 
 course, it was better to sow thc seed and harrow or brush it in, when it 
 was desirable to save time. But a large portion of the pasture never 
 have been seeded nor plowed. When seeding was practiced it was by 
 sowing timothy, andin afew years this gave place to the grasses above 
 named, which came in of themselves. For some years these pastures 
 were quite productive; the vegetable matter at the surface, and decay- 
 ing roots of trees beneath, keeping the soil porous and fertile. But grad- 
 ually this organic matter was all decomposed, dissipated by the winds, 
 or absorbed by the grass roots, in the form'of carbonic acid gas. Then 
 the clay soil began to harden by the saturation of rains and the treading 
 of cattle while wet, rendering it difficult for grass roots to penetrate to 
 any depth, and there being no organic matter below the surface, no fer- 
 tilizing gases were found there, and none could enter from the atmos- 
 phere. As this hardening process went on, the grass roots could only 
 grow on the surface, and hence were often injured or destroyed by the 
 summer drouths, and also by the heaving and freezing in winter. 
 Hence we hear the farmers complaining that drouths are more frequent 
 and injurious of late years than formerly, and the winters more severe 
 and destructive. If the surface is undulating, the water from summer 
 rains runs off at once, instead of entering the soil where it is wanted; 
 and if at all flat, the water in raining times, stands in many places, and 
 this brings in sedges and other worthless weeds in place of useful grasses. 
 Too close feeding is another prominent cause of deterioration. Most of 
 the dairy farmers admit that they have all the time kept more cows than 
 was for their interest in the long run; but some present emergency is 
 made the excuse. As a consequence, they have been obliged to turn 
 their stock out to pasture before the grass had made a good start in the 
 spring, and it was kept fed off closely during the drouths of summer, and 
 until severe frosts came on in the fall. Every farmer should know that 
 
DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 7 
 
 no plants can thrive, or make healthy roots, without being allowed to 
 make leaves. Even Canada thistles and quack grass are killed by keep- 
 ing the leaves cut off, or fed closely with sheep: and the owners of sub- 
 urban residences have found out that the sod of their nice lawns can be 
 ruined by the too frequent use of the lawn-mower. Such close feeding 
 as has been practiced by many of the dairy farmers, along with the other 
 causes, could not fail to prove destructive to the finer grasses. This is 
 sufficient, also, to explain why it is that “poverty grass” (Danthonia) 
 and other weeds which cattle will not eat, seem to thrive where the use- 
 ful grasses die out. Not being cropped off like the rest, they, of course, 
 have full chance to grow. 
 
 Lack of some mineral elements, I have no doubt, is another cause of dete- 
 rioration in these old pasture soils. In order to learn about this, I have 
 taken pains to make special inquiry as to the results of experiments that 
 have been made in the use of lime, ashes, superphosphate, and ground 
 bone as fertilizers upon these soils. Someof the farmers have told me 
 they thought lime would be beneficial, if it was not so expensive. But 
 from partial analyses that have been made, as well as from experiments 
 in its use, I am convinced that lime is not generally wanting. Nor do I 
 think that potash is lacking as a rule, although in most cases ashes are 
 quite beneficial on old pasture soil that is less compact than the average; 
 but experiments with ashes on these clay lands have generally shown 
 but little benefit, and chemical analyses prove that clay soils usually con- 
 tain sufficient potash. 
 
 _ Superphosphate has been used by quite a number of dairy farmers 
 within a year or two past, and always, I think, with advantage to pas- 
 tures or meadows, if applied early in spring. Ground bone contains 
 more phosphorus, and is found of more benefit, in proportion to its cost, 
 than superphosphate. One enterprising dairy farmer in Geauga county 
 has used the bone dust quite extensively the past two years, and finds it 
 pays well on old pasture as well as meadow, showing that phosphoric acid 
 has become exhausted from the soil—at least from the thin surface per- 
 meated by the grass roots; and this, in some cases, is probably the chief 
 cause of deterioration, as phosphorus is the choicest mineral element of 
 our soils. Healthy grass or grain crops can not be grown without phos- 
 phoric acid in the soil. It is an essential element in grain and straw, 
 and in grass and hay; it goes to form the bones of animals, and is a con- 
 stituent of milk and cheese. With these last facts in view, it is easy to 
 understand how this element becomes exhausted from the dairy soils. It 
 is carried off in the twenty-five million pounds of cheese annually ex- 
 ported to Europe and elsewhere from our State. It is also carried from 
 
8 DETERIORATION OF THE SOILS IN OHIO. 
 
 our farms in the cattle, sheep, wool, and grain sold off annually. When 
 this element is wanting in the pastures, cows become uneasy, and their 
 milk unsound, like those long deprived of salt. They sometimes show 
 their need of phosphate by gnawing any bones they may find, like a dog. 
 This, I have been told, is frequently seen on these old farms. Some of 
 the teachers of dairy farming now recommend giving ground bone to 
 cows occasionally in their feed, to make up for this deficiency in their 
 _ pastures. 
 
 HOW TO RECUPERATE THESE DAIRY SOILS. 
 
 1. “ With brains, sir,” was the suggestive reply of a noted English agri- 
 culturist, when asked how worn out lands could best be fertilized. So I 
 am compelled to say, what is most needed at the outset, for the recupera- 
 tion of these dairy soils, and the improvement of agriculture generally, 
 is more brain work or mental activity, and sound knowledge on the part 
 of the generality of farmers. From what I have found, I do not think 
 more than one-fourth of the farmers even on our boasted Western Re- 
 serve are habitual readers of any agricultural journal; and not over one 
 in ten of the farmers of the State generally. And scarcely one in a hun- 
 dred has taken pains to learn even the first rudiments of agricultural 
 chemistry—the science upon which all improvements in land tillage are 
 
 based! With such prevailing mental apathy one would despair of seeing 
 
 any improvement in agriculture or of recuperation of soils during the 
 present gencration, were it not for the stimulating example of the few 
 active brain-workers found in every county. 
 
 2. More Muscle, as well as mind, needs to be devoted to the work of 
 recuperating these dairy farms. It is an unwelcome statement, but I 
 am statisfied ’tis true, that our dairy farmers, as a rule, perform less 
 physical labor than any others in the State. A prominent farmer and 
 cheese maker in Medina county, speaking to me on this subject said he 
 regarded the dairy business as a source of damage to the farming com- 
 munity, in that it fostered habits of indolence, and the young men grew 
 up with a distaste for such work as is found necessary in a mixed style of 
 farming. 
 
 3. More Variety of Products, and less of the land devoted to pasturage, 
 would be better for the soil andits owners. In fact no thorough 'system 
 of recuperation can be set in operation without such change. This, it is 
 true, will demand more labor than many of the diary farmers are able or 
 willing to bestow, and more capital than they have at command; butit will 
 be found to pay in the end, as has been abundantly shown by the exam- 
 ples of a few progressive farmers that might be named in Geauga, Sum- 
 mit, and Ashtabula counties, where there are some as prosperous mixed 
 farmers as can be found elsewhere. 
 
DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 9 
 
 4. Plowing up the old pastures, is of course necessary in order to recu- 
 perate them; but this must be done cautiously, and not deeply at first, 
 or so asto bring much of the impervious clay on to the surface at one 
 time. But after a year or two of exposure to frost and air, a little more 
 depth may be given, especially if a green crop of some kind, or a dress- 
 ing of manure is turned under. Plowing in the fall, and laying in nar- 
 row ridges for the winter, is very beneficial to such soils; as the frost 
 and snow impart mellowness and increased fertility. 
 
 5. Pulverizing the Soil, by harrowing frequently, when in right condi- 
 tion, and using a clod-crusher when lumpy, will be found of immense 
 benefit, not only when preparing the soil for planting or seeding, but at 
 all times when it can be done; the object being to expose all the parti- 
 cles of soil, as far as possible, to the action of the atmosphere, thereby 
 setting free and rendering available, supplies of potash, phosphorous and 
 other fertilizing elements locked up in the solid clay, at the same time 
 that carbonic acid and nitrogen are absorbed from the atmosphere and 
 - rains. 
 
 . 6. Draining.—Of course underdraining would prove the most effective 
 
 and enduring means of improving these clay lands, if the expense could be 
 afforded, but for pasturage mainly, few men would think it could pay. 
 Some old worn-out pasture fields near Hudson, in Summit county, have 
 been underdrained at a cost of about $60 per acre, and then used for hay 
 and grain crops, with such complete success that the owners assured me 
 the investment for drainage paid not less than twelve per cent. annual 
 interest, and more than doubled the value of the crops. Where under- 
 draining cannot be afforded, enough surface drains should be made to 
 carry off all standing water, and prevent if possible that saturation during 
 winter which leaves the soils lifeless and solid in spring—all the air 
 having been expelled, and the process of cohesion filled its place. 
 
 7. Green Crops, plowed in as manure, are specially beneficial as a means 
 of cheaply recuperating these clay soils, first, by affording direct nutri- 
 ment from their decomposition to the roots of plants; second, also by 
 their mechanical effect in making the soil porous, so that rain and at- 
 mospheric gases can have access to the roots; and third, that the carbonic 
 acid generated by decomposition or attracted from the air, may render 
 soluble the mineral ingredients of the soil. Straw or other litter, or even 
 saw-dust, plowed in, will have similar effect, but fresh saw-dust, if used 
 freely, sometimes proves injurious to the succeeding crop by causing 
 mildew jn the soil. 
 
 8. Common Manure, if it can be had, is of course an efficient agent in 
 recuperating all exhausted soils. Dairy farmers, and others generally, 
 
10 DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 
 
 do not use sufficient care in saying and increasing the supply of this 
 article. Its application is more beneficial, however. to soils that have 
 been frequently plowed, and exhausted by cropping, than these old pas- 
 ture lands, which have only been exhausted at the surface. The means 
 of increasing manure by the use of muck, saw-dust, etc., to absorb the 
 liquid in stables, and by other methods, will occur to the minds of all 
 who really seek to improve. | 
 
 9. Top Dressing Pastures with Manure is a good means of preventing 
 deterioration, where the grass has not become too thin to be worth pre- 
 serving. It should be done the latter part of winter, when the snow is 
 off, and at a time when the ground is frozen, or so dry that wheels will 
 not cut in. 
 
 10. Mineral Fertilizers, especially ground bone and superphosphate, as 
 I have already said, are no doubt highly beneficial. Of the two I am 
 convinced that pure bone is the most economical, as the ingredient most 
 wanted is phosphoric acid, and analyses show that there is twice as much 
 per cent. of this in pure bone as in the average superphosphates. The 
 idea that the phosphoric acid in pure bone is not in a state to be avail- 
 able as plant food, I am convinced is a mistake, provided the material is 
 finely ground, as is done at the Salem, Ohio, mill. I have had proof of 
 this in my own experience the past two years, and much testimony from 
 others to the same effect—see remarks a little further on. 
 
 11. Rotation of Crops is needed for pasture lands as well as others. Na- 
 ture loves variety, and it is only on soils of extraordinary fertility, like 
 those of the blue-grass regions in the Scioto and Miami valleys, that 
 pastures will not run out or deteriorate in a few years, especially with 
 the hard tramping and cropping they commonly receive. Hence it is 
 vain to expect to recuperate the old dairy pastures economically, or to 
 maintain others permanently in these dairy districts: This feature of 
 dairy farming must shortly be changed, and dairying be made a part of 
 more general farming, instead of so much of a specialty. Then the pas- 
 ture fields will come into the system of rotation, and be renovated by 
 plowing and manuring, with change of crops every few years, so that 
 vegetable matter will be mixed in the soil, and its mineral elements 
 made available, and so that grass roots will find access and nourishment 
 six inches in depth, instead of only two inches as heretofore. It is my 
 belief that those dairy farmers who soonest accept these obvious truths, 
 and conform their practice to them, will be the best off in the future, for 
 it is easy to see that the present system must soon come to an end. 
 
 12. Using a Mixture of Grasses, instead of timothy alone, or with blue- 
 grass, when seeding for pasture, I have no doubt will be found of much 
 
DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 11 
 
 advantage on these dairy farms. Five or six kinds will yield more 
 herbage and endure much longer than one or two. English farmers 
 understand this, and use a mixture of six or eight kinds for permanent 
 pastures and half as many for meadow. 
 
 Of course, where it is necessary to bring the land under the plow often, 
 by means of a short rotation, timothy alone may do as well. Of the 
 grasses that are known to flourish on clay lands and make good pasture, 
 I would name the following six as forming a desirable mixture: Timothy 
 (Phleum pretense), blue-grass (Poa pretense), red-top (Agrostis vulgaris), or- 
 chard grass (Dactylis glomerata), rye grass (Loliwm perenne), meadow fescue 
 (Festuca pretense). The seeds of rye grass and fescue are not often saved 
 in this‘country, but are annually imported, and can be had at reasonable 
 prices from the leading seedsmen. The meadow fescue grass has been 
 gradually coming into the northern parts of the State, in some way, for 
 a number of years past, and flourishes finely along the roadsides on clay 
 soils where a little moist. It is highly esteemed in England as a pasture 
 grass, though cattle do not seem quite as fond of it as of timothy and 
 blue-grass.* 
 
 MIXED FARMING SOILS—-EASTERN BORDER—COLUMBIANA COUNTY. 
 
 In speaking of the mixed farming soils of eastern Ohio, I take Colum- 
 biana county as representative of the district, so as to make some use of 
 official statistics. It has always ranked among the best agricultural 
 counties of the State, and in early times was noted for the production of 
 wheat and wool. Its original settlers came mostly from eastern Penn- 
 sylvania and Maryland, and were sensible and industrious farmers—a 
 good sprinkling of them of the Quaker order, and of course not very pro- 
 gressive, though friendly to education and good morals. The soil of the 
 county was quite good, and suited for a diversity of products; the north- 
 ern portion level and clayey, but most of the county rolling and rich 
 loamy soil, with intervals of alluvial. With such lands, and ready access 
 to market, and a large number of workers in coal, iron, and pottery, as 
 consumers of produce, it was natural that farming should flourish, and 
 the county become thickly settled. 
 
 Thirty-one years ago, when I was editing the Ohio Cultivator, and acting 
 as secretary of the infant State Board of Agriculture, I visited Colum- 
 biana county while on a tour of observation, and was gratified to find 
 the farmers had that season organized a county agricultural society, un- 
 der the “act for the encouragement of agriculture,” which was passed 
 
 * The foregoing hints on recuperating the soils of the Reserve will of course generally 
 apply to many other portions of the State, as clay soils abound almost everywhere. 
 
did DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 
 
 only two or three months previous; and from the interest then mani- 
 fested I was led to expect that Columbiana was going to lead the rest of 
 the counties in the march of agricultural improvement; or, at any rate, 
 would be far ahead of her present position after the lapse of thirty years. 
 In visiting the county again, the past fall, I was surprised to see how 
 little change had taken place in that time, as compared with other sec- 
 tions. Almost everywhere, away from the immediate railway depots 
 and manufactories, were the same old quaint-looking towns and farm 
 buildings, and a majority of the people, though not in Quaker garb, 
 seemed to manifest, in speech and action, more of mental and bodily 
 composure than is consistent with much desire for improvement. I 
 found, too, that here, as elsewhere, farming had fallen into such disrepute 
 among the young men that a majority of them had left the occupation 
 and homes of their fathers for other places and pursuits, and compara- 
 tively few of the present farmers have the courage or ability to bestow as 
 much labor on the tillage of their soil as is necessary in order to main- 
 tain its fertility. It was thought, however, that the business revulsion 
 of the past few years had effected some improvement in these respects, 
 and farming was becoming more respectable in popular estimation, so 
 that a few young men of mind and enterprise are beginning to engage 
 in it. 
 
 The deterioration of soils in this region is not so marked as in the 
 dairy sections, but is none the less real; and it may be found more diffi- 
 cult to remedy, because the exhaustion, though less noticeable, is of 
 greater depth. In early times wheat was the staple crop of the county. 
 In the first annual report of the county society (1846) the President, 
 Samuel Myers, said: “ Wheat and wool are the principal products of the 
 county. * * * The average yield of wheat the past season is believed 
 to be twenty bushels per acre; of corn, forty bushels. * * * Number 
 of horses, 8,376; cattle, 14,061; sheep, 96,978. * * * In thecultivation 
 of wheat we think our county is surpassed by few, if any, in the State, 
 and in the production of wool we believe our county is in advance of any 
 other.” Ten years later (1856) the President and Secretary of the Society 
 reported that the annual average yield of wheat was eighteen to twenty 
 bushels per acre; but for several years the weevil had materially injured 
 the crops. Twelve years later still (1868) was the first year that statis- 
 tics of pasturage were given; and we find the following returns for the 
 county: Acres of wheat, 16,165; bushels, 168,050; average per acre, 10.39; 
 number of sheep, 200,056; cattle, 16,851; horses, 8,215; acres of pasture, 
 64,028; meadow, 27,300; tons of hay, 7,736. After eight years more 
 (1876) we have the following figures: Acres of wheat, 16,142; bushels, 
 
DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 13 
 
 193,924; average per acre, 10.68; acres of pasture, 76,634; acres of meadow, 
 31,548 ; tons of hay, 34,623; number of sheep, 102,446; of cattle, 13,546; 
 horses, 8,116. That the foregoing items are not exceptional, is shown by 
 the figures for the preceding and following years. The wheat crop of 
 1875 averaged only nine bushels per acre. This wasa bad year generally 
 for wheat; but the average for the adjoining county of Stark was 13.32, 
 and that of thirty-three counties in the northern section of the State was 
 14.32. If we analyze the other items we find that the number of sheep 
 was reduced 97,510, or nearly one-half, during the eight years; and that 
 of cattle was reduced 2,305; while the number of acres of pasture was 
 increased 12,606, and of meadow 4,226 acres. 
 
 Such an amount of decline in the productiveness of the soil as these 
 figures indicate is sufficient to account for the low esteem in which farm- 
 ing is held by the young men; for such a decline is enough to make all 
 the difference between profitable and unprofitable labor, or between com- 
 fortable subsistence and debt or privation. The facts ought to arouse the 
 people to earnest inquiry as to the means of recuperation, and active 
 efforts for their adoption. 
 
 How the deterioration of these soils has been brought about, cannot be 
 stated in few words, except by saying it has come from the common Sys- 
 tem of poor farming generally—robbing the soil of its elements of fer- 
 tility, s0 as to render their recuperation difficult or expensive. The 
 land has been managed much as though the owners were all tenants, and 
 were expecting to leave in a year or two. But few have practiced a ju- 
 dicious system of rotation, or taken sufficient pains to deepen and 
 pulverize the soil, so as to admit air and moisture, and enable crops to 
 withstand drouth and frost; and fewer still have seemed to understand 
 the value of manures, or how to increase or use them ; though there are 
 some praiseworthy exceptions to these disparaging remarks. 
 
 In my tour the past fall, I found the farmers here, as elsewhere, very 
 much encouraged by the exceptionally good wheat crop of the season 
 just past. This and the good prices of farm products generally, had 
 caused a more cheerful feeling than had existed before for some years. 
 As a consequence, a number of business men were engaging in farming, 
 and special efforts were being made to sow as much land as possible with 
 wheat, in the hope of realizing another big crop next year—though it is 
 probable this hope will be disappointed. A good deal of land had been 
 sown to wheat, with but indifferent preparation, and with less than the 
 usual share-of manure or vegetable matter plowed under—the owners 
 trusting to ‘good luck” for the result ! 
 
 The same causes that have been mentioned as operating injuriously in 
 
14 DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 
 
 the dairy soils, have been at work here. Pasture lands are left too long 
 without plowing, or any kind of fertilizing, while at the same time they 
 have been kept fed off so closely; with sheep and cattle, as to kill out 
 the useful grasses. When the land is plowed for seeding to wheat and 
 grass, not enough vegetable matter is plowed in to prevent the soil from 
 packing solid when saturated with rain; then the wheat and grass 
 heave out by frost, and bare spots appear in spring. Often, too, the 
 timothy meadows are pastured off in the fall, and this weakens the roots 
 so that they winter-kill. Lack of some mineral element, as has been 
 said before, is, no doubt, also a cause of decline in the wheat and grass 
 crops. 
 
 The remedies have been already suggested by naming the causes of the 
 mischief. Let the causes be removed and the effects will soon cease. If 
 nine-tenths, instead of only one-tenth, of the farmers would subscribe 
 for and read agricultural journals, and fifty young men of the county go 
 and attend the course of lectures about to commence at the State Agri- 
 cultural College, there would be no doubt in my mind as to the speedy 
 renovation of the soils and the farming of Columbiana county, or any 
 other county in the State. 
 
 Bone Fertilizing for Wheat and Grass.—In Columbiana, and parts of sey- 
 eral counties adjacent, I learned that numerous experiments had been 
 made, within the past two years, in the use of superphosphate and ground . 
 bone as fertilizers for wheat and grass; and the results have been so gen- 
 erally favorable as to render it clear that phosphorus is the element 
 most wanting in these lands for the production of these crops. Local 
 agents for the manufacturers of superphosphate at Buffalo and Cleve- 
 land, had been quite active in distributing circulars and advertisements 
 to farmers, thereby inducing them to try these articles by way of expe- 
 riment. Mr. Schilling, the proprietor of the bone-mill at Salem, had 
 also prompted many of the farmers in that section to test his raw-h -ne 
 flour in comparison with the superphosphate. I began to hear good 
 accounts of these experiments while in Mahoning county, on my way 
 to Columbiana; and some men of Youngstown told me there was such a 
 demand springing up for the bone-flour that they had inteuded to erect 
 a bene mill at that place, but they {cund, on inquiry, :nat expensive 
 machinery was needed for making a {ne article, and t 1ey also appre- 
 hended that the suppty of bones wou.d perhaps give out by the time 
 they got their mill well going. Qn visiting Salem, 1 found the farmers 
 in that vicinity had nearly ail got bone ov the braiw, some of them 
 seeming to think that stable manure was no longer of much account, 
 and boxe-flour was going to give new life to their old wheat fields and 
 
DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 15 
 
 cause a general revival of agriculture. On going to the mill, I was sur- 
 prised to find that for some weeks past, although the mill had been run- 
 ning night and day, grinding at the rate of five to six tons daily, the 
 supply was not nearly equal to the home demand; and farmers’ teams 
 were then present, waiting their turn for a few hundred pounds to finish 
 their wheat sowing, or a barrel or two just for experiment. Sometimes 
 the farmers came from a distance of fifteen or twenty miles, and brought 
 a lot of bones along to exchange for the ground article; but the bulk of 
 the supply of bones came by the cars from the cities in Ohio and else- 
 where, where beef-slaughtering is done, and occasionally a few car loads 
 of buffalo bones are had from the far west. 
 
 Feeling much interest in this fertilizing question, as suggesting a 
 method of soil recuperation, I spent a couple of days visiting and talking 
 with the farmers around Salem. I found that some of them who at first 
 had no faith in bone-dust, were now strong advocates of its use—for those 
 who at first refused to try it, could not help seeing its results on the crops 
 of their neighbors who had used it. The benefits were more marked on 
 the light crops of wheat in 1875 and 1876, than on the full crop of the 
 past season; but much of the advantage is found to result to the grass 
 crops succeeding the wheat. I walked over numerous fields of grass and 
 clover sown the year before, and certainly the results of the fertilizing 
 were quite remarkable. I have also had statements by letter from farmers 
 in Stark, Portage, and Mahoning counties, that fully corroborate all that 
 was told me around Salem. Some of the experiments were along side of 
 those made with superphosphate, and in almost every case the result 
 was in favor of the pure bone, especially when the duration of the benefit, 
 or its effect on the second crop as well as the first, was taken into account. 
 The superphosphate in most cases manifestly helped the crops in getting 
 a good start, but unless liberally applied and worked into the soil, its 
 effects did not last until the harvest, like those of the bone-dust. A far- 
 mer of Mahoning county wrote me that one year ago three tons of the 
 bone flour were used in his township (Boardman), and the results were 
 so satisfactory that double the quantity was used the present year. And 
 a farmer at Palmyra, in Portage county, told me that he and a number 
 of his neighbors had been using the article for two or three years, with 
 much advantage, on a variety of crops. Similar accounts have come to 
 me from the eastern townships of Stark county. 
 
 It has been stated by writers on agricultural chemistry, that in order 
 to make the phosphoric acid of bones soluble, and thereby readily avail- 
 able as a fertilizer, the bones need to be first converted into superphos- 
 phate, by treatment with sulphuric acid. But as this operation is ex- 
 
16 DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. 
 
 pensive, and causes a large increase of cost and of weight for the same 
 amount of phosphoric acid, it is important to determine whether such 
 treatment is necessary ;. and all the experiments of which I have learned 
 go to prove it is not, but rather a disadvantage. There is also more lia- 
 bility of fraud or adulteration in the manufacture of superphosphates 
 than of bone flour. 
 
 As this matter of the speedy availability of pure ground bone is of 
 much practical importance, I give the particulars of an experiment 
 directly in point, communicated to me by Messrs. Hough and Son, farmers 
 and fruit growers of Rootstown, in Portage county. The crop was buck- 
 wheat, the latest sown and quickest of growth of, all farm crops, hence 
 the best for testing this question. A field of five acres was sown the last 
 of June. The soil was in fair condition as to tilth, but poor, and having 
 one barrel of Salem bone flour on hand, it was applied as a fertilizer upon 
 one-half of the field as an experiment; sown broadcast and harrowed in 
 with the seed, then rolled. Rain gave the seed a start, and no doubt has- 
 tened the effect of the bone, for as soon as the plants were fairly up there 
 was a noticeable difference between the two parts of the field in the 
 breadth of the leaves and vigor of growth. This difference was more 
 marked as the crop advanced, and the result was, the fertilized half 
 yielded fifty-five bushels of nice grain and the other only six bushels. 
 
 The idea that ground bone is not readily soluble or fit to be absorbed 
 by the roots of plants, has, I think, grown out of the fact that the mate- 
 rial is commonly two coarsely ground—perhaps owning to the cost of 
 good machinery. At the late meeting of our State Horticultural Society 
 in Ravenna, Mr. Schilling exhibited samples which he had obtained 
 from six or eight different establishments, in various States, and of a 
 majority of these, the particles averaged the size of grain of wheat, and 
 some as large as grains of corn. A magnifying glass also revealed the 
 fact that several of the lots were adulterated with stone or shale. 
 
 The facts that I have stated, proved conclusively, as I believe, that the 
 chief mineral element wanting in the deteriorated soils of our wheat 
 and grass farms, is phosphoric acid, in an available form; and hence it is 
 probable that bone fertilizing, along with plowing in clover and other 
 green crops, and manures, is the true system of recuperation. It is not 
 my belief, however, that the natural store of phosphates or other inorganic 
 elements, has really become exhausted from much of the soils of Ohio, 
 except at the surface. But there is need of more thorough tillage, and 
 opening of the soil to the atmospheric agencies, as has been already 
 stated, to render the mineral elements more available for the roots of 
 plants. And this brings us back to the fact that our first and greatest 
 want is more light and knowledge on all these points. 
 
DETERIORATION OF SOILS IN OHIO. . 17 
 
 In view of this fact, and of the general apathy that prevails on the sub- 
 ject of agricultural improvement, the great question seems to be, how can 
 the minds of the farmers generally be awakened so as to induce them to 
 devote more intelligent efforts to the work of increasing the fertility of 
 the soil? As one means to this end, I would suggest that the holding of 
 ‘Farmers’ Institutes ” in the several counties, at which one or more of 
 the Professors of the Agricultural College, and other competent lecturers 
 should be present, and topics like those of this essay be discussed—would 
 be likely to prove of much benefit, especially to that large class who are 
 but little inclined to read on these subjects. , 
 
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