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1933feb8

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Effects of Organic Matter In Soil By PROFESSOR M. H. CUBBON Massachusetts State College, Amherst, Mass. RGANIC matter is the most important material in soil. Several properties (factors) are due directly to organic matter. The favorable properties are as follows: 1. Organic matter increases water-holding capacity of soil. 2. Organic matter improves physical condition in soil. 3. Organic matter allows more soluble plant food to be held by the soil. 4. Organic matter furnishes energy for bacteria. The harmful influence of organic matter in soil includes: low nitrogen-high carbon content which causes a temporary shortage of nitrate nitrogen in the soil. ORGANIC MATTER AND WATER-HOLDING CAPACITY 1 HERE is no doubt about organic matter increas-ing the water-holding capacity of soil. Soils with-out organic matter, or with the average 5 %, never hold more than 40%, or 2 5 of their weight, of water. Twenty-five per cent or one-quarter of the weight, is more nearly the desirable water content than is 40%. Organic soils (muck and peat) hold from 200 to 3 50%, or 2 to 3 l/z times their weight of water. A muck soil with 250% water does not appear to be as wet as a mineral soil which has only 25% water, by weight. Therefore mineral soils with plenty of organic matter will hold more water without seeming wet than will soils without much organic matter. The difficulty with this situation is that it is ex-tremely hard to increase the organic matter con-tent of soil enough to show much increase in water-holding capacity. A test made with field soil in Iowa indicated that any practical application of manure increases the water-holding capacity of soil only moderately. A twenty-ton per acre appli-cation of manure is considered large for general purposes. Of this twenty tons, only about five are dry organic matter, the remainder being water. Counting only the dry matter, 5 tons per acre are equal to 206 pounds per thousand square feet. Any-one who has had experience adding peat moss to greens will realize how difficult it is to work 200 pounds of peat into a thousand square feet of sur-face. In order to get that much organic matter into the soil many applications must be made. This is a slow process on established greens. ORGANIC MATTER IMPROVES PHYSICAL CONDITION OF SOIL J- HYSICAL condition of the soil is probably as im-portant as anything else about a green. A poor physical condition does not allow air to enter the soil, or plant roots to elongate, and usually water stands in or on the soil. The "mud-pie" effect means a poor sanitary condition, just the opposite from good growing conditions. The soil is said to be pud-dled and such a soil when dry is extremely hard. In fact, puddled soil behaves more like concrete than like soil, especially since it does not allow water to enter or leave easily, and when dry does not absorb water. What are the things needed for a good mudpie? Soil and water, of course. The soil must be fine enough to be sticky or plastery. Then when the soil is mixed with water it makes a good paste that can be molded into various shapes. You know how it works. When this mixture dries, the soil remains set, almost the same as cement. Such soils are often the driest of all because water cannot soak into them. Water runs off just as it would from a roof. Walking and tramping on a soil when wet is the best way to puddle that soil. Clays are special of-fenders. Organic matter helps to improve the physical condition by making it more difficult for clay to bake and pack. Because organic matter is so light and airy it helps air to get into the soil and prevents water from standing and becoming stale. 8 February, 19}}February, 1933 The National Greenkee per9Smooth o!)eration is per-manently a8Hured withF.&N.UnbreakableTITAN Fairway Mowersand with F.&N. PuttingGreen l\lowers - everyone is etluipped with thegenuine, patented F.&N. Self-Adjusting Devicein the re,'olving reel. Nodifficult hand adjusting orpoor mowing with these.On smoothest and most velvety greens everywhereyou will find F.&N. PUlling Green 1\lowers. Green-okeepers say it is the finestmower they haVelever used.Sdf-acljllsting red heuringswith eight revolving blades-Alemite oiling, etc. Hllh-her tired carriage for trans-,)Orting. \\' ri te for particu-ars and spt'ciul prict's.The F.&N. Putting Green Mower11~!The new F.&N. ALL-STEEL frame is stronger,lighter, more flexible and Illore convenient.IthandlesTITAN .Mowers in gangs of TlIHEE or FIVE andFITS ANY THACTOH.Satisfaction fully guaranteed. Get full particulars andour special prices before you purchase equipment for 1933.OtI: ~LAWN MOWERCO.'ITer.&". RICHMOMD, I ND, U. S.A.THE WORLD'S LARGEST LAWN MOWER MANUrACTUR£RSFor smoothest cutting-fastest, easy running - troublefree, most useful and longestservice, the famous F,&N.UNBREAKABLE "QUINTET"Fairway Equipment stands alone.F.&N. UNBREAKABLETITAN Fairway :Mowers uscdexclusively in this equipment arcdesigned and huilt especially forthis rugged service.TITANS arc the only mowers huilt that use the paten-tcd "'Interlocking" frame and culler har constructionwhich is so necessary to keep the mower in rigid amI per-fect alignment.Gears have CUT teeth made from drop-forged STEEL,heat treated, and revolving on Timken Holler Bearings ina constant hath of oil.SIX revolving hlades of special Analysis Chrome Vana-dium steel individually hardened UIHItempered in oil.TITAN Mowers ure equipped with demountahle re-volving reels - cusily dissemhled and ussemhled forsharpening or replacing the CUlling units.TITAN Mowers-Every part is muchined to mathe-matical accurucy-precision filled throughout.TITAN M,owers arc guaranteed positively UN-BHEAKABLI~.Best of a\l the TITANS arc equiplled with the Genuin:.-Patented self-adjustinfT device whic1automatically takesup a\l the wear in the ¥)eurings-another exclusive feature.Sandy soils have too few fine particles in them tomake the soils sticky or inclined to bake. That iswhy sands are so much in demand. But sandy soilswash badly, holds little water, and even less plantfood. Organic matter helps to remedy all three ofthese conditions. The common saying is that or-ganic matter gives body to sandy soils.ORGANIC MATTER FURNISHES ENERGYFOR BACTERIAqHEcarbon and oxygen carried by organicmatter provide energy for most of the organisms inthe soil. Since it is the job of bacteria to make plantfood available, they must have something to live onwhile doing the work. Thus it is that bacteria breakdown organic


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