S&H Home Ag Library THIS article tells why organic matter in the
soil may be considered our most important national resource. The
author describes how it furnishes fuel for "bacterial wrecking
crews" and how it is turned into plant nutrients. He shows that
many of our farm practices have enormously reduced the supply
originally present in the soil and warns that we must expect a
permanently lower level of agricultural efficiency if we do not
take steps to counteract this waste. The problems involved in
maintaining an adequate supply of organic matter in the soil are
dealt with from a practical standpoint. CENTURIES before there
was any science that acquainted people with the intricacies of
plant nutrition, decaying organic matter, as in manure or other
forms, was recognized as an effective agent in the nourishment
of plants. The high productivity of most virgin soils has always
been associated with their high content of organic matter, and
the decrease in the supply with cultivation has generally been
paralle