Quarterly Journal of Economics Vol. 37 No. 3 1923
Soil Fertility, Soil Exhaustion, and Their Historical Significance
Abstract
I. Alleged danger of soil exhaustion. — Relation of this belief to the humus theory and the system of statics, 386. — Formulation of the mineral theory the work of Liebig, 387. — Discrepancies between his principles and the results of experimental work, 388. — Liebig's principles and the modern doctrine of soil exhaustion, 390. — II. Computations of the durability of average soils, 391. — Qualifications necessary to adapt these figures to the crop yields of low farming, 394. — The importance of the returns of nutritive substances made in low farming, 396. — III. Liebig's insistence upon complete replacement of the minerals removed in the crop, 399. — Recent concepts of the fertility program, 401. — Evidences of undiminished yields despite some progressive depletion of minerals, 403. — Presumptions created by recent studies of the soil solution, 404. — Declines in yield due to decreasing supplies of nitrogen, 406. — Replacement of nitrogen by natural processes, 407. — The need of lime on acid soils, 408. — Conclusions, 410.
- DOI
- 10.2307/1883847
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 385
- Sources
- openalex crossref