The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1873-05-22

0SBos O-Soos
The study n well IS practic of agri-
culture is enforced in the report of the
bureau, and will no doubt
itself to the attention of all
sections of the country. We are ma
ton of farmers, and We trust must al
WAYS remain 90. Our cities are the
product Of agriculture, in great part,
and are employed - the depots Of the
farmer. When the Western prairies re-
fuse to bear their usual overlooking
when corn and wheat Ian
guisb upon the field. SO close is the de-
pendence of the city ubon the country
that the Eastern merchants find few buy
ers for their goods, trade pauses, and the
whole system of business everywhere
receives sudden check. When, on the
contrary, the abundant harvests flow
Eastward with an unstinted stream, COM
merce revives, manufactures are stimu-
lated to excess, and the wares of the
Eastern sea-ports are rapidly distribut-
ed over the country. Hence the useful
ness of the Agricultural Bureau at
Washington is confined to no single
branch Of trade, but is common to all,
and the intelligence which it gives Of the
progress Of the crops as the season ad-
vances is full of interest to every men,
Der of the community.
At the small expense OF 800, 900 a
year the department is enabled to give
a most important impulse to the prac-
tice of agriculture, and to improve the
value of farms, by suggesting the latest
Improvements in the culture Of the soil.
1t gathers from Odessa aud Dantzic the
best seeds of the Polish or Russian wheat
fields, and distributes freely the fine oats
of Germany and Scotland. 1t analyses
the soil Of every farm gratuitously
whenever the farmer desires, it directs
the best mode OF cultivation, and sug-
gests the appropriate crops. BY the
use of superior seed it is estimated that
the product of wheat can be nearly
doubled-that the 22i 600, 900 Of bushels
raised in 1868 can, on the same land, be
increased to more than 4OO,OOO,0OO. A
similar increase may DO looked for in
oats ; and these two great staples Of pro-
ductiOn alone the effect of scientific in.
dustry must soon be seen in an enormous
advance and new avenues of wealth.
Ii We consider that scientific progress
is so capable of extending the resources
Of the nation by its influence upon two
articles OF consumption, we shall rcadi-
" perceive its value when applied to
every other product-when it lends its
aid to the cOtton-grOwer Of the South,
the corn fields of the West, or the varied
system Of garden culture which is
spread over every section Of the country.
Ono very necessary branch of the de-
partment's labors is the assault it is
making upon the whole insect tribe that
prey upon the chief agricultural inter-
csts, and the vigorous war it is waging
against these dangerous foes to industry
with all the armOr Of science.
1t is probable that in the rapid growth
of the country our farmers have too
much neglected the care of the soil, and
have abused its unbOundcd fertility.
The use of proper fertilizers and moro
economical system Of cultivation would
have preserved the productiveness of
millions Of acres that now lie nearly
waste, and have brought into use large
share Of the land that has always SEEM
cd hopelessly barren. Had some means
been provided of appealing the waste
sewerage of the Eastern cities over the
lands in their neighborhood, there is
scarcely any spot that might not have
been made to tccm with vegetables and
fruits. Judging from the examples of
Belgium or Holland, which supply the
markets Of London with their earliest
vegetables, it would not be difficult to
cover the sands Of Long Island with
valuable crops, or to convert all the en-
virons OF New York into fertile gar
den. 1t is in the use of fertilizers and
in the care and restoration Of the soil
that we arc most deficient. 1t will be
the aim Of Our engineers in future, no
doubt, to provide effective means for saw
ing the sewerage:of the.cities. And our
farmers will learn to preserve their land
in rs good condition as that Of the more
cultivators Of Europe.
When, some years ago, the Agricul,u-
raj Department bcga. first to distribute
its small! packages OF choice seeds, its cat.
tings of fruit, strawberry vines and
to mail its reports, and
spread its suggestions, it was looked up
on too often with doubt and ridiculc.
But it has already achieved success
that may well make it hereafter one OF
the most important departments OF gov
ernment. The wheat and oats which it
has provided for the Western farmers
are already adding to the value Of count
less acres. Its publications are sought
for with eagcrness. Its various branch
es of labor, its science, its horticulture,
its chemical analyses, its chronological
efforts, and its free advice and
aid, are every day advancrngin the pub
lie esteem. Nor does there seem any
limit to its usefulness, sincs the study
of agriculture must always torn one OF
the most attractive of all the sciences TO
the cultivated minds Of the future, and
the preservation of the soil will be found
to be the sure source Of our national
progress HaPers' Weekly.
WASHINGTON, ID. c., May lsth.-Sec-
rotary Fish stated to-day that he had
a. Va