The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1878-08-20
Impovershing the Soil

Preaching in the abstract, in regard
to exhausting land, impovershing the
soil. etc. has little effect for good, and
does little towards correcting growing
evil. We might point to Syria. re-
duced from a population Of 10000. 900
to 100000: Spain. Italy and other
countries greatly reduced in the num-
Der of people supported by cultivation
Of soil, and, coming even closer home,
to New England. once rich in her
lands. but now forced to depend on
artificial fertilizers, or produce nothing.
All this is true, and more. The seat Of
once populous empires now contain but
fraction OF the population they once
had. We might even draw q compar-
ison between the impoverished wheat
fields Of California and the rich fertile
soil found in the beginning, to show
what continuous cultivation, without
rotation or fertilizing, has done for the
land. But these arguments have no
effect. A does not care how much b
impoverishes his soil, so long as be
himself reaps rich harvests. Nor does
he seem to care for his own land, if
only it will hold out, producing year
after year, until he ceases to need it,
unmindtul of the fact that by his
course be is leaving waste and ruined
ami worthless heritage to his children.
A different line of argument must be
adopted To be effective the shaft of
persuasion must be aimed at the indi.
vidual and at the individuals picket
Show man by conclusive evidence
that he can make another dollar at the
present time by improving his land,
and then he will adopt the improve
ment. This is what the INTEILIGEN-
GER has been doing and is still striv-
ing to do. We have urged the diver
siti cation of farming-th the raising of
more stock and less of one particular
crop-in order that the land might be
rested by the change and enriched by
the stock. There has undoubtedly been
a wonderful change during the past few
years. Stock-raisiDg is becoming
more general among the small farmers,
and more land is being devoted to past
ure and the growing of root crops wher-
ever the soil is suitable. 1t ia the wild
est kind Of folly for farmers living re-
mote from railroad or water commun-
ication TO attempt to compete with their
more favored fellows, for the extra
freight eats up all the profit. Yet, if
the produce raised by those of the re,
mote interior were converted into live
stock and driven into market. the ad
vantage would be all on their side.
Nevada raises every year thousands of
cattle designed for San francisco
market. Every train is loaded. and
now from near the border we receive
large consignments of beef in refrig-
orator cars. The business has been
found SO profitable that it is rapidly
increasing. Will any farmer pretend
to argue that these men, no matter how
rich the land. could make salt raising
wheat and selling it in the San Fran
cisco market, after the deduction of the
cost of getting it to the cars and the
freight over long and expensive line
of railroad
The day of no wheat no crop is
passed away. The orchard, the vine
yard, dairy. hog raising. vegetables
these branches are working into prOmi-
nence. They pay better than wheat
where the soil is suitable, and as they
pay better and require a higher state
of cultivation. farmers naturally take
to enriching their land. One man. more
progressive and far seeing than the rest.
tries the experiment, succeeds, is paid
for his time and expense, and the rat
tie of the results in his pocket is the
sigma! for his neighbor to do the same
thing. BY and by the few who have
begun to sow bone-dust and guano in
their wheat-tields will be initiated in
the same manner. until in short time
we shall have most gratifying state
Of affairs. When the farmer is hit in
the vicinity of his purse. then he will
become progressive. and not until he
sees it will he depart from the
stereotyped path so long travelled.
Ii from the beginning all that was
raised had been consumed on the farm
and the manure returned 10 the soil,
then the lands would have been as
fertile to-day as in the beginning.
But everything that has been raised
has been transported and the necessar-
les of life bought and shipped back
again with the proceeds.