Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-01-01
MODES OF AGRICULTURE.
DECREASE OF PRODUCTIVENESS
AND THE CAUSES.
Methods of Cultivation and Use of
Fertilizers in Japan-Instruc-
tive Lessons to Follow.

Written for the New Years RECoRD-USIoN by
DR.. II. Latham, Secretary of the Northern Call
fornia immigration Association.
The United States have territorial area
of more than 100000 square miles, or
nearly two thousand million acres. As
explorations, settlement and occupation
advances into the interior, the limits OF the
Great American Desert recede on all sides,
and will continue to do so till II entirely
disappears like a mirage. Fully two-thlrds
of the total area of the country is adapted
to some branch of agriculture, either tillage
or grazing. One hundred years ago the
cultivation of the soil was confined to a
narrow belt along the Atlantic shores, and
there were large areas on that slope UNI
touched by the plow. In the Intervening
century the pillow and plowman have
crossed the Allegheny Range; the broad
sweep of the Mississippi valley; the wide
plains: the continental divide; the great
interior basins, and now has reached the
Pacific ocean, the western limit OF the
continent. In all the history OF the
human race there is no parallel to this
rapid
~
From our geographical position, between
two oceans 5000 miles apart, with i'm
mense areas of rich districts intervening,
agriculture is necessarily our foremost in
dustrv. and as those great regions now
hardly touched by the pillow, are settled,
this industry will assume relatively greater
importance In addition to two ocean
shores, of thousands of miles in extent,
with deep fluctuations of CULTS bays and
inlets, great inland lakes and vast system
of navigable rivers, 125, 600 miles of rail
WAYS are required to carry the products of
the soil to market. The growth OF the rail
way system shows the rapid extension of
our TILED area. Since the civil war-less
than twenty years-the mileage OF our rail-
way system has grown from $4,000 to 125,-
600 miles The weight of the products of
the soil ii 1881 are almost beyond cOmpu-
tation. The corn crop was 1,S00 100000 |
bushels or 100, 500 600 0O0 pounds. This IS |
100000 ten-tOn carloads, worth at current |
market rates 81 go 600 900. The wheat |
crop represents $4,000, 100000 pounds, and |
is worth $400,000,000, and would make |
l, 100000 ten-ton carloads. These two lead |
ing crops, with hay, cotton, barley rye, |
oats. vegetables and fruits, make up grand |
total which staggers the human mind to |
comprehend.
IMPROVED TILLAGE REQUIRED.
This is the pleasant side of the picture to
contemplate The diverse side is much |
less pleasing This immense production |
has been reached by the impoyerishment |
of every region where the pillow has
touched our modes Of tiliage are superb
cial. wasteful and entirely lacking in thor
oughness. The soil, in its virgin state, was
found rich with fertile elements, stored up
through untold ages Year after year these
stores have been drawn upon in the form
of products, which have been shipped to
foreign lands, without a pretense even of
any return to the soil. The pillow has
scratched the surface only, and the work of
the harrow is merely an apology for pull
yeriZing. One-half of the specifically
plowed soil is left in clods, that are as i'm
perviOus to the delicate roots of food plants
as though they were rocks. The harvest is
as wasteful as the tillage is imperfect. The
waste of our haryests would feed the farm
ing population of any nation Of Europe or
Asia. Twenty years OF our tillage mate
rally reduces the rate-product OF every
staple. a nalf a century of such robbery
and waste almost completely impoverishes
the land.
REDUCTION OF PRODUCTS PER ACRE.
The average yield of corn in the United |
States has fallen from 10 to 80 bushels on
virgin soil to rs bushels. The rate product |
of wheat has diminished from 80 bushels |
per acre to less than u bushels The fall |
ing of of all tho other staple products of |
the country has been in ike proportion. |
There are now thousands of people living |
who remember when the New England |
States grew large quantities of wheat oats |
and rye; when a yield of 80 to 100 bushels !
of pofatoes was not uncommon: and when |
the barns in that section were filed to the |
ridse-nole with hav and other forage. The |
DAYS of This production have long since |
passed. The wasteful tillage has exhausted |
the soils. The hiIlsides are almost as bar
Ten ana dcFo4d Oh FeSetaIloh as sahara |
Inc mn farms are ueseI,g'' anu me occuI
pants nave HGu WeSI, ne HIe Stoch VI |
SIlat sect1oH - iess 'H'l one nan llle nun
peIs III 'ne oi''gii va! ; anu tiIc PeoIIo I
themselves W Wouiu S'iI'e out loI es' Ell
produces, ne SANE IGsIit H"S lol-
Io"eu an nc n1I,'itilo SiTle
GREAT states lla' once lH"uSrI tiIc'isVi -
the gTahcFles OF inc "of!u nave we 10 uuy
breau ron hem ct CouIIfle9' me S"Ilc
h'.! ~, ulI'i3e anu Iooo-I5 oi 'iie
sou II PI"ul4tlll- Tue SIlle sun iVsul,9 III
tAe So nom INT NC ~ ll"I'S
10 the "C'hC OCEAN. ne !n'c PIOuuCl VI |
corn III .ie several ;2ld'e9 WI, III uS'I ale ne
rum rttHS MIouSH': III -Hti IAN" II - |
only = hushelS; virginia 10 tennessee ~
ARKANSAS ~ NiGHisal -, W i5coil9ili 1T ~
MISSISSIPPI ana A'apaha 10 pus4elS; me
larneF mas drawn upon MS pailA-t .:T
soiI-"Ilhout any uepos.lt III re'Irn' r ~
ms crafts are almost ulSiI9iloIuG .i iic
government puousheS' VIII p[Ile; tlle
thousanas el tons Oh cereal5 WnIch are
Shpped 10 !oreisll sl'0rcS, anu sup I ol%
Tors ana writer's tol 'I'e pICS9 an, NJ
as evidence 81 Wi4l s'S'l P,ople W. a
Wlliious ever ilsl.iI t ,i' 0'o,5 81, ~, W
these exports represents the cream OF our
SOILS taken away never 10 DC Ie'''ii'e'''
AGRICULrCIE IN JAPAN
4 comparison of our agricultural meth
DDS with those of other countries which,