Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-02-14
Written for The Evening Star.


written for The Evening Star.
A LII THE MONEY IN THE WORLD HAS
IA come from the soil. Whatever civiliza-
ton has created is built up from the produce
Of the earth. Gold and silver are merely use
full Is mediums for the exchange of those things
which are grown upon the fruitful land.
Farming in this country required no especial
attention Of an intelligent nature 20 long a. the
soil was virgin. The unused earth produced
two or three crops by simple turning over,
and these crops were rich. When the original
nutriment in the land was exhausted the farmer
Of earlier times simply transferred his opera
tons to another spot. Unfortunately, this
could not 60 on forever, and so it is found
that the great agricultural belt has moved
westward within the recollection Of men not
very old at this day from the longitude Of
western New York to Illinois, Indiana and Da-
kota beyond.
EXPERIMENT STATIONS.
Naturally when the virgin properties Of the
soil are used up resort il had to fertilization,
and already the farmers Of the United States
are extensively employing what are termed
sible out Of their acres In other words they
are applying science to agriculture with a view
to making the arabic earth yield the greatest
obtainable income. Forty years ago the first
experiment station" was started near Leipsic,
in Germany, for the purpose Of making re-
searches in this direction. Today there are
more than 100 such stations IN the different
countries OF Europe; every one Of the United
States has one or more such establishments,
and the movement in this direction is extend
ing to Asia and South America. In 1887 Con-
n ms
appropriating $4,000 per annum for each Of
the states and territories having agricultural
colleges or agricultural departments Of col
leges. Thus at the present time scientific men
ing to discover the laws underlying the prac-
tice Of farming and in finding how they are
best applied. Few things can be imagined
more interesting than the operations in which
they are engaged.
COMPARATIVE VALUE OF FERTILIZERS.
One thing they have been investigating is the
comparative value Of various fertilizers.
Plants, it must be understood, are addicted to
varying diets, Just az human beings or other
animals. Some want more nitrogen, while
others find phosphoric acid necessary to their
well being, and 80 on. Just what each sort Of
vegetable needs for its support it is the task Of
the experimenters to ascertain. One thing
they have, discovered is that certain plants de-
rive large proportion Of their nutrition, in
the shape Of nitrogen, from the air. Clover is
q marked instance Of this. For the purpose of
ascertaining a point Of this kind a seed is
planted in a glass jar filed with sand which
has been previously sterilized-that is, de-
prived Of all reproductive properties-by
burning Then the sand is watered with a
solution Of nitrate of soda in quantities Of
which record is made, 80 that it is known pre-
cisely what amount Of nitrogen has been con-
tributed. When the plant has grown to suf-
ficient size the nitrogen in it and the sand is
extracted by chemical process. If the amount
Of nitrogen thus obtained is greater than has
been fed into the jar, the necessary conclusion
is that the plant has taken up nitrogen from
the atmosphere. This discovery with relation
to clover has been applied by planting clover
in land which lacked nitrogen and blowing it
under, thus supplying the want
FINDING THE BEST FOOD.
SO the experts at the experiment stations 90
ahead trying to find out what is the best food
for potatoes. tomatoes, onions and every other
vegetable product imaginable, even to flowers
For this purpose they take an acre Of land and
divide it up into twenty long strips with narrow
paths between. The same vegetable is planted
throughout, but in each strip O different fer
tilizer is employed, and in this way it is found
out what is the most suitable food. Farmers
make these experiments nowadays for them
selves, having been taught how. The agricul-
turist of this country is rapidly reducing his
methods to q scientific basis. He recognizes
his fields as so much capital in bank, as it were,
and knows just what interest he can obtain on
the investment. Having cut five tons of hay
from a piece of land he wishes to find out how
much plant food he has drawn. Turning to
his liable for Calculating the Exlnus-
ton and Enrichment Of the SOIL" he finds
that the five tons Of hay would contain 155
pounds Of nitrogen, 1872 pounds Of potash, Al
pounds Of phosphoric acid, pounds of lime,
&c. Wishing to calculate how much plant
food he must give back to his field with given
amount Of manure, he turns to another table
and finds the composition Of various manures
at his command. From other tables he sees at
glance how many pounds Of just what foods
lated to produce q given amount Of growth Of
cattle and other animals. In the same way he
learns Just how much Of each of these foods
will make fair daily ration per 1 600 pounds Of
oxen at rest in the stall, oxen at work, mich
COWS and SO on. Whereas until recently the
farmer bought his fertilizers blindly, many Of
them being worthless, now he is able to know
precisely what his soil requires, and thus he
saves money.
VALUES OF MILKs.
One thing to which the experiment stations
have been devoting their attention is the test
ing Of the relative values Of milks. 1t is popu-
larly imagined that pure milk is always the
same thing, that from one COW being as good
a. that from another, but this is very far from
being the truth. One cow may give so per
cent more butter-fats, which are the valu-
able part Of milk, in its product than another
COW. That dealers often water their milk is
well known, but ii is also true that COWS Of the
poorer sort water their own milk. So 1t is
worth while to find out what cows are the best
for milk giving. purposes and to encourage the
better breed.
ABOUT GRASSES.
Much attention is devoted by the experiment
stations to the subject Of grasses. Nearly all
the stations in the arid region Of the west have
been laying out patches in various kinds of
grass, trying to find varieties which would
thrive despite drought. Experts have been
hunting all over that part Of the country for
promising indigenous species, with shears to
clip of the seed tops and bags to collect them
in. Some have been found that promise well.
II must be remembered, Of course, that all the
valuable cultivated grasses Of today were once
wild. There are two big grass gardens at
tached to stations in Connecticut, where trials
are made Of all obtainable varieties. II Ia in
tended before long by the state authorities at
large to have o winter propagating garden for
grasses, where the work can be carried on under
green houses during the cold months. It has
been found useful to procure grass sprouts
from sods hundreds Of years old. Some such
have been got from English people who have
brought bits Of turf with them to this country.
A pinch Of grass between finger and thumb will
hold, perhaps, score of the little plants, and
propagation from them II simply matter of
patience. There are very few things useful to
the agriculturist which the experimenters at the
stations do not do.
COTTON yLY m THE SOUTH.