Mower County transcript., 1892-02-03

OUR AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES.

OUR AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES.
Bountifnl and Diverse Productions of tho
Different Sections Of the United States.
So vast and grand are the agricultural
resources Of the United States that there
is no day in all the year on which we are
not harvesting in some section products
from our soil. A glance at the different
portions of the country shows the diver
slty of these products and tells us why
we may claim to be the best fed nation
in the world.
Upon the Pacific slope we have the
soil and climate that is best adapted to
the products Of tho vine and the grow
ing of citrus fruits. Within an incredi-
bly, short time vineyards and orchards
have been planted there, and their fruits
grapes, oranges, lemons, olives, figs,
apricots, prunes, as we'll as honey, etc.
are now familiar in every market of our
country. These, with their other prod
ucts, such as wines, raisins, almonds,
etc., will soon free us from any need of
dependence upon the fruit regions of
semitropical Europe.
The great northwest is almost syn
onym for mo. Hard" and it's devel-
opment within two decades has been
such that it might almost have supplied
the world with wheat. In connection
with the great corn fields of the central
prairie states, it has furnished us an
abundance of the staple food supplies,
and has given US in most years surplus
to send abroad. If there are some who
have thought that our limit of production
In this direction has been reached, they
have only to travel along our northern
border and observe the great areas yet
untouched by the plow. When greater
output is needed, it will be seen that our
grain farmers of the next decade will
surprise US as much as did those of the
last.
In New England the dairy, the or
chard and the garden have largely taken
the place of grain and stock. These in
dustries are better adapted to the pre-
vailng conditions, and proximity to the
markets Of the great manufacturing
towns thus enables them to get the
greatest return from their acres.
Throughout all the middle south COT
ton is king, and its production is so great
that it is constantly the largest single
item in the whole volume Of our agricul-
tural exports. Regarding this section,
it may be noted in passing that there is
now a tendency toward a greater diver
sihcation of crops, and while there will
not be less cotton grown in the aggre-
gate, the individual farmer will place
less entire dependence on this, and will
aim to grow more of such crops as are
needed for his own sustenance.
From the extreme southern portions
of our territory we get, on the west, rice
and sugar; and on the east the tropical
fruits, such as the banana, cocoanuts,
guavas and pineapple and, again, the
citrus fruits, as in California, as well as
an endless variety Of subtropical prod
ucts. Except within comparatively mar
row limits we have not yet begun to test
our powers of production. There are
great grain fields yet to open in the
north and west, and in the southwest as
well, when we shall have begun fully to
avail ourselves of the aid of irrigation.
There are fruit lands yet to be planted
in California and Florida, and along our
almost untouched gulf coast, and cotton
has not yet begun to reach its limit.
The greatest value of the foregoing
hasty sketch made by The American
Agriculturist is, according to the au-
thority quoted, the opportunities it still
suggests. Young men who are indus
tious and ambitious cannot do better
than to turn their thoughts in this direc-
ton. So great is the diversity of en-
ployments offered that one may fol-
low almost the untrammeled bent of his
own inclinations in choosing his place
and his work. Agriculture has never
offered so many allurements, nor has it
ever been so safe calling as it is with
us today. Wherever Industrious, intel
igent and persevering young farmers
may cast their lot, be it east or west,
north or south, they may find within
easy reach the means for the realization
of their fondest hopes-the founding of
a happy home, the aim of every true
man and woman.
A French Experimenter on the Potato.
Conclusions drawn by the French ex-
perimenter, M. Girard, in the cultivation
of the potato in France, and of interest
to American growers, are as follows:
AS between whole and cut seed, with
crops grown side by side, the preference
was given to whole seed and the prac-
tce advised to select for such use the
medium or average size of the variety
grown. While studying the selection of
seed potatoes NJ. Girard was led to be-
ieve that tubers which produced good
crops would convey their productive
qualities to the succeeding crop, and
that those which produced limited
yield also perpetuate q tendency to
lighter crops. He thus became satisfied
that the productive strength of the po-
tato was hereditary, and that the Guilt
vator should select seed from those
plants which give high returns.
With regard to the degeneration Of a
variety, populsrly believed to be the
natural consequence of it's continued
cultivation, the opinion is expressed tha,
it is often the result of the thoughtlees-
ness with which the seed is chosen.
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