The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-08-01
SUCCESSFUL AGRICULTURE.
Science Necessary for Complete Sue
ccss-A Valuable Paper by Howard
Evnrt~ sweet. Mississippi AGrfcnl-
tural Experiment Station.

Science Necessary for Complete Sue
ccss-A Valuable Paper by Howard
Evart~ sweet. Mississippi AErfcul-
tural Experiment Station.
At period has science largely bene-
fitted agriculture at present, and the
time has long since passed when there is
nothing to be done but to plant the seed in
the spring and gather the harvest in au-
tumn. While agriculture has made such
advancement during recent years, yet it
has hardly kept abreast Of the times dur
ing the last decade. and some of the other
industries have pushed ahead of this most
ancient and honorable occupation. Agr-
culture has excluded itself too much from
the other lines of industry, and is just now
coming abreast of the times through the
aid which science has rendered. This is
particularly true in some lines. Farm corps
are attacked by two kinds of organisms
the injurious insects and the parasitic fungi
and it is in dealing with these that per-
haps the most advancement in scientific
agriculture has recently been made The
insects eat the leaves and suck the sap of
the plants, While the parasitic fungi feed
upon the rich juices of plants, causing a
great check in growth. How much dam
age is caused by injurious insects and par
asltlc fungi cannot be estimated in just so
many dollars and cents, but it is safe to
yield of all farm produce is destroyed by
injurious insects alone. That is to say,
that were it not for the insects the yield
would be one-fourth greater than it is at
present. To one who has not given this
matter attention. this statement may be
received somewhat doubtfully; but it is,
nevertheless, only too true Take the case
OF some OF our grainS-say corn, for exam
pie. The seed has scarcely pushed its ten
der stalk above ground before the cut
worms necessitate second planting. When
the second planting, or what remains of
the first is about three inches high. the
bud-worms begin their work upon the part
of the plant which is above ground, while
the root-worms feed upon the remaining
portion which lies beneath the surface.
Owing to the damage caused by these in
sects, the farmer may we'll take the advice
of the poet and plant
"One for the blackbird, and one for the
crow,
Two for the cutworm, and three to grow"
If by good luck the corn reaches the
roasting ear stage without being attacked
by the chinch bug, the forming grain is
eaten by the boil worms and a little later
by several weevls and the larvae of the
grain moth. The grain weevils and the
larvae of the grain moth continue their
work of devastation after the corn is har-
vested to such an extent as to destroy the
entire harvest in many cases. But by the
application of proper remedies a large part
of the loss caused by injurious insects can
be prevented, and that with but little
trouble and expense 1t is here that the
science of entomology comes to the rescue
of the agrcuturalist by bringing forward
insecticides to lessen, and indeed in some
cases to entirely prevent, the loss caused
by the ravages of injurious insects. In the
case of the American corn referred to,
the insects which attack it can all be more
or less successfully dealt with by proper
cultivation and the application of nsecti-
cides. Clean culture and good cultivation
will greatly lessen the number of insects
which attack the growing corn while the
application of bisulphide of carbon to the
grain as soon harvested will prevent
further damage by insects in the granary.
In many cases the loss through damage
by parasitic fungi is no less than that
caused by the attack of injurious insects.
The diseases of the grape have, perhaps,
received the most attention at the hands
of mycologists and the beneficial results
of their work in this branch of scientific
agriculture manifest themselves on every
hand. Grape diseases were formerly but
little prevalent, but during recent years
they have increased in their distribution
and destructiveness to such an extent that
it is now almost impossible to bring the
grapes to maturity without the application
OF fun9cide to check the growth Of the
parasitic fungi which are the cause of the
grape diseases. This being the case, the
viticulturist knows that the application Of
the Bordeaux mixture is as fully an i'm.
portant part of success pruning or cul.
tvation. But it has also been recently
shown that many plant diseases other than
those OF the grape can be checked in like
manner by the application of fungicides A
prominent example of this is found in the
good resulting from the application of Bor-
deauX mixture to potatoes, recent experi-
ments showing that this fungicide NOT only
prevents the potato rot but also 80 yery
largely increases the yield that it would
pay well to apply the Bordeaux mixture
for this latter purpose alone, where pota-
toes are subject to early blight This in
crease in yield was result unlocked for
when the experiments We're conducted. This
same funglcide is used in spraying apple
trees. to prevent the apple scab and ex-
per1ments last season at the Cornell sta
ton show that the Bordeaux mixture not
only prevents the scab but it increases
both the yield and keeping qualities of the
fruit.
But in other lines of agriculture science
has but recently shown many things of in
terest. 1t has long been supposed, and. in
deed, common sense would go to show
that the winter protection of mich cows
would pay, yet it has remained for the In
diana experiment station to recently show
Just what and how much benefit is to he
derived from such winter protection. The
matter of sub-irrigation has received atten-
tioh d. liie lldIllS OF some OF stations.
ana the experiments have shown that this
system of irrigation is much superior in it's
results to the usual methods. Agricultural
chemistry, dairying and bacteriology are as
yet but new sciences, and this is especially
so in the intimate relations which they bear
to each other. The matter of the fermenta-
ton OF milk is now receiving much atten-
ton, and bacteriology will probably soon
snow us method of greatly prolonging the
sweetness of milk. By a method of milk
testing we are now able to say just how
much butter fat given amount of milk
contains, L. e., how many pounds of butter
can be made from the given quantity of
milk. This being the case, the milk now
sold at creameries is paid for in proportion
to the amount of butter fat it contains
Thus we see the intimate relations existing
between the sciences which underlie agri-
brought agriculture forward to the state of
advancement in which it now stands. That
agriculture should be foremost as it
ever has been primarily the most impor-
tant industry there can be no doubt. But
science has not completed its work in aid
ing agriculture. Indeed, the results so far
obtained but go to show the possibilities
which lie beyond Other equally important
results in scientific agriculture may be
looked for, and if the agriculturist wishes
to be successful he should put the latest
results of scientific investigations into i'm
mediate practice. The greatest aid to the
agriculturists in this country is the exper-
ment stations-and it is through these in
situations that much of the future aid to
agriculture will be brought forward
American Agriculturist.