The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-01-13
FARMER AND ri. ANTER.
SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE.

oOsENOe IN A06tCOlTO6e.
ls Enasses tho Farmer Z. Aa.ps M.
Operations to Exlsting Conditlons.
The many agricultural experiment
stations In this aud other countries are
e0d1ng to tho knowledge which ena-
bles the farmer to adapt his operations
TO the conditions under which his
farming must be done, and the man
who makes the best use of all the
knowledge as to his avocation is. other
snlngs being equal the most likely to
succeed. To claim that the small be-
glnnings made by the investigators
constitute n science of agriculture
would be claiming too-much. Indeed,
20 complex is agriculture that, while
science has determined much useful in
formation, the most that can be said of
1T is that the intelligent farmer can
make it useful
Prof. Charles S. Plumb, director of
The Indiana experiment station, has
| written an article in which he enumer-
| ates some of the WAYS in which the
the aid of the information DEVELOPED
through scientific Investigation. Be-
low will be found some extracts from
| Prof Plumb's paper:
| =. score or more years ago, when
Horace Greeley and Henry Ward
Beecher were telling the American
public what they knew about farming.
there was quite a general tendency on
the part of the agricultural class to
hold up to ridicule what was termed
scientific farming Great claims were
then made as to the Importance of a
knowledge of science, so that the
farmer might analyze the soil, crops,
Fertilizers, etc. Early investigators.
engaged in faithful and hard work.
cleaned much information of scientific
Importance. and eventually overturned
numerous theories that had hitherto
seemed plausible. Chief among these
was the analysis of soils, whereby one
could know the composition of his soil
and at once determine in what iupredf-
ents of plant food it was deficient, so
that he might feed back to it the lack
ing element. Time and study have
shown that soil is a very complex su b.
stance,and one analysis is usually quite
unsatisfactory, because q little sample
OF soil represents only small piece of
ground, perhaps representing quite I'M
1alrly the entire field. Consequently
soil analysis are not thoroughly prac- |
tlcal, on account of the difficulty in Sc
curing a sample of few pounds that |
shall correctly represent the millions |
OF pounds of soil in even a single acre.
TO say nothing of a field of many acres. !
Justus Won Lcibig, a German chem
ISL, made Investigations to the COM
position of the soil and plant nutrition
lie was the first to prove that plants
1ed on certain ingredients of the soil
and that different classes of soils and
plants varied in their composition.
Science is knowledge. There is no
scientific farming. The highest tyne
or farming is intelligent farming The
Intelligent farmer of to-day is simply
making use of certain scientific facts
that have practical application.
For half century science has been
Ia bor1ng in the interests of agricul-
lure This year the United States an
oropr1ates nearly one million dollars
or scientific experimentation as an
'l1ed to agriculture. And yet but few s
armers realize how material is the as I
distance being given the agricultural ,
cct apPllca ton of accomplished scien- f
ific work. S
The first real substantial assistance a
ecelved by the farming public from a
clence was in the examination and in
Pectlon OF commercial fertilizers Nat t
lral 1nannres tanimal excrement) con- q
AIMED nitrate of potash and phosphoric "
CID, consequently soil fertility could
&c maintained by the application
i these. But chemistry here came to !,
he farmers aid. by suggesting that ~
he various essentials of plant food be -
|, uPpl1eo In art1hclaly prepared form. a
ioIvevcr. it was not long be fore much | =;
fraudulent material found its way in -,
the buyers hands: many dealers ! Z,
ERE not honest, and farmers were ~
1ten outraEeously swindlcd. Here ~
gain, the chemists came to the as. =,
stance of agriculture. Fertilizers ~,
ould be analyzcd, their component A
arts determined. and purchasers E.
lght learn how many pounds of plant :,
'od ton of artificial manure con. -
lined Nitrogen, potash and phos- -
lorlc acid each had commercial ! ~
'luc per pound: consequently o,
'e chemist would casilv de- ~,
rmlnc in a fair manner the value of -
ton OF fertilizer. Nearly every state 80
the Union handling fertilizers to ~
~ extent has passed law appoint -,
g a state inspector of fertilizers. -. -,
he result is, manufa cturcrs can not "
lth safety sell the farmers shoddv ~
rtilizcrs. VI
LIT requires no effort to cmphaticallv
ow that already many. MANY millions
dollars have been gained to apric,,1- tn
re through the disintercsted efforts n'
scientists Scientific Investigation
IL continue in the future as it has in ca
c past, and it is fair to assume that thu
ch year will see much good work =
ne. Certainly no other class of la fa1
is receiving greater benefits from he
encc than is agriculture at the pres =
t day. ~,
D----- ins
''ONS Civ
the various Kinds of Farmers that 90 -