Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1895-04-11
Waste of Farming.

wasteful, says writer in the Prairie
Farmer. Waste has been the rule in
American agriculture. Accumulated
mold of ages of vegetation was offered
at $l.25 per acre. Afterward it was
given away subject to official fees for
perfecting a title, both TO natives and
immigrants. With land free to all
there was prodigality of fertility and
economy of labor. Thus in primitive
agriculture rotation, cultivation, d.
versifcation were all sacrificed, and
fertility was transmitted into net cash.
Because wheat could be grown with
out cultivation on the broken sod and
because it was always a cash crop little
else was grown; and because there
was so much of it and so few farm an
finals the straw which Is worth as
much in England as the whole crop is
here, was burned TO get rid of it and
because Of this repeating of a crop
without cultivation, weeds much more
than loss of fertility reduced the rate
of yield until at last because of ex-
tension of wheat area beyond the needs
of consumption price was reduced and
profits destroyed. Thus nature which
cannot be trifed with safely has been
avenged, and the wheat grower Is
muddled in trying to lay the blame
upon the currency, the tariff or anything
rather than his own uneeonomical and
wasteful practice The same abandon
attended early efforts in animal indus
try. Unimproved breeds were kept
four years or more on lush grass in
summer, in the lea of haystack in
winter, fattening at one season and ex-
listing at another, favoring the pro-
duction of fat and lean, in layers, to
be sold at low prices to unsatished
consumers. The first butter diaries
for instance, Pratt's in New York
required forty pounds of milk to
make one pound of butter. He by Sc
lection and care reduced the require
ment almost one half, and now some
Jerseys produce pound of butter for
thirteen pounds of milk. The hog
ging down" of corn in feeding cattle
and hogs was another wasteful pro-
cedure in primitive farming.
1t was the same with cotton. The
seed was wasted or only used for ma
nure. Sometimes stock was killed by
being gorged over pile of seed but
systematic feeding was unknown. Now
100000 more or less represent the
oil of the seed, which was wasted if
applied to the soil and almost as much
more should be got from feeding the
cake with incidental foods to consti-
tute suitable ration and costing al
most nothing. In this way all the
valuable elements Of the seed are re-
turned to the soil with additional ma
nurial value of other feeding material.
Pork if not beef can be produced IN
the mild climate of the South with
cotton seed cake, COW peas and other
fall and winter growing forage plants
even cheaper than the central West.
In wooded sections the first and
largest opportunity for waste was
found in the wanton destruction Of
wood and timber, and it was improved
until large areas have become deserts.
In every rural industry exploitation
has been depletion and destruction.
When fax became an auxiliary or
successor to wheat million of acres
went into civilizations away though
coarse fiber worth SO per ton had
been made of the straw as it lies
from the mower, while by a slight
change of method Of culture and treat
ment as is done in Europe far more
valuable fiber can be produced. Flax
growers will say it cannot be done be-
cause they do not know how and will
not learn, but it has been done and IS
done successfully and uniformly in
other fax growing countries.
Reduction in price and competition
in production are lowering the margin
OF proht more or less aIthou8n not
equally or by regular graduation year
by year. The most careless are pinched
fearfully, the mole systematic only
feel the tightening pressure of reduc-
ton, while the most skillful and scien-
tifc still find reasonable profit in
agriculture. 1t is well that these
wastes in their primitive recklessness
are no longer possible. The richest
soil in the world never made an IN
creasing yield or retained perma-
nent fertility until higher values of
land and greater cost of production
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