Rocky Ford enterprise., 1901-12-27
FARMING MATTERS.
Rornanees Of Agriculture.


Any one still under the delusion that
farming IL an occupation giving little
opportunity for mental effort should
read Secretary Wilson'S latest report.
There. says the Chicago Inter Ocean.
he will find the outlines OF scores OF
real romances OF achievement, with the
world for their scene and the most
patient and acute minds as their ac-
tors.
A few years ago frost. such as liv-
Ing men had not known. swept away
| the orange groves OF Florida. To many
this was calamity without remedy.
They could see nothing to do but TO
replace the blasted trees and hope that
such a frost would not soon occur
again. But the scientific experts said:
Let us lind or make m orange tree
that will resist frost" over In Japan
they found the tree. but It's fruit WAS
| OF little value. So they set to work
TO combine this Japanese tree with the
Florida sweet orange. They have pro
duced the hardest orange tree known,
| and are confident that In few years
they will have fruit both resistant to
frost and OF good quality.
Rice has been grown In Louisiana for
hundred years, but the yield seemed
to be diminishing and the Industry was
dwindling. About three ycars ago the
Agricultural Department suggested the
substitution OF the japanese rice plant
for that formerly grown. The expert.
mcnt was SO successful that the pro-
duction this year exceeded that OF 1889
by I3.op.6co pounds. AMI Imports of
rice have fallen from 15t,op.ooO to
I3.0O0.Gr0 pounds. About Sao.o0O.0oo
new capital has been invested In the
gulf coast rice Industry.
Cotfcc has long been the small Porto
Rlcan farmers chief money crop.
Though little known In this country.
Porto Rican coffee IL In steady demand
nt high prices In Europe. Soon after
Porto Rico became American our cx
pcrts began studying coffee culture.
They speedily found that the Porto
RicanS were shading their coffee plants
too much-thnt the shade was not
necessary In Itself and that Its chief
value was In the effect on the soil Of
the roots OF the i.guminous trees which
supplied IL. Better methods have been
suggested which arc expected To double
or treble Porto Ricois coffee crop.
The cold and dry winters OF the
northern great plains states have fire.
quently killed the grass and SO cur
tailed pnstura.c that heavy loss of live
stock resulted. In Russia the AIricui.
fural Department has found grass
and In Ttifkcsinn an alfalfa which
stand cold and drou;h better than any
previously known hc~. The former
has proved perfectly hardy clear up In
North Dakota and assures the farmers
there both pasiurnEc and hay.
Not long ago nm insect known rs tho
'Snn jose scale WIS found to bc mum.
crous and destructive In the California
orchards. Several European countries
took alarm and adopted measures
which Threatened greatly to cur,aii our
foreign fruit trade. Reasoning from
such past experience ns that OF the rnb.
bit and the thistle In Australia. Il WAS
seen that the rcnson this scale was so
destructive was that IL had reached
country where Its naiurni crr4nics did
not exist to keep II In cheek.
Then n world wide search for this in
scci's home and natural enemy began.
Both were found In North China. There
the scale infested all sorts OF fruit
tres. but did no extensive damage be-
cause n beetle kept Its numbers within
bounds. So this beetle has been brought
across the Pacific ana set TO work upon
Its natural prey. and California fruit
growers nrc feeling much more cheer
full than they felt a few ycam ago.