Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-03-05
THE FARMS OF roMopRow.

IN the stalks of Indian corn and
sorghum and other green forage crops.
II these crops are cured or dried, al,
or at least a part of the sugar fer
,nents, and is lost as food. Preserved
IN the silo. however. the fermentation
Is superficial and the greater part OF
this valuable material is made
available.
But even in the ease of dried 1oodS
there is an immense waste of valuable
matter because these foods are not III
a condition for mastication and di&es-
ton. A single instance will suffice 10
illustrate this point. The dried stalks
Of Indian corn, which have long teen
regarded as q nuisance in our country,
contain large quantities of valuable
cattle food which is available if The
stalks be reduced by mechanlcai
means 10 4 fine state of subdivision.
BY the greater production OF 1000
stulfs on circumscrbed areas ana by
the more perfect utilization or lhe
waste products. at least those which
have been considered so, the nuihoer
Of domesticated animals can ne NaatlV
inCrca Sed anG thus this source OF 700"
.upply is not likely soon to be eN-
laCSted.
In the second place. the product Of
the fields by direct cultivation can BE
increased to an almost indefinite eX-
tent ~ scientific cultivation and fer
tiri-ation The great lessons which
governmental agriculture has taught
so far have been the utility of Sood
culture ana the necessity Of proper
fertilization. The field must be FED
lust the same as the man or steer, IN
order to secure its best results. I'M
pover.shed fields always show either
ignorance on the part of the farmer or
Inability To supply proper food for III"
soil. Agricultural chemistry las
. puintcd out the sources OF soil eN-
Y haustion. It has shown what valuable
plant foods are removed by the "ropS
and how mach of them is taken away
BY rains and winds. Scientific agri-
culture shows the way TO avoid these
losses and even to restore exhausted
fie Ids to their formar state of fertility.
Agricultural statistics show that the
average yield of wheat per acre in the
United States is Il little less than thir-
teen bushels, and that Of Indian corn 2
little less than twcntySevc1 bushels.
Already the results of the studies of
the needs of the soil and of the rrop
have led To the production Of not less
than forty bushels of wheat per acre
on fields which. without proper treat
ment. yielded less than ten. The yield
Of Indian corn has been. with hut
slight expense after the nature OF The
soil has been understood, increase Il
from thirty bushels to more Ihan
eighty bushels per acre. These are
only illustrations Of what the poszibIli-
/ ties of agriculture may be in the iu-
tune.
The conservation of plant food ana
its return to the soil is not only duty
of the farmer. but 4 necessity of arri-
culture. Ii is not necessary that the
farmer should create elements Of Soil
fertility. He is only asked to preserve
that which nature has given him. and.
if by improper methods those elements
have been removed from his fields. %
sec that they are restored and pre-
served.
In the third place, the possibilities Of
agriculture in the future VIII show Il
wiser selection of localities in the no
duCtion of crops. Heretofore aerirul-
ture has been, We may say, Of n gen
cral nature. In the future il will be
specialized. The facilities If trans
portation hay" nOW become SO great as
to demand that that product which is
( peculiarly suited to the soil and climate
be produced and exchanged for other
products better suited to other locali-
I ties.
7 This does not mean that diversified
! farming should be given up but it
means that that diversity should he
specialized. There is scarcely a farm
in the United States which is complete
without at least a few fruit trees but
4 to grow peaches or apples for the mar
! ket in localities not suited thereto will
only lead to bankruptcy. Where fruits
are to be produced for commercial
| purposes localities must be Selr tied
best suited to their production. Thus
the peach orchards, apple orchards ana
pear orchards of the country will grad
ually be collected into areas where soil
and climate are most propitious. The
same remark may be applied to the
production of cereals of all kinds and
to small fruits and vegetables.
OF course proximity to large ,it;eG
3nd large markets alters TO a certain
extent natural conditions, for in that
case the proximity of the field mas
much to do with the profit of the
farm. There are hundreds of local.
ties in the United States as well or bet
ter suited to the production of yay4-
tn Dles than the farms of Long Island
or the sandy fields of New Jersey, but
because these farms are near large
markets it is found extremely profit
able to produce upon them n great
variety of food products. But. aside
from thes" local conditions, the gen
eral principle holds true that the great
staple products of the country will be
produced more and more in circrm-
scfibec areas. Particularly is this true
OF sugar, which is one Of the prime
articles of human food. The sugar
pe't IS particularly affected by soil
ara climate, and therefore its success
iui production will be confined to areas
specially suited to it. 1t has been
found that IS a rule irrigated lands of
the arid regions are well suited to the
production Of beets Of a high content
OF sugar. and it is more than likely
mat TIE near future will see large
portion OF the sugar consumed in the
United States produced upon land,
winch are now untitled for lack of
water