Rocky Ford enterprise., 1903-04-24
FARMING MATTERS.
Roosevelt on Farming.

In his speech at Sioux Falls. s. D..
April 9th President Roosevelt said:
One OF the creates, and most benet-
cent measures passed by the last Con
sr-ss. or indeed by any Congress in re-
cent years. is the irrigation act. which
will do for the states oi the great plains
and the Rocky Mountain region at least
as much as ever has been done for tho
states Of the humid region by river and
harbor improvements.
Few measures that have been pu,
upon the statute books Of the nation
have done more for III. people than this
Law will. firmly believe. directly and
Indirectly accomplish for the states In
question.
''Th. Department OF Agriculture de-
votes It's Who'll. energy to working for
the welfare of farmers and stock grow
.rs. In every section Of our country
IL aids them in their constantly incr-as-
Ing search for n better agricultural ed
uention. II helps rot only them. but
all the nation. In seeing that our ox-
and that there In rigid inspection OF all
meats tina, enter into Interstate CON-
mcrcc. Thlrty--Ish, million carcaSscS
We're inspected during III. last fiscal
year. our stock growers sell forty
fiy- million dollars worth OF live stock
annually. and these animals must he
KEEP, healthy or clR. our people viii lose
their trade. our export OF plant prod
ucis to foreign countries amounts to
over six hun ired million dollars a year.
and there In no branch OF Its work To
which tn. Department ot Agriculture
dcyotcs more care. Thus III. depart
ment has been successfully introduein.
n macaroni wheat from the h.adwatcrs
Of the volsa. which grows successfully
In ten inches of rainfall. and by this
means whca, sro~in. has been success
fully extended westward into tn. semi
arid region. Two million bushels OF
this wheat were grown last year. and
being suited to dry conditions. II can
be used for forage as well M for food
for man.
''Thc Department Of Agriculture has
been helping our fruit men TO establish
markets abroad by studying methods
OF fruit preservation through rcfriIcra-
tion and through methods OF handlin.
and packing. On the Gulf coasts OF
Louisiana and Texas. thanks TO the De-
parimcnt Of Agriculture. n rico suitable
to the region was imported from tn.
Orient and the rice crop IN now prac-
ticaliy equal to our needs In this coun-
try. whereas n few years ago II sup
piled but onc-fourth Of them.
THE mos, importan, OF our farm
products is the grass crop: and TO show
what has been don. with grasses. l
need only to niludc to the striking
change made In the entire West by tn.
extended use Of alfalfa.
Moreover. the department has taken
the lead In the effort to prevent the
deforesiation OF the country. While
there are forests We seek to preserve
them: and on the once trcclcss plains
and the prniries we nre doing our best
to foster the habit Of tree planting
among our people. In my own lifetime
have seen wonderful changes brought
about by this tree planting here In your
own state and In the states Immediately
around II,
There are number OF very import
ant questions. such rs that Of good
roads. with which the states alone can
deal. and where all that the national
government can do Is to cooperate
with them. The same Is true OF the
education of the American farmer. A
number of the states have themselves
started to help in this work and the
Department OF Agriculture does an i'm
mense amount which is In the proper
sense OF the word educational. and cd
ucational in the most practical way.
1T Is. therefore. clearly true that a
great advance has been made In the di-
rection of finding ways by which the
government can help the farmer to
help himself-the only kind OF help
which a self respecting man will ac-
cept. or. may add. which will in the
end do him any good. Much has been
done in these ways. and farm life and
farm processes continually change for
the better. The farmer himself still
retains. because Of his surroundings.
and the nature of his work. to a pre-
eminent degree. the qualities which we
like to think as distinctly American iE
considering our early history"