The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1904-04-30
FARMERANDPLANTE
FARM EXPERIMENTS.
Every Individual Farmer should He
the Head of n Private ENpcri-
ment station.


Every man owning or operating a
farm should be the foreman Of an in
diyidual agricultural experiment sta
ton. The record of his many successes
and failures ought TO he published
for the benefit Of the farm community
In which he rSeides and for the edit
cation of farmers generally. Max is a
social being and interested in the al
fairs of his neighbors. 1t is this fami-
ly tie that binds humanity in n great
cooperative union, Without the eX-
perienre of others man goes on in the
dark pathway of uncertainty and
wastes much Of his life in scaling the
mountains once explored by his ances-
tors.
"A college education is not absolutely
necessary for any farmer to become a
successful instructor in TIE science Of
agriculture. Many of the best men oil
the past had little more than a COM
mon school education. They entered
into the study of nature with determ-
ined minds, and, to a certain extent,
conquered the enemies of soil husband
ny. They found out, by constant com
munion with nature, the many defects
in system and the weaknesses OF SOILS
and consequent effect on plant life. The
first school of agriculture was estap-
lished less than a century ago, yet
there we're great tillers Of the soil
many years before the colleges,
The first lessons in agriculture
must convey some idea Of soils and
their components. A good worker can
not succeed on poor soil if he does not
know how to replenish wasted fertility.
As we'll expect an engineer to furnish
power after the fuel for making steam
has been exhausted. 1t is a common
law of nature that for every sin there
is a punishment and for every Gooo
deed a reward. A soil can not con
tinue giving up annual returns OF IN
creasing value if continually robbed
Of its plant food without any recon-
pense. That food consists of nitrogen,
phosphoric acid and potash II Is
necessary to healthful plant life.
The farmer who discovers some
thing new in soil cultivation n I'M
parts that information to his neigh
bors is a public benefactor. II he makes
two blades of grass grow where but one
had grown before his method OF OBJ
tanning such results is worth much to
all tillers of the soil. Sometimes 4 new
variety of seed gives surprising re
suits. Often a new piece OF macAln-
cry saves labor and thereby adds dol
lars to the farmer. The practice OF
fall blowing in some sections proves
beneficial and In others detrimental, A
fertilizer enriches the land and enables
the owner to get better crops, All these
things should become public property
A practical study of soils and their
effects on plant life may be conducted
In an easy and inexpensive manner
The nature of plant food may he dem
OnSIFAtSQ On LIH Sull' l"id "HH !" W.
same field. A small tract could be di-
vided into eight distinct sections ana
uDon these the experiments may De
conducted. One portion may be fer
tilted with nitrogen, another with
phoephoric acid, a third with potash
the fourth with potash and nitrogen.
the fifth with nitrogen and phosphorie
acid, the sixth with p%hosphoric acid
and potash, the seventh with a com
pIete fertilizer, composed Of nitrogen.
phosDhoriC acid and potash, and the
eighth be simply an unfertili1ed plat,
The experimental farmer does not
require the diploma Of a bueinesF col
lege to keep q record of the products
of n given area. He can keep ac-
counts with every form of experiment
and every mixture Of fertilizer with
out seeing the inside of a double entry
set of books, The record would give
the cost Of preparing land, the ferti'Iz-
ers used. labor and seed expense and
results in different crops, In this
mi every farm becomes an expert
mental station and the owner or oper-
ator. the foreman and conductor. When
his plan of operations and conclusions
are made public he becomes an educa-
tor TO the extent Of his labors.--Joel
Shoemaker, in Farmers Home Jour
nal.