The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-11-15
Talks with Farmers
prof. Massey in Practical Farmer)

The editor has been making
study of some new conditions of soil
and climate. Have been asked TO adj
dress the farmers at an Institute in
Johnson Co., in Southern Illinois. on
the subject of the reclamation of worn
lands. 1t seemed odd that such sub
ject should be put upon q programme
i'm the Central West, when within our
own remembrance farmers ridiculed
\the notion that their lands could ever
need fertilization. But we went be-
cause we are always anxious To help
in every way possible and because we
wanted to see the conditions that nave
brought about such a change from
former times. The trip from North
Carolina to Southern Illinois is rather
u long one, and is made longer by the
arrangements of railroad travel, since
the route is south to Atlanta and Chat
tanooga before turning northWafd. we
were struck with the fact that farm
ers in the rough mountain country be-
tween Atlanta and Chattanooga are
very rapidly washing off what fertil-
ity their lands possess in the effort
to grow cotton on hills intended by
nature TO be clothed with grass. And
as the cotton in this section would
hardly average one-sfXth of a bale
per acre, it was very evident that it
was out of place. But we We're pleas
ell to note that many on these breezy
uplands are following the example CT
South Georgia and are planting large
peach orchards that follow the fun
Their South crop into the market and
are doubtless, on these hills. of better
quality than on the sands further
South. From Chattanooga the route
runs into the unDer cap of Alabama
before finding an outlet through the
mountains northward to Nashville. In
these valleys of Southeast Tennessee
and Northern Alabama we noted the
heaviest crop of corn We have seen,
far heavier than in Illinois. The fine
country about Nashville, Tenn, was
passed i'm the night and we could make
no mites OF the crops. Spending one
might at Cairo, on the tip end of the
State of Illinois, we went in the early
morning to Vienna, where the lnstl-
tute we had made the long journev to
attend. was to be held. We then I'M
derstood why the subject of worn-out
lands had been selected, for here were
steep hills going the same way as our
Southern uplands. washing into gullies
by reason of bad blowing and too much
corn culture. To a Southern man 1t
was a matter of surprise to see corn
rows running straight up and down
the steep hills, and we no longer Won
dered that gullies were being formed.
And in breaking the land we noticed
many blowing in the same way instead
of following the contour of the hills.
Fortunately the nature of the soil is
such that it is less inclined to wash
than the red lands of the South. But
unless the hills of Southern Illinois
are plowed better and kept more in
grass it will not be long ere many ~
hillside will be past redemption. Max
ing a great circuit nearly TO the Indi-
ana line and then westward again, we
reached the Worlds Fair city. On
this last route we again noted that
corn did not look to us as abundant
az crop as further South. and the
greater part of the fodder crop left
in the fields.
The Commerce of the United States.
The wonderful growth of our cou,-
merce is we'll shown by the tables
sent out by the Department of Com
merce and Labor. We believe that few
people realize that the internal COM
merce of the United States is equal
to the entire international commerce
of the world, but it appears from this
statement that the actual value of the
merchandise entering into the internal
commerce OF the United States is prac-
tically twice as great as that entering
into the international commerce of the
world, since both imports and exports
are stated in making up the worlds
commercial record, which shows the
total value Of the imports and exports
combined as 2 billions of dollars. In
stating thei Internal commerce of the
United States only a single transac-
ton in each article is included, while
in stating the international commerce
of the world two transactions in each
article are included, While the chief
Of the bureau of statistics estimates
the value of the articles forming the
internal commerce of the United
States at about two billions of dollars
in a single year In short, we are
trading among ourselves more than all
the rest of the world trades with each
other.
Some Editorial Notes of the Worlds
Fair.
The editor, like the rest of tbs
world, has been to st. Louis. Most
people say that it far exceeds the
Chicago show, and in its great extent
it does But in the scenic effect of the