The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-05-12
AN OPTIMIST ON CROPS.
SHALL WE EVER HAVE ANOTHER
HARVEST FAILURE?
The Secretary of AgricuIture's Pre-
oictions as to the Future of Ameri-
can Grain Production and What
the Grain Trade Thinks of Them.


the Grain Trade Thinks of Them.
A recent interview with Secretary
of the Agricultural Department at
tracted considerable notice in the
grain trade. In 1908, the trade had
begun to predict disappearance OF the
United States from the list of wheat
exporting nations. Secretary Wilson,
in the interview referred to, now de-
clares that there will be no more
crop failures" of a general scope, and
that Sin 1910 the production per acre
will be twice as great as it was i'll
1900"
The. Secretary's interview was
shown to a number of experienced
members of the New York grain
trade and their judgment solicited. 1t
was the consensus of opinion that
Secretary Wilson was decidedly OPP
timistic. Some were inclined to think
that the Secretary had been misquot-
ed; indeed, many of the statements
made in the interview in question are
so rose-colored as to create skepu-
cism.
Enthusiastically crop results have in
recent years been far more uniform
and certain than they were previous
ly. Primarily this Improvement Is at
tributable largely to the fact that
great improvements have in late
years been made in agricultural ma
chinery. Wheat that is sown by a
drilling machine to a depth OF four
inches or more is far better able 10
withstand the vicissitudes OF weather
than if it was sown broadcast by
hand, according to the old-fashlon
method.
1t it also manifest that farmers
nearly everywhere are showing
greater intelligence in their farm
work, and there are many dealers
who admit freely that Secretary VIII
son deserves credit for the improve
ments along this line. The expert
ments made by scientific experts on
behalf of the Department OF Agrlcul-
ture have doubtless been highly bene-
fetal to those farmers who have COM
mon sense enough to realize that IN
order to be profitable their farms
must be conducted in a businessllke
manner, as has been clearly demon
strated on the vast farms In the tar
West. where the work is supervised
by capable men having accurate
knowledge of what is required and a
capacity to conduct affairs in sys-
tematic way.
1t has been clearly demonstrated
by scientific investigation that the
soil needs a rest now and then as
we'll as animals and human beings,
and it is also well known that SOIL
is rested in a sense by sowing to
grain of a different description. Thus
farming mas been made prohtaole
even on lands that were formerly un-
productive. There is wide differ
ence in the natural fertility of soils.
Some do not produce well from the
beginning unless particular attention
is given to making them productive;
others produea- largA. erons for a short
-IIflie. and then rapidly diminish IN
fertility: while still others, known as
strong Soils" remain productive for
many years without the giving OF any
attention to their fertility.
But even the strongest soils will
wear out in time unless they are in
diligently managed. 1t is perhaps
little known, except to those directly
interested, that plants in their growth
make use of thirteen mineral ele-
ments, nine of which they secure di-
rectly from the soil. These are called
the mineral plant feeds. They are:
Phosphorus, potassium, calcium mag
nesium. sodium, iron, silicon, chlorine,
and sulphur. The fact that one kind
of grain consumes or makes use Oh
certain of these chemicals while an
other makes use of different chem
icals. shows why the constant sowing
of enc kind of grain will exhaust the
supply of certain chemicals, whereas
by FREQUENT rotation the supply is not
so quickly exhausted. 1t Is especially
worthy of note at this juncture that
destruction by animal life is far more
noticeable in fields where one kind OF
grain has been planted continuously
for several seasons, showing that ro-
tation is destructive to the chinch
bug. Hessian fly, and other insects.
But Notwithstanding the improve
ments cited, there are decidedly few
experienced dealers who agree with
Secretary Wilson that the yield per
acre in 1910 will be twice as great as
it was in 1900. The average produc-
ton per acre should show important
increase, inasmuch as in the past the
Weld has been entirely too small. In
1900 the average yield per acre was
placed at 1913 bushels, while in 1905
the average was approximately 40.
1t hardly seems credible, however,
that this can be increased ii hYe
years to "a bushels, although it would
cause no wonderment should the aver
age be brought up to 20. This would
not be considered a particularly nigh
production in foreign countries. In
the United Kingdom, for instance, the
yield per acre is frequently over 30
bushels; in France about 90 Germany
%, Belgium SO, and Holland about
%. These comparatively large yields
show beyond a doubt what can be
done with old soil provided tae
ground is properly cultivated, and the
right kind of fertilizers, ETC., are used.
it should be borne in mind at this
iuncture however, that large per-
centage of our wheat is raised on soil
that is either nearly virgin or has
little if any fertilizer in it. This