Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-10-09

| farmers in the requirement of exact in
formation upon the subject of improv-
ed methods of crop production, is also
indicated by the increasing number of
farmers associations, their better or
ganiZation and the greater publicity
given to their proceedings: by the in
terest taken in their work, not only by
the farmers themselves. but by the com
munity generally; by the growing vol
ume OF newspaper and other literature
especially devoted to the interests OF
farming and related industries by the
minute and comprehensive reports OF
the department of agriculture of the
federal government; in our own state,
as | have already noted, by the estab,
liShment, in connection with our state
university, of an agricultural college
and experiment station, and by the pub
ication of the mass of information
gathered by these agencies i'll such a
way as TO reach the classes for whose
guidance it is intended At last the in
dustry of farming is receiving the at
tention BETTING its Importance
Quotes }. J. Hill.
And this attention came none too
soon. Farming. after the old fashion,
extremely profitable at the beginning,
is progressively exhaustive of the fer
tility of the soil | cannot better illus
trate the gravity of the peril to our
most valuable national heritage arising
from this source than by quoting few
sentences from the mastery address
delivered by James J. Hill at the open
ing of the Minnesota state fair In dis
cussing the wasteful methods which
characterized early American farming,
Mr.. Hill alludes. for Illustration. to the
process of denudation' which III certain
parts of the country has been one Of
the most rapidly destructive agents in
the exhaustion of our farms, and shows
that "a field lying at an angle of 20 de
grees can be totally destroyed in 100
plowings, and Throughout the south
this process has proceeded far and is
going forward rapidly And. again,
More serious and even more destruc
tive is the process of deliberate soil eX-
haustion, and illustrative of this pro-
Cess) it is not many Years since the
favored wheat producing area of the
American northwest gave a yield OF
from % bushels per acre upwards. Now
an average of y TO 10 is accepted as
satisfactory. On the other hand. I'M
der the stress OF need by Intelligent
cultivation. many of the lands of Great
Britain, cropped for a thousand years
are made TO bear 80 bushels to the
acre"
Speaks of Social side.
In concluding his address. Governor
Deneen spoke of the social side of az
riculture and urged further develop
ment along this line. After express
ing the hope that the visit of the dele
gates from other states to Illinois would
be a pleasant and profitable one. he
concluded by saying:
Il trust that all branches of the work
Of the convention will be pushed for
ward vigorously. and that as a result
the cause OF improved methods will re-
ceive a stimulus and benefit common
surate with its Importance to our ma
tiOnaI prosperity.
CarOIinian Makes Response.
Illinois and her statesmen she has
produced were both paid a fitting trib-
ute by Hon. B. Cameron of North Caro-
lima in responding to the address of
Governor Deneen. He said the very