The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-05-27
We are firm believers In the maxim
that for all right Judgment OF any man
or thing 1t Is useful-nay, 1t is essen
tlal--to see his good qualities before
pronounclng on his bad. -Cariy'e'
The Waste Lands Of Virginia.

~ Our Education Page to-day Is rich, anu
should he read carefully by every person
Who feels an interest in the su biect OF
nopular education. The leading article
Il from Professor Andrew NJ. soule. dean
az the Virginia College Of Agriculture, IN
which he discusses the educational lea
ture Of agriculture. He says that ski'l
sot n premium In every business, except
.t1he business Of agriculture. and that u
Is gratifying to know that the highest'
tyne of intelligence on the farm IL no"
generally appreciated and the need OF
AGRICULTURAL education Is recognized
{ 4. necessity. And, again: Our land areas
because OF the exhaustion through lhe
continual growth of crops IKE COTTON.
ttorn and tobacco and the neglect or i've
stock industry. have in many instances
reached q low ebb.
Professor Soule is naturally interested
in the training Of young men for agrit-I
cultural pursuits, and the college whlch
he represents Is doing fine service IN
This direction. The best way TO rehapi1-
+ate our lands and to improve agrlcul-
Z
rural conditions in Virginia is to give
scientific and practical instruction at
school to young men who propose TO
make famous an occupation. Ihat phase
IF the subject is self-evident and needs
~ argument in Its behalf. But there are
MANY. adult farmers in Virginia who also
Z need instruction, and they are none TOO
old 10 learn. Virginia has large bodies
of degenerate lands which have become
Impoverished, both by cultivation and
lack of cultivation. In one sense they
have been cultivated. but under such
ed. The time has come. in the opinion
4 OF DR.. S. c. Mitchell to extend help
ing hand to the owners Of such FARMS
and he suggests that the Cooperative
( Education Association Of Virginia now
turn Its attention from mere agitation,
which has In large part accomplished its
mission with notable success, to construc.
tive work, and he thinks that the asso-
citation could do no better than to make
q crusade in the interest OF Virginias
waste lands. His plan is to send out
one or more agents, whose business it
should be to meet the farmers face to
face. in this settion and that and give
them instruction in the art of scientific
farming. 1t is no theory that wasted
lands can be reclaimed and renewed 1t
Is simply q question of feeding. The
farmer thinks 1T nothing strange that his
pigs and sheep and calves wax fat II
they receive nourishing food. The same
thing Is true of lands and crops. Plants
are as much dependent for their growth
as pigs. sheep and calves upon nourish-
Ing food. By scientific methods. by well
established principles Of chemistry, the
necessary ingredients can be nut into
the land, and II the land contains them
the planted crops will feed upon them
and grow and yield their increase in sea-
son. There is no mystery about it, ex-
cept SO far as all natural processes are
mysterious to finite beings.
Dr. Mitchell's suggestion is practical
and practicable. The Times Dispatch
heartily approves 1t and commends 1t 10
the educational propaganda.