The Delta independent., 1907-03-07

row mig
would be added to the arabic national
domain. And if only forty acres of
this werc assigned to each family. it
would supply the needs of the actual
addition 10 population, by natural
increase and by immigration, for less
than three years.
MUST SET OUR HOUSE IN ORDER.
Prof Shaler, in survey of world
conditions from the broadest scientific
point OF view, looking at man and his
store-hoIse in the large, at supply and
exhaustlon, says. in Man and the
Earth: This attitude of men as
regards the future of tine material value
Of the earth notably contrasts with
what they hold to the moral and political
future Of their kind. A large part of
their thought and endeavor goes to that
group of problems. but practically none
at all to the immediate questions that
relate to the material foundations on
which all the higher development of the
life of their kind has to rest Man
may VIII, beyond peradventure man will
win, from the silent Willingness of
nature from her sternness and her
clemency, from her outpouring and her
Withholding, the utmost of his aspiration.
But the highway to the perfect condition
must be fashioned from the common
clod under his feet. And for every
error and commission he must pay the
utte4nost farthing. 1t is not so much.
at 4 Is point, a question whether it is
tot adf people or another who win to
higher ideals of life. ofgovernment and
of conduct, as it is whether they are to
escape the shock of an awakening that
must leave them face to face with the old
struggle for existence, with weakened
moral fiber and profound discourage
ment Certain it is that the time has
come for setting our household in order,
and creating serious study of national
activity and economy according to a
truer insight and more rational mood
FARM PROGRESS NEGLECTED..
The first step is to realize our de.
pendence upon the cultivation of the
soil. To this end all that has been sa id
thus far is contributory. The next will
be to concentrate popular interest and
invention and hope upon that neglected
occupation. We are still clinging to
tn, skirts of civilization born of
great cities. We at this very MON ent
use slang which calls the stupid man
"a farmer" Genius has Stunned the
farm and expended itself upon me-
| chan,cal appliances and commerce and
the manifold activities whose favor
able reactions filter back, but slowly
to the plot of ground on which stands
suhily the real master of himself and
of his destiny. If we comprehend our
problem Alright, all this will change;
and larger comprehension of agri-
culture as our main resource and our
mo>t dignified and independent occupa.
tion. will for the future direct to their
! jus: aim, in the improvement of meth
DDS and the increase of yield. the wis
! dom and the science and the willing la
Dor Of the millions who thus may trans
mt 10 posterity an unimpaired inherit.
anCe
Agriculture, in the most intelligent
meaning of the term, is something al
most unknown in the United States
We have light scratching of the soil
and gathering of all that it can be
made to yield by the most rapidly ex-
haustive methods. Except in isolated
instances, on small tracts here and
there. farmed by people sometimes re-
gardcd as cranks. and at some expert
ment stations. there is no attempt to
deal with the soil scientifically. gener-
ously or even fairly. In manufacture
we have come to consider small econo-
mes so carefully that the difference of
Il fraction of cent, the utilization in
by-product of something formerly con-
signed to the scrap heap, makes the
difference between a profit and bank
ruptcy. In farming we are satisfied
with a small yield at the expense of
the most rapid soil deterioration. We
are satisfied with a national average
annual product Of $ll.SS per acre at the
cost of diminishing annual return
from the same fields, when we might