Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-03-08

Eerty between 1900 and 1905 is made
clear by saying that it is more than
i seven times as much as the total ma
tional bank capital Of the United
1 States, and is equal to one-half Of the
4 aggregate deposits in all the national,
state, private and savings banks and
all the loan and trust companies in the
whole country. Surely the American
farmer is coming into, his own, and in
doing so is enriching the country.
The New Era Of Scientific Farming.
Contrast this striking exhibit of the
i prosperity which has come to the
farmers Of the country with the power
Z ty of ten or fifteen years ago, and in
doing so bear in mind that this is only
! the beginning of what we may expect
in farm life. In passing through the
pioneering period of Swimming the
cream of our most fertile soil we car
ried our farm production beyond what
could be profitably consumed by this
country or for which a profitable mar
ket could be found in Europe. Now,
enormous industrial growth with its
millions of consumers, added to Euro
lpean requirements, has reversed the
conditions. We have reached time
of improved methods in farming and
of restoration of fertility in the soil.
i Much is heard about the Increase in
the fertilizer trade of the country
and the development of this industry
4 has been commensurate with that Of
i other large business interests, but the
real improvement of farming is found
more largely in better methods Of
handling the soil than in the wider
use of commercial manures. Scien.
lists are teaching farmers here and
1 there land from them others are learn
/ ing, how to rejuvenate and rebuild
4 their land by the use of alfalfa, COW
& peas, vetch and other crops. They
are learning how to diversity their
products. Increasing wealth and the
I gain IN population are creating an al
\ most unlimited market for the diver
j slfled crops. The orchard, the truck
4 garden, the dairy, are all yielding their
falr share of wealth and helping mate
4 rally to swell these great totals of ag-
ricultural output and increase in farm
values. sa t &. u NJ &
What Irrigation is Doing for the coun-
try. ii
Moreover, as people we are learn
ing the value of irrigation. In the arid
regions Of the west, aided by the ma
4 tional government, millions are being
expended in the reclamation Of mil
4 lions OF acres of land destined to fur.
nish homes for millions of prosperous
i farmers. In the semi-arid regions the
same good work is going on, as we'll
las in sections where rainfall is abun.
dant but irregular. In Louisiana and
Texas over 100000 acres are now an
nually given to rice culture with irri-
cation. Under irrigation this land has
risen in value from rs and so cents
an acre Is or 20 years ago to $50 and
an acre. The underground streams
500 an acre. The underground
streams Of Texas and other states
i have been tapped, and the one essen
tial element, water, has been found in
abundance to make fruitful with an
abundant harvest wide stretches Of
land which but a few years ago was
4 supposed to be almost valueless. Il AS
we have learned to flood the dry land
to the enrichment of the whole coun-
try, SO we are beginning to learn how
to drain the overflowed lands where
nature has given a soil of almost I'M
equaled fertility, but which has hereto
fore been unavailable. Many million
acres of swamp land will in the future
be reclaimed. To the country this will
i yield even larger profit than can be
1 prod ced from the irrigation work now
under way throughout the west, valu-
4 able as that Isl.
Improving Our Waterways.
Connected with this drainage work.
and in some sections Of the country
really a part of it. is the Improvement
4 of our rivers and harbors. Beggarly
4 is the only word to describe the treat.
i ment by the national government of
4 American rivers and harbors The to.
4 tai amount expended in this cause
/ from 1920 to 1906 was $470, 900 900 the
average amount for the last ten years
being less than $2O.O0O,0Oo annually
i Contrast this with what other coun
4 tries have done. Holland, with 1000
! miles Of navigable waterways, against
q over 43 900 miles in the United States
not intending any streams Of the sea
q board. has expended about $1,000, 900.
4 600 upon this work, while France. with
1000 miles OF navigabIe waters Of
q about Orle-teutI, f,f what VIC how, ssl.,.o