The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-05
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Jt was Dean Swift who gave 1t as his opinion that whoever could make two ears of corn. or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before. would de- serve better of mankind. and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put to- gether.'
 We have been reminded of this old saying by reading that "one of the first uses to which the General Edu- cation Board is putting the forty mill lion dollar Rockefeller endowment is the teaching of farmers in the South to grow more corn per acre." whi,e 1t may be that the same kind of edu- cation would be desirable in other sec tions 1t is not to be doubted that 1t is badly needed in the South. because the average corn yield here is almost shamefully small when compared with other sections. especially the West and Northwest. When we read that in some of the Western States crops of fifty or sixty bushels to the acre. and often more. are common. and compare that yields with the average in Ala bama, for example, we are forced to confess that we are not getting all from Mother Earth that we might do. Raising corn." says The New Bedford Standard. referring to this educational plan. Ifs an arduous occupation. which to some minds may seem petty; but raising corn well. with all that inn plies. may be an en1cient means of producing a higher civilization. This is what the Geheral Education Board wisely seeks to do with this venture"
 If the average Southern farmer should be told that by pursuing a cer- tain course he could double his an- nual yield of cotton would he not glad ly seize the opportunity to thus add to his farm profits? No one can doubt that such would be the result, and he should be equally glad to be shown how to double or treble his yield of corn. It is not merely that he would thus increase his profits. though that Is no trivial matter. More corn means more fat hogs and beeves, more and better horses and mules-more of all farm stock, in fact, and that in turn means better living for the farmer and better returns for his labor. all of which is desirable.
 But there Is another consideration that comes up in this connection, and that is the constantly growing neces- sity of increasing the supply of bread stuffs. It Is not merely that millions in Europe and Asia are annually starv- ing for bread but that the supply of food everywhere b not equal to the demand. Our Indian corn has not in the past been looked on with much favor in the old world as an article Of hoob, OuS ShdI picJu0iGO UT IHullLCl ence is rapidly disappearing and we now expect millions of bushels every year to replace the short crops of wheat. rye. oats and barley which for merly were the only breadstuffs used in the Eastern Hemisphere. The peo- pie are learning that even corn bread is far better than starvation. and they want it.
 But even in our own country as we all know. the price of all kinds of food is high, and getting higher. The increase in corn production, as an ex- ample, is not keeping pace with the increase in population. and this bids fair to continue and become more acute as time passes. There are but two plans of remedying this unsatis- factory condition: by increasing the acreage or the yield per acre. The former is only practicable to a limited extent. for the arable land now unoc- cupied Is not large, and is fast being taken up. As a consequence, the on- ly relief for the present. and the hope for the future lies in increasing the yield per acre. It will be millions of profit to the South if our farmers can double the present average yield of corn.