Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1908-02-13


who had become dissatisfied. They
had been farming there for 20 years
and had permitted the land to be-
come weedy and thus Improbable
and consequently discouraged and
were talking of selling the land for
what they could get and going to
the Canadian northwest to begin
afresh. The speaker had told them
they ought to be ashamed of
such conditions. They had been
guilty of
Soil Robbery.
Beginning with one of the most
magnificent soils anywhere, and with
possibilities for hundreds of years,
they had Willingly or unwittingly
robbed the land of it's wealth. with
out giving anything in return. The
speaker said that in every acre of
average soil there are 8, 500 pounds of
nitrogen. a commercial product,
having a fixed value. $500 pounds
Of phosphoric acid, another COM
mercial product, and l. 700 pounds of
potash. still another product of de-
finite commercial value These
three elements, if some means could
he devised for drawing them out of
the soil at once and sold at their
present commercial value would
make one acre of land worth $3.50.
If a farmer were to tap his land as
we used to tap maple trees and ex-
tract every year a given quantity of
these substances and sell them, it
would amount to practically what
every farmer does who mines twenty
or thirty bushels of wheat out of his
land year after year. Besides the
quantity he actually uses out of the
soil he liberates and allows to 60 to
waste in the atmosphere four times
as much as he utilizes in the pro-
duction of his wheat. At present
prices every average bushel of wheat
taken from a farm costs SLOT in the
valuable assests it robs the soil Of.
This amounts to 1926 for thirty
bushel crop. Is it any wonder
that our land is becoming unpro-
ductive and unremunerative when it
is being robbed of it's wealth in this
manner.
A PO0r business Man.
You would have a poor opinion of
the ability of a merchant who would
continually be selling off his stock,
and living off the profits up to the
limit and never putting anything
back on the shelves. The time
when his business would no longer
be profitable would not be far dis
tant. He surely should not only
add as much as he takes off. but put
aside something for competence at
the end Of long business career.
The potash in an acre of land
might last 100 wears at the rate the
farmer is using it. and the phos-
phoric acid 1853 years, but when half
taken out the land would no longer
be productive. The land is not pro-
ductive because of the lack Of humus
The green Of the leaves which
Deautites the Landscape and is so
necessary to the prOdcutiOn of the
crop is caused by the iron in the soil.
end vet the leaf could not absorb a
harrow tooth. for instance. except
the minute portion it could utilize
which the tooth might lose in the
form of rust. Decaving vegetation
provides for the production of the
bacteria necessary to plant life.
Fungus and Insect Enemies.
Whv diversity? Because. for
another reason. every plant has it's
enemies. such for instance as the
fungus and insect enemies which at
tack wheat. These enemies of the
wheat get start the first year and
with the second crop of wheat on
the same land they begin the year
with just the conditions to which
they are ada pied. and the next year
they have become even stronger
while the vitality of the wheat is
less. The result is continuous
weakening of the wheat.
The soil becomes full of this
fungus and insect enemies. Every
plant exudes substance which in
time poisions the soil. Suppose,
instead. you
Plant Corn.
The fungus and insect enemies of
the wheat are disappointed when
they come to seek their natural food
and soon perish. By cultivating the
corn you kill some weeds and remove
some of the other damage caused by
continual raising of wheat. Even if
the corn does not ripen, fodder is a
mighty good crop and highly nutri