The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-06-06
When America Is Grown
NY Fi,IsDEfsrC j. HAsfSIN.
LNlnn. he 1fniin1 SIuInu rnlrhna

AGRlCl
NY lri,IsDERrC y. IIAsiS1N.
When the United states reaches tho
full measure OF Its growth as q i,a.
tlon, II will depend for It's life upon
tile farm and the farmer. The farm
IL the great laboratory where sun,
rain, soil, seed and labor are com.
pounded in the proper proportions to
make. the food which Is necessary to
life and the rain,ent which Is neces-
sary to civilization. In the remaining
ninc decades Of the century the far.
mer Will progress more rapidly than
any , other ,epresentative Of Ameri-
American farmer have already revo-
lutionlzed the life or the human race.
and lie IS but upon the threshold Of
his career. When Adam delved and
same tools and methods which are
still employed by tho greater mum.
per OF the farmers OF the world. Ar
e1n ,rr!sat9n came Wit EEyptian
was discovered ages ago. But for
1000 years the art OF agriculture
most Important Of all arts--was at a
Then came the American farmer. He
forebsars were peasant tenants. He
owned as much land az Il baron IN
Europe he had 70 till It all with his
own labor and that OF his sons. This
was the necessity which was the moth
er OF the. inventions Of labor-saylng
farm machinery. The American farm
machinery agent has gone into every
country Of the world and has car
ried revolution with him. TO sac tri-
unplis In this field, the American far
tner Is adding the victories OF science
ever ignorance. His future Is big With
progress.
The United States has total area
OF about 2,G00,000.000 acres. II 1,000,-
mines. factories and other non farming
s5o.0Oo.oOo acres. This is almost three
/ times as much land as the farmer
stun for the people of the United
states and many OF those OF Europe,
BY extension OF present methods Of
| farming to all this available acreage.
be able to grow all the foods,ufr nee
essary for Its 3S5.00o,OO0 people. But
the present spirit OF progress Is not
content with merely extending pres
I American farmer Is determined to make
| two blades Of grass grow where one
| grew before" to make one blade Of
grass grow where none grows 3,., now.
| that wizard of the soil Luther Bur-
bank, agree that the progress made
+ by the American farmer in the past
| forty years is as nothing to what will
\ be done in the years to come. Toward
the end NJ this century the farmer
Will be the best educated man In Amer
lea. He will be a chemist with knowl-
edge TO enable him to so handle his
soils, his fertilizers and his foodstuffs
as to make them yield the maximum
OF pront. He will be botanist with
knowledge to enable him to take adj
vantage of the laws OF hereditty TO
Il sp-re L
resisting plants He Will keep pace
with every movement Of the. scien-
| tific world which can be turned to his
advantage. He will be able greatly 10
i increase the quantity and quality OF his
wheat and corn. vegetables and fruit
/ cotton and wool, without having tc
add a single acre to his field.
4 But suppose this forward movement,
is slower than now seems probable
suppose the average farmer of ninety
years hence does oniy as Well as the
best farmers of to-day. Even thai
would mean the increase OF the pres
ent yield of corn from 3,o0o,o0o.0oo z
i ,o00. 100000 bushels a year, on tbs
present acreage. The average .whea'
land in this country now yields nj.
Il teen bushels per acre. Yet there arc
|. to- day many farmers who are produc
) ing forty-five bushels an acre on lane
that forty years ago was consideret
! rich when 1t gave an average OF M
!, teen bushels.
4 Leaving aside the wonderful i'm.
provement in the heredlty OF the plant
life stock. which is helping the far,
science of soil chemistry is certain
to add to the power OF the farmer:
arm. Growing crops need certain chem
ical foods Just as much az human . be
as compounded into bread and meat
The bill Of fare for the plants Is NOR,
candid and there must be nitrogen
! potash and phosphorus. The need "a
} differ Just as the requirements Of AMI
, mails differ. The advanced farmer Q
to-day, aided and abetted by "unci'
, Jimmy Wilson's bright young men, i
Commercial fertilizers will suppl,
the demands Of the plants for ,s sui
t izer will be applied. and the result
! will be uniformly helpful. The cos
| of fertilizers will DO decreased Tn
: tobacco grower must needs give NJ
t plants potash. To-day the potash come
5 from German mines and costs cent
! a pound. a new way has been foun'
f Ito obtain supply from our grant
mountains by the simple process Q Q
/ sold at IL cents pound Grant
: grown tobacco is commercial sue
!. cess in Virginia fields to-day, as II We
/ Of Agriculture experiment stations tw
$ years ago. Nitrogen Is everywher
3 present in the air. but until lately
: was necessary to employ nitrate 0
: soda as a means of getting IT int
the soil IL there wasn't time to de
vote a year to growing clover to b
piowed under The nitrate came fror
south America and was expensive. NO!
: the waters OF Niagara move tho wheel
OF tho machinery which captures tn
/, nitrogen from the air and tmprson
Hit in cotton sacks to be sent out I
r the farmer who needs 1t.
!. The ninety years are certain to re
: the average farmer Of today does IS no no
s dream. There are probably 100000
a horses and mules in this country 70
: which there will be no need In tn
). good year 1000. The cheaper an
:. stronger machine will drive the hors
:. and the mule from the fields. Thi
: movement is already beginning. Th
!, millions Of animals whose usefulnes
. will have ceased before 1000 nov. con
- sumo each year the products OF ~
:. 100000 acres Of land. II devoted &c. pc
!. tatoes this land would yield three time
!, the present total world crop. Unde
i the most advanced Of modern coma
: lions these acres could be mace
!, support 5O,O00,00O cows--enoush
= give a quart of milk ~ day to ever
= one Of the 3S5,000,O0O people we wi
y have whom America Is grown
= rf II n n n