The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-06-22
THE FARMER Of
CENTURY'5 END
He Will Be a Scientific Person
of Much increased
Effectiveness.
advertiser Correspondence. Copyright

/
When the United States reaches the
full measure of its growth as nation.
lit will depend for its life upon the
farm and the farmer. The farm is
the great laboratory where sun, rain,
soil, seed and labor are compounded in
the proper proportions to make the food
(which is necessary TO life and the raj
ment which IS necessary to civilization.
In the remaining nine decades of the
century the farmer will progress more
IrapidIy than any other representative
lof American life The achievements of
the American farmer have already
Irevolutionized the life of the human
race, and he is but upon the threshold
of his career. When adam delved
the same tools and methods which are
still employed by the greater number
of the farmers of the world. Artificial
irrigation came with Egyptian civiliza-
ton, and artificial fertilization was dis
covered ages ago. But for four thou
sand years the art of agriculture, most
| important of all arts, was at stand
still
Then came the American farmer. He
owned his own land, his European
forebears were peasant tenants. He
owned as much land as a baron in
Europe He had to till it all with his
own labor and that of his sons. This
was the necessity which was the
mother of the inventions of labor-sav
ing farm machinery. The American
farm machinery agent has gone into
every country of the world and has
triumphs in this field, the American
farmer is adding the victories of
science over ignorance. His future is
big with progress.
The United states has a total area
of about two billion acres. IF one bill
lion be set aside for cities, towns,
mines, factories and other non-farming
land, there will remain a balance of
$50 00e, 900 acres. This is almost three
times as much land as the farmer of
today uses in growing the food stuff
many of those of Europe. By extern |
sion of present methods of farming to
all this available acreage. the United
States in the year 1000 will be able to
grow all the foodstuff necessary for its |
3S5. 600 000 people. But the present spir-
it of progress is not content with |
merely extending present methods to
a greater acreage. The American far |
mer is determined to make two blades |
of grass grow where one grew before" |
to make one blade of grass grow where |
none grows now.
Secretary OF Agriculture Wilson and |
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. To-
ward the end of this century the far
mer will be the best educated men in
America. He will be a chemist with |
knowledge to enable him to so handle |
his soils, his fertilizers and his food |
stuffs as to make them yield the |
maximum of profit. He will be bot
anist with knowledge TO enable him
to take advantage of the laws of he
redity to breed disease resisting and
forest-resisting plants. He will keep
pace with every movement Of the
scientific world which can be turned TO
his advantage. He will be able great
~ to increase the quantity and quality
of his wheat and corn, vegetables and
fruit, cotton and wool, without having
to add a single acre to his field.
But suppose this forward movement
is slower than now seems probable;
suppose the average farmer of ninety
years hence does only as well as the
best farmers of today. Even that
would mean the increase of the present |
yield of corn from three billion te
seven billion bushels year. On the
present acreage. The average wheat
land in this country now yields fifteen
bushels per acre. Yet there are today
many farmers who are producing forty |
five bushels an acre on land that FORTY
years ago was considered rich when it
gave an average of fifteen bushels.
Leaving aside the wonderful improve
ment in the heredity of the pIant-life
stock which is helping the farmer every
day, the development OF the science OF
soil chemistry is certain to add TO the
power Of the farmer : arm. Growing
crops need certain chemical foods Just
as much as human beings do. Our chem
zeal diet IS taken as compounded into
bread and meat. The hill of fare for
the plants Is more candid and there
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