The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-12-19

mere are IN Jne tnlte0 STATE
proper. according to the report,
trfle less than 100000 square miles
of land surface. of which little
more than one-fifth is under culti-
with forests, and smaller proper
tion with woods, young growth.
and cut over land. With the excep-
tion Of waste lands and a relatively
small amount of mineral lands, all
the rest Is grazing land.
Some of the most significant facts
brought out were the following:
SOILS.
/ The soils of the Unitel States, as
measured by the yield OF crops per
acre, are not losing their fertility,
Taking The country as a whole.
nine out Of ten counties are eithe:
holding their own in this respec,
or are gaining I'm fertility This
matter, one of The first in import
ance to the country, has been thor.
oughly studied from more than ona
IrOint of view, and the above state
ment Is made with confidence. Those
parts of the country which are $-
ing in fertility are mainly in the
newly settled regions where the
farmers are drawing from the orig
inal fertility of the soil and are
not rep,aCinig 1t with fertilizers or
practicing the method of rotation Of
crops These areas are proportion
ateiy largest in the States of Mis-
sissippi Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas,
and oklahoma, T. e., the western
States of the cotton belt, and in
, them are found A per cent of a,l
such lands in the country
The present low average yield is
in some part due to careless farm.
ing, but more generally to the fact
that land Is cheap relative to farm
labor The highest yields per acre
are found in the oder northeastern
States where land Is relatively hign
in value, and in the arid regions
OF the West where water, the essen
tial, Is scarce.
The soils are not, however, pro-
iducing half of what they should
produce or what they will soon be
lrequired to promce if we would
avoid buying our foods elsewhere
, in the future The acreage of cult
waited land Is increasing much morA
slowly than the population and ca I
newer be more than twice as grear
as at present, while by the end o.
the present century We shall probab-
, ly have three times as many people
4 to feed as now The amount OF our
farm crops Is also increasing much
more slowly Than our populatioa
, An Increase in yield per acre Is
therefore imperative. In that mat
ter we are far behind western Eu-
rope, and as our soils are at lea,
equally rich il becomes II matter
Of care in the selection OF seed, of
feruli2ing and of cultivation. ..r...
.. ruBLlC LANDS.
There are in uhe continental Init
ed States 3SG,S73,7S7 acres of unap
mOpriated and unreserveI lands and
almost an equal amount in Alaska
In The year ending June 80 1908,
there were 29,G3G entries, covering
4,242 7lO.59 acres, a number which
has. Geen exceeded in only two
years. 1t is evident, therefore. that
TO each homesteader, as has been
recently urged since the desire To Sc
sttl strong enough to increase rath-
er than to diminish the average
number OF entries per year.
The pubic land laws. rs they
exist today, do not furnish the nee.
e'sary protection to the peoples
interests in the public lands. Chang
es are necessary no only because
the present .lqws are not suited to
existing conditions, but also partly
because these laws, as originally
drawn, contemplated conditions ana
needs which have been greatly modi.
ned, both by changed conditions of
the country and by various decisions
OF the land department and of the
courts.
The Nation should in its own nos.
session, and maintain in efficient
condition, those areas which are less
wa mable for agricultural use OF
homemaking than for conserving
unique natural beauty and wonders,
the water supply and the timber.
| The resources stlll belonging di-
rectly to the Nation, which must nee
essarily be diminished and finally de-
stroyed by use, should be exploited
ana used in way to cetIrn great
ost benefit in the long run to the
greatest number. the essential caution
being to prevent waste, and, without
I prohibiting or hindering econom-
icar development, prevent sucn mon
opoly as might artihcially increase
The cost OF resources to the people
beyond what would bring to the ex-
, ploiter full reasonable profit and
no more.
When the land itself, independent
OF the minerals under its surface, Is
more valuable for agricultural use