East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-12-25

Washington. In speaking of the
great question OF soil fertility, which
is occupying the minds of agricul-
uralists all over the country, and the
attention of the people-as to wheth>
er the American soils are continually
wearing out as some authorities say
and as the soil experts of the United
States Bureau of Soils contend to the
contrary-Secretary of Agriculture
James Wilson, in his annual report
deals with the subject as follows:
"a great and fundamental problem
which has confronted our people. as it
has the people of the world. is the
question of the permanency of soil
fertility. OF late years, particularly,
the idea has prevailed that the soils
of various parts of the United States
are wearing out through loss of min
eral plant-food, and that n serious
condition is thus presented for the
future of our people. So important
and fundamental is this problem for
the welfare of our people that I di-
rected a thorough examination to be
made of the whole subject, and an ex-
haustive report has been issued, from
which certain important conclusions
can be given in few words.
No Evidence of Failure.
1T has been found from the rec
ords kept by our own department
that on the average, crop yields per
acre have shown a decided tendency
to increase during q period of 40
\ to AxrfI
of general decrease over large areas
or in any particular state, as is popu-
larly supposed. This indicates. un-
doubtedly, that on the average our
people are farming more intelligent!y
and therefore more successfully, ana
that we are, through these more in
telligent methods, winning gradually
/ larger returns from the soil.
/ 1T has been held, however, by some
writer's that even if the yields are in
creasing, the element of danger is that
/ the larger crops remove larger am
I cunts of plant-food from the soils
and bring nearer the time when the
soils will eventually wear out. To
meet this argument it has been neces-
I
( older countries and the records of Eu-
rope have been searched for informa.
ton in regard to the past history Of
these older countries, which can b,
taken as safe guide for the future Of
the newer soils of the United States
Actual Increase Shown.
These records indicate that in the
middle of the 10th century, or, rough
ly speaking, 800 to 400 years ago, the
soils of Central and Northern Europ;
were producing on the average abou
as much wheat per acre as the soil:
of the United States are producing a
the present time. These European
soils have been occupied for agricul
tural purposes for at least thousand
years, during most of which period
the country was more densley populat
ed than the United States is at tn,
present time. So far as records ar,
obtainable they indicate that as a re
suit of increasing population and NOR,
intensive and more Intelligent meth
DDS of soil control and in spite of theil
{ longer occupation, the average yielr
:. per acre has increased, until in thu
case of Northern Europe, the soil
are now producing about two or two
and one-half times as much per acr,
as the newer soils of the United
States are producing.
I'm addition to this evidence 10
actual crop yields per acre, an ex
haustive investigation has been mad'
of all the chemical analyses which
have been made on soils for the las
IS years in certain countries o
Northern Europe in which crop yield!
have been increasing, and likewise o
the soils of the United States, includ
ing the older soils of the Eastern
states and the newer soils of thu
Western states.
THE result of these analyses, pup
lished side by side, show no signifi
cant difference in chemical compost
ton between the older soils of Europ'
and the newer soils of the United
States.
N tiopC of thI