The Mena weekly star., 1910-12-22
INIENSIVi FARMING
. Fulton Tells How a Chinamar
Does It-Amerieans Greatest
MASTERS.

The best lesson | ever learned il
lose or intensive farming, or rather
s,,deuine, was by watching a China
IAN one summer in town in Kansas
Mcourse he was laundryman and
~ lot back of his laundry he had a
8 arden. The lot was only about 25S
Il feet in size, hut as true as live
,hnk that Monaghan raised more
,u,ck than most Americans would on
,bree or four acres Of ground. tell
YOU it was sight to see that little
Celestial hopping about in his garden
at odd hours and to see the amount OF
veoetables he produced. had occa-
sion to pass the laundry several times
each day going to my hotel and | had
good opportunity to watch the
/ chinaman. Talk about intensive
hrming Why. man alive, that Chink
ooked seeds under the fence so the
roots would draw from his neiehbor s
sround and he would get the benefit
| Of the vegetables. Not only that, but
observed that just as soon as one
plant ceased to bear or to be of any
hrther service, out of the ground it
came and down went another seed in
the place of it, and not a weed or
spear of grass was to be seen.
Speaking about Cinnamon calls to
mind the fact that in China where an
acre of ground is considered farm,
land that has been farmed for over
1000 years is producing better crops
today than it did when it was virgin
soil, and in Germany land that has
been farmed for l 900 years produces
four times as much as it did when first
cleared and plowed. The fact is the
Mmers of several foreign countries
can give American farmers cards and
spades on intensified farming, restora-
ton and preservation of soils and other
pointers in the agricultural line. Take
Denmark for instance, that little
country that would hardly make one
Of our big states aud we find the land
owners average less than 20 acres
each. There IS or 40 acres is consid-
cred a large farm, and the same rule
prevails in Holland, and the returns
from their little farms exceed the in
come from great majority of the
argest farms in America. The whole
ruth of the matter is the American
especially the Arkansas
Americans. are not only LAND poor"
out the worst managers and the great
,st MASTERS the civilized world has
,ver produced.
am informed by good authority |
hat in certain localities in France,
where the soil has been made very
critic. when a man sells his farm he
loes not sell the top soil, but reserves
t as personal property and digs it up |
md carts it away to be spread over
he farm he buys. This looks unreal
enable, but when we come to con-
ider the time and expense is has
AIKEN to put that soil in such fertile |
condition we cannot blame the French |
armer for wanting to dig up about 81
" 8 inches and take it along with |
lin.
MASTERS? Well | should say we
Americans are MASTERS. Not only |
armers but all classes, and to bring |
he matter right close to home,
make bold to say that there is enough |
,ood fertilizing material is wasted |
way and burned up here in Polk |
,ounty every year to enrich 100, 900 |
Icres OF thin land, and that there is |
'nough fertile land covered with use
ess old fence rails and brier patches |
Ding to waste to enrich 10000 China
men. Go where you will and you will |
ind all the old fields on four-ffths OF
he farms eashed with deep and un-
lightly gulleys and every winter and
pring you will see farmers burning
reat piles of brush that should 90 in
o the gashes, not only to save their
and from washing away but to fertilize
What they hold. The grass. corn
talks and even old hay that is burned
very year would fertilize dozens and
lozens of farms in Denmark. In burn
ng wood of course the soil gets let
lie benefit in the way of potash, but
n burning grass, stalks or other rub
fish all the fertilizing substances goes
Up in smoke and gas. Burn whole
lay or straw stack and you would not
Jet handful of potash out of the
lshes. The only things that ever
urn about my place consist of old
line stumps and blackberry vines and
would not burn the latter if | could
lways be provided with long pair of
Gather leeeings, buckskin gloves and
! pitchfork with a handle ten feet long.
Inc also needs pocket testament, and