Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1910-11-06
IS GUARDIAN
OF U.S.H HEALTH
DR. WILEY CONSIDERED GREAT
EST CONsERNATIONlsr
ABOUT FOOD OF PLANTS
That l. Great Problem for AgriCul-
tural Chcmistry-"Nrlnklcs'
OF Age

Washington, Nov. 5.--As guardian
ot the pubhc's health, Dr. Harvey
W, Wiley the pure food expert, is call
ed by his friends one of tho greatest
Icunsorvatlonists of thom all. II Is q
fact known 10 but fow, however that
he was perhaps the tirst man now In
public lie tu declare Publicity for a
broad system of conservation OF nat
ural resources, the movement which IL
Just beginning 10 make history This
was In h.s retiring address as presi-
dent of the American Chemical So
ciety nt is annual meeting In Baltl-
more IN December 1898, Just fifteen
year, before the famous White House
Conference of governors was called
In 1905
clerk rummaging through some
old papers IN the Bureau Of Chemistry
has just unoarthed this information.
A printed copy Of tho address dusty
and yellow with age, was shown the
doctor, and hc smiled when he saw
that the title was. "The Waste and
Conservation OF Plant Food In his
address he covered practically all
phases of conservation, excepting
water power and coal, which at that
time dld not figure so prominently
In the industrial progress Of the coun-
try Is today. OF late years, Wiley has
been Ia busy chasing adWterators Of
food ana the dopers of drugs given to
babies and the sick TO even think Of
any phase of conservation excepting
public health, and this makes his re
marks Of eighteen years ago an the
more significant today. A few para
graphs VI what he said viii give an
..I la .Tnntgt'ts .atag.atfaF, al ha
time.
zone of the greatest Of the puctl-
cal problems presented for solution
by agricultural chemistry Is the con-
selVatiOn of plant food he told his
fellow chemists. "ln this country.
owing to the great stores OF wealth
which the past had accumulated In,
the soil. IL is only within recent years
that the question of the supply OF
plant food has assumed any practical
Importance.
AS long as there were virgin fields
at the disposal of the agricultural
rapist. the conservation and restora-'
ton OF exhausted fields was of little
consequence. Not only have these
stores Of plant food been utilized, but.
much 10 the discredit Of tho Ameri-
can rlrmer they have been wasted.
The mark OF good agriculture is to
see fields yielding annually good re-
turns and Increasing, or at least not
lessening IN fertility. This being true,
the history of American agriculture
to within few years must be the his
tory OF bad farming, for everywhere
We have seen fertile fields losing their
fertility and farms once productive
"rhe waste to which desire to-
call you attention Is not that which nor
mally takes place in the production Of
a crop, but that which is incidental
to the cultivation Of tho soil and to-
a certain extent unavoidable. I refer
TO the denudation OF fields by water
and to the removal OF soluble plant
food by the percolation of water
the soil. The losses due to
the denudation of fields are purely of,
a mechanical character
THE natural forest. or the natural
covering of grass over an area Of soil,
prevents, to a large extent, the de-
due to heavy downpours of
rain The removal of the forest, and
the destruction of the grass by cultiva-
tion. leave the soil in a condition in
which IL Is unable to resist the action
striking lesson may be seen In the hill
regions bordering both banks Of the
Ohio River.
Hundreds Of fields once covered
With sturdy forests OF oak. maple and
walnut, and afterwards bearing argel
crops Of maize, tobacco, and wheat,
may now be seen furrowed with gull
les, as with the wrinkles OF age, and
to brush and briefs The
5lme is doubtless true Of other hill
regions but ] speak the more ad-
yisedly OF those which have come
under my personal observation. Great. |
however. as the mechanical loss ofI
plant food is, II is by no means as
dangerous as the loss OF the soluble
caused by the percolation
IF water through the soil. !
"From the foregoing summary of
he methods Of waste Of plant food, |
{ has been seen that in spite of all Il
precautions OF the farmer ond the !
'hemis,. and In spite OF the selectlyc
absorption of the soil, immense guam
titles of valuable plant food are car
led into the sea, where apparently
hey are lost to agriculture forever