St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1910-01-29
WHERE AN ACRE NOUR
ISHES FORTY PEOPLE
Rapid Increase of Population Makes Ii i'm.
peratiVo that We Study Of
'GROP And SOIL PRODUCTION
distinguished Writer Tells Of Results IN
China, KOrea aud japan...The Number
Of PeOaple Fed Per Acre.


Professor T. H. King, of Madison
Wisconsin, in writing on soil cnltiva
tion in the far East in Farm an,
Fireside makes these interestin,
Icomments:
It could not fail to be d matter D
! the highest industrial, educationa
and social Importance to all nations
were it possible to bring to them
full and accurate account Of al
those conditions and practices whicl
have made it possible for such dense
populations to be maintained 81
largely upon the products of Chinese,
Korean and Japanese soils. Many
Of the steps, phases and practices
through which this evolution has
passed are irrevocably buried in the
past, but such remarkable mainte.
nance efficiency attained centuries
ago and projected into the past with
little apparent decadence, merits the
most profound study and the time ID
fully ripe when it should be made.
With our population Increasing at
the rate Of nearly a million a wear
during the last half century it is
clear that we can hardly learn too
soon or too thoroughly our probable
limit Of soil and crop production, and
the best methods Of insuring and
maintaining it. Probably nothing
can give a safer measure Of the
maintenance capacity Of the farm
and farmers Of nation than the
number of people they feed per unit
area of cultivated field and it is
doubtful if there is a better place to
study this problem than in China and
Japan at the present time.
According to official statistics pub
lished in 1908, Japan has IN its main
islands, exclusive of Formosa and
Karafuto, q population Of 48, ,542, ,73g.
and the area of its cultivated fields
is 21,32l square miles. This is 2,
277 people to the square mile, and
besides these there are also main
tanned 100000 cattle and horses.
nearly all of which are laboring ami
mails, giving population Of one hun
dred and forty-two people and seven
horses and cattle to each forty acres
of cultivated field; condition suf-
fciently different from our most
fully occupied forty-acre farm to
make the busiest man among as stop
and do some thinking.
The old farmer who permitted me
to hold his plow told my interpreter
that there were twelve in his family
and that he owned and was cultivat-
ing fifteen NOW Of land, which
is two and one half acres, and that
besides his teama cow and small
donkey he usually fed two pigs.
This is at the rate Of one hundred
and ninety-two people sixteen cows. |
sixteen donkeys and thirty-tWo pigs
on 9 forty-acre farm; and popuia-
tion density of 3,072 people, two hun
1red and ffty-six cows, two hundred
and ffty-six donkeys and FIVE hun
1red and twelve swine per square
nile.
Japan is making rapid strides
along many industrial lines and great
attention has for many years been
'aid to her agriculture in which rapid
is being made, As early as
-872 she had established an agricul-
ural college. For several years the
oil survey Of the main islands has
Deen completed with large scale maps
nd is made the basis OF values for
ational, perfectual and local land
axes. She has an admirable system
t road maintenance in effective oper-
tion. She has many agricultural
experiment. stations, nine of which
70 visited, and the equipment at
okio for soil investigation ii SUI
erior to anything yet provided in .
bis country. We have more pre-
entious buildings, but their resources
re more largely used in providing ;
ppliances and men for rigid, accu-
ate research work. / visited one
{ their dormitories at the agricul
lral college connected with the Fu- !
uoka Experiment Station, and here
oung men are provided with room
nd board at four dollars (gold) per !
Ionth. From the two colleges of !
Ighest rank they had graduated, in
901, LOAF students; from their one J
andred and thirty-nine 4 and B !
asses of agricultural schools Of :
,cond rank they had graduated inl !
DOG, l2,371, and from the still I
wer grade of third rank there grad T
tied in 1905, from the 2,450 sup
agricultural schools, IA, !
II. :
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