The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1911-08-04
ExALL ON BETTER FARMING
People Must be Taught Absolute
Necessity Of Returning All
Fertilizers to Soil.

teenth century was about 1870 million
1t Is now over 4s0 million. The pop
ulation of the United States in 1SO(
was seveL million; 1t is now almos
100 million. The opening up OF this
new country, with its rich soil, Sc
cheapened food production that the
population increased by leaps and
bounds. and despite the Civil war
with its incaIculable destruction Of
life and ,,operty. and its paralyzlne
effect upon progress. our population
mas grown from thirty million In 1851
TO ninety-two million in 1910-3O0 pei
cent in fifty years. At the same rate
Of increase we will have 2sC million
people to feed in 1860. In this con
nection 1t is we'll to remember that
despite the fact that within the past
forty years We have put into cultiva'
zion the major part Of the great
prairie plains, the richest body OF
lind of IKE fertility on the face OF
The .~rth. comprising what is known
- tAs 'ssissippi valley, and includ'
ing the black belt in Illinois. and
west thr. ugh Iowa and the Dakotas'
and .om west through Kansas. Ne
braska. Oklahoma, and Texas, and
Notwithstanding the fact that great
improvements have been made for cul'
tivating aud harvesting crops. and
great advance has been made IN seed
selection, and some improvement IN
cultural methods, so little has been
done to conserve the fertility OF the
earth; SO constantly have We mined
rather than farmed It; subtracting
t, om it without adding to it, that the
average crop OF corn and wheat COM
bined per acre In the United States
Is less than 1t was forty years ago.
The population is increasing at a
terrible rate, and production is con-
stantly decreasing. The grain acreage
increase for the past ten years has
teen about twenty.three per cent;
the production has increased about
thirty-five per cent, but the consump-
ton has increased sixty per cent
Ten years ago We produced about
500 million bushels of wheat and ex-
ported tbirty.seveI and half per cent
OF it; NV we produce 700 million
bushels of wheat and export seventeen
per cent In the same time our corn
crop has grown from two and half
billion bushels to two ard three-quar-
ter billion bushels, but the home de-
mand has so increased that our ex.
ports have fallen from nine to three
per cent For all these years we have
bsen in the proud position Of having
corn and wheat for sale, AMI cheap
food for all our people, but unless we
and radically change our
agricultural methods we will within
the next few years. be buyers of food.
The pertinent question Is: Who will
have 1t for sale at anything like rea.
sonable prices?'
1T behooves us, therefore, to save
and to use every particle OF fertiliz-
Ing matter that is within our reach.
I'M Efuy 3esfs nk1os1 .nu posssn
III the stalks from 100 bushels Of corn
are worth. In carload lots ,day. II
we had to buy 1t. $10.55. The same
elements in the stalks from
bale D. cotton are worth $500 AS
a ru. we burn both. and temporarily
destroy the usefulness Of the land
IRON which the fires are lighted. We
are not only clipping the coupons, but
W are cutting into the bcSy Of the
bonds.
1.-The people must be taught the alb
so.ute necessity Of returning every.
thing possible in the line Of fertilizers
t. the soil: protecting 1t from wash.
Ing by terrac.ng. and blowing around
instead Of up and down the slopes.
They must be taught to thoroughly
prepare the lands before planting the
carefully selected seeo, and by con.
slant shallow mulch cultivation to keep
down the weeds. They must not lay
by and leave their crops. but must be
taught to know that as the stalk
grows larger 1t has more live weight
to sustain. and 1t needs more nourisn'
nent. Cultivation should continue un
til the crop IL positively made. The
rule has been to lay by the crop and
leave 1t to fight the suckers, weeds
dry, parched earth and hot winds
alone. when its life work is yet to be
accomplished
IF this one last item mentioned
namely. not to lay by and leave the
crop, but to keep q soft mulch on tor
dt the ground, and the crop entirely
free from weeds and suckers until the
grains are hard upon the stalk. were
literally put into effect, 1t would add
millions Of dollars to the value of the
crop in the state this year."