The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-10-01
ny FRANK G. CARPENTER.
Washington. ID.

Washington. b. c.
l write to-day of the most stupendous
Undertaking that Uncle Sam has ever
attempted. II is the making an in
Sentory OF and working plans for our
bigges, national asset. refer TO the
government survey Of our soils. our
eyes bulge when NC think OF our
ENORMOUS resources in mines, OF the
gold oliver, copper and coal and the
mighty bed OF iron which kcpp our in.
dustrIes moving. Nevertheless they are
nothing compared with our receipts
from the soil. Take all the gold. 81.
J yer aud COPPER that the world pro-
duces III one year. and itB value wolld
not he half that Of our corn CROP All
the gold dug out Of the earth In 1910
would not buy half the cotton we shall
raise this year. and 1t would take TWEEN
" lines the gold product OF the would
10 pay for what we are annually re-
celying from the farms The amount
is close TO 1000 million do!lara since
discovery OF America the total value
OF the precious metals which have been
mined aggregates less thar $1,000 mil
lion dollars. In other words three
crops Ike ttat of last year would equal
sil The gold an! aiivsE taken out Of
Ibis BIZ round earth since the Span
hTds led by Columbus came across the
Atlantic 10 begin ihcir robbery OF the
AztecJ and the lncas. That YVES four
hundred ans nineteen years ago. and
since that The whole world has been
diREin6 and delyinS TO get out cha;
silver and gold. within the last th!r-
teen yaars our little army OF farmers
has taken from the earth crops which
arc worth more :han 81 billion dollars
or three times the product OF the gold
End silver mines from more than four
hundred yrarS.
Big ThlnS;s Fror, the Soil.
Before | describe t6i5 survey let me
Ray word more as TO somc OF the
things we get from the soil TIL. corr.
crop is the greatest II amounted last
lear 10 three billion bushe'E anu was
worth more than fifteen hundred million
dollars Nevertheless. ii was dug from
the ground in a li.tle less than leo
days and the government experts tell
Us thai IL the crop Is rightly handled
3t5 atnoun. can DO doubled. That crop
comes from Il coin par. lively small area
Entl within TIC las. decade the Ioo,st
OF II Wac raised in tho North. last
Seax almost 1000. 10000 bushels came
from the South and that had :: value
OF clpse 10 $500. GOO, o5o. II was crea ted
because the Soosh lad begun 10 Lean
more ahout tho soil. and IL Is bu; The
beginning Of AT enormous wealth whicn
further knowledge VIII bring
The cotton crop brought In an aKgre-
Bats Of something like Sc.oooo,0e0 and
that Notwithstanding Inn wee-ii. which,
had %e not learned moro about the
son since its coming would hive wiped
mora than half OF orr cotton plaDta-
lions from The face OF the earth And
then there Is the hay crop. amounting,
10 5p.t0b.0oD tons and worth more than
s7p9 1on.99o the wheat crop which WIS
almost as We IL: fle and 1-Ir oats when
exceeded 1.o90, 100000 bushels. 10 say
nothing Of potaioes- sugar. tobacco and
barley. each Of which ran high into the
millions- All this comes from the scll
and The product depends on just What
the soil LIZ The agricultural experts
say hat IN nine casec OUT Of len every
crop can be largely increased. pro
vided tho right crop is chosen for the
right place and tho cultivation proper