The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-04-23

and there are thirty-four other pro-
iects, each of which will reclaim thou
sands All that land is TO be set aside
Tor his American children. and any one
VINO applies can have forty acres OF IT
or the asking. | shall tell YOU what
those lands are worth. and how you
may get them.
Another big scheme is draining the
| sWamps. We have millionsiof acres of
wet lands that can be turned into
| farms They are scattered over the
Union from California To Maine. They
are as rich as Holland. and Will feed
tens OF millions II Is estimated that
II Will cost 50 an acre to drain them
and That the crops they will yield will
bring In billion dollars a year. Where
these swamps are and how they are TO
DC handled is another project OF Uncle
sam. patriarch
Harvesting the Waters
This is another big scheme, bills IN
the aid Of which arc now before Con
Sress. The government scientists are
testing the matter, and they have col
lectsd vast deal of new information
ms project includes the water powers
which the experts say are equal TO
sixty million horses, or twice enough
TO run every mill. drive every ira In
and light every house in the country.
hundred millions. Much of 1t comes
from waterfalls controlled by the gov
eminent. the concession of which the
trusts are trying to get.
part of this same scheme is the
development Of our rivers. We have
295 OF them In the United States. With
navigable waters long enough TO en-
circle the globe. The great lakes are
the busiest freight routes upon earth,
and boats can 20 on the mississippi
for Two thousand miles. We nave al
ready bull, $500 miles OF canals. ana
We have schemes which propose the
Joining Of the great lakes with the Mis-.
sisSlppi. and also with the sea. One
scheme is a canal from the great lakes
to the gulf.
Doubling Our Farms.
When our foreta Tiers took possession
of the United states almost the whole
of the land belonged to the government.
Year by year these public lands have
been given away. More than fourteen
hundred millions Of acres have been
sold or set aside as reservations, ana
there are comparatively few LETT Never
thcless. Uncle Sam. patriarch. is a work
upon schemes which will practically
double our farms. He IL testing the
soil and showing how by fertllIzlng ana
proper farming the crops can be in
creased two or more fold This Is
equal 10 putting another farm on top
of every farm in tho United States.
Much OF this work is done by means
of bacteria, so small that handful
would number more than all the pco-
PIE in the world Uncle Sam is set
ting these little devils to work, and nc
shows YOU Just how and which ones
10 use. He is now analyzing the soils
Of The whole country. and making
survey which Will show Just now 10
treat them. lIn Is also testing new
seeds and plants, and his explorers arc
travelling over Inc world seeking new
crops, We have already made millions
by his Introduction OF rice ana maca-
roni wheat, and arc inaugurating tropi-
cal agriculture in the irrigated deserts
Of the West
These new crops arc OF many kinds.
and suggestions may he given or Things
out Of which amy farmer can make
money. 3t
Uncle Samr Rims for the Miner.
Many of the latest schemes relate to
the mines and the miners. Uncle Sam
has plans for saving our minerals. We
have the greatest coal lands upon
Garth, and there are billions OF tons
left upon government property. The
amounts are 50 vast that they Will
bring In hundreds Of millions of dol
lars and they arc to he sold on esti-
mates made as to the amounts they
contain. The geological surveyors are
now prospecting and sizing up these
coal lands. and tho government is sell
! Ing them IN forty-acrc tracts AT from
ihfty 10 ono hundred dollars and upward
per acre. In connection with this there
are about nftecn billion tons OF availn :