The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-09
COUNTRIES SOIL
 NOT EXHAUSTED Is Increasing on the Contra ry in Productiveness WILSON'S STATISTICS Secretary of Department of Agricul- ture Has Been Receiving h.
 quiries From Many Sources
 Regarding Matter
WILSON'S STATISTICS
By RoDERIcK CLIFFORD

l Secretary of the Department of Agricul ture James Wilson has been receiving inquiries from farmers, scientific societies and others asking whether the soil of the United States is not being rapidly exhausted by constant cultivation and by the neglect to apply fertilizers, as is gen erally done in European countries To all these inquiries Mr. Wilson has sub mitted statistics for the past few years, which, te his mind, indicates that the soil of the United States is not being exhausted in the least but on the con trary. is increasing in productiveness. MT. Wilson is of the opinion that the cause of these inquiries is brought about by the fact that lately there has been a great deal said of abandoned farm lands in the east and south. In some quarters this has produced the impression that the United States will ultimately become dependent upon other countries for Its food supply.
 According to experts of the department who have made a study of the soil in va rious parts of the country, there is no cause for such anxiety at present It IS admitted, however, that some time along in the dim future the soil in some of the older states may become worn out, but it is said that there is no danger whatever that this country will have to buy it's food supply abroad for ages to come. The reason for abandoned farms, it is said, is due to the fact that Hand robbers exhaust the soil for their own financial gain. These men do not allow their fields to rest, working the farms until the soil becomes worthless for pro- auction, and then selling the land. An other reason advanced by the depart ment is that farms are worn out through l I.f. | like human beings, need rest or changes l in order to become prolific. This to agri- 1 cultural scientists means the rotation of crops. Until very recently, numbers of | formers did not know what was meant by | a rotation of crops. Through the Depart | rnent of Agriculture however, it Is gen erally understood throughout the country now, and is being practiced by large percent. of the rural population. | Through the department public schools, | colleges of agriculture and the publicity avenues of the Department of Agricul- ture, farmers are being instructed in the best means of conducting their farms. Instructions are given the farmers in the l rudiments of agriculture, revealing the mysteries of nature and the character and habits of various forms of plant life Rules and methods offered by the de- rartment to the farming population show the best means the farmers can employ to get the most profit out of his farm, and at the same time preserve the fertil- | ity of the soil
 The ability of the soil under scientific management and cultivation to maintain it's strength and usefulness, and to pro duce crops at rate of increase equal to or greater than the normal increase of population, has been demonstrated time and time again by the Department of Agriculture by it's experiment stations l in various parts of the country, and by intelligent farmers in all parts of the United States
 Secretary Wilson shows that there has | been almost constant increase in the av- craze production, per acre. of all the principal crops in the United States dur ing the last 20 years. Not all the states make this showing for all varieties of crops, but it Is particularly noticeable in l the staple crops. In corn, the increase | for this 20-year period has been at rate very nearly to that of the population in | ten states, the yield of wheat per acre | increased more rapidly than the popula l ton in 22 states, oats showed much l largep increase per acre than the popu- l lation in 16 states, barley increased more ra pidly than the population of 15 states, rye, 21 states. buckwheat, IS states, po-
 tatoes, 15 states, and hay, 25 states. The l increase of cotton, according to the sta tistlcs used by Mr. Wilson, showed a to- | tai increase in excess of the population 1 in only one state, Oklahoma. A like | increase in tobacco was noted in Wis consin The failure of the cotton and 1 tobacco crops to keep up with the in- | crease in population is due mainly to | the disposition of the growers, and not to the condition of the soil. In the cot l ton and tobacco states there has been a | general tendency to restrict the produc- l ton of cotton and tobacco in order to boost the market price of these commo- dities.
 The production of cotton, however, is | expected to show a tremendous increase shortly. because of experiments recently | made by the Department of Agriculture | in growing Egyptian cotton in the south
 west There is much prospect that irri- gated lands can be found adaptable to 1 the cotton crop The climate is suitable. 1 This class of cotton is in demand among l American spinners, being used largely in
 connection with silk and other higher priced fabrics. It is of long staple and | peculiar texture.
 Tobacco also, it is said will show a | large increase in the next few years, owing to suppression of tobacco feuds of l the night riders in Kentucky and Ten nessee.
 According to Milton Whitney, soil ex-
 pert of the Bureau of Soils of the De | partment of Agriculture, this country will always be more than able to produce | all the staples necessary to meet the re- | quirements of its population. The talk | about soils being worn out and farms abandoned is absurd, says Mr. Whitney.
 He admits as true however, that in number of states there are abandoned
 farms, but points out that such con-
 dition is due to the ignorance or greed of l the men who work the farms. A proper
 rotation of crops and the spreading of
 fertilizer, he says, will prevent any farm l from becoming barren.
 "On some of the big ranches and farms
 of the vest MT. Whitney says. "the soil has become worn out. Wheat farmers principally have worked their farms for years without resting them or without applying proper fertilizers. Under these
 conditions, 1t is no wonder that farms
 are abandoned. But, on the other hand, in Pennsylvania, some of the New Eng
 land states, and in the south and middle
 west farmers who have been working
 their ground for years prove that under
 scientific cultivation the farms produce
 increases yearly"
 MANY DANGERS IN