The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1911-09-20
President Discusses Need for a
Careful Training for Gull
ture of Soil
FUTURE WILL DEMAND
EVEN MORE PREPARATION
With Population Growing Faster
Than Areas Under Cultivation
Nation Will Need Scientific
Farmers

SYRACUSE, N. Y. Sept ia
discussion of the activities Of the De-
partment of Agriculture and the OPP
lportunities for progress open to farm
| ers, formed the subject of the address
delivered by President Taft at the
state fair grounds today. The pres
| ident said in part:
I'VE are spending SIS. 100000 a
year in the maintenance of a depart
ment of agriculture and we might as
we'll face the truth and realize this
expense, instead of decreasing, is
bound to increase. l have given much
attention to the matter of economy
and efficiency in government While
/ do not mean to say that the pres
ent department of agriculture in the
work which it is doing, might not be
made to do the same work for less
money by closer kn<t organization
and greater care in expenditures, |
am confident from looking into the
future of the department and from
the present need for expansion Of its
work that an increase in the appro-
priations each year for that depart
ment may be and ought to be ex-
ment.
Valuable Information Given
"The amount of information which
the farmers have received and acted
upon in their farming business from
the bureau of plant industry, from
the bureau of soil and from the bu-
reau of animal industry in the de-
Iy,o I'm Of "
be overstated and the dependence Of
the welfare of the country on the
continued spread of this information
for the improvement of agriculture
ought to be emphasized whenever OPP
portunity arises.
I'VE have today in this country in
continental United States about L.
800, 100000 acres of land, of which
S73, 5000 are included in the acre
age of farms. In the last ten years
that acreage did not increase more
than 100000, or little over
four per cent. In that same time our
population increased 20 per cent. OF
the $4,000, 900 acres, 477,000,0 900 are
improved farm land. The 1900, 900
acres include woodland and unim-
farms has increased about 100000
acres in ten years or some 10 per
cent, but this, it will be seen, Is not
equal to the increase in population.
Now, If our population increase as
rapidly as it has heretofore we shall
in 80 years have upwards of 200,-
100000 people in this country to sup
port on this S73,000,0 900 acres much
of which is probably not capable of
producing a great deal. There are
some 100000 acres OF swamp land
that can be drained and there are
twenty-five million acres of land that
can be irrigated; but. with all these,
It is perfectly payable that within the
life of many who are born now, we
shall be pressing the limit of our
self-supporting soil unless some other
method than by the mere extension
Of our crop production
New Methods Demanded
I'm the next 100 years, if this is
to be a self-sustaining country, we
must adopt new methods of farming
and pursue them with eagerness and
ihtelligent enterprise. There has
been as we know a movement from
the farm to the city. How can these
present evils that threaten the pro-
gress of our agriculture be RENE
died How can the movement from
the farm to the city be stopped
| How can proper labor be secured
upon the farm? Is there no remedy
or must We change our nature as a
people and become purely manu-
featuring nation and look for our flu
ture supplies to some other source
| in distant countries which themselves