The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-09-05
A OF STATE IN GREAT
MEETING
Continued From Page One.)

a IHFE, EIEdL LIt NFTIN UE 0CL-"t" -
C~nItvator, and this G.. &. IS not to
signify county cousin clumsy ciod-
hopper, or cantanker.
Despite the lack Of moisture AMI
the great heat Of the year. there vas
q crop being raised that is OF value
The work being done shows tina the
farmers are entitled TO be called Cere
bral CuItivators. as they were using
tier rains and that is the best OF
all. as il is the truth that brains count
The Farmers Balance Sheet.
The presiding officer the
Srsence Of Mr.. Clarence H. Poe, editor
Of the Progressive Farmer, who was
to have made an address, saying that
his absence was regretted. He then
introduced DR.. B. w. Kilgore, State
meeting had by his address stirred up
much discussion; that this year he
would speak on The Farmers Bal
ance Sheet With His Soil
DR.. Kilgore dwelt first upon the
idea that the farmer must necessarily
get more out Of his soil than he put
into it, and that while he was draw
Ing from the ground, he must PIT
something back into it 1t takes half
a pa1e Of cotton in cost to the acre,
ard it takes twenty bushels Of corn to
pay cost Of production.
It is necessary, the speaker held.
that the former SnOuld knoW what he
is doing; that he should watch his
crop and his expenses, and keep a
balance sheet with his oil. to know
what he put into ii, 1t yields and
what was left in it TO work upon
Dr. KiIgore spoke against hapnaZa~d
methods, and urged that there should
be definite knowledge Of the
lanG is doing, and what it is costing
to have il yield.
With expository diagrams and sta
tistics printed on big cloth sheets DR..
kilgore showed the averages as to
yield in cotton in the past ten years,
the figures. showing that North Caro-
lima was leading IN progress, produc-
ing more cotton to the acre than any
other State in the South. Figures
showing the sales Of fertilizer6 were
given, these applying to various
States, the speaker holding that North
Carolina was using fertilizer more ef-
fectually and getting better results,
Discussing the net profit 10 be had
from the farms DR.. kilgore referred
to the necessity of producing larger
crops per acre. To do this plant food
Of the right sort must be added to
the soil to suit the needs of the crop
and soil. This plant food must come
from fertilizers. from or soil
improving crops or from all three Of
these sources. It was shown that the
average WELD % cotton in North Caro-
lima, where large amount Of com
mercial fertilizers are used, had in
creased % per cen IL 10 years and
that there had been increased yields
IN other heavy fertilizer using States,
but in Texas there had been a larger
decrease in yield than there had been
increase in North Carolina. Very lit
tie artificial plant God has been used
in Texas.
There is very little profit in grow
ing one-half a bale of cotton, is
bushels of corn and Is bushels OF oats
per acre, the average yields for the
State. Figures were given showing
that these crops as now grown are
taking, on an average, more plant
FOOD from the soil than is being add
ed to it. How tong can this continue?
BY using larger amounts of fertilizer
or adding manure or turning under
peak, clover. etc, one bale Of cotton
per acre can be and is easily pro
duced: 40 bushels and like amounts
of other crops are made and the land
is left in rs good or better condition
than it was at first. In fact it will
grow bigger crops next year than ii
did this. This IS the only kind Of
farming for the future.
1t was shown as result Of yields
on the test farms that with 1000
pounds of fertilizer one bale Of cot
ton had been made on an average
for eight Years. and that the profit
per acre was $43 greater than where
one-half bale was grown with 900
pounds Of fertilizer. on this basis
the profit on the North Carolina cot
ton crop last year would have been
$64 GOO ,o60 more than il was. An
aim easily obtainable in North Caro-
Ina is one bale Of cotton per acre or
one million acres and one million
bales and largely increased profits.
He emphasized especially that the
supply of plant food in the soil must
be Kept up or increased SO as TO get
larger crops from year to year. Diff
ferent soils require strengthening at
different places and it is necessary to
know the natural of the va
riouS types OF soils to feed the crops
and soils intelligently. The soils and
crops of the State are being studied
along these lines on the test farms
and on the soil type acres in differ