The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-02-28
DRY FARMING
BETTER FARMING
SIMPLY THE APPLICATION or
BRAINS TO THE AGRICULTURE
AL INDUSTRY, SAYS THE MAN.
DAN PIONEER IN DISCUSSING
THE SUBJECT.

Mandan Pioneer: The Dry Farming
creed concerning which we hope to
hear much that will interest and in
struct us within a few days is in
reality the application of brains to the
filling OF the soil. While every line
of industry has adopted from time to
time new methods and principles
which experiment has proven most eff
| ficient in increasing the output and
| decreasing the cost, the greatest in
dustry that which forms the founda-
ton OF all other industries, that of
wrestling from the soil its full fruit
age has been neglected.
Our farmers as class have up to
within a comparatively short time
| made no advances since the time of
| Old Father Abraham three or four
| thousand years ago. They have, 1t is
| true, profited by the introduction of
labor saving machinery, but as re-
gard the matter of applying to their
industry those scientific principles
which have revolutionized other
| branches, the farmers may be said to
have stood still for a thousand years.
In Swimming the cream off big acre
ages, by means of labor saving de-
devices. many have grown rich. The
men with the smaller farm of 80 to
800 acres have aped the methods of the
land barons and when the cream was
gone found themselves poor indeed.
The problem of today, and one which
our agricultural schools and colleges
are doing so much to solve, is to in
still into the minds of farmers a few
scientific principles, common sense
principles rather, which will IL fol-
lowed make the small farmer independ-
ent of the greater percentage of ca
lamities which has made his lot so pre-
carious. Dry farming is but one of
these common sense principles. It lies
at the foundation of the whole system.
province Is to conserve the moisture.
The man who will interest himself In
this method will also go a step farth-
er; he will not ruin his land by putting
in the same kind of crop year after
year on the same acres; he will return
to the soil those elements which he
has taken away.
The time has come in this country
when We have no more land to waste:
there are no homesteads just beyond
on the frontier, for the frontier has
vanished, and our salvation lies in bet
ter farming, in conservation. not only
of moisture, but of the nutrient ele-
ments in the soil. and the man who
neglects to take heed of the means
provided for informing himself of the
best methods of farming, who robs the
soil of it's fertility is hurglarizing him.
self and his family.
The state and nation is expanding
millions of dollars spreading abroad
the doctrines Of better farming. The
convention to be held in Mandan on
March s and . is to be addressed by
speakers paid by the state and nation.
You as taxpayer are paying your share
of his expenses; you as a citizen of the
state are employing them not to teach
the fellow up in Ward county alone
but to teach you and your neighbor
what the corps of scientists and ex-
pert farmers that the state and nation
keeps on the job year in and year out
have learned of the best means of
making your acres profitable. Will
you neglect this opportunity to learn?
Come to Mandan and hear them.