The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-01

(Copyright, 1911, by Frank G. Carpenter.)
 Washington, D. c.
 WRITE today of the most stupendous
 undertaking that Uncle Sam has ever A attempted. It is the making an in ventory of the working plans for our big gest national asset. I refer to the gov ernment survey of our soils. Our eyes bulge when we think of our enormous resources in mines, of the gold, silver, copper and coal and the mighty beds of iron which keep our industries moving. Nevertheless they are nothing compared with our receipts from the soil. Take all the gold, silver and copper that the world produces in one year and it's value would not be half that of our corn crop. All the gold dug out of the earth in 1910 would not buy half the cotton we shall raise this year, and it would take 20 times the gold product of the world to pay for what we are annually receiv- ing from the farms. The amount is close to S, ,000, 900 000,000 Since the discov- cry of America the total value of the precious metals which have been mined aggregates less than s27 ,OOO,OcO,OOO Tn OlItI WOlus5 lilltt tiopS iifc iilt ol Ia year would equal all the gold and silver taken out of this big round earth since the Spaniards led by Columbus came across the Atlantic to begin their rob bery of the Aztecs and the Incas That was 419 years ago, and since that the whole world has been digging and delv- ing to get out that silver and gold With in the last 13 years our little army o1 farmers has taken from the earth crop which are worth more than SSl, 100000 O0 or three times the product of the gold ant silver mines for more than 400 years.
 Big Things From the Soil
 Before describe this survey let m say word more as to some of the thing we get from the soil. The corn crop il the greatest. 1t amounted last year [, 3,0t1.000,00 bushels and was worth nor than N, ,500, 0,000,0)0. Nevertheless, it wa dug from the ground in little less thal 100 days and the governInSnt experts tel us that if the crop Is rightly handled it amount can be doubled. That crop come frcm comparatively small area. unti within the last decade the most of was raised in the north. Last year al most 1,000,00000O bushels came from tn south and that had a value of close t $5eo. 100000. It was created because tn south had begun to learn more about tn soil and 1t is but the beginning of al enormous wealth which frther knowl edge will bring.
 The cotton crop brought in an aggre gate of something like 000 an that notwithstanding the weevil, whic had we not learned more about the so since It's coming, would have wiped nor than half of our cotton plantations fsor the face of the earth. And then ther is the hay crop. amounting to 5000 O00 tons and worth more than S700O01. .00f the wheat crop which was almost a valuable and our oats which exceede 1000 C00, 900 bushels, to say nothing ( pota toes, sugar, tobacco and barley, eac of which ran high into the millions. A this comes from the soil and the produc depends ofi just what the soil is. Tn agricultural experts say that in min cases out Of ten every crop can be large ly increa6ed, provided the right crop
 chosen forfhe right place and the cult vation pr6pcry done It is to show jus t what your soil is and how you shoul 1reet it tp m%lse 1t 90 best that Uncl