The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-08-31

Kansas City, Mo, Aug. iU.- Durng
the forty wears from 1860 to 1900 the
United States lost more fertility
Oh its o,d acreage than it gained
by the addition OF virgin acres.
America has been minin- its soil
rather than farming it.
These statement seem rather eN-
trayngant, but they are made on the
authority OF Henry Wallace. OF Iowa,
whose word about agriculture and
agricultural conditions /, accepted
generally without question 1t is Mr..
Wallace who characterized yhe Amer
lean aSIiculturists o. the last cen.
tury as soil pirates rather than soil
farmers Mr.. Wallace has been "a
farmer himself tor the last fifty wears
and at the same tim" careful s,u.
dent OF farming lie is tn president
Of the National Conservation Congrcs,
which is to meet i'm Kansas city.
September 25-2n and it is largely
through his motion taat this conser-
va;iOn is to deal almost exclusively
with soil conservation. President Talt
will speak at the opening .essiou
Of the congress September -, and
"Con.erNation" viii be his subject.
The two previous congrc-c rs hardly
touched he matter of the farmer and
the farm. In Seattle two years ago
forests were almost the sole topic,
in St Paul last year public lands
were -discussed mainly MIR Wallace
believes thIt soil conservation is OF a
least as much importance 10 America
today as the conservation of the for
ests and protection Of public lands.
Soil fertility is a problem quite
as important to the man who con
sumes farm products as 10 the man
who produces them" said Mr. Wallace
at the Conservation headquarters here
today Neither the farmer nor the
consumer realizes the extent to which
our unrivaled soil fertility has been
wasted Although untold millions OF
virgin acres needing neither aN nor
tiling spade have been added to our
cultivated area year by year ior
fifty years, it is only in the last few
wears that the average yield per acre
has shown tendency to increase,
and thai small increase has been
due to awakened agricultural depart
ments in state and nation, the real
study OF agriculture in our colleges
and experiment stations.
For more than forty years pre-
vi0us To the last decade We have
lost more fertility on the old acreage
than We gained by the addition OF
the virgin acres We have speaking
generally. been mining, not farming,
our soil fertility and sending it all
over the world At the bare cost Of
mining. On some of the best soils
naturally IN the world We produce
less wheat per acre than any nation
on the Old World save Russia ana
India, where the soil has been farmed
for thousands OF years. Enough has
been done TO show that We can farm
us well as mine fertility. create as
we'll as waste.
The conservation Cf this soil fer
tility the greatest asset remaining
to the American people, will be the
main burden of the discussion Of the
Third National Conservation Con
gress. 1t viii meet in Kansas City,
in the very heart OF the country thai
must feed and clothe the hungry ma.
tions The cities are beginning TO re-
alize that they must have bread and
butter foundation under them and
are Interested in farm problems as
never before.
The farmers lite is quite as i'm
poltant as his work In order to
make farm life satisfying to the boys
and girls who are growing UP on