The Forrest City times., 1912-02-09
Wants a Soil Invoice.

We, the farmers of Arkansas, should demand a soil invoice. Now, just consider that for a moment the soil, the great basis of all prosperity. and there isn't one farmer in a thousand in this state that knows what his soil contains. and not many of them can find out either The state can find out. The state can survey the soils and find every type of soil on every mans farm and take an invoice just as well as the merchant takes an invoice of his stock of goods. The state could conduct experiment fields to demonstrate that the addition Of things lacking in the soil would double the average yield per acre. l see that Illinois is devoting sS5,o00 annually to the study of her soils, and is expecting to increase the amount. Why cannot Arkansas do the same? See. what we have. Ifwe wecould make an appropriation of sl00,0 900 year we could do the work in eight or ten years. Why not do it: What is sl0o, 000 10 put into the soils of this great state. How much does our legisla ture appropriate biennially% l sup pose it is something over s70.000,000 or ss000O,0 GOO. Now what does si00, GOO amount to in comparison. Three or four farms are worth Sl00, 900, or 1 suppose a section of good land is worth the money. You can figure it up. It wouldn't take very much money to investigate all the soils of the state, and get the definite infor- nation needed by the farmers and the teachers. There are just two things that must be done if the far mers of Arkansas are going to adopt system of permanent agriculture. One of these things is to get the neceS- sary knowledge anj impart it to the landowners of our state, and the other k t9 make farming sufficiently profit able ta enable the farmer to make substantial iuyest mente iu the eI.- riehment of his partially depleted soil T0 secure Inc Knowledge re- 4uire, survey ot our soil the taking of aH invoice by chemical analysis a, to what tle soils contain, the opera lion of experiment fields in different counties. and preferably in every county iH the state to which the far. meF eea.d drive and see the re~aIts. because whether m Arkansas, in Tennessee. ar iH Texas, most af ike to be shown The farmers are a9t s9 ready ID accept the results If an invest igalion unleS, they can g3 4Hd see f see field where there are. twenty more ba>hets of corn per acrr.= where 1Aethiogs shown Co bc lacking : 5afe been put into the land. seeing k believing aH3 after seeing the re- s##tfaeF @flI=pat the necessary ma -ariat9 pack iHra the land b4 8af f4rmers reaiize what il m an, f8 g~ .8 kHs8 what kind of soil We have Do yoa suppose merchant coud prosper without taking all invoice of Lis stock of good>s No more can We farm without an invoice Jf oar soils
 iloA much nitrogen. spA9raas, potfassiam or other plant food k in our S1i.. Vii. We put our stock in winter quarters without Knowing We can feed them or not. Will We g9 on bHndly guessing that our sol needs nothing but manure. or will We wait until our soil k sod ieH, washed bare of humuS. sour and almost worthless. then appeal 10 the state or government 10 break the fertilizer trust, so We can eke out q mere living or will we awake now and demand of the state d thorough of the soil SD that we may know whether we heed lime. phosphates or potash and in what quantities., Wake up now. while il k much cheaper course to I3al @ttc. to get tIle d'dlldDlc 4iiDFiQd- ton th2t VII Saee the -oil of oaG country. than To attempt to redeem them after il is 10 late
 The cheapest course i~ ta demand large appropriations for thorough invest lgatl0n Of the soil
 This l. what H. N B3aHAiHsh p wants fai=1he Wood Yard Farm.
 
 tal0mcl is Bad.