Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1909-1915, 1913-01-03
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SERVICE
MUST NOT BURN ORGANIC MAT
TER BUT RETURN IT. TO $,s.
THE SOIL .Ss .s
THE NORTHWEST I'D PROSPERITY
OR POVERTY DEPENDS ON
.&ts fs SYSTEMATIC ROTATION III

/. {S S OR POVERTY DEPENDS ON
ID: SYSTEMATIC ROTATION II
VI G. Haney, manager of the Fargo
office Of the International Harvester
Company Special Service Bureau has
furnished the Inter Ocean with the
following article on the necessity Of
crop rotation ing NorthF Dakota The
new venture Of the Harvester com
pany to aid the farmer OF the north
west is proving q great success, and
the Importance of the many suggess
tions Mr.. Haney gives has caused us
to give his article such prominence. .S
he question Of rota ton aofs crops
or some ystem $ooff opping that Will
be more profitable than the system
now in practice, lis certainly import
ant Every one Interested directly, or
Indirectly in the agri cultural prosper
ity--or poverty Of the Northwest, re-
alizes that the one class crop system
is proving ruinous. Already there are
thousands Of acres Of the richest agri-
cultural region on earth that will not
produce under fayorabl weather con-
ditions enough small grain to pay ex-
penses. There are other thousands
81 acres producing only ten bushels Of
wheat per acre, others producing
twelve, and fifteen bushels, holding
the greatest spring wheat producing
state down to the shamefully low aver
age. yield Of twelve bushels per acre.
There can be no reasonable ex-
cuse given for this condition, either
why it already exists or why it should
be allowed to continue In 81 every
neighborho theer are farmers who
have seen the error Of their ways, and
have fed, Or are fleeing from the
wrath to come. d
1 tssNear Harwood, N. d., there are two
farms about one mile apart, nearly Of
the same size. One was all in small
grain, wheat and rye. and the wheat
did not produce ten bushels per acre.
On the other farm there is a diyersi-
fication Of crops and live stock. A
field of forty acres Of wheat on this
place made thirty-two bushels per
acre. Another field Of forty acres Of
corn was practically mature before
frost-seyeral hundred bushels of good
seed corn were saved, and the owner
is consid idering the purchase Of q car
4 load Of cattle, SO as to get full value
from the scrop--he has an example of
what rotation and manure will do.
The writer could recall instances of
such examples in every section visit
$$ed. There is no question as to the
make much difference what the rota-
4 tion consists Of, but it is essential that
there be a rotation or diversification
value Of rotation, and it does not
sof crops, if the prosperity OF the north
\ west is to be indefinitely prolonged. .
Henry Wallace Of Iowa, says that
weeds, insects, parasitic and fungus
diseases Of plants, etc, are Gods way
of calling attention to the fact rota-
!. tion Of crops is necessary. He further
said that .fif farmers refuse to comply
4 with this warning to rotate crops, that
they will be rotated off their FARMS :
Some one back III the audience in pop
ular slang remarked, 'aint that the
B truth
lille the question Of rotation or
diversifcation Of crops is somewhat
4 scouraging from the standpoint Of
the sloWness with which It is put into
practice, the results are always sat,
isfactory It lis 4 a very wise provision
I that the soil cannot be depleted by
simply mining The single crop grow
v er is not a farmer--he is a miner. The
3 miner has no regard whatever for the
material from which he secures his
gain, nor FOR the condition in which
I. he leaves the dump There are farms
or dumps In the Red River Valley
/ that are Id such condit tion, due To
renting and carele farming, that are
80 foul with weeds and plant diseases,
a and the available fertility depleted to
such an extent that II would be "a haz.
\ ard 10 try to make the crop pay for
the work for several years.
Such lands are not worn out as Is
proven by what hap ems when & cult.
yated crop and y few loads of manure
Continued on 3 age Four .