Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-05-06
Better Farm Methods.
MANY FARMERS NOT USING THE MEANS
OF KNOWLEDGE WITHIN REACH

OF KNOWLEDGE WITHIN REACH
Since the advent of farm journals an
the institution of various experimen
stations much has been said and pub
lished regarding the proper-that is, IN
most scientific-course to pursue IN Tn
cultivation of the soil and In securin
the most profitable crops, stock, ete
That many advantages have accrued .
the farmer as the result Of information
received from these sources there is ~
doubt. Many farmers, however, wh
read the farm papers and bulletins rea
ize little or no benefit from them, for tn
reason that they do not put Into practic
the Information gained.
There seems to be something in man
makeup that leads him to follow im'ta
ton and practice routine. When any
thing Is introduced that does not conform
to his preconceived ideas there is q dis
position to ignore 1t, and 1t Is only ate
the more liberally disposed have adoptet
1t and its benefits have been forced upol
the populace, that its general utility be
comes possible. Science is word ex
pressive of demonstration In all branches
Of knowledge, but unfortunately tn
term is often applied to mere speculative
theory. 1t would seem that the impor
tance of agriculture should have set 1t II
| the lead of all science. Unfortunately
however, the advancement along eni'
line, except in very recent years, mai
Jagged, aud even to-day in many parts o'
the world the methods in use are not dis
similar to those in vogue hundreds, II
not thousands, of years ago.
Old Methods Still Followed Even
among American farmers, where advan
tages for gaining knowledge are almost
unlimited, we find the average farmer
practising methods far behind the posi-
bilities at his command. With our
newer land, and with all our improved
machinery, we are far behind Europe In
the average production of many crops. II
is true we have many farmers who are
making good and whose example should
lead to a more general prosecution oil
their advanced methods, but somehow
there is slowness in the ranks of agri'
culture that retards 1t in reaching the
goal of Its possibilities. Agriculture
consists in raising certain products from
the land, and when the best means have
been discovered and applied that will
meet the demands of growing plants 1t
can be said that man has reached the
goal in agriculture. But how many have
got we'll started in the race leading to
success?
Corn Productiou.-Let us consider
King Corn. the leader in American agri-
culture. Who knows the limits OF an
acre of land in the production OF this
cereal? This crop has been grown oy
the white man ever since the discovery
of America. he has ploughed, planted,
cultivated and harvested many crops.
He should know the secret of Its every
demand. With his experience In the use
of improved machinery in the tillage OF
the land, with his knowledge Of plant
breeding and by the use of fertilizers, he
has been enabled to reach an average OF
twenty-six bushels an acre. Now, this
means that half OF the farmers in the
United States raise less than twenty-six
bushels an acre. What is remarkable is
that In some of the states showing the
lowest general average there have been
produced some of the highest yields.
Almost nine times the average yield OF
the United States was secured on an
acre In state averaging among the low
est. Two hundred and twenty.eight and
. fraction bushels have been grown on
an acre OF land. Now, shall not say
that the average farmer could ever e1-
pect to reach this figure; he could not.
But suppose we put 22S bushels as the
maximum and 26 bushels, the now gen.
eral average, az the minimum. This
would leave US an average of 101 bushels
as the average for the United States. is
this too high9 The average farmer will
answer eyes" Well, l will divide
again. This will give so l.2 bushels.
The Corn Crop May Be Doubled
believe this is conservative. believe
that With our present knowledge and
with the stimulus now being instilled In
Young Americans In the agricultural
branches of many of our schools, to-
getber with the encouragement they are
receiving from high officials, the time Is
not far distant when the corn crop of the
United States will be doubled. This
will be achieved not by increasing the
acreage planted to corn, but By the ap-
plication of more scientific methods. 1t
is not uncommon to see farms adjoining
where on one side OF the line fifty or six
ty, possibly seventy-tlve, bushels an
acre are grown, while on the other side
of the fence, where the land Is naturally
practically the same, perhaps twenty or
thirty, or maybe forty bushels are
grown. Now, this difference cannot re-
suit from any natural causes, but must
be caused by a difference of method.
Should these farmers exchange farms,
how long would it be before the condi-
tions would be reversed? Farmer A.
would have brought up the poor farm OF
Farmer b. to high state of productive.
ness, and Farmer B. would have reduced
the former productive farm of Farmer
A. to a state of unproductiveness In
this exchange there would ultimately be
no gain, but loss to Farmer A. while
building up the unproductive farm.
What the country needs is to put
some agricultural stimulus into the
Farmer B. class. This may not be easy,
but Farmer B. may have boys that can
be reached and interested In advanced
methods, and we must look to the boys
for advanced agriculture.-B. r. Mack,
New York, iu Tribune Farmer.
Councillors for Rural Progress.