The Mena weekly star., 1913-09-25
REVIEW OF CROP
 YEAR IN POLK co.
Continued From First Page)

crops and a soil filled with organic matter. Such lands were able to contain moisture enough to carry their crops through 10 maturity Tn spite of the dry weather, while the same character of land, perhaps on the same farm that had been steadily planted to one or two crops, and nothing given back to the land for several years, was so deficient in this all-important element ot soil fertility that the moisture sup ply was insufficient, even with splendid cultivation, to carry the crop to maturity.
 "'Tis an ill wind that blows mo- body good" and from the lessons that we have learned this year, though they have come through harsh experience, let us build more wisely for the future. Sow some grain this fall, oats, wheat, rye; do lots of deep blowing in October; put a cover crop on all the land you blow. Any of the same grains mentioned above will answer, and you can add to these burr clover, crimson clover and hairy Vetch; any of these will furnish grazing for the stock through the winter and can be plowed under in the spring to add humus to the soil and improve it's mechanical condition so that 1t will be easier to cultivate, contain more moisture and produce better crops.
 Good seeds will be scarce and dear in the spring. Save plenty for your own use and some to spare for your neighbor He will be sure to want them. Nearly all the corn fields have spots of well watered corn. Go into the field before gathering and select as much good seed as you can. Store it where it will dry out thoroughly and be safe from rats. Go into the cotton patch and pick a few hundred pounds from the best stalks and save your planting seed from this. Remember the ten commandments of agricul- ture:
 1. Prepare deep and thor
 oughly pulverized seed bed, well
 drained; break 1t in the fall to
 depth of 8, 10 or 12 inches.
 ?. Use seed of the best variety,
 intelligently selected and careful
 ly stored.
 3. In cultivated crops give the
 rows and plants in the rows a
 space suited to the plant, the soil
 and the climate.
 i. Use intensive tillage during
 the growing period of the crops. 5. Secure a high content of humus in the soil by the use of legumes, baruyard manure and
 farm refuse.
 6. Carry out a systematic crop
 rotation with a winter cover crop.
 [. Accomplish more work in a
 day by usin- more horsepower
 and better implements.
 s. Increase the farm stock to
 the extent of utilizing all the waste products and idle lands of
 the farm.
 9. Produce all he food re-
 quired for the men and animals
 on the farm.
 10. Keep an account of each
 farm product in order to know
 from which the gain or loss
 arises.
 Where these rules have been fol- lowed the crop this year is profit able one. If your crop is poor bet ter go over these rules carefully and see which ones you have been vio- lating Any kind of farming will produce good crops when weather conditions are favorable all the way through, but such conditions as have prevailed this year will test the merits of the different methods of farming. We have made great progress in the last few years to- ward scientific agriculture, but there is much yet to be accomp- lished before the farmer gets the return for his labor that he should have. The end to which to work steadily is to get more pasture. more hay, more live stock. and through this means build up the lands that are to grow the cultivat- ed crops.
 Yours for better farming and a more prosperous country and peo- pie, A. E. Wear.