The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1913-01-23

should become a part Of every child's
education in the state and that ough
! to be considered by the commercial
bodies before anything else ever
the commercial interests of the towns
He spoke as follows in part:
North Dakota has room for more
farmers. The same is true of Min
| neSota and South Dakota. No politi
! cal issue, immediate or prospective
more vitality affects the three states
here represented that that of increas
ing their rural population. The un
occupied acres of these states speed
lily should be brought under cultivation
and for their greater prosperity the
bonanza farms also might we'll be
reduced to smaller holdings. With an
up-to-date farmer on every quarter
section or half-section of land and a
system Of crop rotation rigidly ad
hered to, crop failure would be OF
rare occurrence and the wealth of
these states increased by leaps and
bounds. The smaller farms could
then be given the intensive cultiva.
ton necessary for the conservation
of moisture and for the destruction
of weeds, and sufficient livestock
bred on every farm for maintaining
the fertility of the SOIL
I mention these three things as be-
ing fundamental in the business of
profitable farming in localities pos.
sessed of naturally fertile soil, but
supplied with limited precipitation,
FOR drought unquestionably cuts deeper
into the farmers profits than any
other single adverse agency, not even
excepting it's influence in sub-humid
regions. While barn-yard manure is
not a direct substitute for moisture,
yet its liberal application to the soil
not only retains moisture on account
OF its water holding capacity, but
a highly fertile soil containing a large
per cent of humus will produce crop
with considerably less moisture than
soil that is run down and impoverish-
ed. Any system Of farm management,
therefore, that does not admit of thor
ough cultivation and the production of
| abundance of manure necessarily low
ers the productivity of the land with
every crop that is produced. Not only
that. but each succeeding crop is pro-
duced with increasing uncertainty.
For obvious reasons, the older any
state becomes, under system of farm
management that constantly impover.
lshes the soil, the smaller will become
the average yield of grain and other
crops. Farming in large way-farm-
Ing with power machinery on big
scale-unless amply compensated for
with livestock, spells exploitation by
the present land owner, and results
in ultimate impoverishment of the soil
which future generations must occupy.
The cities and towns also are inter-
ested in soil conservation. Their
prosperity depends upon increasing
yields OF grain and animal products
as we'll as the farming communities.
Commercial bodies, therefore, should
pay more attention to increasing
the population of the country dis.
trlcts and less to bringing increased
numbers to the towns. The towns will
take care of themselves. Double the
: population Of the country and improve
the efficiency Of farming methods and
the Increased wealth produced, in con-
sequence, will prove a sufficient slim.
ulus for urban population. Moreover,
1t will prove a healthy, permanent
, growth for both town and country.
With the present limited rural pop.
ulatlon and the correspondingly large
acreage under cultivation, but little
Improvement in farming methods can
De expected. There are not families
enough engaged in farming to cult.
Vate the acreage already under the
: ploW except in an extensive way,
! which always invites disaster during
the seasons when the weather con.
dltlons are not reasonably satisfactory
or when farm laborers are not immed.
ately available to care for the crop
Inc past season fully demonstrated
the handicap farmers suffer from on
account of their dependency upon in.
efficiency unreliable transient labor,
More farmers and fewer hoboes." OBJ.
Viously, is the best and perhaps the
only permanent solution of tht farm
labor problem.
Moreover, good farming is the best
insurance against crop failure. The
causes that produce crop failures are
not difficult to observe by expert farm
ers, but precautions necessary to mod.
lily or destroy their influence cannot be
taken with any degree of certainty
! where a man aims onf;ro1, - ,....