The Washington herald., 1913-09-07
Crticses Theories Advanced in Support Of Extensive
Cultivation Set Forth in Interview in The Washington
Herald Two Weeks Ago.

field "D' is devoted to a root crop, three
of the four fields being in cereals each
year. In four years the cycle Of rotation
is complete, and the fifth year field "A"
is devoted to roots the second time.
meanwhile having yielded three heavy.
crops OF cereals. Thereafter, the same
method is continued from year to year
and decade to decade. Be the fields
large or small or be the cycle of rota-
ton such as to bring each field in roots
every third. fourth, fifth, or even sixth
year, this is what is known as in
tensive" farming.
How Benefits Accrne.
The increased yield Of cereals follow
ing the roots is due to many things. i'm
portant among which are the following:
The heavy manuring which was plOwed
under deep put the soil in good mechani-
cal and chemical condition, and but a
portion of the fertilizer was exhausted
by the roots. The deep plowing loosened
the soil to double the usual depth. The
cultivation killed the weeds. When the
roots were plOwed out. the soil was left
open to receive instead of shed the fall
rains, and a multitude Of hbrous roots
were left in the ground to the full depth
of the plowing. As the roots decayed
they not only added humus to the lower
strata Of the soil, but left minute air
cells, by which the lower strata became
aerated and hence fertile. The roots OF
the three, four, or five cereal crops which
followed the root crop penetrated the
soil to twice the usual depth. and the
farmer thus doubled the soil he utilized
without increasing its surface area.
OF all the hOed root crops used in
Europe for rotation, but two are a cash
money crop. and hence these are most
generally grown. / refer to the sugar
beet, which is sold for sugar-making
purposes. and to the potato, which is so
extensively used as food product and
also for the manufacture of starch and
alcohol, the refuse being used for stock
food and the vines for fertilizer.
Sugar BeCts Best for Soil.
Sugar beets improved the soil most OF
all. because of their greater mass OF
fibrous roots. which are broken of in
the ground and left in the soil. es-
pecially in the lower strata Potatoes
being the shallowest growers and hay-
ing the least amount Of fibrous growth.
improve the soil least Of any hoed root
crop. In fact. where potatoes follow
sugar beets, the potato crop is greatly
increased, the average Of large num-
Der OF growers showing an increased
yield of IS per cent after the fields had
been devoted to sugar beets.
Not being cash money crop, Ameri-
can farmers have not as yet been in
duced to grow manGolds. swedes, and
turnips to any extent and the market
for potatoes is so restricted and so vari-
able that intensive" farming scarcely
seems destined to be brought about
through the culture of this crop. At
present Intensive farming is centered
about the seventy-six beet sugar fac
tories which are scattered from Ohio
TO California, and in these districts the
Weld per acre Of cereal crops is from
two to three times the average through
out the United States.
II American farmers generally reapcd
such yields of cereals as are reaped in
these sections and fattened as much
stock 1t is a fair conclusion that bread
and meat would be cheaper, while if
they follow Mr.. CarvCr's ideas Of Eek
tensive'' farming the price Of both
bread and meat will be higher and
higher with each succeeding decade
TRUMAN g. PALMER.