The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1913-02-28
THE CONQUEST OF THE FIELDS

must have been suffering from an at
tack of syncope or shortening of Wis
ion. There have been many conQuests
since Alexander's time. See what a
conquest Luther Burbank is making
in an almost unexplored field. See
what Edison has made in a field al
most totally unknown to our ances
tors. And when he makes one con-
quest he does not sit idly down and
weep because there are no other con-
quests to be made, because he knows
that along scientific lines we have
scarcely reached the threshold of eX-
ploration. invisible light" If one
knows what that is, is now attracting
the attention of scientists, and great
results are anticipated in its realms
Of discoveries. 1t is said that even
amidst Egyptian darkness there may
be brilliant lights. From the very
dawn of creation to the recent past
they have shed their influence upon
men, vet they have been wholly I'M
conscious of their existence. Instru-
ments that are being constructed
show us that the eye is sensitive toI
only a very small proportion OF the
total radiation that reaches it.
We have been planting corn for
several centuries, and any number Of.
our farmers thought that there We're.
no further conquests to be made in
corn-growing, yet within only a few
years the corn yield has been made
TO almost double itself
Little Lester Bryant, whose late
tragic death is so universally deplor-
ed. made himself immortal by produc-
ing two hundred and twenty-sour
bushels of corn from a single acre.
That is ten times more than the old
average yield
Hon. Thomas J. Hehin, a member
of congress from Alabama, made this
farmer boy the subject OF an eulo
gy from his seat in the house Of rep
resentatives on February Il. This
speech ought to be in the hands Of ev-
cry farmer boy in the country. He
was but a private in the ranks. but
from an army of $4,000 Americans he
was one OF fifty chosen from these
ranks as a prize winner in a contest
where industry and skill OF high or
der were essential to success.
Mr. Hefin paid him the following |
tribute:
Lester Bryan was on the corn
boys firing line in the battle for
bread He had enlisted in a noble |
cause, and before he was - years of
age surpassed all that had been ac-
complished on the British farm in the |
heyday of it's production. when. as
Goldsmith in his Deserted Village /
wrote, Every rood of ground main
tanned its man He produced on four
rOOds of ground, or one acre, enough |
corn to maintain not four but eleven |
men. He had overcome difficulties !
that stood in the way of generations |
OF farmers before him. He had re-
moved the barriers over which thou
sands of farmers had stumbled in |
their efforts to make the earth yield |
her increase. He wooed the soil and /
she told him her secrets. He touch
ed the growing corn with the magic |
wand Of his skill and genius and it re-
sponded with luXuriant growth to his |
intelligent touch This young Ken
tucky farmer. this little wizard of the |
corn field, has rendered his state and !
nation a great service in showing the !
productive possibilities of the soil. He
has made a splendid contribution to
scientific agriculture He has produc-
ed from one acre of ground six times
as much as used to be considered a
fair yield. Mr.. Chairman, we are told
that the man who makes two blades
of grass to grow where only one grew
before is a benetactOr. How much
greater. then, the service of this lit
tie boy who made six bushels of corn
to grow where only one grew before.
This little Kentucky boy babe fair to
become an ideal farmer. The exam
pie of his sturdy life and the work
that he has wrought will be of bent
fit to his fellows in the years to come.
He did not lean upon his hoe and gaze
upon the ground, as did the despond
ing peasant in Markham's Man With
the Hoe but with head erect and
light upon his face stood there on his
fathers farm perfect little prince in
the kingdom of agriculture"
The conquest of the world is not
completed. Nature has not unfolded
all her secrets. There is ample TO be
done to tax the energies and fire the