Imperial Valley press., 1913-01-23
ONLY A FIFTH OF CoUKTRY'S
LAND is UNDER CULTIVATION

DR.. Thomas Forsyth Hunt. who was
recently brought from Pennsylvania by
! the University of California to be the
dean of its college of agriculture, spoke
on agriculture in California. Present
and Future" before the members OF
the Commonwealth club Of San Fran
cisco.
"Only one acre in five is under cul-
Hunt, land people generally believe all
the good land is gone. that all else is
barren. But there are vast stretches
which can be made fertile and pro-
fitablc if we can only find the way.
''Many acres of this kind of lana
are in California. The college of ag-
riculture has as one of its problems
the making useful of this kind of acre
age. The solution of the problem will
take time. In Pennsylvania it took 80
years to find out that by proper use
of fertilizers soil could be made fer
tile indie finitely and prOfitably
"California needs today a complete
budget S2i 900 to help pay the eX-
pense Of this work. Uncle Sam is to
give a like amount | am glad to say
the Washington authorities are favor
ably disposed to agricultural and horIi-
cultural development in the state. |
an also glad to announce that the
man who prepared the fine soil map
Of Pennsylvania. a Thoroughly eGllinped
soil tcchnol"giSt, will in a few days
come here as a member of the fac
ulty Of our college.
Many problems of the soil out here
can and will be solved in time. Back
i'll Pennsylvania | gave an assistant 10
years in which to study the yield and
quality of apples. In six years he got
the answer and he is today the great
est authority ON the subject in the
world. On fertiliZed soil he gets Z,
yield of 1905 bushels an acre of picked
product. OF picked and fallen apples
he gels l2,017 bushels an acre and
all at a cost of $50 per acre"
The speaker pointed out the Won
ders of irrigation in California and
in the gigantic experiment of estab-
fishing continuous civilization on
artificial irrigation of the soil. He
spoke of il being an experiment. be
cause the state was young yet and
there We're problems connected with
irrigation which We're yet to be solved.
The university is asking for $500. 900
from the legislature. 50 that the col
lcge Of agriculture can attack these
problems and have an experiment sta
ton i'll the south in charge of com
petent plant expert.
81 have the optimism. to believe a
civilization founded on artificial irri-
cation OH large scale can be per-
manent and vital" he exclaimed.
Mention in this connection was made
of the California Fruit Growers EX-
change. representing S2O0,OO0,OOO of
capital Interested. with an annual pro-
duction of between thirty and forty
millions of dollars. The exchange has
to do with the citrus industry. The
latter represents 900 homes. $4,000
people directly. and 1900 indirectly
The permancnce Of this great in
dustry should not be left to the grow
cr alone to solve. The state and the
skilled expert should come to his a.
SlStance: also Uncle sam. with his COM
petenl corps Of trained scientists. h"
said.
Allusion was made TO the many let
ters Of inquiry constantly being re
ceived by the college Of agriculture
from all parts of the country relative
To soil and climatic conditions out here
Since October !, 51ti of these letters
had been delivered on his own desk
The faculty of the college numbers 90
trained men, and the college is asking
from the legislature an appropriation
for its work of a million dollars
New York gives its similar college
s1.243 900 a year For allagricultural
purposes ii appropriated last year So
300,6S2. Illinois gives S930.000. Cal
lfOrnia, being a larger and more varied
empire, should in all propriety, he
thought, give its college S2,5O0.00O.