The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1913-11-07
MORE STOCK MUST
Be GROWN ON FARM
TO SAVE THE SOILS
soils ARE COMPARED TO BANK
ACCOUNTS SUBJECT TO
CHECK.
DEEP FLOWING is EMPHASIZED

The Same Character of lntelliqencs
and Thoughtfulness Necessary or
the Farm AS in the Other Avoca
tiona of Life.
(By t. F. Peck, Commissioners OF
Agriculture.)
AS time passes we realize more and
more the importance of a better
knowledge by the farmers of modern
practical methods in farm practice
I'VE see our population increasing
without proportionate increase in pro
duction. We see the various enter.
prises other than farming demanding
labor and, by their thorough organi.
cation and management increasing
the producing capacity of the labor
they employ so that they can afford to
pay prices for labor that are prohibit
tive to the farmer who fails to intel
ligently direct the labor on his farm
to increase its producing capacity
Iproportionately.
In the past, and at present, too
many of our farmers, while they ap-
plaud the splendid system, thorough
understanding and organization Of
the working force in public institu-
tions, act as though it were not
worth considering in their own bust
ness. Now, brother farmer, we must
realize that to be a success farming
nuts be given the same thought,
the same thorough organization, the
same attention to detail necessary in
other lines of work il we hope to
succeed.
Since have been connected with
the Department of Agriculture | have
been emphasizing in every way
could the importance of deep plow-
ing, turning under vegetable matter,
]subsoiling, thorough pulverizing,
keeping dust mulch on the land
during the growing season and
cover crop during the winter season.
Those who have done so have had a
decided advantage over those who
have not. They have conserved their
moisture they, have made available
plant food in their soil, they have pre-
vented their land from washing, and
just in proportion to the extent they
follow those directions will their ad-
vantages increase.
l wish the farmers of Tennessee
would understand that their soils are
similar to their bank accounts-that
If they take out of them all the tim,
and put nothing back, it is but i;
question of time until they cease to
be profitable to work.
| wish our farmers could appreci-
ate the value of our climate and rain.
-all and profit by them as they should.
Our climate enables any farmer who
will to grow money crop during the
summer and feeder crop for his soil
during the winter
Our rainfall is ample for eur re-
quirements for crop production if we
would save it, but we must have
deep soil with plenty of vegetable
matter in it to hold it.
Thousands of dollars have been
wasted by Tennessee farmers every
year by the unintelligent use of fer
tilizers, not because the fertilizers
was not all that was claimed for
them, but the farmers using them did
not give them chance to feed the
crop. do not care how good the fer
tilizer may be, the soil conditions
must be right to make the fertilizer
available for plant food. The soil
must have sufficient moisture to dis
solve the fertilizer, and the soil also
must be thoroughly pulverized and
there must be moisture sufficient dur
ing the growing season. Some people
have an idea that the poorer the soil
the more fertilizer they must use, in
fact the better your soil is supplied
with humus and moisture you can
proportionately increase with profit
the use of fertilizer, while the poorer
the soil the more sparingly should
fertilizer be used
There is one more fundamental
principle of agriculture that l want
to emphasize, and that is, we must
cultivate the soil to grow crops to
feed animals to feed the soil-thus
completing the agricultural cycle,
law of nature that cannot be violated
without paying the penalty of depict
ed soils and decreased crop produc-
tions. We are paying that penalty
now and will until we grow more
1.-Two stock On our farmS