The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-02-21
Concentrate on Agriculture.

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1 Concentrate on Agriculture.
j The growing cost of the necessaries
Of life has done more than anything
else to concentrate thought upon the
problems of agriculture in the coun-
i try, and although We are improving
very rapidly, in many ways We arel
unscientific and wasteful. The official
record OF the yield of crops will bear
\, this statement out, beyond doubt
The great activity of the federal de-
partment of agriculture and the fine
work Of the agricultural colleges and
universities on the other hand make
it possible for the farmer to get all
the help he needs in improving his
i industry. The wide dissemination of
the agricultural colleges, the farmers
Institutes and short courses, have in
4 stituted the leaven of progress In the
ranks of the humblest of the tillers
of the soil and thus by the invention
OF machinery and the many improved
methods, the burden Of labor has been
j high. ened and the products of the sol;
largely increased
4 Marvellous transformations have
! been wrought in the last half century
by the new methods and appliances
of soil tillage and animal industry.
Some have affected to despise this
! new method, which they are pleased
to call book farming" but under
the quickening influence of agricul-ur-
i al papers, books, institutes, lectures
\ and oranges, the changes have been
wrought and old time nations. theo-
ries. traditions and practices have
been outgrown and discarded. Some
of the best writer's on agricultural
topics would barely venture today to
reprint their utterances of ten years
ago and voice the soundness of the
same. So rapid has been the progress
that many of the books and writings
that were cited as authority dozen
: years ago are now out of da.e and
, lrelegates as back numbers.
! If We keep step with the procession
anu IldTCH dUISdSL Will lu6 CiinCS wv
have got to study the literature Of
4 The times. Agriculture ranks side by
SIDE today, with the so-called learn
ed professions and many of the brain
lest men in America today are en-
| gagged in the profession OF farming.
Refers to Dam.
Lee county, Iowa, Hancock county.
Illinois, and Clark county, Mo-, viii
soon view with pride the completion
Of one Of the greatest engineering
feats of the world. We make especial
mention of these three counties BE-
cause they lie contiguous to, and al
most encircle this power zone. The
three states just mentioned are now
arranging for a tri-state celebration
and when their three governors ant
the president of the United States
will meet here to commemorate tn,
completion of that great work, thel
| the point on the Mississippi river will
no longer be known as the Des Nome
rapids.
The father Of waters has been vino
ing it's way silently over those rapid
for untold ages and now it will b
harnessed and made to do the wor
that has been done by flesh an
blood heretofore. The world had t
wait for the achievement of this grea
work until science had advanced to
point that made 1t practical and
man had been raised with profoun
skill, practical learning and math
NAUTICAL genius enough to carry
through to a successful consumm
ton.
1t is said that "all roads lead ,
| Rome Judging by the utteranct
of the public press, which is moul
err of public opinion, and a builder
public roads, all roads will be lea
ing to this zone soon. The pow,
which will be developed here will
sure TO bring manufacturing indu
tries that will build up the citi
most rapidly that are lying close
this power We are now very clio
to the center of population in Il
United States It will be but fe
years until this will be the very ce
ter of population. What an opportu
ity is going to present itself for Il
agriculturist of this zone. Il Is tin
for the farmers here to awaken
the necessity of employing mode
business like methods in conductil
their farms if they want to secu
the best results.
There are now about 100 coun