The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-01-23
GRAIN GROWERS
INDORSE WORST
Continued From Page One.

. AAtAJ Nv
this convention at it's next meeting.
Moreover it should be clearly kept in
mind that the establishment Of a
rural credit system in the face Of de-
clining markets and the admission Of
the manufactured products to this
country on a free basis, makes the
establishment Of a rural credit bank
ing system more difficult for the
farmer"
RoIIey's Paper.
There were two papers following the
numerous discussions this morning.
One was brief. It was given by T. Q.
Olson Of Fargo ON the subject Of Co.
Operation to Growers Inc Seedmen In
the Cause Of Seed Betterment.
Mr.. Olson was followed by Prof. II.
L. Bolley of the North Dakota Agri-
cultural college, who spoke on the
subject Of Seed Improvement and Soil
Fabrication. Professor Bolley said in
part. -. .. .v., 49,.
Gentlemen OF the Tri-State Grain
Growers conventions: There Is a great
deal of discussion lust now with re-
gard to whether the farm lands of the
chief cereal or grain producing regions
Of the United States are being ex-
hausted by over-cropping and inef-
fective fertilizing. or whether the rath-
er inferior crops, as indicated by the
average yield per acre ARE due to
some other causes, particularly inef-
icient methods of handling the soil
and seed.
Your chairman President Worst.
mas asked me to speak upon seed i'm
provement and soil publication. Many
OF you are by this time convinced that
the topic as given in the programmes
Is sort Of a hobby Of mine. You are
right, put it's a good one to ride on
Tor a time In this wheat belt. People.
l think. have an erroneous idea as to
what l have been trying to teach with
regard to soil publication and seed
handling. Some have even gone so
far as to indicate that T do not bellows
in the use of fertilizers; that I do not
believe it makes any difference what
sort Of soil is used in order to get a
crop. I will not try to make all of
these points clear today. I have spok-
en- to you a number Of times before in
regard to crop diseases and soil in
lection and as to their influence ON
the soil and seed. I have also often
reiterated the improbability of being
able to procure good crops Of wheat
under constant cropping conditions
because Of the presence Of diseases in
the soil and in the seed. I am quite
convinced that I can make good on the
assertion that the lands here in the
river valley are not particularly
worn out for wheat, but rather have
only become infested with wheat dis
ease organisms, and that when g. prop
er crop rotation and soil. and. seed
publication is introduced the farmers
will find that they will be able to raise
just as good wheat as before. This,
Of course, does not indicate that one
should not use all the available fertil-
ity that can be obtained. It does,
however, indicate that it will be pos
sible to carry III a system Of crop
rotation; for, If u lands are not de-
stroyed as to texture and chemical
content-'exhausted,' but only disease
infected, we can win and win easily.
a good crop rotation does not use up
fertility and substitute therefor the
idea that a good crop rotation Is one
which Is properly arranged to pro-
duce a healthy growth Of each crop in
the series, then farmers will be able
to understand why a crop should be
placed as. It is in the series. If we
can get u farmers to understand that
by bad types of seed and improper
methods Of handling farm manures
they can undo all this careful work of
crop rotation and soil tillage, then
they will be- ready to improve the yield
and quality of grain produced. They
will have a faith to proceed which Is
founded on understanding, for it will
then be Easy to understand why a
properly arranged crop rotation is ef-
fectiVe. II, as I claim, u constantly
cropped whea lands are not particu-
larly exhausted from a chemical stand
point, but. only disease infested, then
we have a real reason for using only
the best pure bred plump seed prop
erly di%sinfected, and a reason every
n should go into the crop rotation
business with a cheerful heart, for it's
chief aim is not to save fertility, as
We have often heard, but to get big
crops. When the crop rotation system
Is the right one, no crop in the series
will be close enough related as to
kind to allow it. to carry or support
any Of the diseases of any other crop
in the series. This will give the root
diseases Of a particular sort of crop
time to die out of the soil before that
crop is again placed on the land.
"The subject Of seed and soil sani-
tation as a whole is too broad a one
to be discussed in one half hour. and
it is not my aim to undertake it to-
day, for within a month you will be
able to read bulletin 107 Of the North
Dakota experiment station in which I
have tried to illustrate such matters,
theories and reasons rather fully.
mo doubt the answer to the ques-
ton: What is the matter with the
crop rotation yields and quality Of
seed products produced?' will not be
found in any single explanation Of
condition but rather must be attrib-
uted to many different causes. The
writer at this time wishes to call at
tention to the Importance Of our farm
ers and business men taking some
specifically progressive or constructive
steps looking towards the improve
ment Of our cropping conditions
through procuring a more stable or
uniform type Of seed and crop. To do
this, there must be cooperation Of
growers and of the handlers of the
products. ~
"Just at the present time a good
many people are complaining, the
writer thinks properly, that the con-
sumner Of farm products is not proper
ly in touch with the producer of farm
products. The producer of farm pro-
ducts also complains that he Is not
properly in touch with the consumer.
This would seem to indicate that our
markets are controlled or regulated
by middlemen. selfishly, perhaps. in
their own interests. Possibly there
may be some truth to this, but 7 feel
that even this problem rests for its
solution largely in the possibility of
farmers in certain large commercial
crop-growing regions so handling
their crop that each particular region
may become a center. Of production for
a certain particular kind Of crop SO
that it will be possible to establish a
market about it. This last statement
implies that the present conditions
are not such as to appeal to the proper
establishment Of q standard market.
I believe that there is real truth in
this ana do not wish to scold the
farmers or middle men or consumers
FOR the condition which has NradilallV