The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1914-10-08

o The following is the first Of .
. a series of articles on "The .
. Science and Practice of Agri- o
. culture, and How to Harmon Q
. ize Them," by G. L. Smith, o
. agriculturist of the O.-W. R o
o & N, one of the best known 9
o farming authorities in the 9
. Northwest. 9
o Q 9 Q o o o 9 o o o o o o o Q
FHE SCIENCE of agriculture is only
organized common sense The prac-
tiee of agriculture is jumble of
methods based upon tradition, super
stition, more or less absurd theories
and varying degrees of business sense
combined with limited measure Of ex-
act knowledge. TO harmonize these
contradictory and often apparently an
tsgonistic factors, is rather difficult
task, requiring time, tact, patience and
accurate knowledge By accurate
knowledge I do not mean Just what can
be learned from books, lectures, labora-
tory practice or even field studies I
have known men full to running over
with all these and yet unable to har-
monize any Of them with actual farm
practice.
One reason why the task of harmon
izing the science and practice of agri-
culture is SO difficult is found in the
average conception Of the term
"science." I can remember when the
term was to my mind always associ-
ated with unpronouncable Latin words,
bad smelling drugs and sulphur fumes.
But when I found so good story
teller as Charles Dickens claimed that
to SOW the same seed, in the same soil,
under the same conditions will surely
yield the same fruit according to its
kind, / began to realize that science
was only the knowledge that certain
causes would produce certain results
The possession Of this knowledge would
enable me to combine causes or factors
and surround them with conditions that
would produce a desired result. When
I had learned this much about
"science" the term lost its terror and
became only name for group of
everyday things.
Like Produces Like.
From this point of view it was com
paratively easy to harmonize the prac-
tice of agriculture with the science Of
agriculture. To illustrate, it is recog-
nized as a scientific fact that under
normal conditions "like produces like. "
It is also a fact that perfect plant
growth can be secured only when there
are present in the soil great variety
Of inorganic elements such as potash,
phosphorous, nitrogen, calcium, silica,
iron, sulphur, magnesia, etc. That the
different plants use different proper
tions of these elements, potatoes, Tor
instance, require larger proportion of
potash than corn or wheat, but less of
phosphorous and other elements.
What Science Says.
Clover roots and leaves make ideal
homes for minute soil bacteria that
help to dissolve and make available the
various elements used by the plants.
Furthermore the scientist will say that
where the soil is too compact, heavy or
cold, the blowing under of crop like
clover will loosen and warm it. There
fore tell the scientist that you have a
heavy clay loan soil and wish to grow
on it prize crop of potatoes, and from
his organized facts he will say: "Grow
crop of red clover, plow under the
second crop, leave the ground rough
over winter, work fine in the spring
and plant as soon as danger of frost
is past, planting smooth, sound, even.
sized tubers, for like produces like. u
Now let us see how we can harmon.
ize this with practice: Jim Kelly OF
Marysburg had won the prize Of a
riding cultivator for the best bushel Of
potatoes exhibited at the County Fair
l wanted to know how he did it, and
drove 12 miles out to his farm, which
= was in a hardwood district where the
soil was a rather heavy clay loan.