Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1914-12-13
FARMERS WHO.L|sTENAND
SOMETIMES TALK ALSO
Glover Hill Club, Out in Chesterfield
County, Keeping in the
Limelight.
BRILLIANT TALKS OF nIEMBERs
What Is Virginia Doing?-And, as
for That Matter, Where Is Chester.
feld?-Club Intends the World
Shall Know.


The members Of the Glover Hill Co
| operative Club, whatever that NAV
mean. hold meetings semioccaslonnlly
out In certain section of Chesterfield
County, close to, tho Powhatan border.
whenever majority of the members
member has something worth while
TO say, they skirmish around, get up
a special meeting, and afford the mem
Der an opportunity to unload.
At the last meeting, held Just last
week, one OF the members "unloated %
In mercy. his name is suppressed. His
subject was an Interrogation point that
seemed to have bobbed up from n dis
ordered stomach. before which appear
ed the words: What Is the Matter
with Virginia as n Farming Slater"
Never mind what he said in the be-
ginning, or Introductory. but when he
finally got down to business he made
1t plain that there is nothing the mat
ter with II, but the trouble. IL any, Ia
with the people.
Some Troubles Tint May he Overcome
Continuing, he said:
There Is determination nowadays
TO boost for n greater Virginia. But
the determination seems to be largely
the efforts put forth by agricultural
experts and other leaders. There Is
unfortunately very little determination
In evidence from the rank and file
the farming community. Take. for In
stance. the good roads movement, q
scheme for benefiting farmers and
others; 1t is the 'othera' who do the
boosting for the better roads7-the
farmers themselves are Indifferent. Elk
cept here and there the farmers do not
get together Of their own accord to
boost the good roads movement They
have 10 be led together by some inter-
ested outsider. and OF course, 1t fol-
lows naturally that the outsiders gem
orally have an axe to grind hidden
somewhere about their persons. "
Now, when II comes to real boosting
Tor the State, the permanent fertility
Of the soil Is the one first thing that
needs an upllft. No doubt about that.
With productive soil Virginia will
soon be as rich as any other State.
Rich soil makes rich States. Virginia
must grow more clover. instead Of
importing It. more native hay instead
OF using Ohio hay, more alfalfa and
more cowpeas and soy beans. II pres-
cnt farm methods will not lead to
decent crop OF cloVers, there Is n rem
cdy. The ingredients for the making
or clover crop are all In the SOIL but
they may need little something placed
I'm the soil TO liberatc existing ingred-
tents and make them available for the
plant life OF the legumes. Or, II may
be. there is something In the soil
ncidity or sourness for instance-which
must be neutralizcd before the clovers
can flourish. The average farmer needs
to be instructed as to the existing need,
and unfortunately the average farmer
imagines he knows all there Is TO
know about farming.
More stock, more manure. are splen-
did as far as they go, but II may ns
well be noted that great faminine Is
now raging in China where every speck
Of manure Is returned to the soil. Vir-.
GINA soils are more or less deficient In
certain elements. II may be lime here.
potash there. nitrogen yonder. and
phosphates across the road. II these
elements ore not in the soils. how can
the manure taken from the plant lifo
of the same soil supply the missing
element? The upllft OF the Virginia
farmer must be through education on
the fundamental principles OF plant life
and plant neel.
Is it not a great problem for the
leaders OF the Virginia Farmers Insti-
tute TO pake that organization helpful
to tho great mass OF farmers? 1t
reaches a comparatively few; the rest
are utterly and hopelessly Indifferent.
The Farmers Union claims to be edu-
cative as well as cooperative. but Its
members arc mostly looking for the
dollar they can save rather than for
the two dollars that better methods
would make for them. ~
The Virginia Horticultural Society
experiences similar difficulties. There
are comparatively few who get to-
gether. work comparatively. and ac-
complish better results than they could
possibly accomplish single handed. The
rest are Indifferent, and hundreds OF
fruit growers still continue to place
all the best apples at the two ends Of
the barrel. The power OF the law is
being invoked to keep these Indifferent
men on the straight and narrow path
Of honesty.
All honor to the men who are using
every means to uplift the farmer In
these various lines OF endeavor. Lot
every thinking farmer rally to the sup
Fort OF these bodies and soon public
opinion will rout the careless. the In
deterrent and Will also prove the truth
of the adnge that honesty In all things
Is by far the best policy.