The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1916-11-24
the MEANING OF II.

We not only had the pleasure Of hear
ing the addresses of Prof. Pearson,
president of the Iowa State College,
and Of Prof. Kerr. president Of the
Oregon State College. ut the Fifth
Regiment exhibition ON the 9th instant,
but had also chance to enjoy extended
conversations with both earlier in the
evening. Custom has pretty thorough
ly established the habit Of saying moth
ing but pleasant things in making II
formal address 10 strangers; but in
private conversation the visitor ID apt
to be sincere in his remarks. 1t was
more than pleasing to have these two
distinguished scientists speak with such
hearty accord in their judgment of our
state, and its products as shown in the
exhibition hail. II was frankly assert
ed that such diversity in variety and
such excellence OF individual exhibits
are seldom seen in displays of states
several times the size of Maryland, and
TINS called forth continued inquiry for
the reason why. The far west exces
IN the cOl0ring OF its fruits but Mary
lano beats her in flavor; the middle west
F., beats Maryland in its prodigal amounts
of corn raised, but Maryland is ahead
in intensity and perfection per acre;
and where the ordinary state has hall
dozen crops for which she is famed,
Maryland has whole dozen such crops.
The answer is not difficult 10 discover:
Maryland's variety of soil, topography
and resulting climate to be found In u
state Of such limited area is most I'M
usual. The sandy soil and semi tropical
climate In her extreme southern portion
are the congenial home OF products
naturally found in much lower lati-
tude, while her mountainous lands
In the north west-only few hundred
miles away-yield in both their abund-
ance and excellence products supposed
to belong in southern cline.
Speaking more locally, some are wont
to call it braggadocia when Hartford
growers think they have winning crops
notably of corn-just as many u man
who never gets far from home can often
prove to his owr satisfaction that he
has the best wheat, the fastest horse,
or the finest herd of cows in the state;
but when the test Of the show-ring is
applied and the b ribbon won, as 80
often occurs with Hartford exhibits, the
proof is convincing that rignt in our
own midst types of agricultural pro-
ducts approaching perfection do actually
exist and the owner 10 himself largely
responsible for it. Persistent intelli-
gent study and experiment are thus
rewarded and the well-trained farmer is
daily coming more and more into his
own just reward.
True there are spots in the state
where the Colonel Of the slave days.
sell holds sway, and his old gray mare
harnessed with thongs or rope gets the
right-of-way ahead of the modern auto
mobile; but their devotees are growing
less and less numerous and their I'M
questioned reign less and less certain.
Instead, these sections. blest by nature
but cursed by the traditions of slavery,
are being penetrated by state roads and
freight trucks, and agricultural lime to
sweeten their lands is being literally
thrust at cost onto the neis hboring land
holders, while the clovers and cover
crops are restoring the natural fertility
of an exhausted soil.
With land surface possessing such
resources as we have mentioned, and
water surface possessing even greater
possibilities of wealth than the former,
It is not strange that our little state is
beginning to wear crown of glory for
which she was destined by nature.