The Republican journal., 1916-11-16
Idea. For community betterment.

count that farmer successful who not
merely tills we'll his soil, but he who also
| rears family, who serves his community
and who leaves the land richer than when
| he came 10 1t.
When church doesn't thrive, you may
! know that the people haven't found
themselves. They do not know the real
meaning of public servile.
, Even the farmer has heretofore been
burglar of soil potash, thief of nitrogen
| and a spendthrift of humus. He must
now begin to farm constructlvely.
| 1t is impossible to get this ch-talk-
| ed about cooperation until selfshness
has vanished, until the wall of personal
greed of each Individual is broken.
want to see farmers cooperate, not
to defend themselves from other classes,
but to render service.
Cleaning up the earth, protecting
game and resources, maintaining public
health and protecting soil fertility
these are the things toward which COM
munity effort must strive during the
next Is years Liberty Hyde Bailey.
PIantfood Duties.
! How many farmers nave a definite,
clear idea as to the exact mission of fer
| "
New York Experiment Station defines a
fertilizer as being any substance which,
added to the SOIL will, under favorable
conditions, produce better growth of
crops, whether by direct or indirect
action on the crop or on the properties of
the soil DR.. A. D. Hall, late director
of the famous English experiment sta
ton at Rothamsted, says that fertilizers
are designed to supply deficiencies in the
soil, and for all practical purposes are to
be regarded as consisting OF compounds
of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash.
Fertilizers are a mighty help in the
hands of the well-informed farmer. They
are not all powerful-they cannot take
the place of hard work of well prepared
seed bed-of well-drained soil-of good
seed, nor of sweet reaction in the soil
The farmer should look upon his fertili-
zers the same as he looks upon his valu-
able machinery and valuable horses or
other livestock. They necessitate an ex-
penditure of money, the same as the ma
terials just mentioned. But if conditions
are made right and fertilizers are used
widely, experience has proven beyond
doubt that they return lorge profit.
Facts About Fruit Growing.
The fruit tree is more highly organized
than the grasses, the cereals and the
root crops. More care and attention is
needed. Hay may be handled with
fork, potatoes, wheat and oats with
shovel without injury, but fruit must be
handled with care. Fruit needs to be |
uniform and Of good appearance, as it is so
generally sold and consumed in the orgi- |
nal form and great difference in price
IL lcH
fruit tree is highly sensitive to favor
able and unfaYorabIe conditions of soil,
climate, frosts and moisture. Wind cur
rents, air drainage, elevation, the plant
food requirements of the different kinds
of fruit, the effects of the use of fertiI-
izers on color, shape, size and quality of
fruit, the diseases of fruit trees, insect
pests, marketing, shipping, products,
and many other subjects must be under
stood before the orchard owner becomes
an efficient fruit grower.
Maine Experiments With Potatoes.
Results of the 1916 experiments of the
Maine Station with potatoes indicate
that the scarcity of potash since the be-
ginning OF the European War and the
smaller amounts used have not made the
growing of potatoes Improbable as the
lands that are in good heart are return
ing profitable yields. However, the re-
suits show thai the addition of as little
as As pounds per acre of potash in fer
tilizers increased the yield of potatoes,
at least when grown on sod land, the
amount depending upon the condition of
the land and probably also upon the sea-
sonal conditions. The three plots in
which potash was included in the fertili-
zers used average 152 barrels per acre
per acre from the two plots in which pot