The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1917-05-04
EDITORIAL MUSINGS.
. . o o . o o O o o o q
Keeping Up Soil Fertility.

The farmers of Europe produce
crops of the great grain staples that
IN yield per acre greatly exceed ours.
Our farmers have had too much the
feeling that you could go on indeti-
BItely taking away from the soil with
cut putting anything back In the vir-
Gin soils of the Middle West, il has
often been said that the land needs
TO fertilization.
The Illinois Farmer in a recent edi-
forial admitted that even in the boun-
focus soils of that State, more has
been taken out than has been restored.
ghe editor attributes the unsatisfac-
tory acreage production of staples 10
failure TO keep up fertility.
Agriculture in the United States
has been a form of mining. The crop
cerives its elements of nutrition from
the, soil When those elements pass
Into the ear of corn and grain o.
wheat, they are taken from the earth.
il seems incredible that anything
f,at may come through rain, irriga-
zion, foods, the air, or the under soil,
can supply the place Of what has been
distracted. If not, then soil eXahus-
tson in any locality is a mere ques-
ton of time.
Man is a prodigal creature, and or
ganizes his systems Of waste as care
fully as methods of production. Vital
clements of foods pass into animals,
and pass out in vast Much of this
material is turned into streams to be
thrown into the sea. Costly systems
Of sewage are constructed TO effect
This throwing away of necessary ele-
Esents.
The farmer who is down on his
fuck and complains of adverse weather
conditions may simply be suffering
from failure TO keep up his land. Dur
fng recent years fertilizing materials
have been freely sold, ard have done
good, though not always applied scien-
tifcally. But enrichment pays to-day
better than ever, owing to high cost OF
labor. IL the product of farm can be
doubled. the labor cost per unit of pro-
duct is greatly reduced"
Disorderly Habits.
There are several persistent habits
on the part of the public, particularly
ri many young people, that tend to
keep most towns looking disorderly,
and are too much in evidence in Paris
The distribution of handbills and adj
sertising sheets is often done in a
careless way by boys. They will throw
a bill on the porch Of a house, where
the first puff of wind blows it into the
street.
Many boys i'm delivering hand bills
will stuff them into the hands OF
rassers-by who have no interest in
without looking at them.
Young fellows working as store
clerks are often careless in handling
Filter The first duty of the morning
is 30 sweep out the store, and if they
perform this task before the employer
gets around, they sometimes think
they can save five minutes of their
PRECIOUS time and energy by sweeping
tie refuse into the streets.
This newspaper has previously re
marked on the common habit of throw
ing away on the streets the paper
BAGS in which fruit, candy, peanuts
etc. were purchased. Another sloven-
" and offensive trick is the habit or
tearing I'D letters and scattering the
SCRAPS over the walks. Some one has
10 pick up these pieces bit by bit IT
the street is ever TO look clean.
Probably the only way to get at this
disorderly spirit is in the long run
through the schools. Every school
room ought 30 have a regular lesson
each spring. and perhaps several times
a year on the public value Of neatness
The children should be told that dirty
streets make the town less attractive
20 strangers, make people less likely To
come here to live, that they depress
The value of real estate, and thus work |
against the prosperity and comfort OF
every FANNY.