Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1917-04-27

ldSI ISL lished in Rome by the International
~ Institute of Agriculture show that the
process of scrapping the most essen
itial of all our foods, grain, goes on apace
Steadily the arabic land of the world shrinks
las the area under permanent grass, often Gu
iphemism for land that is derelict, extends IT'S
frontiers AT the present moment the United
States is dependent on imported supplies for an
lappreciable amount of wheat and for different
cereals consumed in this country
There is not only tremendous shortage or
wheat in the United States today, but of corn
Also as is testified by the price of $1.2O per
bushel paid in a number of instances recently for
the latter grain. This is about three times as
much the farmer has received for it in normal
times Figures posted by the Chicago board of
trade indicate that the visible supply of corn in
this country today is less than half what 1t was
ia year ago. OF course, the war has had much
to do with the depletion of our stores, and con-
SeQuent rise in price. But even granting that
the demand has been phenomenal the fact re-
mains that our farmers are not producing as
much corn as they should
Evidently something is wrong with our system
of growing Most farmers understand the
importance of good seed for planting, and the
majority of them employ scientific methods of Gull
tivaton. The trouble, then, would appear to lie
with the soil.
Everyone knows that, unintentionally perhaps,
most farms in this country have been robbed
of much fertility of the soil. In every state there
thousands of farms which formerly produced
big crops but worn out that the land
will not return enough to pay for the labor of
filling it, Many farmer says, he gazes over
his broad acres: II remember when I was boy
that field was fine for corn, but now it's only fit
for pasture" But if he only knew, that field is
capable of producing just much corn as it did
in the old days; it is probable that it could
be made to break the records established in it's
earlier prime This, at any rate, is what William
C.. Smith, Indiana farmer, says, and Mr. Smith
ought to know, for he has performed some seem
ing miracles with worn-out land down Indiana
way.
Farm Journals agricultural colleges and the
United States department of agriculture have
been doing wonderfully good work in telling the
farmer how to increase the fertility of his soil,
but Mr. Smith, apparently, has discovered the
easiest, simplest and most inexpensive way of all.
Almost anyone tell how to spend a hundred
dollars per fertilizer, crushed limestone,
etc., and in the end improve the land. But it
takes practical successful farmer like Mr.. Smith
to demonstrate how field ''never known to have
on it crop of any value" could be made within
one year to produce Y bushels of corn per acre
at cost of $3.50 per acre, aside from labor. The
how and why of it all has been put into book
"How to Grow 100 Bushels of Corn on WORKOUT
Soil" which Mr.. Smith has dedicated to the Amer
lean farmer. And he believes that any other
farmer who will follow his teachings will be
equally successful 1t all sounds like a fairy
We
statements Furthermore, he is known nationally
for the remarkable experiments he has made.
In 1906 Mr. Smith purchased farm that had
the reputation of being one of the poorest in In
diana 1t had been kicked and bufeted about as
trading stock. Each owner no sooner got into
possession of it when he found he had purchased
q gold brick and never rested until he succeeded
in unloading it upon some other victim. 1t never
seemed to occur to any OF its owners that the
farm had simply been handled by soil robbers and
was paying the penalty by withdrawing It's b0un-
ty Mr. Smith purchased the farm because OF its
cheapness location and possibilities, and was
given the laugh for SO doing.
The entire farm in its early history was COW
cred with large walnut, poplar, oak and other tim
Der the timber on the sandy land having been as
heavy as on the other portion of the farm. The
land was a portion of Indiana reserve, set
apart by the government to the Indians in 1913
and by the Indians sold again in 1885, and was
cleared more than go years ago. and for many
wears produced large crops. It had always been
farmed upon the principle of getting out of it all
you can each year and putting nothing back into
The soil Under this system of farming the soil
had become so poor that in the best season 1t
nroduced but Is 20 bushels Of corn to the acre,
while in bad seasons the crop entire fail
nre.
Mr. Smith had read in of the bulletins OF
4he department of agriculture that the value of an
mere of SANDY Vetch" plowed under equiva-
lent to putting into the ground $40 or $40 worth
Of commercial fertilizer, and straightway decided
TO try it on his farm. Accordingly, he ordered
enough seed to plant two acres.
The seed was planted in August, upon the