The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1918-04-25
KNAPP'S ADDRESS TO SOUTH

Inc lOiloWlHS is speech Dy BFduloru
Knapp, chief of extension work in the
south, made in Birmingham recently. 1t
covers the agricultural situation in the
south, and cites the work ahead for the
tillers of the soil:
Agriculture is the most conservative
and at the same time, without question,
the most necessary industry in which
mankind is engaged Changes in method,
in organization and in production are
slow, necessarily. Agriculture is organ
lied on an annual basis and not on a
30-day basis. In the business world gen
serally when losses come there are innum-
cradle opportunities to recoup the
losses in relatively short periods of time
When losses come in agriculture it re-
quires at least a full crop season and
often years to place the farmer back
where he was or compensate for the
losses.
An agriculture organized on an unsafe
basis is open to many dangers of finan-
cial loss making the industry precari-
Gus and resulting in failures at critical
periods. I venture the assertion that no
crop agriculture has ever proven
safe agriculture when general economic
conditions were disturbed for any cause
whatever. BY one-crop agriculture, l
mean an agriculture founded mainly
upon the production of one crop as its
main dependence. Such system is I'M
safe for many reasons. which may be
briefly summed up as follows:
/. The one-crop system is unsafe eco
nomically because it depends upon crop
and market conditions for financial sue
cess; failure of weather asewell as fail
ure of market brings ruin. All the eggs
are in one basket
2. A one-crop system of agriculture does
not maintain soil fertility, because it
gives opportunity to restore humus
nitrogen and other plant food elements
to the soil by the use of crop rota
ton.
8. A one-crop system of agriculture
fails to take live stock into account and
therefore does not produce either the
meat, milk and eggs for the people or
the manure necessary to soil fertility
nor does it provide live stock for the util-
ization of the waste product of the farm
and the making of waste lands produce
tive.
4. The one-crop system is uneconomic
because it involves long periods of idle
ness for farm machinery equipment and
labor, and does not utilize capital, and
labor to the fullest possible extent.
Under a highly diversified system of agri-
culture each laborer, with full compile
ment OF tools and teams will handle
more land and have a greater income
per man than where the main depend
ence is on one crop.
5. Under the one-crop system of agri-
culture the return for labor comes but
once per year, and it builds up a sys-
tenn compelling the farmer to sell his
product at the lowest wholesale price,
while he buys his supplies at the highest
retail price. Diversified agriculture pro-
duces the food on the farm, purchases
the maximum of high priced supplies
and saves the money from the cash
crop as profits.
6. Lastly, the one-crop system limits
knowledge narrows citizenship and does
not foster home building.
BOIL WEEVIL ARRIVES
In 1904 and from then on for a few
years the cotton industry of the south
was seriously imperiled by the boil weevil
and farmers in boil weevil sections were
always in distress because of dependence
on cotton In 1914 the south was in pow
erty and distress and crying out to the
entire country to come and rescue them
because they had lost their market for
cotton under war and heavy over
production. These things have repeated
themselves year in and year out The
experience of 1911 is we'll worth calling
to the attention of the farmers at this
time That year, during the planting
season. the price of cotton was abnor-
mally high, being generally above l5c,
Two years previous to that had been
years of relatively low production, just
as the three years previous to 1913 nave
been years of relatively low production
In the spring of 1911 the farmers in
creased their production of 100000
bales, because it was a good season
That fall they sold the crop for less
than 10c per pound and realized less for
a $1,000 900 bale crop than they had real
lied for a little over 100000 bales the
year before. The history of the cotton
industry in the south furnishes many ex-
amples of this kind.
A few comparative figures will show
any man that food production and a self
sustaining agriculture are intimately as
ISOLATED with permanent prosperity and
"a permanently prosperous agriculture is
necessary for the prosperity and the de-
Tense of the country. Why is it that the
south, with it's wonderful powers of pro-
ducton, is not the richest agricultural
section of the United States, and its
farmers the richest farmers in America?
Certainly the figures will show that the
difficulty does not lie with the posi-
blities of the south. l maintain that
the difficulty lies with the false system
of the south. system which is a con-
tinuous gamble, a gamle which is going
on every year and which is even going
on this year. when, of all years in the
history of the country, there should be no
uncertainty and no chance.
BY the last census the value of all
crops per improved acre in Iowa was
only $10.67, while the value of all crops
per improved acre in South Carolina was
more than twice as great, being S23 Is.
In Alabama is was $l4.SS Practically
every cotton growing state will show by
that census and by figures compiled
since a greater production in crop value
per improved acre than can be shown
for most of the northwestern states, and
vet the average value of land per farm
in Iowa was nearly 10 times the average
value of the land per farm in the south
ern states. The census shows the COM
parative wealth in Iowa, as compared
with certain of the southern states, to
be as follows: In Iowa the per capita
wealth in 1912 was So, 539 while in Alabama
it was 1884, in South Carolina $3.50. and
in Georgia 1888. Wealth consists not only
of what we make but what we save.
The money the south receives for cotton
would soon make her rich if she could
save more of it.
MET MANY DISASTERS
We have met so many disasters in the
past decade that great progress has been
made in the direction of a better bal
anced agriculture Comparing the years
1909 and 1911 for example, the cotton
acreage in the south has increased A 6S
per cent, and cotton production SAP per
cent, but the increase in food crops has
greatly exceeded that. The acreage in
corn has increased IS 81 per cent. while
it's production has increased 479 per
cent; the wheat acreage has increased
143 per cent and production 1872 per cent
the oat acreage 81 per cent and produc-