Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-12-01
Tho market and Of thc growing Of frui

wilmington, ne ruyh, sHouiu uhvN rnuInci-
pal markets where proftcering would be
crime which on conviction should carry
a jail sentence. business principles applied
To municipal market would gtvc tho
consumer hi. food products At reAsonablc
cost and tho producer profit out Of his
product. At present, when farmers prod
ucts ars selling 40 per cent below she ones
Of production and consumers arr paying
over 100 more for his food thar tho fsrmer
rcalines, there is something wrong and
makes n condition Of chaos To tho farmer
and u fruitful source OF soup houses
and bread lines In yon cities.
aoiL I'M lRovEMENT.
William ID. lIurd of Washington, di-
rector of the Soil Improvement Commit
tee, National Fertilizer Association. gave
an illustrated talk. today, ON Problems
of Soil Improvement.
"Some Of the most significant utter
ances in regard Ia tho agricultural situa-
ton in this country were recently made
by Presidont-oleot Harding" he said
He quoted MIR Harding az follows;
We must arouse the country 60 the
menace 60 its future unless American
agriculture is preserved. ma
tion's life is no longer than the span OF
her agricultural health, II II.
land hunger which founds revolutions
anarchy and decay. We must
look our farming problems squsrely in the
face. Bunpling aud economic
nonsense, which have smothered farmers
must cease. Agricultural prob
ems must be met in the full sunlight Of
definition and forward marching
1--WE have come tn the point in this
country" fhe speaker said where We
nd atafp hafn n
the truth and logic of Mr. Harding's
| statements. For years, due probably 20
our rapid industrial development. which
has been made at the expense Of sgricul-
ture and rural regions--we have seemed TO
forget that this country cannot prosper
without a healthy normal rational aRi-
culture This wan driven horne 60 our
penple particularly those who live in cities
while We weresat war To say that sgri-
culture IN our basic industry In but tp re-
peat n statement already worn threadbare
but from now on the people Of the Unit
ed States must really believe IL. A few
ststistic. will serve 10 show how other
industries, thought by many persons to be
Of primary Importance, compare with
agriculture: There is invested in farm
property In this country more than forty
billions uf dollars, while the combined
value uf all the railroad, the manufactur-
ing. and the mining and ularrying indus
tries only equal about thrty-nine bill
lions. In value of products, the annual
production of iron and steel, boots and
shoes. paper and wood pulp. WOODEN,
leather and cotton manufactures print
ing and publishing packing house prod
uotH. and the chemical industries do not
all combined even approach the products
of our farms for ono year More than
this. several of the above have their origin
on ther farms Of the country
"Tn this business Of agriculture the na-
tion's hig htIslneae the foundation stone
is tho fertility Of the soil Our soil re-
sources have been waited In the past.
mo matter what line Of farming per
son i = carrying on, there are certain
Fundamental principles which II ignored
lead To failure Thorough preparation of
the soil the selection of good seed, tho
conservation Of moisture. oT the removal OF
surplus water hy drainage when necessary.
the use Of cover crops especially leg
u,pes-the practice Of scientifically planned
rotations, tho preventing OF Losses from
stable manurca. the correction of aoil
acidity by the uso Of Iims and tho right
uss of comme rcial plant food. are all fac
tors n successful farming
"It has been Thought in the part that
the keeping Of livestock and the produe-
| tion of manurea to bo used on the farm
| was the kew 10 successful farming. The
| number If livestock on farms IL decreas-
| ing. In some regions, particularly market
garden andruicking sections large guam
| tities of manure are no longer available
for rae on farms These farmers must
| turn to some other source in order to keep
up fertility-cover crops and the use OF
| commercial plant food are about the only
wsvs open 20 them IN the future. The
return of manure from animals fed on
rrur,s raised on the farm will not maintain
fertility Manure is unbalanced. being
relatively high in ammonia and potash,
and low in content Of phosphoric acid, the
element lacking in most soils. Fertility is
sold in every product which leaves the
farm. Fertility is also affected by the
system OF farming practiced- grain and
| hay farming being the most wasteful
while the selling of livestock and dairy
| products allows Of greater return OF fer
| tilizing materials to the land The proper
use of commercial plant food IN the future
Will mean the difference between prohtable
and Improbable farming. Used in con
nection with tho fundamental practices
already mentioned, commercial plant
| foods will increase the yield. improve the
| quality. hasten maturity, lessen the in
| Jury from insects and diseases, save labor
| on the farm, and will prevent soil deple-
ton. There are scrub fertilizers on the
market. the same as there are scrub ami
mails 10 be found on farms. These can
usually be avoided by purchasing ierti-
| lizers of higher analysis, and avoiding
| those of low analysis, Buy according to
pounds of available plant food contained
and not by any particular brand name
| Remember that the function of amrnonis
in the fertilizer is 10 increase the growth
of foliage, and TO give the crop quick
start; that of the phosphorlc acid IS te
hasten maturity and to encourage plump
ness: and that of potash to improve the
color, the quality and the yield. Observe
the appearance OF your crops, and pur'
chase fertilizers intelllgentiy according &c
the needs of your crops and soils.
"The organization with which l an
connected has for some time been put
! ting forth a good deal of effort in propa
Qanda work looking forward 10 the gradua
| elimination Of fertilizers of low analyses
and the reduction Of the number OF brands
offered for sale We have taken a mini
mum of IA per cent of available plan
food in fertilizer as a standard Ii L
possible, too, TO greatly reduce the mum
Der of analyses offered TO farmers and still
| probably cover the needs of most crop
and soils
| rx,a . .ry.r9pN7O0Nr AAyp rnhvtauy