Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1920-08-26
SCARS OF WAR
=: IMPROVE SOIL
Effect OF Deep Flowing Produced
Upon S!lei-Torn France,
Says American.
VEGETATION IS LUxU2ISNT
Vigorous Crops Are Growing asa Re-
suit of French Patience and In
dustry-Stick to Antiquatsd
Tools and Methods.

scars left upon the land in France
ant! Beigium by the trenches of the
allies ana their foes has been one of
the gloc:rtest of postwar reflections.
To those who have feared that per-
niancnt harm TO the agriculture of the
war-t0:n areas would result, the
special report made TO the American
Committee for Devastated France
regpu;ly 10y Hal b. Fullerton agricui-
tura director of the Long Island rail
rnah. viii colne as Il relief. For In 1t
Mr.. Fullerton declares that the
trenches and Shelholes have accom-
piiSled the one thing dearest to the
farmers hcart--decp blowing.
IF farmer here in America said
Mr. Fullerton to reporters recently,
"managcs to pillow to depth of four
inches he thinks he has done exceed
inely well. For the most part. he gets
down two inches. the best e,er done
in this country is nine. Now what
has happened in France? Trenches
cgh. to ten feet deep, shellholes and
mined areas from fifty to hundred
feet In depth and often POO feet square
have brought to the surface, without
disturbing it, the deep soil, containing
valuable minerals of which the top
soil, used for generations, has been
depleted Added to these minerals Is
the organic matter furnished by the
fertilization of dead beasts. Thus the
upheaval wrought by the trenches ac-
tually represents the type of cultiva-
ton advanced by practical agricul-
tural experts in America and England.
81 remember one former battlefield
where the trenches had been filled in
and wheat planted. The lines of
trcnchrs-French on one slope and
German on the Other-could be clearly
distinguished because the wheat grow
ing over them was higher than the
rest and had a rich green color that
showed, Il to be the best In the field.
1t was Il plain example of deep plow-
ing"
Luxuriant veget"tion in Shell Holes.
Among Mr.. Fullcrton's many photo
graphs was one showing huge shell
hole, perhaps hundred feet deep. all
over the bottom of which luxuriant
vegetation, including clover, corn
flower and alfalfa. was growing. An
other snapshot showed untitled
trenches, with discarded ammunition
belts and rifles strewn around. the
whole place covered with grass, ferns
and Shrubbery.
Another theory that Mr.. Fullerton
has exploded is that of the great harm
done to the soil by chlorine gas set
free in military operations. On the
contrary, he declared. If 1t has any
effect at all it is a beneficial one, for
the chlorine will attract to itself sodi-
um and potassium rs chemical bases,
the result being some of the very salts
that are used in the making of fer
tiiZer.
Mr.. Fullerton was full OF enthusiasm
over the French genius for farming.
While amused by some of the anti
uuated tools and methods the peasants
employed, such as hoes with eighteen
inch handles, forcing the user to bend
his back at right angles as he works.
anu ODSOlelt sly llc nv
failed to find that conservatism and
distrust of new things with which the
Frenchman is so generally credited.
He told of introducing to some of them
the wheeled hoe, or automatic seeder,
a device that may be used for all sorts
of work, from narrowing to weed
cutting.
81 took 1t out to field" he said,
"where some of the French were work
ing and started in with it. None of
them came up to look-they are too
canny for that-but | could see them
watching every motion out of the
corner of their eyes. A few days. later
one old man decided to try it, and
soon he was getting so much more
done in day than the rest that he
was the talk of the town."
"rhe problem of restoring French
soil" according to Mr.. FullertOn's Of
fetal report, the result of three
months in the Aisne department at
the request of the American commit
tee for devastated France, "is one of
engineering. With the needed tractors
and implements 1t can easily be
brought back to its original fertility.
Among none of the farmers did | find
the slightest pessimism about their
land. I noticed also that both men
and women had unusual mechanical
ability They are hard workers, as
well. 1t is a common sight to see
men who have worked in factories
laboring in their kitchen gardens until
o or 10 o'clock at night, making the
most Of the long twilights.
His Only Salvation.
"The French countryman is strong
individualist. 1t is with great diff
Guilty that he is persuaded to cooper
ate in community enterprise. The
present conditions, however make this
his only salvation. With the lack Of
man-power and machinery 1t is essen
tial that the farmers form themselves
into agricultural syndicates. The
American committee and the French
government are both fostering this
system, and the formers work, with