The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1920-01-23

URING the past two years the methods
Of production and conservation EN-
l ployed by the farmers of this country
have advanced 20 years of peace times
Il 49, Prior to 1914. and even up to the dec
laration of war by the United States
Il there were farmers In every communi-
- ~ who were not interested I'm county
agents, farmers Institutes, the ag1-
cultural colleges or the United States department
of agriculture. But when was declared and
Uncle Sam asked the farmers to grow more food
stufs of every kind, those who had before assumed
an attitude Of indifference responded TO the CALL
Throughout the nation these farmers with spirit
of patriotism and an additional inducement of fair
prices and assurance of reasonable compenSa-
tion for their expenditures. called upon the fed
eral department and other agencies that could
give them information. The attitude well as
the spirit of the farmers changed from peace-time
TO wartime farming.
Improved methods and practices adopted and
being applied have to stay. In future
farming methods there should be little question as
the practice of the man who has treated his oats
for and has increased his yield; the man who
has applied fertilizer to his wheat and has in
creased his crops five TO ten bushels an acre; the
man vino has sought information the feeding of
cattle and has found that by adding protein to the
ration he produce a pound of beef with nine
pounds of where the old ration required ID
pounds of grain the man who was encouraged to
build Il so through which he is able to feed
carload of cattle with the crops from 10 acres of
land when before 1t required 26 acres. Men who
and have profited by them. are not going back to
old-time methods. Farmers reaching out in
broader way for additional aid.
Last fall farmers planted 100000 acres of
wheat, and while the early prospective yield was
reduced TO extent by of adverse
weather and insect enemies. crop of approx
mately billion bushels is the result This huge
crop is the direct result of the good methods of
farming that employed in the fall of 1913.
There were more tons of fertilizer applied TO this
during There
early blowing. There better cultivation.
There better selection of varieties and better
treatment of the seed. There more top-dress-
ing of the crop with straw and manure than
known in any other year. Part of the crop
WAS due to favorable weather in localities,
just to plain luck. but the big results
achieved in the wheat fields all the country
due to the improved methods employed by
farmers.
There Is large and sufficient evidence to show
that agriculture has made rapid. and sub
stantia advance. If that Is true then agriculture
will not readily revert
At no time has the farmer been called upon to
give greater attention to the business side of his
operations In this day OF high-priced land, labor.
seed. fertilizer. machinery and other materials
and equipment. careful attention must be given
economical production Industrial plants have
found il necessary 70 introduce the costaccounting
system in order that the cost of each part
featured may be determined. In the way,
farmers must conduct their business and know
definitely the desirable and profitable lines of
production.
Not every farmer has II within his power to in
crease his acreage but he can very materially In
crease his income by judiciously increasing the
size Of his business. There is way of doing
this that seems to be open to farmers in prac
tically all parts of the country. The simplest and
surest way for the landocked farmer to make
more money is TO produce and better live
stock. There Is but limited opportunity for ex-
pansion in the production of the intensively grown
crops but there is great opportunity for expansion