Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1920-08-06
Effect of Deep Flowing Produced
Upon SheII-Torn France,
Says American.
VEGETATION IS LUxURIAN1
Vigorous Crops Are Growing as Re-
suit Of French Patience and In
dustry-Stick to Antlquated
Tools and Methods.

and Belgium by the trenches or the
allies and their foes has been one OF
the gloOmiest of postwar rehections.
To those who have feared that per-
manent harm to the agriculture or the
war-torn areas would result, the
special report made to the American
Committee for Devastated France
recently by Hal b. Fullerton, agricul-
tural director OF the Long Island rail-
road, will come as a relief. For In IL
Mr.. Fullerton declares that the
trenches and shellholes have accom-
plished the one thing dearest to the
farmers heart-deep blowing.
eff farmer here In America" said
Mr.. Fullerton to reporters recently,
manages to pillow to a depth OF four
inches he thinks he has done exceed
ingly well. For the most part, he gets
down two inches. The best ever done
In this country is nine. Now what
has happened In France? Trenches
eight to ten feet deep. shellholes and
mined areas from fifty to a hundred
feet In depth and often 200 feet square
have brought to the surface, without
disturbing 1t, 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.
II remember one former battlefield
where the trenches had been filled In
: and wheat planted. The lines OF
trenches-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 rich green color that
showed II to be the best In the field.
1t was plain example Of deep plow-
ing"
Luxurlant Vegetation In Shell Holes.
Among Mr.. oFullerton's many photo
graphs was one showing a huge shell
hole, perhaps a 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 II Is beneficial one, for
the chlorine will attract to Itself sodi-
um and potassium as chemical bases,
the result being some Of the very salts
that are used in the making Of fer
tilizer.
Mr.. Fullerton was full OF enthusiasm
over the French genius for farming.
While amused by some Of the anti
quated 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.
and obsolete scythe sharpeners, he
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,
q device that may be used for all sorts
Of work, from narrowing to weed
cutting.
II took II out to a field" he said,
where some of the French were work
ing, and started I'm with 1t. 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 1t, and
soon he was getting so much more
done In day than the rest that he
was the talk of the town."
"The 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, as one Of
engineering With the needed tractors
and implements Ii 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 I'm factories
laboring In their kitchen gardens until
or 10 o'clock at night, making the
most of the long twilights.
His Only Salvation.
",rhe French countryman is strong
ind!yidual!st. II is with great diff
Guilty that he is persuaded to cooper
ate In q community enterprise. The
present conditions, however. make this
his only salvation. With the lack of
man-power and machinery IL 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
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