The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1921-12-16
What RAINDROPS
MEAN TO FARMER
Crop Reports Indicate Difference
Few Showers Make in Human
ity'S Scheme of Things.
BIG PART PLAYED BY NATURE
Takes About 2,20O Tons Of Water to the
Acre to Grow Food crop-Process
Of Evaporation Yields Chemicals
Valuable as Fertilizer.

Washington, d. Grain might be
looked upon as the oil which lubricates
the worlds economic machinery" says
a bulletin issued from the Washing
ton, ID. c., headquarters of the Ma
tional Geographic society in cOnnec-
tion with recent reports of worldwide
drought damage to crops.
"With the smallest estimated cotton
crop since $685." continues the bulle-
tin, with spring wheat in poor con-
dition at home as well as in many Of
the other wheat countries Of the world,
with other important crops below their
average, and with drought cast as the
villain, or at least as an accomplish,
In each case, the difference that few
showers make in humanity's scheme
of things is strongly emphasized.
Depends on Rainfall.
"While everybody realizes In gen.
eral way that the world depends on
rainfall and fertility for food, there
are very few, perhaps, who even APP
prOximately appreciate how compara-
lively little the farmer actually does
In the great process of crop-grOwing.
To pillow millions of acres furrow by
furrOw, to spend millions of dollars
on fertilizers, and to reap and gather
and thresh, Is no mean task. And yet
compared with the part that nature
plays in the process, mans work
seems very slight labor. For in
stance, II takes about 20 inches Of
rainfall to grow a food crop under our
general farming methods, which means
about 2,260 tons of water to the acre.
That seems a prepOsterOus figure, but
the dOubter can easily demonstrate
its correctness. Suppose the Ameri-
can farmer had to haul the water his
ground must have to give him good
crop, and that the distance and freight
rate were the same as the average
railroad haul and rate in the United
States. On that basis 1t would cost
him more than $4,000 an acre to wa
ter his place.
"But not only would his water bill
be nearly half million dollars on a
10O-acre farm, but his fertilizer bill,
also, would amount TO neat little
sum. 1t is estimated that in the proc
ess of normal evaporation, soil wa
ter presents the roOtlets of its neigh
bOrhoOd with about fourteen pounds
of ammonia year to the acre. AL
so, ii gives them some 81 pounds Of
potash. With sulphate of ammonia
costing only cents pound Git cost
5h during the war; and a hundred
pounds Of the sulphate required to
contribute II pounds of ammonia, 1t
will be seen that the process of evap-
Grafton gives the roOtets Sligo worth
of ammonia to the acre.
Automatic Fertilization.
"When the World war cut off Ger
man supplies of potash and it scared
to $500 ton, biologists secured the
United States for the priceless fertil-
izer with little success. Yet the proc
ess of evaporation generously hands
out more than half a hundredweight
to the acre, In war and peace. This
automatic fertilization is worth an
additional $3.50 an acre to the farmer
at present prices, and would have cost
him $40 an acre at war prices.
From this il will be seen that the
$12 to sos an acre that it costs the
average farmer to grow wheat Is a
small figure indeed, compared to what
he saves by having nature as his wa
ter wagon and fertilizer source"