Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1921-08-04


thought Of the ordinary farmer, as
well as the sO-calIed expert. and agri-
cultural colleges, for years.
How to carry on the business Of
farming with less labor; how to fill
the places Of the farm hands who have
left the fields for other vocations.
These are among the greatest Of prob
lens now before the American farmer.
Face to face with unfavorable labor
conditions, the farmer is compelled to
give careful attention to all labor-sav-
ing machines, devices, and practices.
He is interested in anything that makes
his labor more efficient, that cuts down
the cost necessary to produce a full
bushel of wheat or a gallon of milk;
he must study the relationship between
high yields per acre and increased
profits and between the results secur-
ed from labor applied to fertilized
crops. The relationship existing be-
tween the use of fertilizers and the eff
ficiency of farm labor is of such inn
portance as to merit careful consider
alton by every farmer.
With less farm Iaborers to do the
farm work, how can the farmer grow
more or larger crops with less labor2
Can he do it by increasing the acre
age. Not bit of it; that would re-
quire more labor. On account of lin
tied time in the generality of cases
and the lack Of help, the seed beds
would be badly or poorly prepared and
the growing crop poorly attended;
poor crops would be the result.
There probably is no section in the
country where this condition did not
Happen last year, to more or less ex-
tent; literally thousands of acres in
the United States were lost, because
farmers had more acres planted than
they could properly cultivate and har-
west; many farmers are planting this
season as many acres or more acres
than they can properly tend.
There is but one solution to the
! problem, and only one. Of producing
more or larger crops with the same or
with less labor, and that lies in in
creasing the acre-yield Of lands all
ready under cultivation.
i The easiest and most profitable way
in which this may be done is by the
wider use Of the compost heap, an old
fashioned process, but ever a good one
in results on big or little acreages.
Commercial fertilizer superseded the
compost heap because it was made
ready to use and apply right now.
IOuick action is what the average AM
erican wants: it makes no difference
what his calling is. But that way of
reasoning is coming to an end and the
compost heap is bound to take its place
lin America just as it did in Europe.
Commercial fertilizer is a great help
and is also very expensive when COM
pared to the compost heap. Once the
ground or foundation is in place to
make up the compost on. it will last
| for years to come if it is properly ar
ranged. My father made use Of the
compost heap all Of the time. The
French, Belgians. and Spanish have all
ways been users of the compost heap
lin some form or other, thus making
better use Of existing conditions, using
all kinds Of barnyard manure, raking
up leaves and trash of all kinds; ev-
cry thing that one could use for noth-
ling else went to the compost heap.
What is the labor cost of growing
crops? How many hours of human La
Ibor are used in growing an acre of
wheat or an acre of corn2 Naturally
il is impossible to make or give de-
finite answer; for so much depends on
weather and especially on the way the
farm is managed.
1t has been found that with good
horses or an efficient tractor, and with
labor-saving machinery, it requires II
hours of human labor to grow an acre
of wheat, about two hours more TO
grow an acre Of corn; where fields are