Evening star., 1921-06-26

Il NCShED away III httie oHhees
Se5. sequestered in hothouscs or
Sc =" surrounded by retorts, micro
scopes or other scientific in
struments in Laboratories are dozens
- Of unsung heroes who are today. as
ss.a4hey have been for years past. striv-
q. ing TO accomplish something that will
s'.be Of material benefit to the citizens
~ of the United States. Far away from
'-the spotlight of publicity. removed
- from the shrine at which the lions Of
.s.tfre hour are worshiped. these little
;. known benefactors of mankind are
..,tevoting their lives to the end that
the United States Department of Ag-
riculture may be enabled to assist
1.-THE ranches farmer or the plantation
owner in faising bigger and better
::crops. and they labor from early morn
until long past the usual closing hour.
-. These patriots, for such they are.
are SO engrossed with their work that
they give little heed to the fact that.
as rule, they are receiving Tar less
for their Iabors than the average ef-
fcient clerk in any large corporation.
.,N.Ithout complaint or thought of
public reward, these men are giving
The best Of their lives in service that
means no personal aggranoiSem"nt.
-they are striving to reach but one
goal, and that is the giving OF some
frlng worth while to our citizens. In
,.E;uropean countries men who achieve
Successes such. as are common 10 the
savants OF the Agriculture Depart
'nent have great honors conferred
- upon them and are objects of public
. adulation. but not so with those who
are serving Uncle Sam. City folks
= have not. as a rule, any conception
. 0f the Importance of agriculture as
Ian industry. They appear to take it
for granted, that the farmers busi-
=. ness is to raise such articles as they
Iised. and they have it'll. ken DIS to
the vast energy that is necessary to
provide them with food; and raiment.
.physical valuation of the railroads of
the country, but few realize that If
an the farmers combined in sale
of their live stock and crops for
period of one year they would have
money enough to purchase all the
railroads. rolling stock and equip
'ment in the United States. If. On
the other hand. it were possible for
. them to sell their farm holdings. to-
gethcr with their crops ami live stock,
they could with the money received.
purchase all the railroads. manufac-
:. turing establishments. mines and
-quarries in the United States. About
eighty billion dollars is invested in
! The yearly value of live stock and crops
will run from twenty to thirty billion
:" dollars
TT must not be imagined that the
% men who till the soil or who raise
=. the sheep and provide the fruits and
food products receive these billions
"as a net profit. for in producing arti-
49, ne fhta
.. amount there are many dollars ex-
pended. Agriculture Is a most i'm
.portant factor: there is the buying
sand consuming power Of the farmers
and their families Not many people
>, have given thought to the fact that
the food supply in the larger cities
is sufficient to last only for few
o weeks or months at best. and II there
S'be an interruption to the flow of these
n farm products, the deniZenS of the
= tities would quickly face starvation.
u ruption to the flow of food supplies,
" It is necessary that the farmer be
Supplied with means by which to COM
. bat injury to or loss of his crops by
;. insects or pests Of any kind. and it
=. is to the end that the farmer may
have adequate protection that these
aiiet. unassuming employees Of the
Agriculture Department devote their
lives to the prevention Of crop de-
- stroyals. to producing new food prod
ucts and to the discovery of methods
which will cause a greater yield per
/ .rc anu ell articles to have a higher
-. esrcerlages OF usefulness.
Before describing some Of the ac-
-Tthe Department of Agriculture. it will
% be well to sight few instances
where the department has. through
Its experts. spent a little money that
mas resulted In yields amounting to
'.ture of $4,000 in establishing Durum
- wheat has resulted in a crop worth
- $50. 100000 a year. The introduction
snasd establishing of the rice industry
u yearly yield is s2l.000.O00. $4,000
.s%as expended jim introducing Egyp-
-t,ttian cotton into this country. this
ei;aInount also includes the breeding up
.. nustry in the arid regions of the
Ssouthwest. The crop yield per year
is s2o.ooo.ooo. The serum that pre-
ooansrv Ssnss has asou ahssra sss s;ysd the
the southwest corn had never been
grown successfully. A few thousand
~ dollars were expended in introducing
ai s1erage' vera Yield Of Kaar d and other her
sorghum ,is about 125,ooo.ooo
u bushels. Several years ago an Amer.
jean missionary sent seven navel
80 orange trees to the department from
Brasil. The department.. through it's
,,experts. introduced these trees as q
nm result. California markets from ten
:. sto fifteen million boxes yearly, Two
r-nk, the original trees are still In the
= possession Of the Agricultural De-
a S1Ftment.
-S. Smyrna flgs from Turkey were. in.
:, troduced. after great dificulty, and
this country now produces almost
snou6h high-grade hgs to supply the
local markets From Egypt the de-
..nexperimentet with 1t and then i'm
proved 1t. and today the finest dates