The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1921-12-08
Benz Points Way Out.


+. Benz is a successful farm
er. He has made $250,000 farm
ing in the Yakima vallev in the
past II years. His principal
crop is potatoes, and he has gain.
ed the title of the Potato King
of the Northwest " Now he il
like the King of road drag fame,
going about telling other folks
how the thing was and is being
done. This week he visited prai-
RE points, including Nezperce.
On Tuesday night he addressed
a small gathering at the school
auditorium. a few farmers and a
few townsfolk. 1t would have
been much better if every citizen
of the county could have heard
him, but his efforts were not by
any means wasted here. Those
who were out listened carefully
and he is agreeable to listen to.
lie is scientific farmer. II
knows what he is doino and ne
also knows how to tell about it so
that there iseed be no misunder-
standing. A man cannot make c
quarter Of a million dollars at
farming in the brief period of
eleven years unless he works dill
| gently and intelligently. He
said:
Farming is the greatest and
best business of all and it brings
the richest returns, all things
considered. A farmer should b,
on the job "a hours a day and 365
days in the year; not at manual
labor all the time, but on the job,
in touch with his work Crop ro-
tation is essential to any farmer s
success. The fellow who carries
his eggs all in one basket goes
broke. The farmer should not
leave things to chance, but study
the natural way of doing things,
and know what he is doing. He
pays bookkeeper $3.50 per
month and considers him. the
most profitable of the 40 men he
employs in farming his 800 acres.
He went into the details OF po-
tato culture, from the prepara-
tion Of the soil and the. seed to
the marketing of the crop, and
we hope later to give his story as
he told it.
A number of his audience ask
ed questions anent potato raising,
particularly relative to the depth
Of planting. He said he plowed
deep and planted about two to
three inches to get the best re-
suits. He pointed out that the
rule was to plow shallow and
plant too deep, giving the seed
hard ground to expand its roots
in and causing the loss of much
Of its energy in pushing its way
to the surface, leaving a weak
ened plant. In the selection Of
seed, he suggested that the larger
potatoes were the oldest of the
hill, the next largest were the
middle aged and the next were
the younger and would propagate
more strongly. He likened the
spud to human or animal life inl
this particular. 1t was his opin-
ion that potato culture, especial
ly for seed, could be carried onl
very successfully on this prairie,
and suggested it as one of the ro-
tation crops.
He was surprised that so rich
a farmino county as Lewis was
without county agent, and hop
ed that the condition would not
be long allowed to exist, Why, |
he said this is the one county Of |
ficial employed to make money
for the farmer, to make him an
instead Of an outgo, and
he was at loss to understand
why any farming section would
be deprived of his services. You
know, he said, that you pay prac-
tically two thirds of the expense
Of having him whether you are
with or without an agent. You
pay taxes to the state and the ma
tional government. and approxi-
mately two thirds of the cost Of
a county agent is borne by the
state and government through
the agricultural department.
Mr.. Benz is engaged by the
Pacific Railway Co. ti
carry on this work, and he made
The trip over the prairie by means
Of "speeder" in company with
District Agent w. j. Jordan.
In SO intercollegiate debates
with II institutions in the last %