The Mena weekly star., 1921-09-22
C()VEERECROPS WILL
 HELP ARKANSAS
xr..lth of State Would Be Doubled m .ess Than Five Years if the skest f,nre, Was Abolished-Like
 an Idle Factory.
Rv c. W. BROYLES. M Apricultural Agent.

.4...Ftv Aericultural Agent
 fl 4rkansas farmers were as busy ,..<;,,c turnout the seasons as are ,.,ezi 6{ bur farmers the weaitn ol Ihs stste would undouotediy pc aoupieu ;r lasS than five years time but tne farf K fhat too many ot our Arkan- ses firms are spending too much {;5,e eath year taking the rest cure ,,eaftatnt. On numbers of farms eaeh .'s'., {<hole fields are allowed to stand ;aie avpsting" some farmers call It, .,,,T dnring the fall and winter the %.ide ~altivated the proceeding spring s,,S 1,.nnrner lie bare and neglected. 7iS<Uxxer. since Pope in his famous ;s5laeax on Man" reminds us If valn .,,,. fo;l. we ought to blame the cul- +,.-. n4f the soil" we will not at <e,s,.. @ "a discuss the further respon- e;b;};fx for such unbusinesslike prac-
 fom oared With Factory System.
 when d manufacturer establishes {nciorx in city, and because. ot la bor troubles, economic condluons,, or ofher fauses he is forced to run that farforV on half time, he naturally be- comes Harmed about the state or ms f5S;ness. Why shouldn't he? He has bjs capital invested, and half the t;rne if is bringing him.no returns. He ca1, not hope to hold his laborers on ha]f time employment, and during this ti1ne he is idle himself. In the mean while his taxes and interest are talk il1e no Holidays. His buildings, mach ir.efv and equipment are depreciating in value Therefore he endeavors with all his resourcefulness and sa- racitv to place that factory upon full time production basis.
 How many of our Southern fields lie if1le each year taking the "rest cure" !" and how many of our Southern farms Are bare of all cover crops during the winter time? Nature proscribes no rest cures for her soil. When a field remains implanted for one year she has A wonderful way of seeding it to weeds and producing as large a crop as the remaining fertility will support ix order that she may protect the soil and add to that store of fertility. Neither does the farmer take a "rest cure" when he cultivated this field the following summer and proceeds to 1Ixht the millions of weeds coming from the seed of Mother Nature sow ing because of her neglect the year before.
 Land of South Bare in Winter.
 A Northerner visiting the South for fhe first time during the winter once remarked, Where is the green and 66nny South 1 have always heard of o much ? Why this is the most barren country I have ever seen.' Coming from section where the bluegrass 6ke4ed green all winter, where the and glover, which at that time were tracing the landscape with their 6xeenness, and finding our Bermuda xr6ss dead and our fields barren of winter cover crops, is it any wonder <h1f his surprise should be thus ex- pxe8sed? We assist nature in the production of feed and food crops be- t&use we find she rewards our efforts I16n why should the production of winter cover crops which protect the sojl from teaching and washing and 1f the same time increase its fertility by adding humus and nitrogen.
 But the argument is frequently ad- v6i1ctd that the farmer does not pos ar1s the money with which to buy fol tAis purpose. What would you think of the manufacturer who shuts dowr bis factory six months in the year be- c1u66 he claims he cannot afford to t1y oil for lubricating the machin GkX The farm is factory produc. III finished products and raw mater. nh, The farmer can spend his time 1u increasing the capacity of the fac toxx> and in manufacturing it's high. c4t 4egree of efficiency and produc- HUI or he can close it down and frit
 e< sway his time picking up the scraI 1zQu and carting away the refuse. But he ant continue to fool folks by HQtlzg the whistle each morning anC Mok< them believe the factory is run. nlnE full time under full steam Neither will it fill his pocketbook ol sNpply his home no matter how long and how hard he may labor.
 Now Is the Time to Plant.
 Winter cover crops should be plant ed now. How many farmers in Poll e9<MtF, we wonder, will next year b, KxQWfng better crops with less labol 41 5oil kept free of weeds this seasol o1 cover crops, and how many will b. r;s5r5!z1g for their neglect in the swea o1 t1eir brow thru long hours of ardu ous <oil, by fighting more weeds xtflnlrg poorer soil and receiving smaller returns?
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