Norwich bulletin., 1922-03-24

NatLon for the Whole six years. The first l year for example, onlv an acre wac worked. q suppose that was all that l could be cleared Of brush and stones in ] that tine) Professor Esten has figured | 1t out that ths work done for the six years has been equivalent to the work ing Of eleven acres for one year. Now, as a matter Of cold, practical, dow2-to- 1 the-dirt faFI1lfn, do you object to a syS- ] tenn which, by the use Of $1S2.63 Wortl; of lime and pllosphatss on eleven acres l returns you a crop worth $1,7sS.tS from those eleven acres2 If you cd, is that l isn't enough tor you, then please go out and join the other pigs n the pen You l expect too much. You want not only the moon, but the moon with a gold ring 1 about t. How much Is farming land werths I Worth as an investment. I mean? Most 1 people think ten per cent. $ a pretty good return for invested funds. In farm l language that would mean that an acre 1 Is worth, as an investment, ten dollars ] for every ne+ dollar of c-op-106 for ev- l cry net S10 of crOp-s1 00O for every net l s100 of crop. If that is true" writes ! Prof. Esten, T know that the land Of 1 lndepeRdent Fertility Field was not worth more than $30 an acre six years ago. Now t is worth S1,0oO an acre" l In this estimate. the professor leaves 3 mighty generous margin for the labor ana overhead expenses, too. E or. taking 1 all the crops, good and poor, for the whole six years, they have averaged s crop return Of Sf63 per acre. That gives $63 an acre for labor and overhead and sttIl returns ten per cent. on S1.000 in vested.
 Right here please make minute of another fact, really the most significant and impressive in the whole bunch. The acA r4I o m this test field for six years has been, as have stated, S163 per acre. But last year. the sixth iu consecutive succession for the Line-Phosp.2ate-B acter-a treat ment, the average value of the crops grown was STA per acre. That is gain for the sixth year Of $1f an acre | over the average of the whole six years. I This. too. despite the fact that prices had shrunk last year. to an unheard of level as compared with those of previous years. Cabbage, for instance. had to be Ii sold at three-ouarters Of 8 cent 9 pound. And other things at like ridiculous prices. Yet. despite these outraseousiy low figures, the fed grew and delivered s11 worth mora of stuff to the acre than It had averaged in the past.
 This means, AS even a sehsoi-bOy can see, that the land which has had nothing whatever added to 1t for six years except , lime, phosphate. and bacterial work has been steadily improving all the t.ne It as been cropped closely for six years si t has been feltiIiZed only to an extent which the average farmer would call nisgardly; it has literally been worked to the utmost limit-to a limit Which o would have run out" any ordinary soil T under any ordinary treatment. And yet after six years Of this actually raDacfous cropping, t is in better shape, is more r5 '. more in every sense ot the term than i; ever was before. It isn't running out"
 Instead 1t is getting richer and riche. tt every year. It's worth more each sue r oeeding year tran 1t was the year he ,f ore; worth more 10 farm and wortl IS more 10 sell.
 "a I'm gOiug over these fa~ts and fgnre i- just at this time. because this is the tim T when farmers are busy planning thei h E'lring campaign. The most of us aren' s- very ho7eful in our planning. either
 We've been priclsed and punched am ', 6ulued and beaten and "denated" en l GemonetiZed till ve aren't sure Whethe the old farm is a cropmaker or just ar ginl-hole. We aren't at all sure wheth e. CT a dollars worth of work and worr O. and manure is going to bring in dol l. lar and quarters worth of crops. thi le coming season. or about fifty cent! r. worth. as it did last season.
 Ee It's exactly the right time for us f ot o dig into this new agriculture and see ~ it doesn't suggest g ray or two Of some 'e thing like hope
 It's exactly the right time for us { al take a cursory survey Of the old rU oe we've been in for lo these many year v3 and consider whether the going migr d. not be better in a new and fresh track J+I. 4 Of the lines for a little experimenting, any u- way.
 on Above all things don't be scared is' big words. and think they're all we re enough for college professors and taIb y attye fellows like me. but unsafe fo
 handling by common farmers. I don e. happen to know just how big bacterl K are, but I have pretty firmly ingraine ,n suspicion that you could put about 'stee st thousand of lem on the head of p!g s without crowding. They're certaini
 small enough. If you don't like the bt
 name given them, I have permission t . tell you that you can call 'enl "soil
 buss'-though they may not agree wit
 the scientific definition Of bugs. Ina
 needn't count with us. \ rose by an
 other name would smell as sweet.
 Whether you call 'em bacteria or bugs
 they'll come 10 heel just the same, if yo
 ask 'eIu right and treat 'em white
 There's no more call to be scared off tn
 new agriculture because 1t makes 8
 alliance with bacteria, than there is |
 refuse to SOW timothv seed because tn l high -brows call 1t "PhleuR1 Pratense. The horses will eat it just the same whether you call it timothy or Phleur Prstense or fIefds-grass or-as they q
 in England-cat' 's-tail grass
 If you can't Eet your tongue arsun such a word as bacteria. why call 'er
 bugs for short and let it go at thai Theyl turn q s30-an-acre pasture int S $1 000-an-acre garden for Tou. If yoI
 give them the chance no matter Wha
 you call them.
 Remember alse, that there's nothin
 new tangled" about them. They've bee
 working all over the earth ever since tn
 earth was made. They've been for thous
 ands of years making ths fertility "
 wastetuI men have been squeezing out O
 1t during the last hundred. The onA
 thing new about them Is. the Idea that
 is wiser to accept their aid than to ig
 nore them: to adopt them as senerou
 allies and wageless fellow workers, an
 let them do for our gain what they'v
 hitherto been doing for nooody in par
 ticular but just because they couldn'
 help t.
 It may not bc courteous to look a git
 horse in the mouth. but it's durned poo
 judgment to refuse 2 present like Ma
 Q Wan when .ts offered!
 THE FARAER.
 
 Bridseport.--Fannie Bayns. wcnaal