The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1922-12-01
EXPERTTALKS
ON PRODUCTION
AND FERTILITY

AND FERTILITY
Yakima, Nov. 2s.-"We may look
ahead to the land passing into the
hands Of capitalists, and its opera
tion by tenants" said Prof OIL. Wal
ler of the State College in addressing
the Washington Irrigation Institute
here on the question of development
of the raw lands. His conclusion was
drawn from survey of the rapid in
crease in the price of farm lands
throughout the United States.
"The average value of farm lands,
including improvements, between
1850 and 1920 increased at rate
equivalent to compound interest on
the original valuation of 1850, but
from 1900 to 1920 the rate was
6.45fe. Considering the large area
of poor lands included in the farms.
it would seem from the 1920 price
that the better farms must be selling
from 5000 to $500 an acre. 1t will
readily be seen that even at $3.50 an
acre the cost of a farm involves an
amount of capital very few young
men would have, unless they inherit
ed it. We may therefore look ahead
to the land passing into the hands of
capitalists, and it's operation by ten
ants"
He quoted o. f. Baker, agricultur-
al economist of the Bureau of Eco
nomics, as saying: Improved land
increased less than 5Ts an acre from
1910 to 1920 as compared with 1870
to 500 previous decades; and this
5fe increase was practically confined
to the precariously productive semi
arid lands Of the Great Plains region.
The land in the United States suit
able for agricultural uses without ir-
rigation, drainage, or heavy fertiliza-
ton is nearly all occupied. Conse-
quently one of the great questions be-
fore the American people is, how to
maintain the supply of foods and fib-
ers for the increasing population at
that high level to which we are ac-
customed"
occasionally we hear the state
ment made that we already have
enough lands under cultivation and
in CROP" said Prof. Waller, "that the
United States has a surplus of food;
that during the war we fed our allies
and could do it again; that it is a
mistake to advocate the development
of any more lands either by irriga-
tion, drainage, or clearing cut-over
lands.
Just now we are exporting foods,
but that cannot last long. Our popu-
lation is rapidly increasing, and in a
few years our own people will require
all the produce the farms can raise.
Since establishment of Federal ex-
pertinent stations acre yields have
been constantly increasing, and will
probably continue to for some time.
Because Of scientific research the pro-
ductivity of the American farm has
increased about 1870 in the last dec
ade. The time will come, however,
when further increase in acre yield
will cost much money for fertilizers
and intensive cultivation; and when
such costs have grown beyond the
cost of bringing new lands under cul-
tivation, then the public will demand
the reclamation of our deserts by ir-
rigation, the drainage of wet lands,
and the clearing of that class of
stump lands that is suitable for crop
production.
"The arid lands are the richest, and
probably will be the first developed.
We have only irrigated about 10 mil
lion acres of arid lands, and they are
giving us an annual yield of double
the acre production of other lands of
the United States. They will. there
fore, pay interest at very much
higher cost of development than will
the swamp and cut-over lands. If
the total area that can be irrigated
were added to the improved area, the
addition would be less than 4Te. The
Columbia Basin would add less than
.04 of 1fe.
$50 far these lands have remained
unproductive because of the cost of
| subduing them. The amount of i'm
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