Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-18


civilization, there is in session now an
International Congress of Soil Science.
It's meetings are being held in the
auditorium Of the National Chamber
of Commerce, and delegates are there
from all countries of Europe and from
japan. From Russia alone come 30
delegates, bringing with them large
cases containing typical samples OF
the soil of that country.
The first international gathering of
soil scientists was held at Budapest,
Hungary, in 1909, under the patron
age of the royal minister of agricul-
ture. This was followed by a second
conference held at Stockholm, Sweden,
a year later. AT the Stockholm meet
ing it was decided to hold the next
conference at st. Petersburg, Russia,
in 1918, but circumstances made it i'm
possible to carry this decision into
effect. After an interval of some years,
scientific relations were resumed by
the calling together of third con-
ference, which met at Prague, CZecho-
slovakia, in 1929. Two years later a
fourth conference was held at Rome,
under the patronage of the King of
Italy and under the auspices of the
International Institute of Agriculture.
At this meeting the scope of the or
ganization was materially enlarged
and it was decided to hold a world
wide conference at Washington, d. c.,
in 1927, to be known as the First In
ternational Congress of Soil Science.
Soon after the Rome conference, prep
arations were undertaken to organize
the congress under the auspices of the
American Society of Agronomy, work
ing through an American organizing
committee. The cooperation of the
United States Government was Sc
cured through the United States De-
partment of Agriculture and, through
an act Of Congress, the President of
the United States of America was
authorized to extend invitations to the
nations of the world to send official
delegates.
X X X X
OF what Importance to people in
the cities is such a congress? If
all agricultural progress were para
lyzed, and all profits of farming were
destroyed--as this year occurs in large
areas of our Mississippi flood region
the calamity would fall first upon the
farmers, but ultimately, and with many
times the frightfulness, upon the
starving cities. All farmers might
be able to rush into other industries
at some measure of wages, but the
shutting off of food production would
AFFECT not so much the farmers, as
producers, as it would the ultimate
consumers" So the cities are at least
as vitality interested in soil fertility as
are the plowmen and the harvesters.
Upon soil constituents depend the rise
and fall of nations and of races.
Statisticians like Nautilus have
frightened statesmen by figuring out
the rate of increase of the world
population and computing how long
it will take before the productivity of
the fertile soil of all the world will
be found inadequate to feed the PEG.
pie. But all such calculations are
vain In the absence of consideration
of the scientific fact that fertility
which is stored in the earth all came
from the air, and though it's accumu-
lation in the surface soil, deposited
through the ages, may be squandered
in a few decades by wasteful and
ignorant farming, yet the air holds
an inexhaustible supply, waiting only
for wiser men to capture it. At yes.
terday'S session it was declared that
the world could feed 5000, 900 ,0O0-
four or five times it's present popula-
ton.
" X X X
President Jacob G. Lipman, in his
opening address, said that the history
of the ancients had shown how they
had depleted all soils in humid regions,
without knowing how to refertilize
them, but he quoted well recognized
scientist.
eve are indebted to Hilgard," said
Mr.. Lipman, "for pointing out that
as human societies came and went,
as civilizations followed one another,
humid regions were found to be less
satisfactory than arid regions for as
surfing stability and permanence to
organized society. In humid coun-
tries, as is we'll known. cultivation can
only in exceptional cases be continued
profitably for many years without
fertilization. But fertilization re-
quires a somewhat protracted develop
ment Of agriculture to be nationally
and successfully applied in humid
regions, and the German tribes. like
the North American Indians, seem to
have shifted their culture grounds
frequently in their migrations.
NC such need was felt by the in
habitants of the arid regions for CEN
turtles, for the native fertility of their
soils, coupled with the fertiliZing eff
feet of irrigation water bringing plant
food from afar, relieved them of the
need OF continuous fertilization, while
in the humid regions the fertility of
the land Is currently carried into the
sea by the drainage waters. through
the streams and rivers, causing a
chronic depletion which has to he
made up for by artificial and costly
means. The arid regions were, there
fore, specially conducive to the estab-
lishment of the highly complex poll
ties and high culture, of which the
vestiges are now being unearthed in
what we are in the habit of calling
deserts"
That. then, Is the explanation of the