The Story of the Soil Part 28

"I know both of those sections very well," said Mr. West. "But doesn't it seem strange that the scientists at Washington would teach as they do? Why doesn't the plant food acc.u.mulate in the surface soil of those barrens? Surely they have been lying there long enough, with no crops whatever removed, so that they ought to have become very rich. I wish I had known about their phosphorus content so I could have told Professor Barstow. He was quite carried away with the Washington theory."

"You ought not for a moment call it the 'Washington' theory," said Percy; "and neither is it promulgated by scientists, but rather by two or three theorists who are upheld by our greatest living optimist. Science, Sir, is a word to be spoken of always with the greatest respect. Of course you know its meaning?"

"Yes, I know it comes from the Latin _scire, _to know."

"Then _science _means _knowledge; _it does not mean theory or hypothesis, but absolute and positive knowledge. Is there any uncertainty as to the instant when the next eclipse will appear? No, none whatever. Science means knowledge, and men are scientists only so far as they have absolute knowledge, and to that extent every farmer is a scientist.

"Nevertheless the erroneous teaching so widely promulgated by the federal Bureau of Soils is undoubtedly a most potent influence against the adoption of systems of positive soil improvement in the United States, because it is disseminated from the position of highest authority. Other peoples have ruined other lands, but in no other country has the powerful factor of government influence ever been used to encourage the farmers to ruin their lands."

CHAPTER x.x.xII

GUESSING AND Ga.s.sING

AS we were riding to Montplain yesterday," said Adelaide to Percy, soon after they started for Blue Mound, "Professor Barstow told me that in his opinion all that was needed to redeem these old lands of Virginia and the Carolinas is plenty of efficient labor, such as he thinks we had before the war. I know papa does not agree with him in that, but Professor said that soils do not wear out if well cultivated, that in New England they grow as large crops as ever, and that in Europe, on the oldest lands the crop yields are very much larger than in the United States; and in fact that the European countries are producing about twice as large crops as they did a hundred years ago. He thinks it is because they do their work more thoroughly than we do. He says that 'a little farm well tilled' is the key to the solution of our difficulties."

"That might seem to be a good guess as to the probable relation of cause and effect," replied Percy, "but we ought not to overlook some well known facts that have an important bearing. It is exactly a hundred years since DeSaussure of France, first gave to the world a clear and correct and almost complete statement concerning the requirements of plants for plant food and the natural sources of supply. Sir Humphrey Davy, Baron von Liebig, Lawes and Gilbert, and h.e.l.lriegel followed DeSaussure and completely filled the nineteenth century with acc.u.mulated scientific facts relating to soils and plant growth.

"Sir John Bennett Lawes, the founder of the Rothamsted Experiment Station, the oldest in the world, on his own private estate at Harpenden, England, began his investigations in the interest of practical agricultural science soon after coming into possession of Rothamsted in 1834. In 1843 he a.s.sociated with him in the work Doctor Joseph Henry Gilbert, and for fifty-seven years those two great men labored together gathering agricultural facts. Sir John died in 1900, and Sir Henry the following year.

"That the people of Europe have made some use of the science thus evolved is evident from the simple fact that they are taking out of the United States every year about a million tons of our best phosphate rock for which they pay us at the point of shipment about five millions dollars; whereas, if this same phosphate were applied to our own soils that already suffer for want of phosphorus, it would make possible the production of nearly a billion dollars'

worth of corn above what these soils can ever produce without the addition of phosphorus. And our phosphate is only a part of the phosphate imported into Europe. They also produce rock phosphate from European mines, and great quant.i.ties of slag phosphate from their phosphatic iron ores.

"They feed their own crops and large amounts of imported food stuffs, and utilize all fertilizing materials thus provided for the improvement of their own lands. Legume crops are grown in great abundance and are often plowed under to help the land.

"Do you wonder why the wheat yield in England is more than thirty bushels per acre while that of the United States is less than fourteen bushels? Because England produces only fifty million bushels of wheat, while she imports two hundred million bushels of wheat, one hundred million bushels of corn, nearly a billion pounds of oil cake, and other food stuffs, from which large quant.i.ties of manure are made; and, in addition to this, England imports and uses much phosphate and other commercial plant food materials.

"Germany imports great quant.i.ties of wheat, corn, oil cake, and phosphates, and thus enriches her cultivated soil, and Germany's princ.i.p.al export is two billion pounds of sugar, which contains no plant food of value, but only carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, secured from air and water by the sugar beet.

"Denmark produces four million bushels of wheat, imports five million bushels of wheat, fifteen million bushels of corn, fifteen million bushels of barley, eight hundred million pounds of oil cake, eight hundred million pounds of mill feed, and other food stuffs, phosphate, etc., and exports one hundred and seventy-five million pounds of b.u.t.ter, which contains no plant food of value, but sells for much more than these imports cost.

"Italy applies to her soils every year about a million tons of phosphates, which contain nearly twice as much phosphorus as is removed from the land in all the crops harvested and sold from the farms of Italy.

"The very good yields of the crops of New England are attributable to large use of fertilizing materials, in part made from food stuffs shipped in from the West; and the high development of certain lands of Europe and New England has been possible under the system followed only because the areas concerned are small. Thus, the average acreage of corn in Rhode Island and Connecticut is less than three townships, or less than one-tenth as much corn land in the two States as the area of single counties in the Illinois corn belt.

"Did you ever hear of the 'Egypt' we have out West, Miss West?"

"Out West, Miss West," she repeated. "That is too much repet.i.tion of the same word to make a good sentence. I like 'Miss Adelaide'

better; I do get tired of hearing West and Westover over and over.

Yes, I have heard of the 'Egypt' you have out West. Is it near Illinois?"

"Near Illinois? Why, Miss Adelaide, I am surprised that you should even know about the crop yields of Rhode Island and not know where 'Egypt' is. Let me inform you that 'Egypt' is in Illinois, and our 'Egypt' is a country as large as thirteen states the size of Rhode Island. Cairo is the Capital, and Alexandria, Thebes, and Joppa are all near by. Tamm and Buncombe, and Goreville and Omega are also among our promising cities of 'Egypt,' although you may not so easily a.s.sociate them with the ancient world."

"Well I know where Cairo is," Adelaide replied, "but if your 'Egypt'

is on the map you will have to show me. I know now that 'Egypt' is in Southern Illinois, but how do you separate 'Egypt' from the rest of the State?"

"We make no such separation," said Percy. "But to find 'Egypt' on the map, you need only take the State of Illinois and subtract therefrom all that part of the corn belt situated between the Mississippi River and the west line of Indiana. The southern point of 'Egypt' is at Cairo, the Capital, and it is bounded on the east, south, and west, by the Wabash, the Ohio, and the Mississippi; but the north line is not only imaginary, but it is movable. In fact it is always just a few miles farther south, but I think all 'Egyptians' will agree that a sand bar which is being formed below Cairo between the Ohio and the Mississippi is truly 'Egyptian '

territory. If you ever visit in the West do not fail to see 'Egypt.'

"I really hope I may, sometime," she replied. "We have relatives who claim to live in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri, but I think possibly they may all be 'Egyptians,' from what you have told me about the vast area of that great fairy empire. I know I would dearly love to go there."

"'Egypt' is the wheat belt and the fruit belt of Illinois," Percy continued. "One of the grand old men of Illinois, Colonel N. B.

Morrison, who was for years a trustee of the State University, used to be called upon for an address whenever he was present at Convocation. He always stated proudly that he lived in the 'Heart of Egypt.' He said the soil there was not so rich perhaps as in the corn belt, but that with plenty of hard work they were able to live and to produce the finest fruit and the greatest men in America. He said they had to work both the top and bottom of their soil, and he explained that they harvested wheat and apples from the top, and then went down about 600 feet and harvested ten thousand tons of coal to the acre, and still left enough to support the earth. I have heard him say that when he was born there was not a mile of railroad in the United States, and that he had during his own lifetime, witnessed the practical agricultural ruin of almost whole States. He used to plead for the University to send some of her scientific men to help them to solve the problem of restoring the fertility of their soils down in 'Egypt'; and I am glad to say that finally the State appropriated sufficient funds so that the Illinois Experiment Station is rapidly securing the exact information needed to make those Southern Illinois lands richer than they ever were.

"I spent several days in 'Egypt' last month and I am planning to make another trip down there next week before deciding definitely about purchasing our poor land farm. I am not sure but the land of 'Egypt' is as poor as we ought to try to build up considering our limited means."

"Oh, do you think so? But Papa's land is not so poor is it?"

"No, it is not so poor in mineral plant food on the sloping areas, but even there it is extremely poor in humus and nitrogen. However, I fear I could not enjoy farming in irregular patches of five or ten acres, and the level lands of Virginia and Maryland are so exceedingly poor, that much time and money and work will be required to put them on a paying basis. There would be no pleasure or satisfaction in merely robbing other farms to build up mine, as some of the prosperous truck farmers and dairymen are doing. I should want to practice a system of soil improvement of unlimited application so that it would not be a curse to the agricultural people, as is the case with the man who builds up his farm only at the expense of other farms.

"We have been speaking of the development of agriculture on the small tracts of cultivable land in the great manufacturing States of New England. But, if we would make a fair comparison with a State like Illinois, we should consider some great agricultural State, as Georgia, for example, which is also one of the original thirteen.

Georgia is a larger State than Illinois, and Georgia cultivates as many acres of corn and cotton as we cultivate in corn. But Georgia land cannot be covered with fertilizer made from Illinois corn, nor even with seaweed and fish-sc.r.a.p from the ocean. Her agriculture must be an independent agriculture, just as the agriculture of Russia, India, and China must be, just as the agriculture of Illinois must be, and as the agriculture of all the great agricultural States must be. What is the result to date? The average yield of corn in Georgia is down to 11 bushels per acre. This is not for half of one township, but the average of four million acres for the last ten years; and this in spite of the fact that Georgia out more for the common acidulated manufactured so-called complete commercial fertilizer than any other State."

"That is appalling," said Adelaide, "but still some larger countries are building up their lands, such as those of Europe."

"In large part by the same methods as the New England truckers and dairymen are following," he replied, "and in comparison with the area and resources of their colonies and of the other great new countries upon which they draw for food and fertilizer, they are fairly comparable with the New England States in this country. Even the Empire of Germany is only four-fifths as large as Texas. The only country of Europe at all comparable with the United States is Russia, and in that great country the average yield of wheat for the last twenty years is eight and one-fourth bushels per acre, even though, as a general practice, the land is allowed to lie fallow every third year. The average yield for the five famine years that have occurred during the twenty-year period was six and one-quarter bushels of wheat per acre."

"That is wretched," said Adelaide, "I know about the Russian famines for we have made contributions through our church for their relief, but that condition can surely never come to this great rich new country, can it?"

"It will come just as certainly as we allow our soil fertility to decrease and our population to increase. As a nation we have scarcely lifted a hand yet to stop the waste of fertility or to restore exhausted lands; practically every effort put forth by the Federal government along agricultural lines having been directed toward better seeds, control of injurious insects and fungous diseases, exploitation of new lands by drainage and irrigation, popularly called 'reclamation,' although applied only to rich virgin soils which can certainly be brought under cultivation at any future time either by the Government or by private enterprise. But why should not the Federal government make all necessary provisions to furnish ground limestone and phosphate rock at the actual cost of quarrying, grinding, and transporting, in order that farmers on these old depleted soils may be encouraged to adopt systems of soil improvement; or even compelled to adopt such systems, just as they are compelled to build school houses, bridges, and battleships?"

"Perhaps the Government would do this," said Adelaide, "if the Secretary of Agriculture would recommend it."

"I have heard of the '_big if,'" _Percy replied slowly, "but I am afraid this _if _will beat the record for bigness. His soil theorists continue to a.s.sure him that soils do not wear out, no matter how heavily cropped, if they are only rotated and cultivated; and to support their theories they have forsaken the data from the most carefully conducted and long continued scientific investigations, and indulged in a game of guessing that the increasing productiveness of a few small countries of Europe is not due to any necessary addition of plant food.

"But here is the depot, and I have taken almost an hour to drive three miles. If I had hurried, you might have been back home by this time. I am afraid I have been selfish in allowing the team to walk nearly all of the way, but they will at least be fresh for the home trip which you promised to make in less than twenty minutes, I remember. Now if you will hold the lines, I will run into the store to get the thread. I remember the kind; I often do such errands for mother."

"I will wait while you get your ticket and find out if the train is on time," said Adelaide, as Percy returned with the thread.

"At least fifty minutes late," he reported, "and the agent said he was glad of it for he would need about that time to make out such a long-jointed ticket as I want. I am rather glad too, for I can watch you to the turn in the road on the hill, which must be a mile or more, and I will time you. You can have six minutes to make that corner."

"You mean I can have six minutes to get out of sight," she suggested.

"I think you are out of sight," he ventured.

Adelaide reddened. "I shall have to tell mother what slang you use,"

she said.

"I hope you will," he retorted, "for I have watched her watch you and I am sure she will agree with me. But I do feel that I owe you a sincere apology for taking up the time we have had together with this long discussion of the things that are of such special interest to me. I have been alone with my mother so much and she is always so ready and so able, I may add, to discuss any sort of business matter that I fear I have been forgetful of your forbearance."