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Show RAISE BIGGER CROPS Question of Scientific Soil Culture attracts Inquiry. Increase In Nebraska Yields Can Be Traced to Application of Principles Prin-ciples and Persistent Discussion Dis-cussion of Subject. This is the day and age In the history his-tory of agriculture when the farmers of this country are seeking to know how to make practical application of those principles' which have been shown by the best proof to get results and to make investigations for themselves them-selves that will enable them to make the most out of their opportunities, says the American Homestead. One of the subjects that Is attracting attract-ing more than ordinary attention is the question of scientific soil culture. In the past crop rotation and drought resisting plants have been considered the main key to increased crops by the workers in most states until the past two or three years,- but the splendid splen-did results being secured by careful scientific soil culture Is causing a widespread Inquiry into this subject. In Nebraska, where this system has perhaps been more widely Introduced than In almost any state In the union, the results are really astounding in their nature. According to the last report of the department of agriculture, agricul-ture, Nebraska shows a gain In the average yield of wheat of 3.3 bushels, or an average of 19.1 bushels per acre for the last five years, from 1905 to 1909 Inclusive. The average for the five years preceding was 15.8 bushels per acre. In the face of this fact Kansas Kan-sas showed an average yield of 14.6 bushels from 1900 to 1904, and 13.4 bushels per acre for the last five years, 1905 to 1909, or a net loss in the average of 1.2 bushels per acre. This means that with an average acreage of over six million per year, and based on the average farm price of 80 cents, as shown by the government reports, the farmers of Kansas lost a large amount of money they might otherwise other-wise have had. Had Kansas made the same average, gain shown by Nebraska, Nebras-ka, her farmers would have received $112,000,000 more money during the five year period, from 1905 to 1909. Nebraska Ne-braska farmers, by Increasing the average av-erage yield 3.3 bushels per acre, added about $32,000,000 to the wealth of the state during the same period. From these figures it can be seen what it means to a state when it can, by a better system of farming, increase in-crease Its average yields even a very small per cent., and what the future holds in store when these averages can be more than doubled by scientific soil culture. The increase shown In Nebraska can no doubt be traced to the application, applica-tion, at least in part, of the principles of scientific soil culture and the persistent per-sistent discussion of this subject throughout this state, which cannot be said of other states. Prof. E. A. Burnett, dean of the Nebraska agricultural agricul-tural college, became intensely interested inter-ested in this subject ten years ago, and while he was director of institute work In this state, engaged lecturers to talk on scientific tillage at the farmers' farm-ers' Institutes, with the result that there has been a .fairly good application applica-tion of the principles on many farms. On the state experiment farm at Mnrth Platto scientific soil culture Is being tried out In a manner to challenge chal-lenge the attention of the world. A yield of 62 bushels of wheat to the acre in 1907 and of 67 bushels to the acre last year Is a fact not to be passed over lightly. It Is freely predicted pre-dicted that within the next five years Nebraska will show another increase In the average yield. |