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Show THE RICH COUNTY REAPER. RANDOLPH. UTAH To Get Bigger, Better Crops, Farmers Should Toss Their Plows on Junkpile, Says Expert By ELMO SCOTT WATSON Released by Western Newspaper Union. THOMAS GRAY, the famous poet, has made imthe mortal plowman who homeward plods his weary way and for two centuries the plowman and his plow have been the theme of song arid story, building up the id&a that they are the benefactors of mankind. In fact, Venerate the plow was the motto engraved upon the medals offered by the Agricultural Society of Philadelphia early in the Nineteenth century to stimulate agricultural experimentation, and more than a dozen of our states have the plow as one of'the symbols in their great seals. In the face of this tradition it may come as a .shock to most Americans to be told that instead of venerating the plow, we should look upon it as an enemy of agriculture and the tool that is responsible fpr all of the erosion, the sour soils, the mounting floods, the lowering water table, the vanishing wild life, the compact and impervious soil surface which have bedevilled the American farmer in recent years. Yet that is exactly what an agricultural expert tells us in a new book. He is Edward H. Faulkner and his revolutionary idea is developed in the book Plowmans Folly published recently by the University of Oklahoma Press. And lest it be thought that he is only a theorist, a visionary and a book farmer, let it be added immediately that he is the son of a successful farmer, that he was trained in agriculture at Williamsburg Baptist institute (now Cumberland college) and at the University of Kentucky, that he has been a county agent in Kentucky and Ohio, a teacher of agriculture and a .soil and crop investigator in private employment. Moreover, he has carried on his experiments in garden plot and on a farm scale on land which he owns in Ohio and by his crop yield? has translated theory into solid fact. At the beginning of Plowmans Folly, Mr. Faulkner says that his d book sets out to show that the plow which is in use on farms throughout the civilized world, is the least satisfactory implement for the preparation of land for the production of crops. This sounds like a paradox, perhaps, in view of the fact that for nearly a century there has been a science of agriculture, and that agricultural scientists almost to a man have used and approved the use of the moldboard plow. Nevertheless, the statement made above is true and capable of proof. Much of the proof, as a matter of fact, manner from has come in scientists themselves. The truth is that no one has ever advanced a scientific reason for plowing. He then proceeds to examine all the reasons that are given for plowing and points out their inconsistenAssumcies and even absurdities. ing plowed land to be better for plant growth, we should find grass growing more freely on plowed land than on similar unplowed land near Weeds, too, by, he points out. should show preference for plowed land. Volunteer growth should take over and develop more rankly after land had been plowed than before. Is this so? Observation is that, until plowed land has subsided again to its former state of firmness, plants develop in it quite tardily, if at all. When dry weather follows the plowing, it may be weeks or even months before either natural vegetation or a planted crop will make normal growth. The fact is that bare land, which notably erodes worse than soil in any other condition, consists almost wholly of land that has been disturbed recently by plow or cultivating implement. The only other bare land is that which has been denuded of top soil by erosion or other forces. There is significance in the fact that erosion and runoff are worse on bare land, and that bare land is defined above. The effect which plowing has upon this top soil is the principal reason why the author of Plowmans Folly considers this instrument an enemy, rather than a benefactor of agriculture. In fact, the principal thesis of the book is that it is wrong to plow natural fertilizers deep into the soil and that this natural fertilizer-crop residue and green manure should be incorporated into , crops the top soil (which, as everybody Smith-Hugh- es mold-boar- left-hand- ed This pretty girl seems to be heeding the ancient injunction, Venerate the plow, as she Gems of Thought i944 Production Goal examines what has 5 been preserved of one of the first three plows made by John Deere, the Yankee blacksmith who invented the first successful steel plow in Above This Years Farmers Must Plant 380 Million Acres Record acreages of soybeans', dry beans and peanuts harvested in 1943 will be topped in 1944 if national requirements for these crops are met, according to War Food administration reports. Special emphasis will be placed on these foods, as well as on cereals, dry peas, potatoes, cannihg crops, and flax and feed crops in planning new seedings. Farmers are expected to plant a total of 380 million acres, or 5 per cent more than in 1943, with largest increases on peanuts, dry peas and wheat. A national planting of 68 million acres has already been asked on wheat, 26 per cent more than in 1943. Peanuts and dry peas will probably be up as much as 30 per cent, and increases for dry beans and soybeans may be 14 to 18 per cent, 1837. 8 w . o Men are never so likely to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely. Macaulay. The game of life looks cheerful when one carries a treasure safe in his heart. Schiller. No longer forward nor behind But grateful, take the good I find, I look in hope or fear; The best of now and here: JOHN G. WHITTIER. Her children arise up and ball her blessed. Proverbs. I have heard you mentioned as a man whom everybody likes. I think life has little more to give. Samuel Johnson. "110 MORE DOSING1 FOR ME! Says happy . eater I ALL-BRA- If youve been dosing without getting the lasting relief you wanted, this letter may offer you real encouragement: "Permit me to compliment yon on your wonderful product, KELLOGGS It certainly lived up to ita I Jiromiaea. with me Id been taking ALL-BRA- laxatives &r a long time I But, po more dosing for me, thanks to KELLOGG'S Ive adopted it as my standby I Mr. Alexander Klein. 680 West 170th Street, N. Y. C. ALL-BRA- recognizes, is the really good soil) just as Mother Nature does it in a forest or a meadow. Disk Harrow Better. We have developed some useless theories in that field, declares Mr. Faulkner. Men have come to feel, for example, that centuries are necessary for the development of a productive soil. The satisfying truth is that man with a team or a tractor and a good disk harrow can mix into the soil, in a matter of hours, sufficient organic material to accomplish results equal to what is accomplished by nature in decades. In fact, it is the disk harrow, rather than the plow, which should be the farmers principal instrument in producing more and better crops. Here is why: The organic matter disked into the top of the soil not only decomposes and adds to the fertility of the soil, but acts as a sponge to hold moisture where it is needed. Faulkner believes there is a capillary movement of water upward from the subsoil. When the surface of the soil contains organic matter, this top layer qot only holds water, but is able to receive it from below. Conversely, when the soil has been plowed, the loose layer at the surface loses its capillarity while the layer of green manure plowed under actually insulates the upper surface of soil from the subsoil. This blotter is often the reason why a crop shows lack of moisture when there is moisture in the subsoil. The crop has used all the moisture in the loose layer of top soil but can get no more from below until the organic matter plowed under has become completely decomposed and packed. Although the author of Plowmans Folly believes that the disk harrow is the farm tool which should more and more replace the plow, he admits that it does have its limitations. It is difficult to handle on side hills and it wont work so' well on stony soil. Nor is it the complete answer to the question of how to get rid of weeds. He concedes that there is no such thing as completely weedless farming but he does believe that the system of farming which he advocates tends to get rid of weeds while the plow tends to encourage them. For every time land is plowed, seeds are buried for future sprouting. Then when it is plowed again some of the seeds are brought to the surface for growth, while more seeds are turned under to await their turn to sprout, and so on, ad infinitum. Under Faulkners plan of using the disk harrow rather than the plow, the weeds are mixed up into the top soil and their seeds are never very far below the surface. When such seed grows into a plant and the plant is cut, then there is no reservoir of seed far under the surface to take its place. Gradually a field may get rid of weeds entirely, if they are cut before they mature, although, of course, there will always be some weeds grown from seed that is blown or carried into the fields. Not a New Idea. But the problem of weed control is, after all, of lesser importance than the problem of preparing the soil so that it will be more productive. In advocating his plan, Faulkner does not claim that it is hew. No new technical discoveries are to be aired here, he says in his first The discussioh is conchapter. cerned wholly with reducing to practical terms, employable In any bodys backyard or on any fa'rm, the scientific information possessed for decades but hitherto not put to any extensive use. Moreover, he does not just advocate a theory but he cites his own experience to prove that his theory is practicable. For example, there was the way he demonstrated its validity with the tomatoes which he transplanted, even though he shocked some of his neighbors with what they considered his careless methods. First he harrowed down a crop of rye that had grown three feet tall, mixing rye and soil until hardly a trace of vegetation remained. Then he marked the land off in rows, using an instrument he designed himself to pack the worked soil of the rows firmly. This was done to patch the soil back together so natures capillary action carried on by the plant root system could keep on elevating moisture to the surface for his tomatoes. He cleaned all the dirt from the roots of his tomato plants and laid them along the rows on the surface. He covered the roots with rich soil and packed it down by foot. By late afternoon every plant set in the forenoon was pointing toward the sky and by the following morning every plant without exception was standing upright. No water was used in transplanting, and that was sufficient evidence that natures own watering system was at work. Prize Tomatoes. Not only did the tomatoes live, but his neighbors who had been dubious of his careless methods had to admit that his was the finest field of tomatoes in the neighborhood. There was further proof of the fact when he sold his tomatoes, for he received as much as 25 cents a peck above the top price in the Cleveland market. One reason for this was the exceptional weight of my packed pecks, Mr. Faulkner explains. Fifteen pounds is the standard weight of a peck of tomatoes. It was not unusual for a peck of my tomatoes to weigh 16 pounds and many weighed 17. Most local to- matoes that year Weighed from 10 to 14 pounds to the peck. What the author of Plowmans Folly did with tomatoes, he also did with sweet potatoes, cucumbers and beans. And lest it be thought that his methods apply only to garden truck, let it be recorded that they apply also to field grain. Several years ago he began nudging the United States department of agriculture to experiment with his theory of surface-incorporatio- n. N; 1 Yes, KELLOGGS really gets at one big cause of lack of sufficient constipation cellulosic elements in the diet because is one of Natures most effective sources of these elements! They work by helping the friendly colonic flora fluff up and lighten the colonie wastes for easy elimination. Not a harsh purgative ! Doesnt sweep is simply you outl a regulating: food! I ALL-BRA- N I ! , ALL-BRA- N ALL-BRA- gentle-actin- N g, If thi3 is your, trouble eat KELLOGGS reguDrink plenty of water. See A Connecticut farmer and his larly. if you dont find you can give up committeeman discuss production , dosing for good I Insist on gen-- j problems. These committeemen are vine made farmers themselves, elected by their Kelloggs in Battle Creek.only by neighbors in each county. Their job is to work with the Agricultural Adjustment agency and other governOur Use of Paper ment agencies in giving advice and Not only is America using vast assistance to the nations food producers. Committeemen can be help- quantities of paper in the war efful in obtaining priority ratings on fort, but its peacetime consumption far surpassed that machinery and building materials, of has always every other nation. For years in getting loans, or in hiring farmta aefore this war, the annual hands. use was 250 pounds in the or more, above the current harvest- United States, 120 pounds in Enged acreage, it is announced. Both land, 85 in Germany and 20 in types of potatoes, regular and sweet, Japan. will be stepped up with corn showing a small increase. Hemp and flax, it is pointed out, although not food crops are of first importance to the war. Hemp for Relieved in 5 minutes or double money beck rope and fiax for oilseed are in the When excess stomach add causes painful sufocst- - , In? gas, sour stomach and heart barn, doctors osaally front line of every battle. medicines known for the Feed crops will receive emphasis prescribe symptomatic relief medicines like those in comfort in Tablets No laxative. because of increased needs for more Jiffy or double yonr money back brings on return of bottle 25c all os. at druggists. livestock, and the importance of to maintaining production of eggs and ALL-BRA- N J ALL-BRA- 1 N, per-sapi- Acid Indigestion fastest-actin- g Bell-an- Bell-an- j s s m milk at the level 6f 1943, or raising DONT LET output on both commodities. Conbeef more and will veal siderably CONSTIPATION be sought in 1944, but pork producSLOW YOU UP tion is not expected to exceed 1943 S When bowele are sluggish and yod by more than a few per cent. The feel irritable, headachy, do ae millions development of the 1944 livestock chew the modern program will depend in large meas- jdo laxative. Simply chew ure on the feed yields from 1943 chewing-gubefore you go to bed, crops. Extension of pasture will be taking only in accordance with package urged to relieve this feed shortage. directions sleep without being die-All idle land should be planted to turbed. Next morning gentle, thorough feel swell again. Try some cover crop such as alfalfa, relief, helping youTastes good, is handy clover, or some cereal grain. Rye and economical. A generous family supply and some varieties of wheat serve well as coverage. This policy also returns needed minerals to the soil. Planted acreage should be expanded without plowing up land which should be kept in grass. Using idle crop land, out of production in recent years, and speeding up the cycle of crop rotation on farms FA"0, where it is feasible are the answer, DASH to Marvin WFA according Jones, administrator. He also pointed out that sound farming methods must 3843 be employed to insure high yields VNUW over a period of years, since food demands will continue to be heavy TJ for a long period to come. The War Food administration will continue its program of support ! Lilli prices to establish desirable price Your And Strength and fnak-ing relationships, it is announced, Energy la Below Par it easier to obtain adequate inIt may be caused by disorder of kidcreases in most needed crops and ney function that permits poisonous waste to accumulate. For truly many generally to balance total producpeople (eel tired, weak and miaerable FEEN-A-MIN- T, m FEEN-A-MIN- T FEEN-A-MIN- over-the-wint- er Finally one of the leading agronomists of the department set up a demonstration. Perhaps the intent was to disprove my theories, writes Mr. On the contrary, the Faulkner. outcome of the tests completely confirmed ' them . . . The results of this official experiment proved that, by working organic matter into the surface instead of plowing it in, the resulting grain yield could be as much as 50 per cent greater. The tion. very first year of this trial showed In determining crop emphasis, such a result. farmers even in the principal wheat And these are only a few of the il- states of the Great Plains have been luminating facts to be found in the asked to give priority to dry beans, 161 pages of Plowmans Folly. But potatoes, flax and grain sorghums in they all lend emphasis to its authors some areas. First call in the Pacontention that the sooner we make cific Northwest is also for dry peas, ancient history of many of our pres- dry bf ans, canning crops and potaent farm practices, the earlier we toes. Soybeans, com, dry beans, will realize that the Garden of Eden, potatoes, flax and canning crops will almost literally, lies finder our feet be emphasized in the Com Belt and almost anywhere on the earth We Lake states. Larger wheat acrethan this year will be needed care to step. We have hot begun to ages In thfi Southern and Eastern states tap the actual frrtentfalities of the to supply local food and feed needs. soil for producing crops. when the kldneya fail to remove excess acids and other waste matter from the blood. , You may suffer nagging backache, rheumatic pains, headaches, dizziness. pains, (welling. Setting up nights, leg frequent ana scanty urina- er tion with smarting and burning la sign that something is wrong with the kidneys or bladder. There should be no doubt that prompt treatment Is wiser than neglect. Lee Doan's Pills. It Is better to rely on a medicine that has won countrywide approval than on something las favorably known. Doans have been tried and tested many years. Are at all drug stone. Gat Doans today. |
