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Show ' ' , .Released by Western Newspaper Union.) T. Jefferson, Farmer j AS OFFICIAL Washington hums , with Uncle Sam's defense preparations, prep-arations, a group of stone masons are quietly putting the finishing touches on a stately, marble-domed shrine rising to completion as a memorial me-morial to Thomas Jefferson. The temple will immortalize Jefferson's contributions to his country. Every citizen is familiar with Jefferson's Jef-ferson's greatest achievement the Declaration of Independence. Many recall his authorship of the Bill of Rights, his unyielding devotion to religious freedom, education and democracy. de-mocracy. Few Americans, perhaps, I are aware of another of Jefferson's achievements his contributions to the development of modern, scientific scien-tific farming. I As a practical farmer Jefferson I was constantly on the alert for new ideas. He made his Monticello estate into a progressive experimental farm where new machinery, new methods, improved stock breeding, new crops and tests in restoring soil fertility were tried out. Over a period pe-riod of years he grew as many as 32 different vegetables at Monticello. The Sage of Monticello had many problems to contend with. The land he acquired was worn out by generations genera-tions of bad agricultural methods in a single crop type of farm economy in which tobacco had been king. No attempts at diversification or fertilization ferti-lization had been made. Unlike the T:' i E .T-t -..,J THOMAS JEFFERSON (A bust portrait by Houdon. French sculptor.) farmer of today, who can get advice ad-vice from his county agents, agricultural agricul-tural college agronomist or experiment experi-ment station on whether his soil is deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus and potash, and then obtain the correct analysis of commercial fertilizer, Jefferson had to depend on talks with his neighbors and his reading of farm papers and books published in England. When he learned something new about agriculture he recorded it in a"Farm book" he kept in his own handwriting. One account tells how to lay out experimental plots to test the effects of fertilizers. In these tests his plant foods were manure and gypsum. Unfortunately for him fertilizers, as we know them today, were not in existence. Writing to George Washington concerning con-cerning the run-down condition of his land after overseers had farmed it during his absence on public business, busi-ness, Jefferson described the use of legumes as a soil conditioner. He discovered that clover, vetch and peas had a soil-enriching power, but did not understand that this lay in their ability to impart nitrogen to the land. ' Crop rotation was another measure meas-ure he championed. "My rotation is tri-ennial," he wrote to a friend, "that is to say, one year of wheat and two of clover in . the stronger fields, or two of peas in the weaker, with a crop of Indian corn or potatoes po-tatoes between every other rotation rota-tion i.e., one in seven years. Under this course of culture, aided with manure, I hope my fields will recover re-cover their fertility." In addition to his pioneer efforts to put back into the soil fertilizing ! elements removed by constant cropping, crop-ping, Jefferson waged a winning battle bat-tle against soil erosion. With his son-in-law, T. M. Randolph, he practiced prac-ticed horizontal plowing and bedding on hillsides that is reminiscent of present day contour plowing. "Jefferson's enlightened efforts at soil conservation and the bettering of farming methods entitle him to foremost rank among great American Ameri-can agriculturists," says an official of the Middle West Soil Improvement Improve-ment committee. "He had an instinctive in-stinctive feeling that man should be a careful custodian of the soil entrusted en-trusted to his care. His work in soil improvement, however, primitive primi-tive as it was, helped pave the way for modern soil science." Jefferson's farm improvement program pro-gram included experiments in live-j live-j stock breeding in co-operation with President Madison. His scientific 'knowledge was likewise applied to I Lhe problem of improving farm ma-i ma-i :hinery. Half a century before the : iteel plow was invented he designed in all-metal plow with a mould joard that turned the soil efTective-y. efTective-y. Shaped according to mathemati-al mathemati-al computations, the mould board net the least possible resistance torn the earth. Jefferson also de-iscd de-iscd a seed drill, a hemp brake, ind a primitive threshing machine. |