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Show Pioneered the Way in Many x Practices Now in Use. CHICAGO. How George Washington Wash-ington won for himself the right to be called "America's first scientific farmer" is told in a bulletin issued here by the research division of the Middle West Soil Improvement committee. com-mittee. Listing modern farming practices in which the Father of his Country pioneered the way, in his 40-year farming career beginning in 1759, the bulletin says: "Washington practiced crop rotation rota-tion before anyone else in the colonies col-onies tried it. He was one of the first to carry on experiments with clover as a soil-building crop. He introduced timothy hay to the United Unit-ed States and was one of the first Americans to grow alfalfa. "Three-quarters of a century before be-fore soil chemistry was discovered he carried on experiments with ' fertilizers to restore exhausted. ; fields. These experiments paved the way for modern soil improvement improve-ment practices. Washington was America's first conservationist. His efforts to put back into the soil plant foods removed by growing crops are reminiscent of what intelligent farmers accomplish today. "Washington pioneered in the use of farm machinery. In 1797 he built a hand-operated threshing machine which threshed 25 bushels of grain a day. Earlier he invented a device for distributing seed evenly at planting plant-ing time. He made extensive experiments ex-periments in livestock breeding and improvement of, blood strains. He imported new varieties of wheat from Siberia and South Africa to improve the native species." Washington made farming pay, according to the bulletin. "His success with the soil made him the richest man in the United States," it concludes. "At his death his wiii disposed of more Utr-n 49,000 acres of farm land including his beloved be-loved Mount Vernon as well as far-flung far-flung domains in Ohio and elsewhere. else-where. His land estate was valued at $530,000, while he had additional buildings, livestock and other investments in-vestments worth $220,000. His slaves were not included for he freed them all in his will." |