The Question Box. 109 



Question. — "Would it be profitable to plow more deeply, and 

 thus turn up some of the undersoil? 



A Farmer. — I think that if the soil is deep enough it will do to 

 plow deep. If not, it will not be a good plan. 



Mr. Smith. — If one has always plowed at a shallow depth, and 

 wants to go down farther, he should do so gradually, one inch a 

 year. If he is radical and does as Horace Greeley did — goes down 

 a foot the first time and so turns up subsoil — he will spoil his 

 land for a while at least, because it will require additional humus 

 and more manure to fit to grow good crops. 



Question. — How do you account for it that in England, where 

 the land is centuries old, they grow 60 bushels of wheat to the 

 acre and other crops in proportion, while in America, where the 

 land is comparatively new, only 30 bushels of wheat to the acre, 

 and other crops in proportion are grown? 



Mr. Woodward. — If the man who asked that question had read 

 the agricultural history of England he would have learned that 

 30 years ago the yield of wheat there was only 14 bushels per acre, 

 just about what ours is. The Englishman found out the secret, 

 so began buying that which we let go to waste. He bought our 

 cotton seed meal, wheat bran and oil cake to feed his live-stock. 

 Result, the increase in the yield spoken of. Then, too, the English- 

 man is going to "South Africa in search of protein foods and buy- 

 ing them there. In fact, he is buying them of every fool country 

 that will sell them; then, when we look on and see the results, we 

 ask how it all happened. 



Mr. Smith. — Beside all Mr. Woodward has said, he might add 

 that the Englishman is a good cultivator. He never does anything 

 in a half or slovenly way, but gives the very best cultivation pos- 

 sible. 



Mr. Woodward. — He does all this, and although some of the 

 farmers are paying $30 rent per acre, they are making money 

 each year. 



Question.— Which do you consider the best authority, practi- 

 cal experience or theories from book farming? 



Mr. Smith. — Practical experience is an excellent thing. 

 Theories are of no benefit unless they are founded on facts. 

 Practical experience is of no benefit unless it is right. Any other 

 experience if followed up will lead one astray. The question is 

 evidently aimed at the bulletins and is a misconception of their 

 use. They simply record the results of carefully conducted ex- 

 periments, some of which proved beneficial, some of which did 



