230 _ ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



grower and even the ranchman of our plains, from the very fact 

 that the general farmer of the East today must feed his soil from 

 his barn. The farmer of Pennsylvania can not compete with his 

 fellow-farmer of the Dalcotas in raising wheat. All the other lines 

 of agriculture can afford to pay for the high priced nitrate of soda. 

 The vegetable gardener, with his asparagus can afford to use all 

 the nitrate of soda that his crop can possibly use, so can the rose 

 grower, while the ranchman does not need it at all, neither does 

 the prairie wheat grower, but the general farmer with the prices 

 that his crops bring in the market cannot afford to grow the nine, 

 ten months and year crop with the high priced fertilizers. The 

 man with the barn on his farm is most peculiarly situated from 

 ■every other tiller of the soil, in so far as keeping up the fertility 

 of the acre is concerned. The farmer of the present day can with 

 his barn as a factory restore the farm to a state of richness that 

 surpasses the virgin soil. I feel that agriculture has been taken 

 up by the scientists in this century, and that science is doing for 

 the farmer what it did for the manufacturer in the last century. 

 The scientist has told the farmer what a balance ration is both 

 for the animal and the acre a thing which no body in the world 

 knew 50 years ago. The scientist has told the farmer the four 

 plant foods he must furnish: nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash and 

 lime, as well as the indispensible humus. The whole range of 

 animal industry, plant and soil is receiving the attention of our 

 agricultural colleges and experiment stations in behalf of the far- 

 mer. The inventor too of agricultural implements has kept pace 

 with mechanical devices of every description for cultivating and 

 harvesting crops. Yet in spite of all that has been done, the acre 

 is producing less and the soil becoming more exhausted of its 

 plant food. Being deeply impressed with the two lecturers who 

 have preceded me on the subject of the soil, I feel like adding my 

 experience to the situation and give my own practice in handling 

 the acre, and in this way express my sincere debt of gratitude that 

 I owe to the agricultural colleges and experiment stations both of 

 Europe and America. 



The general crop grower for the purpose of making farming pay, 

 must get it out of the acre. I have been convinced long ago that 

 the farmer must cheapen production and the only possible way 

 for him to do it is to make the acre produce more. The question 

 is often asked, does farming pay? and the only basic reply is, 

 that depends on the acre. The western wheat grower gets his pros- 

 perity out of the acre and so must the eastern farmer. But the 

 grain grower of the West has a very different acre of fertility from 

 the wornout acre of the East. The farmer's lot of this State is 

 quite a different proposition with a barn on his farm and that of 

 his western competitor with a header and a steam thresher in his 

 field, burning the straw for fuel to thresh his crop, bag the 

 grain then and there; haul it to the elevator and pocket the money. 

 The only reason the western farmc;- can do it is, because of his 

 acre; the western acre drives the eastern acre out of the market. 

 The eastern acre with its 5, 7, even 10 or more farm buildings and 

 expensive fence, cannot expect to compete where taxes are high, 

 fertilizers must be purchased and sell the raw crop of his acre 

 like the grain grower of the West. 



