Report of Missouri Farmers'' Week. 79 



Another man who had followed the same directions said to 

 me, "I did not weigh it, but on three acres I got seven 'whaling' 

 big loads." The second cuttings for each of those men was per- 

 haps less than half a ton per acre, because there was no rain 

 between the first and the second cuttings; the next cutting ran 

 about three-quarters of a ton; the fourth crop I do not have a 

 record of. 



One of these men was in a neighborhood where there are a 

 number of people that do not believe in Sam Jordan, but they 

 came over there to see how he grew alfalfa, and some of them 

 actually asked him to go and pick out their land and tell them 

 what to do so they can grow alfalfa. And he can do it. It 

 matters not whether they believe in me or disbelieve; that does 

 not make any difference, but they are getting information just 

 the same. So we are trying to make every one in our county a 

 teacher of the good things we find out. 



Of the forty fields ninety per cent were successful. I do not 

 know the per cent of successful clover fields last year, but in the 

 entire county we got one — now mind, I am not saying anything 

 ugly or mean about red clover — one of the best plants the Lord 

 ever made. We don't treat it right. We abuse red clover more 

 than any other crop we put out. Had we had as bad luck with 

 alfalfa I no doubt would have lost my job. 



If you are going to put out corn you want a good seed bed; 

 if you are going to put out wheat you will get the bed ready for 

 it. If you are going to put out oats you sometimes fix a toler- 

 ably good seed bed, but when you sow clover you don't make any 

 seed bed at all, just scatter it out on top of the ground and trust 

 to the Lord for the balance. Well, the latter part of that is all 

 right, but the Lord helps them that help themselves, and He 

 does not expect you to treat clover seed in that way. If you do 

 He is going to go back on you about three times out of five. 



Another feature of the work of improvement in the county 

 to make country life worth while, I want to mention tonight, is 

 that while the man and woman and boy and girl are the greatest 

 "institutions" possible, what makes those people the greatest 

 "institutions" hinges on the fertility of the soil and the home. 

 Do you know that a good man and worn-out soil can not live 

 together? The man will either make that soil better or the soil 

 will make him poorer. Good citizenship lies close to fertile 

 soil, and we are using every effort that we can, putting in every 

 day that we are able, and sometimes Sunday, too, in traveling 



