found grass that could be plowed under 

 without much trouble. Here was land 

 that could be made to produce a crop in 

 the first year. It was well drained and 

 they could dig all the cellars they needed. 

 Then, too, it was not far from their old 

 friends and neighbors who lived near 

 Germantown. 



If they were disappointed after the 

 first few harvests they didn't show it 

 for here they were masters of their own 

 destinies. With no army service to fret 

 about they could apply all of their energy 

 to building up their farms. 



Gjm was a poor crop nearly every 

 year and a goodly portion of it was 

 shelled and "ground" on flat stumps with 

 mallets. It was a necessary crop because 

 corn meal formed a major part of the 

 diet of the pioneers. 



Wheat soon became an important 

 crop because it could be hauled to the 

 river and traded for salt, tools, and other 

 necessary goods. 



Shortly before the Civil War more im- 

 migrants came to Clinton county from 

 Germany. They came first to New York, 

 thence to Qnncinati and finally to Illi- 

 nois by way of the Ohio river. Among 

 the newcomers was Henry Renschen's 

 father, a farmer who knew much about 

 building the fertility of soils. 



Renschen married the daughter of one 

 of the earlier pioneers and settled down 

 to the business of increasing the crop 

 yields on the 100 acres now owned by 

 his son, Henry. 



Renschen began to raise livestock, man- 

 ure the fields and rotate the crops. 

 While this system increased the yields 

 at first, little by little the much needed 

 nitrogen was lost and nitrogen became 

 the limiting factor of crop production. 



The years went on and no changes 

 were made in the method of farming 

 this rubbery soil. The families living on 

 it raised most of their own living and 

 were largely self sustaining. 



Some of the more alert farmers of 

 the county attended meetings of the 

 Farmers' Institute where they learned 

 about the value of limestone and sweet 

 clover. A few of them tried to raise 

 sweet clover but for some mysterious 

 reason it just wouldn't grow and none 

 of them could get a worthwhile stand. 

 There seemed to be something that they 

 didn't do properly. 



A few of the more progressive ones, 

 like Henry Renschen, decided to organize 

 a group of farmers and hire a man who 

 could show them how to build up the 

 fertility of their land. By 1917, they had 

 pledges from more than 700 farmers in 

 the county who were willing to pay five 

 dollars a year for membership in a soil 

 improvement association. The next step 

 was to find a man who could help them 

 solve their problem. 



ONE OF CLINTON Coun- 

 ty's Prominent So!l Bulldan. 



Only one other machine, 

 the limestone spreader, hat 

 meant as much to Southern 

 IllinoU. 



vif^i^a^ 



i 



BARNYARD CONFER- 

 ENCE 



Ben Swagler, h!t ton 

 Edgar and Farm Adviser 

 Twigg, right, discuss wheat 

 prospects. An open win- 

 ter was hard on Swagler'i 

 main crop. 



FARM BUREAU HOME 

 In Clinton County where 

 Soil Building Is A Leading 

 Interest. Termites got into 

 this building causing the 

 floor to sag, end making 

 repairs necessary. 



They took their troubles to authorities 

 at the University of Illinois. The exten- 

 sion service recommended stocky, sandy- 

 haired Charles Rehling from Monroe 

 county. 



In March, 1918, "Red " Rehling went 

 to work for the newly formed association 

 as its farm adviser. He set up offices at 

 Breese, rolled up his sleeves and worked 

 out his plan of action. His plan, when 

 it was finally carried out, made soil- 

 building history. 



Rehling had worked his way through 

 the University College of Agriculture 

 milking cows and working around the 

 college dairy barns. Here he was under 



the supervision of Professor Frazier, head 

 of the dairy department. 



In addition to his interest in dairy 

 husbandry, "Red" studied soils under 

 Dr. Cyril G. Hopkins, author of the 

 famous Illinois system of permanent soil 

 fertility. From him Rehling learned 

 about spreading limestone, growing 

 legumes and rotating crops. Rehling 

 noted that crop yields were being in- 

 creased on Dr. Hopkins' "Poorland 

 Farm" in Marion county. He also became 

 familiar with the work of Frank I. Mann 

 whose Iroquois county land was yielding 

 phenomenal crops. 



By the time young Rehling took over 



10 



L A. A. RECORD 



