196 THE BUSINESS OF FAKMING 



have been driven by necessity to ntilize every by- 

 product of the soil or farm. They construct their 

 compost heaps into which are thrown every weed, 

 straw, vine, top of vegetable, shuck or manure. 

 Not a single bit of organic matter, no matter what 

 its kind or character, is wasted, but is carefully 

 garnered and thrown into the compost heap to be 

 converted into manure or fertilizing matter with 

 which to compensate the soil for its production of 

 crops. 



The majority of farmers in America have not as 

 yet been driven to that necessity, but the author 

 ventures the prophecy that unless our soil wasting 

 be stayed, that very thing, and at no distant 

 day, will become an important part of our farm 

 economy. 



The successful Eoman farmer even plowed un- 

 der his stubble as soon as the crops were removed 

 that it might not dry out and take the moisture 

 from the soil, and lose much of its fertilizing 

 value. It is the practice of the American farmer 

 to let the stubble become dry and then burn it. 



Many of us have not even begun the study of the 

 best methods of utilizing or conserving the 

 by-products of the farm, and too few of us are 

 putting them into practice, even when we have 

 learned them. 



The successful farmer of the future is the one 

 who will carefully study out and put into execu- 

 tion methods by which every by-product of the 

 farm will be consumed and utilized to the best ad- 

 vantage. 



When this has become the common practice upon 



