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By JOHN R. SPENCER , 



Soil conservation measures building the 



fertility of our farm lands can do more to 

 improve the nation's postwar health stand- 

 ards than all the pills and dru^ store pan- 

 aceas put together, according to a state- 

 ment made public here by the Middle West 

 Soil Improvement Committee. 



"Human health depends on the soil," 

 the statement points out. "If the soil is 

 fertile, then the crops it produces will build 

 strong bodies and sturdy physical character- 

 istics. If the soil is poor, the crops it pro- 

 duces will be deficient in vitamins, minerals 

 and proteins necessary for insuring healthy 

 humans. 



"This was forcibly demonstrated in draft 

 examinations for military service in World 

 War II. In one Midwestern state where the 

 rich prairie soils have been a mainstay for 

 our increasing population, seven out of ten 

 selectees were accepted for the draft, where- 

 as in one of the Southern states where soil 

 fertility has been largely exhausted, only 

 three out of ten were taken. 



"The prevalence of deficient teeth in some 

 parts of the country in contrast to healthy 

 ones in other areas is another manifestation 

 of the effect of soil fertility on human 

 health. The advent of sterility at a star- 

 tling early age and numerous other health 

 ailments suggest that these disabilities are 

 caused by malnutrition via poor quality 

 crops from poor soil. 



The remedy lies in putting essential 

 minerals in the form of fertilizers into Na- 

 ture's hands so that she can fabricate them 

 into health-building foods for the human 

 body. By feeding the soil necessary plant 

 foods containing nitrogen, phosphorous and 

 potash, farmers will enable that soil to pro- 

 vide high quality crops that not only yield 

 more food per acre, but better food at that." 



Testing of a large acreage of Illinois land 



shows that about three-fourths of the farm 

 land or 24 million acres, needs phosphate 

 in addition to lime for clover and alfalf,i. 



LOCAL CONTROL STRESSED 

 IN 1946 AAA PROGRAM 



Farmers, with the help of their AAA 

 committeemen, will have more responsi- 

 bility in selecting practices to be carried 

 out on their farms under the 1946 AAA 

 program, according to an announcement 

 from the state AAA. 



According to the state committee, par- 

 ticipating farmers may sit down with their 

 neighbor committeemen and select the 

 practices — from a list approved for the 

 county — which their farms need most. 

 Their selections will finally be approved 

 by their county committeemen within the 

 funds allocated for the county's conserva- 

 tion program. 



The localized approach to the problem 

 of conservation is expected to speed up 

 the efficient reconversion of the nation's 

 farmland from the strain of war produc- 

 tion to longer-range soil-building and 

 water conservation. . " 



Animal pathologists at the University of 



Illinois have prepared and are using a new 

 type of fowl pox vaccine. Results show a 

 high percentage of "takes." Qualified vet- 

 erinarians have full directions. 



Bud blight is one o< th« relcttiTely new 

 diseases ol soybeans in Illinois. One of 

 the symptoms is a spotting and necrosis 

 of the pods. Such pods are often poorly 

 filled and many of them usually drop ofi 

 before maturity. 



These pictures illustrate symptoms of the 

 new brown rot soybean disease now wide- 

 ly distributed in Illinois. Left: Light-col- 

 ored areas between veins show earlier 

 stages of progressive premature drying 



up. Dead tissue later makes plant appear 

 as though frosted. Right: Cross section of 

 stem shows dark discoloration of pith and 

 woody area of diseased plants alongside 

 healthy plant pictured at bottom. 



Mr. and Mrs. lack Meyer of Coles County 

 won't soon forget the kindness of these 

 neighbors (above) who followed the 

 Golden Rule to the letter. Last summer 



NOVEMBER. 1945 



when Mr. Meyer was incapacitated after 

 a serious operation, 16 neighbors with 

 their tractors came in to plow 77 acres. 

 Others at later intervals came to continue 



with the plowing, planting and cultivating 

 thus assuring the Meyers one of the finest 

 crops in their community, lor which they 

 have expressed sincere gratitude. 



