82 The National Geographic Magazine 



lets. That will be the position of Russia 

 in this war. We propose to eliminate 

 disease as a factor. Every man who 

 dies in our army must fall on the field of 

 battle. In this way we shall neutralize 

 the superiority of Russian numbers and 

 stand on a comparatively equal footing. ' ' 



Japan is the first country in the world 

 to recognize that the greatest enemy in 

 war is not the army of the invader, but 

 of a foe more treacherous and danger- 

 ous — preventable disease, found lurking 

 in every camp. 



If wars are inevitable and the slaugh- 

 ter of men must go on — and I believe 

 wars are inevitable and that most of 

 them are ultimately beneficial — then, for 

 the love of God, let our men be killed 



legitimately, on the field, fighting for 

 the stake at issue — not drop them by the 

 wayside by preventable disease, as we 

 did in the Spanish- American war — i ,400 

 for every 100 that died in action. It is 

 for the 1,400 poor devils who are sacri- 

 ficed — never for the 100 who fall gal- 

 lantly fighting — that I offer my prayer. 



The state deprives the soldier of his 

 liberty, prescribes his exercises, equip- 

 ment, dress, diet, the locality in which 

 he shall reside, and in the hour of dan- 

 ger expects him, if necessary, to lay 

 down his life in its defense and honor. 

 It should therefore give him the best 

 sanitation and the best medical super- 

 vision that the science of the age — be it 

 Japanese or Patagonian — can devise. 



HELPING THE FARMERS 



In the January number of this Magazine considerable mention was made of the 

 work of the Department of Agriculture during 1004. The following paragraphs 

 give information on certai?i li?ies of work which were not then described for lack of space. 



RECLAMATION OF ALKALI LANDS 



THE Secretary of Agriculture re- 

 ports much progress made dur- 

 ing 1904 on the alkali reclama- 

 tion tracts established during the year 

 previous, and indications point to the 

 complete reclamation of the lands under 

 experimentation at an early day. At 

 the inception of the work on a 40-acre 

 tract near Salt L,ake City, a soil survey 

 showed the first 4 feet of soil to con- 

 tain more than 6,650 tons of soluble 

 salts. In May, 1903, eight months 

 after, there had been removed by drain- 

 age nearly 50 per cent of this immense 

 total, and in the following October only 

 1,221 tons remained in the entire tract. 

 The progress of similar work on a 20- 

 acre tract at Fresno, Cal., has been no 

 less gratifying. The Secretary declares 

 his full confidence in the final success 

 of this work and a firm belief that it will 

 lead to individual or concerted action 



on the part of those most interested, 

 with the result of greatly benefiting both 

 the agricultural and stock-raising in- 

 terests. 



GROWTH OF CUBAN SEED TOBACCO 



In the line of tobacco investigations 

 which are carried on by the Bureau of 

 Soils the most important work during 

 the year was the experimental growing 

 of Cuban seed tobacco on certain soils 

 in Texas, Alabama, and South Caro- 

 lina. Samples of tobaccos grown in 

 1903 were submitted to the trade, and 

 the Texas leaf was found to have con- 

 siderable merit both in regard to flavor 

 and aroma. Some have pronounced it 

 to be superior to any filler yet grown in 

 this country. The Alabama filler leaf 

 is considered fair. Final judgment of 

 the success of this venture, however, 

 must await further advices from dealers 

 and manufacturers. Growing of the 



