SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13672, 13 February 1908, Page 8

SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE.

A few years ago most moii laughed at the idea of applying' science to agriculture. saj«s an American paper. The fanners' laugh was tho loudest of ail. But science like revolutions, never go« backward. There are still some mass-back farmers who plant, reap, feed their cattle, and let their implements stand out in tho sun and rain in the old careless, thriftless way; but t!\t> National Agricultural Department, the agricultural colleges, and tho agricultural pnv,: are diminishing their number rapidly. Science is revolutionising 41m? farming business of the United States, as it is doing every other modern business. Them »ro 9,000,000 acres of laud in tho Western State* and Territories, The alkali soil in these lands has hitherto rendered tliem worthless, but by under-draining and flooding science will redeem them to agriculture. Thev wilt then lie worth £1,200,000. The fields in tho older States which have been abandoned because they were "worn out" haw an aggregate area greater than that of the six original Now England States combined. Science has discovered that legumes—bean*, peas, alfalfa crow in these fields, and that the culture, l>esides being financially profitable, so ourichei the soil with nitregen that other crops may afterwards be raised. The trouble with the soil is that it has been exhausted of nitrogen. Science and experiment have demonstrated that "worn-out" lands may Iks restored to cultivation by the simple expedient of growing beans, peas, and alfalfa upon (Item. Science is', now teaching tho farmer how to combat successfully with diseases that break out among his crops and live stock. It is alia', teaching him by a process of selection bo* to improve the quality and quantity of his crops, 'i no scientific farmer goes 'through his fields every year, and carefully select? the best ears of com, or the Reeds of cotton and tobacco, and eaves them for next-rear'* seed. The scientists estimate that within 50 years the yield of the principal crops of the United States may bo increased 50 mi cent, by seed selection alone.