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Page Six
THE CAROLINA UNION FARMER
[Thursday, January 23, 1913.
Studying Agricultural Europe
Henry A. Wallace in Wallace’s Farmer.
Swiss Schools, Experiment Stations,
and General Agriculture.
For its size, Switzerland probably
has more agricultural schools and ex
periment stations than any country in
the world except Holland and Bel
gium. We visited several of them,
and at every one found the German
type of scientists hard at work, tak
ing years to solve little details about
which most American farmers would
care not a particle. For instance, at
the experiment station of Liebefeld,
near Berne, a Doctor Liechte experi
ments with manure. He has proved
that liquid and solid manure should
be kept in a tank by itself and the
solid manure should be piled by it
self. We asked what was the best
way of preserving solid manure. He
said it should be moistened with wa
ter and packed firmly. It should not
be wet with liquid manure, for there
is likely to be a loss of ammonia.
There was a good bacteriological
laboratory at Liebefeld, and here we
saw, under the microscope many
kinda of bacteria, good and bad, all
stained with India ink in a way of
which the scientists are very proud.
Here we saw very plainly that horri
ble beast. Mastitis Streptococcus. It
looked like a harmless chain of dots,
but is the cause of a serious kind of
caked udder.
Looking again, we saw a rod chain
of lactic acid bacilli, which it is
claimed will prolong life if one drinks
a kind of sour milk containing them
every day of his life. Still again, we
saw one germ and then on another
slide twenty or thirty germs. That
showed how fast germs will multiply
in a day. And many other things we
saw, all very Interesting, but I should
think the average farmer would fail
to appreciate much of it. Yet some
day most of it will be of great benefit
to Swiss farming, and, indeed, to
farming all over the world.
Traveling through the valleys of
Switzerland in the summer, you will
see every few miles barrel-like carts
being hauled over the meadows and
out behind them will be coming a
dark brown spray of liquid manure.
The liquid has been gathering in a
pit for a month or two, perhaps. It
is drained into the barrel-like ar
rangement of the cart. Then when
the cart is driven through the field,
the liquid rushes out of a small open
ing and hits a piece of curved steel,
so that it spreads as a spray. Every
time after the meadow is cut, the
Swiss like, if possible, to put on liquid
manure. That it pays is proved by an
experiment at Liebefeld, where, with
out liquid manure, the yield of hay
was'less than a ton to the acre, and
with a small application after every
cutting it was over three tons, and
with a large application it was nearly
six tons. It was interesting to look
at these plots and see the small
growth where no liquid had been ap
plied. Where large amounts of the
liquid manure had been put on after
every cutting, the growth was rank,
and there was not much clover, but
Instead orchard grass and tall mead
ow oat grass were especially thriv
ing. On still anothfer plot, where
phosphates and potash had been used
with the manure, the clovers were
thriving as well as the rank-growing
grasses.
Nearly every Swiss agriculturist to
whom we talked claimed that liquid
manure is absolutely necessary. Their
meadow land is worth $400.to $600
per acre, and so, if they are to make
interest on the investment, they must
push the crops along as fast as pos
sible in the short season. By using
liquid manure they can cut their
meadows five or six times yearly.
Some day in Iowa, if our land be
comes sufficiently high-priced, we,
too, will be collecting liquid manure
in tanks and spreading it on our
meadows.
The few pigs we saw in Switzer
land were kept in pens in the barns.
Green feed was cut and carried to
them, and the fattening pigs got
some such grain ration as equal parts
of corn, barley, and wheat.
We were only in Switzerland a
week—so did not have time to learn
i^any definite facts about agricultural
conditions. Nevertheless it seemed
to us that the farm laborers did not
lead a very easy life. They were
dressed rather poorly, and looked a
little stupid. We were told that their
wages varied from $3 to $4 a week,
with board and room Included.
In Switzerland, as in all the coun
tries of Western Europe, there are
splendid roads. Up the mountains
and across the valleys beautiful, well
graded, macadam roads run. A Unit
ed States Government bulletin is
authority for the statement that in
mountainous Switzerland there are
fewer steep roads than in Iowa.
The typical Swiss rotation on the
cultivated land Is oats, potatoes, oats,
and grass for meadow, for five or six
years. The grasses used are much
the same as for the English pastures
—Italian and perennial rye grass, oat
grass, orchard grass, fescues, blue
grass, red clover, and alsike clover.
We were told that hay sold last
winter for from $15 to $20 a ton,
and that a good yield per acre was
about four tons.
Switzerland can teach the United
States something about forestry. Al
most a third of the entire country is
in titnber, most of which is under
Government control. In 1910, 2,000,-
000 square yards of timber was cut,
but the Government saw to it that
22,000,000 trees were planted to keep
up the forest area.
The educational Ideals of leading
Swiss agricultural schools surprised
us. For instance, at the dairy school
there is room for only about thirty-
five students. At the present time
there are elglity applicants for the
thirty-five places. Nevertheless they
don’t seem to care to enlarge the
school. The thirty-five best are se
lected by competitive examination,
the idea seeming to be that the
school aims to educate leaders of ag
riculture, but not the farmers them
selves. Nevertheless, we were given
to understand that the graduates
mostly went back to the farm.
There are several courses, varying
from half a year to two years in
length and the work is much the
same as In our agricultural colleges,
but seems more practical. Nearly
every student deals either in a practi
cal or a scientific way with agricul
ture. In the morning the students
do practical work in the dairy, while
in the afternoon they study books.
The expenses are very low, only
$80 for board, room and tuition for
a full year. We thought the Doctor
must have made some mistake in the
translation, and so asked again, but
were reassured that the years’ ex
pense was only 400 francs ($80).
At Zurich, in connection with the
University (Polytechnic, they call it)
Is the National Swiss Agricultural
School (Schwelzer Landwlrtschaft-
liche Schule). Here 150 students are
taking a three-year course. All of
the professors were away on vaca
tions when we visited the school, but
the jaintor showed us over the build
ing. There wore fine museums, bet
ter than we have at any of our Amer
ican agricultural colleges. There
were models of the different breeds
Peaches take more Potash
from the soil than any other fruit crop.
It has been conclusively proven that flavor and
shipping quality are not secured unless there is an
adequate supply of
POTASH
The best growers use from loo to 200 pounds of Muriate of Poteh
jp annually on their orchards in addition to the phosphate. The applica
tion of mineral fertilizers should begin when the tr^s are planted, so as
to insure strong wood and early bearing, continuous fruiting and
^ longer bearing period.
Most peach orchards starve to death at a time when they should
be giving their very best returns. Feed them a bal
anced ration and reap the profits.
-li
Write us for Potash prices and free
books with formulas and directions.
GERMAN KAU WORKS, Inc.
43 BroftdwAy. M«v York
lIoMdnoek Block. CMc»eo
WkltncT Central Bank Bldg., Haw Orleani
Bank A TmetBldg., SaTannah
Empire Bldg., Atlanta
iV.VitiV", SanFi
Branclico
Potash
Pays
Cabbage and Strawberry Plants
and Long Staple Cotton Seed
AT UNION PRICES
Brother Union Farmers:
I have for sale, at prices to suit the times. Charleston Wakefield Cab
bage Plants, 1,(X)0 for $1.00; 75 cents per M. in lots of 5,000 or over.
Klondyke Strawberry Plants until Feb. 1st, at $1.50 per M.; in lots of
5,000 or over, $1 per M.
Hazel Long Staple Cotton Seed, $1 per bushel; 5 bushel lots or over,
75 cents per bushel. These seeds have been selling at 17 and 19 cents a
pound.
ELROY BAILEY, Chadbourn, N. C.
Member of Washington Local. F—;
of stock, agricultural machinery, and
many samples of diseased plants and
various injurious insects.
In connection with the agricultu
ral school is a seed control station.
Last year 11,600 seed samples were
sent for examination. Any farm
er who wishes may have a sample of
his seed examined by paying $1.20.
They will then tell him what weed
seeds are in his sample, as well as
the percentage of germination. Out
of nearly 2,000 red clover seed sam
ples examined in 1910 there was an
average of less than 4 per cent of
weeds seeds, and a germinotion of 89
per cent.
Nearly every State in the Corn Belt
has a seed control station, but, unfor
tunately, the farmers have not yet
learned to make such extensive use
of them as have the Swiss farmers.
I wonder how many Iowa farmers
know that they can get a seed sam
ple analyzed merely by sending it, to
gether with 50 cents, to the State
Food and Dairy Commissioner, at Des
Moines. In some of the States seed-,
analyses are made free of charge.
At Zurich they also have a station
for analyzing fertilizers and feeds.
We In the United States have such
stations in most of our Eastern
States; but in the Corn Belt we are
doing very little to see that all the
fertilizer and feed manufacturers do
the square thing by the farmers.
I found the report of the fertilizer
control station for 1911 very inter
esting, for it indicated what fertil
izers Swiss farmers use most exten
sively. Of the 3,000 analyses, nearly
one-third were of acid phosphate, an
other third of Thomas slag (a phos-
phatic fertilizer), and most of the
rest of superphosphates mixed with
either nitrate of soda or potash, or
both. This is especially Interesting
for the reason that the United States
owns most of the phosphate deposits
of the world.
The Swiss are really good farmers.
They have to be. Our 220,000 Iowa
farmers would learn also to farm in
tensively if they had to make their
living from rough, rolling clay and
sand soil, one-sixth the area of
Iowa. They would learn, as has the
Swiss farmer, to use manure and fer
tilizer properly, and, best of all, they
would learn to combine to sell their
products to the best advantage.
FROM BREVARD.
Dear Editor:—I was elected Secre
tary of Canertee Local, No. 2247, for
the year 1913, and will be glad to
give you all information that can be
of interest or encouragement to the
brethren, but would be ashamed of
any report I could make at this time.
I was chairman of the Committee
on Co-operative Distribution of Farm
Products, and having seen othing in
our paper in regard to report, I will
give It to you as adopted by our State
Convention:
Resolutions.—Let each member in
form his Local Secretary at each
meeting what he has to sell and what
he Vants to buy and what he will
pay and the quantity to sell or buy.
Let the Local Secretary inform his
County Secretary the combined
quantity of each product; the County
Secretary to report the combined
quantity of each product to the Caro
lina Union Farmer (which by agree
ment with the Manager will be pub
lished free).
I am also Business Agent for my
Local, and can furnish several hun
dred dozen eggs, chickens, and butter
each week to a good reliable market;
also several thousand bushels of fcorn,
potatoes, and apples.
I want every copy of the Carolina
Union Farmer at the earliest date
possible. Can’t hardly wait for it to
come when on time. Wish to thank
you in behalf of my Local for the
very liberal terms for subscription.
Yours fraternally,
F. HENDERSON, Secretary.