or exhausted. "Worn-out" lands may simply be lacking in some element essential to the plants which have always been grown on that soil but may have abundant supplies of most other soil elements. It may be a simple process to provide these lands with the elements that have been exhausted. It has been discovered that most soils may be resupplied with nitrogen-the most important single soil element by the simple process of growing leguminous plants like peas, beans, clover, or alfalfa, the roots of which, by the aid of the right form of bacteria, draw nitrogen from the air. *If the bacteria are absent from the soil, they are furnished by the national government, and the soil is "inoculated." Du Puy, W. A., in World To-day, 14 (1908), 404-408. lands. Harwood, W. S., in Scribner's, 31 (1902), 646-648. Year Book of Agriculture (1907). 451-468. Government experts have paid especial attention to lands Use of arid that are arid or contain alkalies. Not only is the govern- and alkali ment preparing (§ 277) to provide these rich lands with the chief thing they need-water-but efforts are being made to utilize the lands that cannot be irrigated. Through a study of the soil and of means to utilize all the moisture there is by improved processes of "dry farming," or by the planting of crops that need little water, these lands are becoming valuable. Alkali lands which were considered useless because of the presence of injurious salts have been freed from these elements by the simple process of flooding and subsoil draining. 286. Plant Development. The best results from the use of soils requires not only the adaptation of crop to soil, but the selection of that type of plant which is best suited to the climate and the purpose for which it is intended. By the careful selection of seed alone many farmers of the Poe, C. H., corn belt have increased their yield from 25 to 50 per cent. The national government has been trying to demonstrate 9 (1905), that by paying more attention to the selection of that vari- 5960-5961. ety which will give not only the largest gross yield but the greatest amount of nutrition, a half billion dollars a year without extra expense can in time be added to the wealth of the country in connection with corn alone. Selection and adapta tion to soil. in World's Work, Breeding better plants. The breeding by government experts of better varieties of corn, wheat, barley, oats, or other staple cereals will mean (Results at Maine Experiment Station with Different Fertilizers) Year Book a gain of several billion dollars, without additional cost of of Agricul- cultivation, as the government helps the farmers to select ture (1907), 44-53. Harwood, W. S., in Scribner's, 31 (1902), 648-661. TOBACCO COMPARISON destructive boll weevil, the doubling of the ing ability of (Results at Ohio Experiment Station, (1) without and (2) with sugar-produc Phosphate) the sugar beet, new tobaccos that are hardier, yet finer, and types of cereals or vegetables that require less moisture or withstand greater cold than the ordinary varieties, are among the results obtained, and the future gives promise of more wonderful discoveries. plants. Year Book of Agricul ture (1907), Not the least successful of the tasks undertaken in con- Importanection with the new agriculture are the importations of new tions of plants or new varieties. From the interior of China we are obtaining fruits or grains that can be grown on the arid lands of the great plains. Siberia has yielded plants that show greater resistance to cold than any we have in America. Some varieties of imported alfalfa will grow where ours will not, or will produce a larger number of crops yearly. Excellent examples of the present economic importance of an imported fruit is the Washington navel orange Outing, 53 (1908), brought from Brazil; of an imported cereal is the durum 69-76. wheat, a crop of 50,000,000 bushels of which is grown now mostly in the land of little rain. 9, 42-47. Poe, C. H., in World's 287. Preservation of Food Supply. One of the greatest Destruction savings effected by these scientific investigations of the of agricultural pests. national government is connected with the diseases which destroy plants or animals wholesale. All trees, shrubs, or animals imported from other countries are examined to prevent the introduction of new or dangerous diseases or insects. Frequently, as in the case of scale on orange trees, the pest is destroyed by the use of insects that use the pests for food. Parasites of insect pests, or birds which live upon objectionable moths or other injurious insects, are encouraged or brought to the place where they are needed. In the case of the Mexican boll weevil, which is spreading eastward, playing such havoc with the cotton crop, all these means have been used, in addition to the attempted development of a variety of cotton boll that will not be subject to the weevil. Spraying has been found very effective for fruit trees, while solutions of iron sulphide have been used to destroy weeds without affecting the crop. Van Norman, L. E., in Rev. of Revs., 37 (1908), 684-688. of animal Some of the worst diseases of stock have already been Protection eradicated by vigorous treatment, frequently by outward products. Year Book of Agricul ture (1907), 28-39. Meat inspection. International Year Book (1907), 485-486. Gauss, Am. Gov't, 739-748. Pure Food application. It is estimated by James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, that the expenditure of $220,000 saved probably five hundred millions by preventing the spread of a virulent form of cattle disease. The government is trying not only to protect stock from destruction, but to develop those strains which will give best profits. Much less has been done with animals than with plants, however. Investigations are made of dairies and their products, but the indebtedness of the farmer is to the discoveries in the agricultural colleges of means for separating cream, and for testing the butter fat in milk. 288. Food Inspection. — Of a somewhat different character is the inspection of foods by government officials in order to insure the purchaser against impure meats or other foods. This is allied closely with the work done by the local governments (§ 121), since the national government has control of those products only which are shipped from State to State, or are intended for export. The most prominent part of the work is performed at the great packing houses. Before 1906 very little attempt was made to provide for careful inspection, but under the meat inspection law of that year the number of inspectors has been greatly increased, and there is careful examination of the animals before they are killed and of the meats afterward. The inspectors may condemn meats that are unsatisfactory, the approved product being marked "U. S. inspected and passed." In the canning and preserving rooms especial care is taken to maintain cleanliness and encourage the use of the most modern methods. Under the Pure Food Act of 1906 drugs cannot be sent Act of 1906. from one State to another unless they meet the tests prescribed by the United States Pharmacopoeia. Foods must not contain injurious substances and must be accurately described by their labels. The regulations for the enforcement of this far-reaching law are quite strict, and the influence of the law, together with the state laws (§ 121) to International Year Book (1907), 271-275. which it led, cannot easily be estimated, as most manufac turers voluntarily and cheerfully followed the direction for pure food and the publicity of ingredients. The relative food values of different articles have been determined by chemical analysis and by experimentation in numerous agricultural stations and with Dr. Wiley's famous "poison squads." methods of the Weather Bureau. Gauss, Am. Gov't, 757-764. 289. Protection against Storms and Floods. The services Organizaof the Weather Bureau in forecasting storms and prevent- tion and ing unnecessary loss to growing crops or to coast trade is so well known as to require little comment. There are located at about two hundred stations regular observers, who report twice daily to some central office the meteorological conditions in their vicinity. At these central or district offices men are constantly employed comparing the reports and sending out general and local forecasts, which are distributed by mail as quickly as possible. Reports from these district stations are sent to the main office at Washington, where they are in turn compared by experts, who at once send out forecasts to the different stations. Reports on the conditions of climate and crops are received weekly from about fourteen thousand persons, national and state crop bulletins being issued as soon as convenient afterward. Most of us appreciate the importance of the weather forecasts made by the Weather Bureau, though we frequently see only the failure to indicate the exact changes of temperature for our locality. We do not always realize the immense saving to those engaged in agriculture of warnings of floods, droughts, or storms, nor the value to those who are shipping merchandise from port to port on the lakes or seacoast, if notified that a storm is brewing. 290. Immigration. OTHER ACTIVITIES Value of its work. Moore, W. L., in Forum, 25 (1898), 341-353. Grosvenor, G. H., in Century, 70 (1905), 161-178. One of the essential duties of every Importance. national government is that of regulating the immigration |