(Since dairy products are directly dependent on agricultural conditions, they are also included in this tabulation.) Dairy Products. Milk $55,474,155 1815 In spite, however, of its preeminence among the States in the production of the crops just named, experts tell us that the average yield per acre throughout the State is probably less than half what areas. FIG. 58.-Map of New York State, showing the crops grown in various - (Courtesy of Prof. E. O. Fippin, of Cornell University.) it should be or might be if more intelligence were used by the average farmer. The following quotation from an investigation made among 1303 of the farmers in the vicinity of Cornell University, near the center of the State of New York, shows in a striking way the commercial advantage of even a high school education. "Of the owners, those who went only to district school made an average labor income of $318. The average labor income of high school men was $622. Of the more than high school men (i.e. college, normal, or agriculture courses) it was $847. The differences are emphatic. The labor income of the high school farmers is $304 greater than that of the district school men. This would be 5 per cent interest on $6080. In other words the high school education of a farmer is equivalent, on the average, to $6000 worth of 5 per cent bonds." 1 133. Summary of some of the methods employed for increasing crop production. The farmers of the future, FIG. 59. A, pile of corn resulting from cross-pollination; B, pile of corn resulting from self-pollination. (Bailey.) therefore, to be successful must have special training. They must be able to carry on selection and breeding experiments, or at least know how to take advantage of these experiments in the choice of their seeds; they should know the principles involved in thorough cultivation and in the application of manures and fertilizers; they should determine by experiment the type of crop best adapted to the soil of their farms, and should by proper rotation of crops (that is, by sowing clover or other nitrogen-fixing plants, 150, one year and corn the next) increase the fertility of their soil. If a farmer is a fruit grower, he should know how to prune properly, and he 1 An Agricultural Survey of the Townships of Ithaca, Dryden, Danby, and Lansing, published by Cornell University, 1911. should practice grafting to develop better types of fruits. If he has soil adapted for woodland, he should plant forest trees, and put into effect the principles of forestry. In fact, there are countless ways in which the farmer of the future can increase the yield of his acres if he but mixes brains with the labor of his hands. CHAPTER IX PLANTS IN THEIR RELATION TO HUMAN WELFARE 134. Introduction. Thus far in our study of plant biology we have considered the principal functions carried on by FIG. 60. Sweet potato plant. plants and have observed some of the adaptations of structure for performing these functions. We have proved, for example, that plants must feed, digest, breathe, and carry on oxidation in order to live and grow, and must reproduce their kind in order to perpetuate the species. We turn now to a discussion of some of the uses of plants to man, and some of the ways in which they are injurious. I. SOME OF THE USES OF PLANTS TO MAN 135. Uses of plants for food. By repeated experiments we have proved that various parts of plants contain generous stores of starch, sugar, protein, and mineral matters. In our study of human biology we shall find that the foods which are essential for our bodies are composed of these same substances. It is for this reason that man and other animals are so largely dependent upon plants for food. As examples we may mention roots like pars nips, beets, FIG. 61.- Coffee tree. Notice coffee berries along and sweet pota toes; stems, like sides of branches. (Courtesy of New York Botanical Garden.) common potatoes, asparagus, and sugar cane; leaves, such as cabbage and lettuce; flowers, for example, cauliflower; |