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 dangerous — preventable disease, found lurking in every camp.
If wars are inevitable and the slaughter 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 — 1,400 for every 100 that died in action. It is for the 1,400 poor devils who are sacrificed — never for the 100 who fall gallantly fighting — that I offer my prayer.
The state deprives the soldier of his liberty, prescribes his exercises, equipment, dress, diet, the locality in which he shall reside, and in the hour of danger 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 supervision 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
