---
title: Improvement Era
description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930.
authors:
  - Smith, Joseph F.
collections:
  - periodicals
tags:
  - magazine
  - improvement-era
periodical: Improvement Era
volume: 7
number: 6
published: 1904-04
publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
language: en
type: magazine
reference: 'Joseph F. Smith, "Editor’s Table," *Improvement Era* 7, no. 6 (April 1904): 468–472.'
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0706unse
  transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers.
  identifier: improvementera0706unse
start_page: 468
end_page: 472
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1904-04)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0706unse
  publication_year: 1904
  note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1904, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright.
---

# Editor’s Table

<!-- page:468 -->

468 
        IMPROVEMENT 
        ERA.
concerned, 
        has 
        kept 
        the 
        faith 
        with 
        the 
        nation, 
        the 
        grounds 
        of 
        eom-
plaint 
        appear 
        untenable.
The 
        young 
        men 
        of 
        the 
        Church 
        should, 
        therefore, 
        carefully
weigh 
        the 
        facts 
        and 
        conditions 
        before 
        taking 
        any 
        radical 
        steps 
        in 
        pol-
itics, becoming 
        excited, 
        or 
        passing 
        judgment 
        upon 
        affairs 
        with
whose 
        significance 
        and 
        import 
        they 
        may 
        not 
        be 
        thoroughly 
        familiar.
The 
        investigation 
        has 
        been 
        suspended 
        for 
        some 
        time, 
        and 
        it 
        is
understood 
        that 
        some 
        forty 
        witnesses, 
        in 
        addition 
        to 
        those 
        who
have 
        already 
        testified, 
        have 
        been 
        or 
        will 
        be 
        subpoenaed 
        to 
        appear 
        in
Washington; 
        and 
        it 
        is 
        probable 
        that 
        the 
        members 
        of 
        the 
        Senate
committee 
        will 
        visit 
        the 
        state 
        in 
        person 
        to 
        get 
        further 
        informa-
tion.
THE 
        FUTURE 
        OF 
        OUR 
        WHEAT 
        CROPS.
Those 
        who 
        have 
        noticed 
        the 
        rising 
        prices 
        of 
        wheat, 
        will 
        be
impressed 
        by 
        two 
        important 
        facts: 
        that 
        prices 
        as 
        a 
        rule 
        have 
        had
an 
        upward 
        tendency 
        which 
        they 
        are 
        likely 
        to 
        maintain; 
        and 
        in 
        the
second 
        place, 
        it 
        will 
        be 
        readily 
        perceived 
        that 
        these 
        advanced 
        prices
are 
        due 
        to 
        the 
        increased 
        demand. 
        The 
        increased 
        demand 
        for 
        wheat
throughout 
        the 
        world 
        is 
        due 
        to 
        two 
        important 
        causes: 
        one, 
        the
increased 
        area 
        of 
        land 
        used 
        for 
        other 
        crops; 
        and 
        the 
        second, 
        the
increased 
        population 
        of 
        the 
        world 
        that 
        is 
        becoming 
        a 
        bread-eating
people. 
        In 
        1871, 
        371,000,000 
        people, 
        it 
        was 
        estimated, 
        used 
        wheat
bread; 
        in 
        1898, 
        the 
        number 
        increased 
        to 
        516,500,000. 
        This 
        was
an 
        increase 
        in 
        less 
        than 
        thirty 
        years 
        of 
        145,500,000 
        bread 
        eaters.
The 
        number 
        of 
        bread 
        eaters 
        is 
        rapidly 
        increasing 
        through 
        the 
        in-
troduction of 
        our 
        wheat 
        into 
        China, 
        where 
        the 
        bread 
        diet 
        has 
        taken
largely 
        the 
        place 
        of 
        rice. 
        Mr. 
        Hill, 
        the 
        great 
        railroad 
        magnate,
expects 
        in 
        the 
        near 
        future 
        that 
        the 
        demand 
        of 
        China 
        and 
        the 
        South
Sea 
        Islanders 
        for 
        wheat 
        bread 
        will 
        increase 
        our 
        exports 
        of 
        that
grain 
        to 
        a 
        marvelous 
        extent.
In 
        an 
        address 
        recently 
        given 
        by 
        Sir 
        William 
        Crooke 
        before 
        the
British 
        Association, 
        he 
        predicted 
        that 
        there 
        would 
        be 
        a 
        universal
dearth 
        of 
        bread 
        within 
        the 
        next 
        generation. 
        One 
        cause 
        of 
        the
bread 
        failure 
        in 
        his 
        judgment 
        was 
        the 
        impoverishment 
        of 
        our 
        lands
that 
        he 
        saw 
        no 
        means 
        .of 
        replenishing 
        with 
        proper 
        soil 
        nutrients
for 
        the 
        cultivation 
        of 
        wheat. 
        Within 
        the 
        last 
        two 
        years, 
        numerous
investigations 
        have 
        been 
        made 
        in 
        the 
        laboratories 
        of 
        our 
        country,

<!-- page:469 -->

EDITOR'S 
        TABLE. 
        469
with 
        a 
        view 
        of 
        ascertaining 
        some 
        method 
        of 
        preparing 
        in 
        the 
        lab-
oratory those 
        nitrates 
        of 
        which 
        our 
        lands 
        for 
        crops 
        are 
        greatly 
        in
need. 
        Nitrogen 
        is 
        the 
        most 
        important 
        element, 
        perhaps, 
        entering
into 
        animal 
        and 
        vegetable 
        life. 
        It 
        is 
        the 
        chief 
        ingredient 
        of 
        the
most 
        expensive 
        fertilizers 
        for 
        our 
        lands. 
        We 
        have 
        an 
        abundance
of 
        free 
        nitrogen. 
        Four-fifths 
        of 
        all 
        our 
        atmosphere 
        is 
        made 
        up 
        of
this 
        element; 
        and 
        notwithstanding 
        the 
        fact 
        that 
        upon 
        every 
        square
yard 
        of 
        earth 
        seven 
        tons 
        of 
        nitrogen 
        are 
        pressing 
        down 
        upon 
        it,
the 
        land 
        cannot 
        use 
        the 
        nitrogen 
        in 
        its 
        free 
        state. 
        The 
        question
of 
        taking 
        this 
        nitrogen 
        out 
        of 
        the 
        air, 
        and 
        converting 
        it 
        into
some 
        sort 
        of 
        nitrate, 
        especially 
        nitrate 
        of 
        soda 
        or 
        potash, 
        is 
        the
question 
        with 
        which 
        scientific 
        men 
        are 
        wrestling 
        at 
        the 
        present
time. 
        Nitrogen, 
        therefore, 
        in 
        the 
        world 
        of 
        science, 
        has 
        recently
become 
        a 
        sort 
        of 
        fairy 
        godmother. 
        The 
        combination 
        of 
        nitrogen
with 
        certain 
        salts, 
        by 
        which 
        nitrates 
        are 
        formed, 
        is 
        called 
        in 
        agri-
cultural parlance, 
        the 
        fixation 
        of 
        nitrogen. 
        It 
        has 
        been 
        discovered
that 
        these 
        nitrates 
        can 
        be 
        formed 
        by 
        means 
        of 
        electrical 
        wires
passing 
        through 
        the 
        required 
        salts, 
        and 
        that 
        by 
        means 
        of 
        electric-
ity nitrates 
        can 
        be 
        formed 
        equally 
        as 
        valuable 
        and 
        cheap 
        as 
        those
brought 
        from 
        Chili.
At 
        present, 
        however, 
        a 
        new 
        method 
        has 
        been 
        developed 
        by
which 
        the 
        soil 
        may 
        be 
        inoculated 
        with 
        nitrogen 
        fertilisers. 
        It 
        has
been 
        shown, 
        for 
        example, 
        that 
        on 
        certain 
        kinds 
        of 
        plants 
        called
leguminous, 
        small 
        nodules 
        grow, 
        that 
        these 
        nodules 
        are 
        formed 
        by
millions 
        of 
        small 
        animals 
        called 
        bacteria. 
        These 
        bacteria 
        are 
        of
various 
        kinds, 
        each 
        kind 
        promoting 
        its 
        special 
        vegetable 
        growth.
They 
        can, 
        therefore, 
        be 
        divided 
        up 
        and 
        classified, 
        so 
        that 
        we 
        have
bacteria 
        for 
        various 
        kinds 
        of 
        plant 
        growth. 
        The 
        government 
        at
Washington 
        is 
        engaged 
        in 
        the 
        preparation 
        of 
        these 
        bacteria
to 
        be 
        used 
        throughout 
        the 
        country 
        for 
        the 
        purpose 
        of 
        increasing
the 
        fertility 
        of 
        the 
        soil. 
        They 
        are 
        put 
        up 
        in 
        small 
        packages 
        by
means 
        of 
        absorbent 
        cotton, 
        and 
        sent 
        out 
        through 
        the 
        mail 
        to 
        vari-
ous sections. 
        In 
        each 
        of 
        these 
        small 
        packages 
        there 
        are 
        about
15,000,000 
        bacteria, 
        enough 
        to 
        fertilize 
        an 
        acre 
        of 
        ground. 
        When
these 
        bacteria 
        are 
        immersed 
        in 
        water, 
        and 
        fed 
        by 
        nutrient 
        salts,
they 
        multiply 
        with 
        wonderful 
        rapidity, 
        and 
        may 
        be 
        distributed 
        by
taking 
        the 
        salt 
        in 
        which 
        they 
        have 
        grown, 
        and 
        scattering 
        it 
        over
land 
        destitute 
        of 
        nitrates.

<!-- page:470 -->

470 
        IMPROVEMENT 
        ERA."
An 
        excellent 
        example 
        has 
        been 
        given 
        us 
        of 
        what 
        can 
        be 
        done
by 
        means 
        of 
        this 
        bacteria. 
        Mr. 
        Lane, 
        the 
        director 
        of 
        the 
        New 
        Jer-
sey Experiment 
        Station, 
        took 
        some 
        soil 
        of 
        lucern 
        land 
        that 
        was
known 
        to 
        contain 
        an 
        abundance 
        of 
        bacteria; 
        he 
        scattered 
        this 
        soil
over 
        plots 
        of 
        ground, 
        and 
        then 
        tested 
        the 
        plots 
        in 
        connection 
        with
other 
        plots 
        that 
        had 
        not 
        thus 
        been 
        fertilized; 
        and 
        the 
        increase 
        in
the 
        first 
        crop 
        of 
        lucern 
        was 
        eighteen 
        per 
        cent 
        over 
        that 
        which
had 
        not 
        been 
        inoculated. 
        Where 
        he 
        mixed 
        the 
        soil 
        first 
        with
water, 
        it 
        showed 
        a 
        gain 
        of 
        forty-five 
        per 
        cent 
        over 
        the 
        soil 
        not 
        in-
oculated in 
        the 
        growth 
        of 
        lucern. 
        Inoculation, 
        then, 
        of 
        our
soils 
        is 
        a 
        distinctive 
        and 
        emphatic 
        aid 
        to 
        agricultural 
        progress; 
        and
it 
        is 
        only 
        a 
        question 
        of 
        time 
        when 
        we 
        shall 
        be 
        compelled 
        to 
        give
this 
        matter 
        our 
        serious 
        attention 
        in 
        our 
        agricultural 
        pursuits. 
        The
laboratory 
        and 
        the 
        experiment 
        station 
        have 
        made 
        agriculture 
        a 
        sci-
ence; and 
        those 
        farmers 
        who 
        are 
        not 
        ready 
        and 
        quick 
        to 
        avail
themselves 
        of 
        the 
        most 
        recent 
        discoveries 
        and 
        methods, 
        must 
        go
to 
        the 
        wall. 
        Oar 
        lands, 
        through 
        long 
        years 
        of 
        cultivation, 
        are 
        grad-
ually diminishing 
        in 
        productive 
        powers, 
        and 
        require 
        intelligent 
        man-
ipulation in 
        order 
        to 
        make 
        their 
        products 
        as 
        valuable 
        in 
        the 
        future
as 
        they 
        have 
        been 
        in 
        the 
        past.
QUESTIONS 
        AND 
        ANSWERS.
May 
        Non-Members 
        of 
        the 
        Church 
        Join 
        the 
        M. 
        I. 
        A.?
May 
        a 
        young 
        man 
        or 
        a 
        young 
        woman, 
        who 
        is 
        not 
        a 
        member 
        of 
        the
Church, 
        but 
        of 
        good 
        moral 
        character, 
        join 
        the 
        Mutual 
        Improvement 
        Asso-
ciations of 
        a 
        ward?
Yes; 
        and 
        furthermore, 
        it 
        is 
        the 
        duty 
        of 
        officers 
        to 
        invite 
        their
non-"Mormon" 
        friends 
        to 
        join, 
        and 
        to 
        use 
        all 
        diligence 
        to 
        make 
        the
associations, 
        as 
        far 
        as 
        possible, 
        missionary 
        in 
        character. 
        This 
        is
ikewise 
        the 
        case 
        with 
        other 
        auxiliary 
        organizations
        —
        Sunday
schools, 
        primaries, 
        religion 
        classes, 
        etc. 
        It 
        is, 
        of 
        course, 
        under-
stood that 
        officers, 
        at 
        least 
        the 
        presiding 
        ones, 
        should 
        be 
        Latter-
day 
        Saints, 
        and 
        that 
        the 
        control 
        should 
        always 
        be 
        vested 
        in 
        mem-
bers of 
        the 
        Church.
Bearing 
        Testimony
        —
        A 
        Sermon.
A 
        young 
        man 
        writes 
        in 
        a 
        very 
        good 
        spirit 
        asking 
        the 
        editors 
        of 
        the
Era 
        to 
        write 
        him 
        a  
        "nice 
        sermon 
        to 
        say 
        on  
        a 
        fast  
        day."    
        "You 
        know

<!-- page:471 -->

EDITOR'S 
        TABLE. 
        471
what 
        I 
        mean," 
        he 
        adds; 
        "and 
        if 
        you 
        will, 
        I'll 
        try 
        to 
        become 
        a 
        wiser 
        boy
every 
        day." 
        He 
        tells 
        us 
        further, 
        that 
        on 
        the 
        first 
        Sunday 
        in 
        every
month 
        it 
        is 
        the 
        fast 
        day, 
        and 
        in 
        his 
        own 
        Sunday 
        school 
        "they 
        have 
        to
get 
        up 
        and 
        bear 
        their 
        testimony 
        to 
        the 
        truthfulness 
        of 
        the 
        gospel." 
        It
is 
        for 
        such 
        an 
        occasion 
        he 
        has 
        asked 
        us 
        to 
        write 
        him 
        a 
        "nice 
        sermon."
Here 
        is 
        our 
        advice:
Above 
        all 
        things, 
        brethren, 
        let 
        us 
        not 
        be 
        machines. 
        The 
        Lord
delights 
        in 
        the 
        words 
        of 
        the 
        heart. 
        When 
        we 
        speak 
        we 
        should
speak 
        as 
        we 
        feel 
        and 
        think, 
        not 
        as 
        someone 
        else 
        has 
        felt 
        and 
        thought
for 
        us. 
        To 
        testify 
        is 
        to 
        bear 
        witness 
        to 
        something 
        that 
        we 
        our-
selves know; 
        it 
        is 
        to 
        affirm 
        a 
        fact 
        that 
        we 
        understand, 
        and 
        to
solemnly 
        declare 
        a 
        truth 
        that 
        has 
        come 
        into 
        our 
        experience. 
        It 
        is
not 
        to 
        preach 
        a 
        sermon, 
        nor 
        to 
        counsel, 
        exhort, 
        or 
        speculate 
        upon
things 
        that 
        are 
        occurring, 
        or 
        that 
        have 
        taken 
        place, 
        or 
        that 
        may
happen. 
        "We 
        speak 
        that 
        we 
        do 
        know," 
        says 
        Jesus, 
        "and 
        testify
that 
        we 
        have 
        seen." 
        And 
        David 
        tells 
        us 
        further, 
        that 
        "the
testimony 
        of 
        the 
        Lord 
        is 
        sure, 
        making 
        wise 
        the 
        simple." 
        Before 
        we
can 
        testify 
        to 
        the 
        truthfulness 
        of 
        the 
        gospel, 
        we 
        must 
        have 
        a
knowledge 
        of 
        it, 
        which 
        must 
        come 
        by 
        diligent 
        study, 
        and 
        by 
        the
inspiration 
        of 
        the 
        Spirit 
        of 
        God. 
        Few 
        there 
        are 
        who 
        do 
        not 
        of
themselves 
        know 
        of 
        some 
        truth 
        that 
        has 
        come 
        to 
        them, 
        of 
        some
kindness 
        that 
        the 
        Lord 
        has 
        shown 
        to 
        them; 
        few 
        who 
        have 
        not
some 
        experience, 
        some 
        thought, 
        some 
        feeling 
        of 
        the 
        heart, 
        which
can 
        make 
        them 
        true 
        witnesses 
        for 
        Christ 
        and 
        his 
        gospel. 
        To 
        speak
of 
        this 
        in 
        your 
        own 
        language, 
        assisted 
        by 
        the 
        Spirit 
        of 
        God, 
        is 
        true
testimony. 
        If 
        there 
        are 
        any 
        who 
        have 
        not 
        this 
        knowledge, 
        they
must 
        first 
        seek 
        and 
        find 
        before 
        they 
        can 
        testify. 
        To 
        adopt 
        a 
        form,
be 
        it 
        ever 
        so 
        beautiful 
        and 
        pleasant 
        to 
        the 
        ear, 
        to 
        be 
        repeated
without 
        knowledge, 
        or 
        spirit, 
        or 
        feeling 
        to 
        give 
        it 
        light 
        and 
        life, 
        will
be 
        worse 
        than 
        useless. 
        Such 
        a 
        mechanical 
        course 
        would 
        make 
        a
machine 
        of 
        the 
        speaker, 
        and 
        would 
        not 
        edify 
        the 
        listener. 
        . 
        If 
        our
young 
        friend 
        will 
        follow 
        this 
        advice, 
        seeking 
        knowledge 
        diligently
by 
        prayer, 
        by 
        study, 
        by 
        learning, 
        by 
        good 
        books, 
        and 
        by 
        right 
        liv-
ing, we 
        can 
        promise 
        him 
        positively 
        that 
        he 
        "will 
        become 
        a 
        wiser
boy 
        every 
        day," 
        and 
        before 
        the 
        year 
        is 
        past, 
        he 
        can 
        stand 
        up 
        in
his 
        Sunday 
        school 
        class 
        and 
        give 
        a 
        testimony 
        that 
        will 
        touch 
        the
hearts 
        of 
        his 
        comrades; 
        whereas, 
        if 
        we 
        write 
        a 
        testimony 
        for 
        him

<!-- page:472 -->

472 
        IMPROVEMENT 
        ERA
to 
        repeat, 
        no 
        matter 
        how 
        well-worded 
        it 
        might 
        be, 
        it 
        would 
        appear
a 
        dead 
        and 
        useless 
        thing.
"THE 
        MORMON 
        POINT 
        OF 
        VIEW."
We 
        have 
        received 
        the 
        first 
        number 
        of 
        a 
        quarterly 
        periodical
bearing 
        the 
        above 
        title, 
        written 
        and 
        published 
        by 
        Prof. 
        N. 
        L. 
        Nel-
son, of 
        the 
        Brigham 
        Young 
        University, 
        Provo, 
        Utah. 
        The 
        aim 
        of
the 
        magazine 
        is 
        to 
        set 
        forth 
        the 
        views 
        of 
        the 
        Latter-day 
        Saints 
        on
matters 
        of 
        current 
        interest 
        in 
        which 
        they 
        are 
        involved. 
        The 
        number
before 
        us 
        contains 
        an 
        introduction, 
        in 
        which 
        the 
        reasons 
        impelling
the 
        publication 
        of 
        the 
        magazine 
        are 
        given 
        in 
        clear 
        and 
        vigorous
language. 
        The 
        leading 
        article 
        bears 
        the 
        title, 
        "The 
        Ministers 
        and
the 
        Mormons," 
        and 
        is 
        devoted 
        to 
        a 
        discussion 
        of 
        the 
        fight 
        waged
against 
        the 
        Church 
        by 
        gentlemen 
        of 
        the 
        cloth. 
        This 
        is 
        followed
by 
        the 
        first 
        installment 
        of 
        the 
        "Dictionary 
        of 
        Slander," 
        a 
        treatise
on 
        and 
        refutation 
        of 
        some 
        of 
        the 
        misrepresentations 
        and 
        malicious
statements 
        on 
        which 
        much 
        of 
        the 
        opposition 
        to 
        the 
        Latter-day
Saints 
        is 
        based.
The 
        opinions 
        of 
        the 
        writer 
        are 
        expressed 
        in 
        the 
        clearest 
        and
most 
        vigorous 
        English, 
        and 
        his 
        meaning 
        is 
        unmistakable. 
        As 
        a
correct 
        and 
        forcible 
        writer, 
        Prof. 
        Nelson 
        stands 
        in 
        the 
        front 
        rank.
His 
        ideas 
        are 
        strong 
        and 
        original, 
        and 
        are 
        enforced 
        by 
        apt 
        a^d
striking 
        illustrations. 
        At 
        times 
        his 
        pen 
        becomes 
        very 
        caustic, 
        as
he 
        scores 
        the 
        authors 
        of 
        the 
        calumnies 
        against 
        Utah 
        and 
        the
"Mormons." 
        The 
        thought 
        comes 
        to 
        one, 
        however, 
        in 
        reading 
        the
work, 
        that 
        the 
        author 
        writes 
        from 
        his 
        own 
        personal 
        point 
        of 
        view,
as 
        well 
        as 
        from 
        that 
        of 
        the 
        community. 
        It 
        is 
        likely 
        that 
        some 
        of
his 
        co-religionists 
        will 
        disagree 
        with 
        him 
        in 
        some 
        essential 
        matters,
while 
        agreeing 
        with 
        his 
        opinions 
        in 
        general, 
        and 
        admiring 
        his
manner 
        of 
        expressing 
        them. 
        It 
        would 
        be 
        difficult 
        for 
        a 
        man 
        of
Prof. 
        Nelson's 
        positive 
        cast 
        of 
        mind 
        to 
        write 
        on 
        a 
        controversial
subject 
        without 
        expressing 
        extreme 
        views, 
        and 
        coming 
        in 
        conflict
with 
        the 
        ideas 
        of 
        others. 
        There 
        is 
        nothing 
        half-way 
        or 
        timid 
        in
his 
        work. 
        This 
        characteristic 
        is 
        strongly 
        marked 
        in 
        these 
        articles,
and 
        it 
        gives 
        to 
        them 
        one 
        of 
        their 
        chief 
        values. 
        From 
        the 
        reading
of 
        this 
        little 
        publication 
        one 
        will 
        arise 
        with 
        new 
        and 
        vigorous
ideas 
        and 
        with 
        a 
        mind 
        aroused 
        to 
        activity, 
        whether 
        or 
        not 
        one