Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1884-03-05
Remarks of Hon. e. HI. Wells, on his
Scheme for State Board of
Agriculture,

WHEREAS, successive failures of the farm
ers old specially, the wheat crop, necessitates
q change to other or diversified branches of
farming; and whereas, natural feeling of
Of attempting this or that industry, therefore,
Res0tDed:-That for the purpose of afford
Ing the needed information and stimulus, it is
proper and advisable that our Legislature pro-
vide, at public expense, for the organization
of State Board of Agriculture, consisting of
one person from or for each OF our congress-
ional districts whose duty it shall be to
institutes during the winter months, at CEN
trail and convenient points in their respective
districts, and that this Board have authority
to employ experts in special industries adapt
ed to any locality, such as dairying, h0rticul-
ture, gardening, breeding, feeding, and gene
raj care of stock, including doctoring, to give
wewill not blindly attempt the impracticable.
nor unwittinGly neglect the valuable, but en-
able us to plan and execute knowingly and
probably.
Mr. PREsIDENT:-This resolution intro
duced for your consideration more than q
year ago, after meeting quite chilling
reception, was formally laid upon the ta-
BILE, where doubtless, most of you fondly
imagined it had met its final doom. But
my faith in the practicability and ad
visibility of something of this kind is as
strong as ever, and trust due reflection
helping to promote its adoption by the
state.
We farmers are so much in the habit of
travelling in old ruts, and naturally 80
distrustful of new ways or departures,
and this being new and experimental with
us, l had little cause to be surprised at
your course in this matter, as hasty con-
illusions are so liable to be wrong or differ
naturally from those arrived at after ma
ture deliberation. But was surprised,
putting it very mildly, at the main reason
given for objecting to its adoption, viz:
That there were no persons possessing the
practical and scientific information neces-
sary to qualify them to properly conduct
such meetings.
Now. this implied that the opponents of
this scheme, who appeared to comprise a
large majority of the gsodly number pres
ent, were much better posted on matters
pertaining to general and specific farming
industries than they get credit for, or I
think may truthfully say, than their sur
roundings indicate, matter have no
right or disposition to dispute, or it is a
grave charge not to say SANDER, against
our Agricultural College professors, re-
nowned specialists and men of reputed
knowledge and authorities in agricultural
1AdtIClS. IL uCCcSSdIy, we Call ~ dUiOdu
for our instructors, and | think it was adj
mitted that Germany has a professor ca
pable of giving information on one point
at least.
Now, it is ever humiliating toconfess ig-
norance, especially of matters pertaining
to ones calling or business, but I do most
candidly Acknowledge the corn, - and if
in my simplicity, have placed you in the
same category, most humbly crave par
don, but am of the opinion still, that
many other farmers, like myself, are sad
ly deficient in knowledge necessary to
success, and who might be benefited by
meetings and instruction such as contem-
plated in this resolution, and in number s
sufficient to justify the expense of at least
trial.
Nor was it sense Of ignorance alone