Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1892-04-23
The Farmers, 1,s,i,mte.

'AhG E'}siufTS'
Mr.. ED1ToR-r note what you said
awhile back editorially about the
proposed Farmers Institute, and you
are right in saying that there are
farmers who resist tsbook farming
and the science Of their calling This
is SO, because farming has, had less
brain work exercised in its behalf in
the past than has any other profes-
sion, whereas, it should have always
lead, for it is more difficult to deal
with. Those who have appeared,
representing themselves as "book
farmers,n were really no farmers at
all and could neither farm with q
book nor without it; they had no
practical knowledge of the work,
therefore. their efforts were fruitless.
The continued failures of this class
ESQ called farmersl has caused practi-
cal farmers to reject books and the
teachings of men OF science. This is
q mistake, and they are now seeing
their error.
Farming can be aided by books as
much as law, medicine, mechanics
astronomy or any other professional
calling, but books alone will not
make successful doctor, lawyer, me-
chanic or astronomer, any more than
they will q farmer. Experience and
common sense are essential to n
proper use OF the knowledge gainE.e
from them in all professions. The
farmer has the highest profession and
the most difficult to deal with and to
gain the best results vast amount
of information is necessary beyond
that required by doctor or lawyer,
for the farmer deals with laws of Ma
ture, and unless these are under
stood by him, evil results follow, es-
peciallv financial failure. All the
good farming in practice to day has
been written down in books and sue
cessful farming is scientific work.
Practical farmers can learn much
more of their calling if they will read
good books on the subject and take
agricultural papers.
The word science is great imped-
iment to many fnrmers--the idea of
it. is of some deep mystery, which
they cannot fathom. This should
not be so; science has been defined to
mean refined common sense" and
this should he understood by the
farmer. All of our common practical
operations on the farm are scientific
performances. Greasing an axle tree,
putting salt on pork to preserve it,
putting ca1nphor with woolens in
suInmer,to protect from moths-these
are I'll scientific operations. The
knowledge OF these things no man
living originated, !ort learned from
some one else. These things were
Ill written down in bonlss, and if
they arc true, why othcr truths must
exist in them also and if we do not
know them ali, why we should learn.
Scientific mnn discovered the use of
oil on an axle tree. practical men ac-
cepted and have used it ever since.
Should the practical man refuse the
new discoveries and teachings of the
scientific men of tod Y? The stu
dcEts of agricultural science in our
colleges and experiment. stations arc
doing valuable work for the farmers,
work that tho farmers engaged in
the business nf making living can
not do for hinself-he has neither
the time to devote to it, nor q mind
trained for it. For instance, chcmis-
try has done more for the farmers
than any other science. Yet, it is
not necessary for a farmer to be
thorough chemist. He needs to know
the result of the chemists work and
he needs the chemist to tell him how
to apply it. The letter published be-
low is q practical Illustration OF what
I want to show:
Experiment Station.
RLACKSBURG, VA, March "a, 1892.
Mr.. Orris a. Browne,
Cape Charles, Va
Dear Sir-I am not prepared as vet
to report in full on the seeds sent me,
but send Won this partial statement
thinking it m;rht he of rsn to YOU
The test for vitality is still in pro-
gress, but thc-following figures give
the result of test as to purity of the
clover seed.
Purity test, specimen No. 1, sub
mitted by Orris A. Browne. Glover,
80 grammes seed tested. Result:
Pure clover seed 90. FL graln1nes
Foreign seed 1. '95 &c
Trash LOO &c
Lost weight 0.25l "
10000 grammes
In round numbers. 81 parts good
seed, 8 parts impurities or90 per cent.
good seed, 10 per cent. impure seed.
The grass will naturally full lower
than this Will report as soon as
possible on T. Respectfully,
ELLISON a. SMYrH, JR..
Biologist.