Mexico weekly ledger., 1892-12-01
The Farmers Institute.
IN SESSION THREE DAYS IN TRIS
CITY NEXT MONTH.
The State Provides For These I'm.
p0rtant Meetings and They
Should be Largely Attended
by Farmers and Busi-
ness Men.


Correspondence of the Ledger.
Mexico, Mo-, Nov. 26.-Yes, she
is coming and will be here on Dec.
21st to 23rd-that is, the Farmers
Institute. Well, what of it? Am
l interested in it or in its success?
Yes, you are, and more than you
might at first suppose; because the
success OF the merchant, mechanic,
lawyer-in fact, every one-depends
on the success of the farmer and the
farmer cannot be successful unless
he goes about his business in an in
telligent way, and the farmers in
stitute is one of the ways to get a
large portion of intelligence and in
struction; because the State Board
of Agriculture, under whose man.
agement these institutes are held,
are securing persons that have prac-
tical experience on the subjects on
which they speak and have made a
success of generally above the aver
age person SO engaged. Many peo-
pie have false conception of what
the farmers institute is or what it
wishes to accomplish. In the first
place, it is not a branch of the Agri-
cultural College at Columbia but it
has the control of the Experiment
Station located there. Neither is it
connected with the Grange, or
Wheel, or Alliance, or any organi-
zation of that character, but it is
composed of representative men
from each Congressional District,
together with the Governor of the
State, the Superintendent of Public
Schools and the Dean of the Agricul-
tural College, who are ex-officio
members of the Board, aud the
Board has the appointment and di-
rect charge of the State Veterinar-
ian. The Board meetings that are
held In the State are at the expense
or by appropriations of the State SO
that if you do not eone to it's meet
ings and get the benefits to beideriv-
ed it will simply be your loss and
nobody's gain.
You may ask, why does the Leg
islature make an appropriation for
the farmer to hold meetings and not
for the other classes of people?
Well, because, as before stated, all
other business for success depends
on the success of the farmer. Again,
many may suppose that the men
engaged in lecturing are 'book
farmers" as they are called, and not
practical in their several lines on
which they speak or, if 80, they 60
at their business in way that would
be impractical or too costly for the
ayerage..farmer; but this is not true.
For while one man tells us he has
improved his land so that when he
first commenced with it it would
only produce an average from year
to year of only eight bushels to the
acre, he has increased the fertility of
the soil so that he can and does OBJ
tain an average OF thirty-five bushels
of wheat to the acre from year to
year and he does not use commercial
fertilizers either, because he cannot
afford it, Tor need it, as he can do
it much cheaper and easier and be
getting crops while he is doing it.
One may say, II do not believe
that" Well, 1t is true, neverthe-
less, and if you do not wish to take
heed and do likewise it will be your
loss. While it is true that all soils
may do this much it is also true that
there are very few soils that are pro-
ducing even one half of what they
might and under proper manage
ment with but very little extra labor
it is certainly nonsense-not to say
stupidity-to work forty acres to get
what might be obtained off of twenty
acres, and very many times of OF
ten acres, and certainly with less
labor than to go over the whole forty
| acres, and, besides, the product OBJ
tanned off of the ten acres would be
first-class and bring a better market
| price than would thati produced
| spread over the forty acres, because
that having the most attention and
fertilizers on the small lot it would
produce the best results. And so it
| is in the several departments or
lines of which the speakers may dis
course on.
1t is not the intention of the Board
to bring in speakers from a distance
to occupy all the time, but to sim
ply open these subjects and give
their experience and then have the
subjects discussed and thus obtain
all the experience and knowledge
possible, for Sin a multitude o.
council there is wisdom. 1t is ex
Ipected, also, that local talent vii
take large part in presenting papers
| for discussion, so that the success o
the meeting depends very largely OF
| the attendance and support OF tn
agricultural class and even thos'
living in the city or town.should en-
courage the meeting by their pres