The herald., 1896-09-05

Farmers Institutes
The feature of the past two weeks in
agricultural and horticultural circles
has been the holding of Farmers insti-
tutes in San Diego and Orange counties
aad at Pomona, San Gabriel and Santa
Monica. The institutes under the man
agement of Prof. A. ]. Cook of Pomona
college have become O power for good in
Southern California. These meetings
have been we'll attended. Pleasant and
profitable discussions on live topics have
taken place from day to day. We pub
lish some Of the papers below:
Prof. E. w. Hilgard, director of the
agricultural experiment stations and
professor OF agriculture, was in attend
ance this week and had a full opportu-
nifty to show himself at just exactly his
full worth and he embraced the oppor-
tunity. He said among other things
that much more interest was felt IN
these meetings in Southern California
than in those held in the northern part
Of the state, bit was at a loss to know
why. Well we can tell the professor
why. These Institutes have become reg
ular intellectual feasts in this southern
country. 1t is because we have at the
head of them e. real live, able-bodied,
brainy Cook.
Perhaps the most interesting feature
of these institutes is the question box,
wherein any one can put question, to
be answered by such persons as the
president may call upon for that pur-
pose.
Some of the questions put gave Prof.
Hilgard chance to show his practical
knowledge. Here is one Of the questions
together with the;learned professors
answer. taken down in shorthand:
Question-"Are variegated orange
leaves sign of disease? If so, what is
the remedy?"
Answer-Prof. Hilgard: ut is due to
variety of causes and indicates great
weakness in vegetation. Variegation
has been due to want of sufficient mos-
ture. at other times to wet feet. 1t not
only affects the oranges but other fruits,
apricots for example. In hard pan the
root of the orange trees are certain to
get into water and then they will show
the yellow leaf. Anything that produces
weakness will produce disease"
In the professors wonderful effort to
produce this last sage sentence he for
got to give the remedy asked for, but q
little thing like the "gist of an argu-
ment" seldom seems to strike the pro-
fessor's-mind as of any Importance He
had given causes. which were both wet
and dry, and weakness If not strength
why take up the time of an audience
with little matter like a remedy?
The professor was down for a paper
on The Work of the College. He read,
or rather spoke, this paper in a tenor
voice with slight foreign accent. In
Pomona he alluced to the adverse crit
icism upon him and his college as "ab-
suro. tie gave as a reason why there
were so few students in his college that
there Is very little use for agricultural
experts In this country. as the soil i3
FRESH and requires but little art in cul-
tivation." At San Gabriel he said that
preposterous statements. or rather mis-
statements found ready credence," re-
ferTirg to the criticisms on himself and
II fyrY-tt II %I,n% l,<
been grossly nnisstated that only one or
two students enjoy the benefits of in
struction- at the college," He went on
to say that about 100 students had been
enrolled III the classes OF the agricultu-
raj professors and instructors. If this
Is so he did not tell us how many of the
students from the academic, scientific
and classical sections are sent over to
the agricultural department to receive
their regular instruction in botany, etc
Ihese statements may be truths, but If
the professor refers to the criticisms
that have appeared in The Herald he
IS the one who Is grossly misstating"
what has been said, as by reference to
The Herald can be seen. If The Herald
has made any misstatements it will glad
~ correct them, If Professor Hilgard will
point them out. The last register of the
university shows that in the four classes
there are nine regular students in the
agricultural college, four specials and
Two limited, one of the latter being the
thousand dollar cellar man. The profess
sor claimed. as does his last report (see
pages 70 and 437) that he had made some
important experiments" in beet grow
ing at the Chino station, and that he had
shown the world that beets of the very
highest grade could be gro1l on alkaii
soils. Nothing could be more absurd
ana conceited tha these empty claims
The facts in the case are as follows:
Prof Hilgard had advised several years
ago that beets could not be grown in
tnese soils Mr.. Gird, Notwithstanding
this advice. planted and grew them sue
cessfully in 1891 and. every year since
on these alkali soils. when the grasses
Ialled IN the spring of 1S94' beets were
planted 1t the Chino station. and in
1898 another crop of four acres was
planted. 1t is claimed in the report that
ms ms was cone "on purely experimental
oasis, but wherein the experiment con-
sisted does not appear, except that sue
cessive paintings" We're made. Inquiry
shows that In these alleged experiments
no attempts were made to determine if
eitner the. tonnage, the quantity of the
sugar or the quality of the Juice coiIId
be improved or the season of harvesting
the crop at either end could be prolonged
by the use of the fertilizing elements
singly. doubly or all three of them 10
getner. or Dy different methods of irri-
cation or cultivation. Mr.. Shinn wrote
the report. and it is very evident thai
both he and Prof. Kilgard are either
trying to fool the public, or that they
are both densely ignorant of what an
agricultural experiment is. The fact is
that after Mr.. Gird has raised beets for
three years on land adjoining or ada
cent to the experiment station. that
then Prof. Hilgard followed in Mr.. Gird's
wake and pionted beets, just as several
hundred farmers had done and are do
ing-nothing more, nothing less. Prof.
Ifilgard is as much off Of an even keel
In this matter of claiming beet ex-
pertinent" at Chino as he is when he
asserts (page 72) that Is per cent of
sugar is the standard per cent required"
or that he raised beets "of the very
highest grades on alkall ground"
Prof. Hilgard said fertilizer expert
mentation is a thing to be made after
SOIL has become exhausted. We cannot
soils"
We have not the space to show all
tie errors that Prof. IIilgard has made