The times., 1897-05-04
LETTERS FROM TIMES READERS
A New Man at the PIow.

U the UI
An editorial, titled as above, in The
Times, for April II, is worthy of attention
by all interested in the welfare of agIi-
culture. So far as the Depa rtment OF
Agriculture is concerned, including all OF
its bureaus, there is certainly wide room
for improvement. and 1t will be very
gratifying To the public If Mr Wilson SHAH
ma ke IL what it ought To be la the " es
or the nation,'' To this end while also
seeking market for American butetr,
he might improve the department very
materially, and save much money, by
abolishing several ornamental and useless
'divisi ons;' by reducing the corps Of
professors at least one half; and by fe-
fusing to publish any bulletin. pamphlet or
book which is OF doubtful practical value
to the common, everyday farmer. II is
all very well to be active In the Inter
ests OF the farmer Let that activity
take sensible practical turn tight here
in Washington. Instead of creating new,
high-Salaried Positions, 1t would be q
much more useful activity To abolish
many which already exist 1t used TO
be claimed that the late Secretary was 8
practical farmer as well as an "agita-
tor and a tree planter but all of these
shining accomplishments failed to lift the
Department or Agriculture out of the
fossiliZed ruts into which it has fallen.
In truth the ''eyes Of the nation have
grown weary with looking for improve
nent in that direction. And sending but
ter to London will not mend matters The
root Of the trouble is right under the roof
of the department, entrenched in "diyi-
sions, bureaus and professorships, -
which make q great sound threshing over
old straw, sienifying nothing, in the So
called study Of birds, mammals, insects,
weeds, grasses, and soils, not to mention
weather predictions. This SOFT of in
vestigatioa will never help the farmer or
find him market for his products He
does not need to be told whether or not
sparrows passerdomestieus lare anuisance;
injure poultry; If weeds need to be ''culti-
waited out of existence; or il there will
be showers in the early morning" All
this is the useless fringe upon the garment
surplusage, which the law rejects.
Doubtless it would be a good thing for
butter nal kers if they could find Il market
in London There is nothing like trying
theexperiment, for the proof of the pudding
Is III lIte tdtiHS. IOI MY ldfb L SHOulu
be glad to see superior article of but
ter on sale right here in the Capital OF
the biggest nation ON the globe" The
art of making it in Virginia and Maryland,
II it ever existed, appears to have been
lost. And venture the prediction that as
much of the ''oleomargarine variety"
is sold within the shadow of the great
domc," and under the nose of the Depart
ment Of Agriculture, as OF the ''Elgin va
rety" II we cannot make good butter
for home consumption how shall we do
so for the fastidtous London market?
In a tour of Great Britain, from one end
of the kin ngdom to the other, in all sorts
OF cities towns, hotels and private houses,
/ found that what is universally eaten
as butter ''over there is almost unknown
over here Butter, in the English sense,
is sweet cream freshly churned every day,
unsaited and mcolored, and not worked
over and manipulated by hand or machinery
Denmark is SO near London that the fresh
butter made there one day can be sold in
the market the next The Danish cattle
have plenty of rich, luscious grass and pure
water, besides the American grain which
is given to them The result Is a delicious,
sweet-flavored, uncolored pr oduct de-
iighUful to any palate unspoled by Amer-
can tobacco and whisky. When the Amer
leans will make the same kind of butter
they will find plenty of customers at their
own doors FULLER WALKER