The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1898-12-03
FARMER AND PLANTER.
EXPERIMENT STATIONS.
To Get Best Results Experiment Farms
should Follow Up the Work Of
the Stations.

the stations.
| Many individuals seem to think that
because the general government has
seen fit to organize experiment sta
tons in every state for the purpose of
arriving at as near absolutely correct
conclusions in regard to the great
facts and principles that underlie the
science of agriculture, as it is possible
for poor erring humanity to do, and
that as these conclusions will in every
instance be the outcome of painstak-
ing research and accurate experiment.
alton, much more so in fact than the
average farmer would have either
means, time or inclination to deter
mine for himself, and that as this ex-
Pronunciation is paid by the general
| government, that there is no need
therefore of the farmer using his own
time and means ii experimenting for
himself. This idea is erroneous: the
stations made experiments to estab-
lish general principles, and now it is
the province of every good farmer who
aspires to be at the head of his occu-
patton to experiment, each for him.
self, until he ascertains how best to
apply those principles to his individu-
al farm. car 4sf
Luckily for the farmer. we have
quite a number of experiment farms
In existence that keep immediate prac-
tical results, just such as every busy.
go-ahead farmer is interested In in
the foreground. Prominent among
these, we may mention Rothamstead
in England, with which every grain
raiser is pretty thoroughly acquaint-
ed; but we have one right atour doors,
one which has already aptly been
termed the Rothamstead of America,
m which we arr Ill vially interested,
but of which comparatively few have
as yet heard; we refer to the vxperi-
ment farm located at Southern Pines.
North Carolina. In conversation we
had with one of the directors of ex-
pertinent stations, that gentleman
stated that their object was not to
make money or to save money; but
to spend money. Now, this is exactly
the opposite of what the majority of
our farming brethren want and need.
Money-making and money-saving in
formation is just exactly what they
think they need, first, last, and all the
time; and this is just exactly the in
formation the experiment farm at
Southern Pines proposes to give. Tn
like the major portion of the farms
that are carried on in connection with
our several experiment stations, which
are mostly located on old and WE'LL
worn soils, this particular experiment
farm was located originally on virgin
soil, yet it contained but little plant
food, and was uniform in composition.
The main object in locating this
farm was to fully answer the impor-
tant question, what amount of phos-
phoric acid, nitrogen and potash are |
needed, and in what proportion to
each other, for best development of |
horticultural products: This question
could be answered much more surely |
and satisfactorily by selecting soil |
not rich in all the elements that go to |
make fertile soil and one that was
totally unaltered by cultivation, than
by choosing lands that were richer,
but from which greater or lesser
number of crops had in time been re-
moved on larger or smaller amount |
of manure or fertilizer been applied,
either of which would have materially |
rnoI;fied or pnIl;f;oJ raS.,,,ts &c 20 ,-o-..
possible to learn nothing else by a
visit to the experiment farm at South
ern Pines. one can certainly learn a
lesson lin accuracy. AS instances of |
the nieety. eyactitude, precision and |
accuracy that characterize each and
every operation of the farm. we would
call the readers attention to the fact
that in the first clearing of the land,
all trees and stulnps were removed en-
tireiy and nothing burned on the land,
so as to prevent any alteration in its
natural character.
In looking over the barn, Ne could
not help noticing the large num-
Der of bundles Of grapevine and other
cuttings stacked up. Our first question.
of course, was: Are you going to
from them?" The answer
was: NO; every particle of prunings
are carefully saved and accurately
weighed. so that all the actual growth
on plat can be accurately ascer-
tanned" This same adherence to the
strictest accuracy. even to the very
smallest and apparently most insignii-
cant and unimportant of details, char
acterizes the entire farm and every