The Colfax chronicle., 1898-02-05
FARMER AND PLANTER,
EDUCATION FOR THE FARMER.

= = s~s~ ~ NJ tss e~ees
The Trits Saying that s.Any Fool Can
Farm" h One that Doesn't Go Nova
dayA
1t is trite saying that '.any fool can
farm" Any fool could farm when
farming in this country meant the de-
struction Of forests, to be followed by
the destruction of the fertility of the
land. II such a process can be proper
ly called farming. the present condi-
tion of the fields of our southland bear
abundant testimony to the fact that
fools have farmed them.
Aformer chancellor OF the University
Of Georgia, distinguished scholar and
divine. is credited with saying: ANY
negro can teach agriculture"
The distinguished scientist who en-
joys the honor OF filing the RESPONSE
Bile position OF president of the
state agricultural collc&e Of Geor-
gia = the cordial appendage of
the university wrote, in substance:
Chemistry is taught here, physics and
engineering are taught here--what is
left for the professor of agriculture to
teach?" The present distinguished
scholar and divine-chancellor of the
University of Georgia-is reported to
have said in an address before the Leg
islature OF Georgia that the boys
when they went to Athens for the pur-
pose of studying agriculture, completed
the course ia q few days. as the liter
ary students persuaded them to change
their course of study.
Is it possible that there is no intel
lectual training necessary to fit man
to pursue what Washing ton said was
''the most healthful, most usefnl and
most noble employment of man." Let
us inquire into this matter and see if
'any foop can take the worn fields of
the cotton states and restore them TO
fertility. and, while doing SO. make .
living.
On what is the art of agriculture
based? In the first place, the farmer,
In pursuing his complicated art. must
know somewhat of the soil which he Is
tc cultivate. and upon the proper ma
nipulation of which depends his sue
cess and subsistence. What sciences
convey an intelligent knowledge Of
soils?
For their origin and physical proper
ties we have recourse to the science OF
geology. which, in this sense, is the
foundation of agriculture. To learn
what elements the soil contains upon
the presence and solubility of which
plant growth depends. we have re-
course 10 the science of chemistry,
which tells us as well the constituents
OF the atmosphere which bathes the
surface OF the earth, the composition
OF the plants which derive their
food from soil and air. and how
they obtain this food. 1t tells us in
what forms the plant appropriates the
dead substances OF soil and AIR which
it and it alone can organize into life.
1t tells us how we can best utilize the
products OF plant life to the best adj
vantage in feeding our domestic ami
mails to produce milk. flesh. fat OF force.
1t tells us not only what are the essen
tial elements of plant food, but pre-
scribes formulas for compounding them
in such proportions as will best re-
place the wasted wealth of our de-
nuded hills Chemical science may
then, with truth, be denominuted the
'Handmaid of Agriculture"
Before a man is allowed to run n
steam engine in Georgia he is required
to show license, which testifies to his
knowledge of the structure and needs
OF the complicated machine.
All animal life upon the earth is de-
pendent upon plants for subsistence,
and man, in addition, for his raiment.
Is it not wise, then, to teach those who
|. are responsible for the cultivation of
the useful vegetation of our globe
something OF the laws of being of the
plants they cultivate?
The absence of this knowledge on
the part al the tiIlers of the soil in the
COTTON states costs annually in reduced
production Of crops more than enough
to establish first-class school Of agri-
culture in every county. As indicated
by the results of carefully conducted
experiments, the loss in production by
the improper cultivation of q single
crop amount annually to no less than
$50, ,000, 900.
lie who strews q mass of clods to-
gether and calls it seeI-bed for cot
ton will ever complain of poor stands
and light yield. The man who pre-
pares thoroughly, by the use of sound
Judgment and good implements, who
thoroughly pulverizes the seed bed and
substitutes. as far as practicable, mule
power for manual labor, cultivates
shallow, mulchlng the surface after
each rain with loose earth, will buy
out his less thrifty neighbor.
The science Of botany teaches how
the seed vegetables, how the plant
grows aud how it reproduces. IT ex-
plains the mntnal depcndence of leaves
and stems upon the roots and the roots
upon the work done by the leaves. We
learn from its teachings that the plant
Is entirely dependent upon its root sur
T. -