The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-10-17
No. SO
FARMERS NATIONAL coNCREss

10Th Annual Meeting, Faneuil Hall
Boston, Oct. 3, 1899
The principal drawback and hind.
rance to agricultural thought profit
and progress, is a lack of union and
sympathy between scientific theory
and the every day practice of the farm.
As yet there is a wide gulf between the.
teacher OF Agricultural science and
the working farmer, and our farmers
are especially lacking in appreciation
OF the great value to them of the scien.
tit1c teacher, A moments study of
the situation will disclose a reason for
this. The farmer knows from hard ex.
perienc9 what he knows. He has
worked it with but his hands. He
may not have used his mind as he
ought; may not have seen what science
has to give him, but it is because he
has had but little time to leave hand
work for brain work.
But beyond this is lack of sureness
in his mind of the truth of what the
agricultural teacher is saying. He is
not sure that the facts which environ
him are the same as those which sur
round the teacher. H isolation on
the farm cOmpels him to be independ.
ent and selt-reliant. He can depend
on no one but himself for the sound.
ness OF his Judgment or a hand to exc.
cute it. He thinks that very much Of
what is done at experiment stations
taught at agricultural colleges, or re.
lated in dairy and farm papers, for in
stance, is nothing but theory. Hecan-
not see how it is going to help him.
| And becauze he cannot see he does not
| accept. Who can blame himY Hs
business is to make profit out of farm
work, be it evtr so small. He must
earn more than he spends, for very
likely there is the interest on the mort
gage to satisfy. If he cannot make
margin in any other way he must do it
by hard self. denial of many comforts,
and still harder work. It is hard on
the wife, on the Children and on him
self, but there is no help for it; he must
pay his debts. No wonder, then, that
he cannot always see that he can fol.
low the advice outsiders give him.
Most men will not act any further than
they can see There needs to be insti-
tuted new order Of teaching agricuE
tuTe IN this country, such as is being
| done in some Of the countries OF Europe.
The m }untain will not, cannot if it
would, go to Mohamet. There should
be established, at various places in
| each State, experiment and demonstra.
tion farms carried on by men who can.
correlate both science and practice.
The Canadian Government, under the,
wise direction Of Prof. Robertson, has
solved this problem in one line at least.
It has introduced dairying into regions
where the industry was unknown, by
building cheese factories and creamer-
les, in the latest and most approved
form, and placing them in charge Of
| gradu yates Of government dairy schools.
| These institutions were maintained
| until the farmers about them had
learned the way and method of true
practice, whe n they were absorbed by
| local capital. In this way the farmers
learned that what they are too apt to
call theory" and 'book farming" was
the essence Of practical method.
The Southern Farm Gazette, in noting
the fact that the German farmers i'm
port from 4. 900, 600 to 8. 900, 600 bushels
of corn a week to feed their fattening
animals, says:
1T does seem little strange that
German farmers are able to import
American corn for hog and cattle food,
while Southern farmers claim they
cannot eff 1rd to raise pork on corn.
Where is the dlfference-in the stock
or the feedersG"
The German farmer is a scientific
feeder. He is a believer in the bal.
anced ration. He makes large use Of
his experiment stations When little
boy, he was taught the elements Of
agriculture In the primary school.
When he became man he was a reader
and student OF the science Of feeding.
II any professor, like Wolfe, had
patiently experimental on the feeding
q qIestion, the German farmer did not
SEER at him and call it ''alI book farm.
ing and theory" He reached out after
the truth wherever he could find it. As
a couse q lence, he can pay the freight
on American corn for 1000 miles, pay
the speculator's profit for it besides,
and make money by feeding it. When.
our American farmers evidence a dis
position to reepect what science is
natiantlv dnino for than and hannrne-