Arizona republican., 1899-10-04
All Horticultural Interests
Represented.
Beside Some Interests Which Are
Not Strictly AgriCuIfuraI.-An
Address by President Hoard of
the Farmers National Congress-.

o'clock this morning, WHEN the nine
teenth annual session of The Farmers
National congress was called to ORDER
by Ex-Governor w. D. Hoard of Wis
consin, the venerable president of the
organization. After an invocation by
the Rev. George c. Lorimer of Ire
mont Temple, and the appointment of
a committee on credentials. the dele
gates listened to cordial addresses Of
welcome delivered by Governor VOL
oott, Mayor Quincy and representatives.
of the Boston chamber of commerce
and the agricultural societies of Mass
achusetts. After responses had been
made, President Hoard delivered his
annual address, which was in part as
follows:
The principal drawback and him
drance to agricultural thought. pros
and progress is a lack of union and
sympathy between scientific theory
and the everyday 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 sci
entific teacher. A moments study of
the situation will disclose the reason
for this. The farmer knows from hard
experience what he knows. He has
worked it out with 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 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 say
ing. He is not sure that the facts
which environ him are the same as
those which surround the teachers. His
isolation on the farm compels him to
be independent and self-reliant. He
can depend on no one but himself for
the soundness of his judgment or a
hand to execute it. He thinks tina
very much of what is done at expert |
ment stations, taught at agricultural
colleges, or related in dairy and farm
papers. for instance, is nothing but |
theory He cannot see how it is going |
to help him. And because he does not |
see he does not accept. Who can
blame him? His business is to make a
profit out of farm work, be it ever so
small. He must earn more than he
spends, for very likely there is the in
terest on the mortgage 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 1t is hard on the wife, on the
children and on himself, but there is
no help for it; he must pay his debts.
No wonder, then, that he cannot al
ways see that he can follow the advice
that outsiders give him. Most men
will not act any further than they can
see.
There needs TO be instituted new
order of teaching agriculture in this
country, such as is being done in some
of the countries Of Europe The noun
tain will not. cannot if it would, go to
Mahomet There should be established
at various places in each state expert
ment and demonstration farms carried
on by men who can correlate both sci
ence and practice. The Canadian gov
under the wise direction of
Professor Robertson, has solved this
problem in one line at least. 1t has in
dairying into regions where
the industry was unknown, by building
cheese factories and creameries, in the
latest and most approved form, and !
placing them in charge of graduates of
government dairy schools. These in :
situations were maintained until the d,
farmers about them learned the way
and method of true practice, when 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
EDUCATION.
God said: LET there be light" The G
average farmer of this country does ,
not yet believe in that principle as an 2
aid to himself and his farm. He has !
100 little sympathy for agricultural ,
schools or for organized methods for a q
better agricultural education. This is i
seen in the fact that, as a class, he !
spends thousands of dollars to educate +
his children to be lawyers or doctors, E
where he spends on dollars to especial n
y fit them to be intelligent farmers. c
This strange Indifference to the ad- +
a n a Uhi iUo n l. ,
edge imparts, is difficult of explana +
ion. But few farmers believe that 7
here is such a thing as a science Of q
agriculture. The great mass do not be- q
ieve that the thing we call farming r
AN be taught to their children from g
nnnI1S o.. schools The A American farm | A