The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1900-08-23
FARMING IN ME-
BItASKA.

| Writing from Aurora, Ncb., w. T..
tnrlls, correspondent of the Chicorc
record, refers to The great changes
"hlch have taken place in agricultural
'nclhods IN that State as Il consequence
OF the introduction of scientific Train .
my ny the agricultural colleges as fol.
lows:
"Thcrc are fewer farms and fewer
stores IN Nebraska than there were
l"nr years ago, but both are larger and
more profitable. Farming is no longer
earned ON IN Il desultory way. IL has
become an exact science. BUSINESS
methods have been introduced nv nsc
oi wmch men OF industry and mtclli-
Scnrc win and the other kind of farm
rrs lose in the competition. This is
!rte not only here, but all over ihc
west. The agricultural colleges arc
largely responsible for these conditions.
Nowadays, it, is rs necessary for u farm
rr to be educated for his occupation os
Tor n lawyer or Il doctor, and the decree
o' bachrl"r OF agriculture is conferred
hy the universities rs well rs of arts and
medicine.
"Ihc state University of Nebraska,
TOR example, is typical institution and
illustrates the demand rs well us the
appreciation of the people Tor learning.
Ii Is situated ut Lincoln, was founded
in lSG?, and the brick for the first
building were hauled sixty miles from
Nebraska City before Il railway was
opened. \ class of two was graduat-
rd III 1873 and Il class of nearly two
hundred this summer. There are
eighty insh uctorS iii the faculty, 1000
students ON the rolls, and an alumni Of
several thousand, who are the solid
men OF the state. II ranks with the
great institutions of the country, and
IL especially important because il gives
Il practical education applicable to the
climate and The so,l and other condi-
tionS Of the country thai cannot be con-
trollrd. II turns out every year botan-
lists and huShandmcn aTrirulturlSts, ir-
rlSation engineers, veterinarians, hor-
tlculturlSts, yrolOGlsts, chemists and all
other classes of culture, who are need
cd and scatter over the State, dcvotinr
their talents and industry to securing
the largest returns for the least labor.
"l on find these men everywhere in
Nebraska and many Of them upon the
farms, where they are engaged in what
may be called concentrated and system
attic farming. Nebraska is divided
by longitudinal lines into different
zones. The eastern half of the State has
u heavy and sufficient rainfall. The
western half is too dry to make ayrcul-
turc safe without irrigation. The
caStrrnmost counties are devoted en-
tirrly TO farming, the nrx: STRIP TO
farming and tattcning cattle for the
market, the next to farming and ranch
ing, placing the most important in.
duStry first, the next TO ranchny with
I llltIc farming on the side. and the
western counties To ranchiny, with I'M
ported vegetables and butter
aurora stands in the center of the
IattenlnG district. 1t has taVo?itc
IOcalltN where corn and alfalfa--thosc
two great mortgage lifter$-grow with
equal luNuriancc, and is surrounded by
what are called "feeding farms" to
which lean mountain cattle are brought
hy railway train and turned into beef.
They may property be called meat
factories, for they convert the raw
material of the country-grain, grass
and watcr--intO beef, mutton and pork
1.-THE establishments are conducted
upon strictly business and scientific
principles. One Of the fccdin" farm
ers told me that scvcnty-livc bushels
Of corn and few dollars worth of
alfalfa would put from 400 TO 800
pounds Of beef on the bones of Il steer,
aud that one hog can be fattcncd upon
the lcavingS Of three steers, 50 that the
pork is clean profit. \ shipbuilder
nowadays can tell you exactly how
many miles an hour the steamer he IS
designing can make before the keel is
laid. He calculates the resistance of
the water, The revolutions Of The wheel
and the amount Of coal consumed, and
then by mathematical process can
determine to within a few hours how
long 1t Will take her TO 90 from San
Francisco TO the Philippines. A
scientific farmer at 4 feeding farm can
calculate with almost az much accuracy
the amount of food it will take to fit "a
carload OF steers for the market. He
has learned at the agricultural colleges
how much nitrogen, albllminOids and
pr0lch IS necessary to produce 400
pounds OF beef, and mixes the food Of
his cattle accordingly. He under
stands that the amount Of nutrition in
the corn and the alfalfa depends upon
the time when they are cut, that The
amount Of crude fiber in Il plant in
crcascs rapidly after Il certain period
OF growth and That hay or corn harvcsl-
ed before IT. i; quite ripe contains an
excess OF water which is wasted in
feeding. IlI+ scientific training clablch
him to solve the nccrciH Of nature and
carry on his operations IN hllinu the
soil and in fatlcnIny the cattle with Il
mathematical cXnctnchH."
What is the moral in all this ? w
think Farmers Voice points it ut
very clearly rs follows
"Sclcntiic agriculture IS the only
agriculture that will win out in the
face Of steadily increasing competition.
Every young man in this country who
contcmplatcs a life on the farm or in
any relation whatever to agriculture
Sh Il Il A