The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-06-25

W1Uk&ELxte0 | Euauk you IFofu the uOIlotu o< my heart that you have quit talk <nE. and that you are listening to an earnest old clod-hopper, that has done nothing but hop the clods all his life. We have In this State nine Agricultur- nl Schools. I live within three or four miles of one of them. I have been in them time and time again, and the schools are not doing all that the law xnaking power intended that they should. There are nine of these schools and they are given enough money al- most to run them, and they have tree tuition. but the boys who go there do not know that 1t is an Agricultural College. They do not perform one min utes' manual lebor. The farms are rented out, and I know this from ob- servation, because I have been to the school time and again. Now If you will make these schools strictly hgri- cultural schools; putNa professor there that knows what agriculture in scientific way is, and teach all the boys how to farm scientifically, the State will be blessed beyond measure. But ff you do not do this, if you just run these schools as common high schools, at Is shame and fraud on the State That nine schools should be supported at the expense of this State, which are doing no more good than any other high school in the State. That is my position, gentlemen. The Agricultural College is doing its duty, as far as 1t ran, but gentlemen. if you would in- form yourself, and know what an Az Ficultural School really is, just take trip to Starkville, Mississippi. They have got there the best Agricultural roilege in the South. It was headed by Gen. Stephen D. Lee. He is gone from the presidency now, and I do not know how it is carried on since he left. The fault lies in the management bf these schools. If we do make them Agricultural schools, every boy who koes there will do two hours manual labor day, but if he would do four hours work a day. every poor boy in the district would have chance ko go there and get his education, and pay his board. and 1t would not cost him a cent. That is the object of these schools, but we have missed it, and we ao not carr yit out. I would like to zee the amendment carried. as 1t goes In the right direction, but l would like to see that change, and stop the ap- bropriation to the agricultural schools unless they are agricultural schools tn- need. That Is my opinion as to that.
 But as for the analysis of the ferti- iizers, that Is all right, and if you cut that out, then the farmers of the State of Alabama will buy more dirt than they buy manure, as sure as you are born. The manufacturer will make the price of the dirt, and call it phosphate. nitrogen and potash. The farming class. as a mass. do not know what 1t Is.
 Now would like to say something further. but have talked enough
 CaH 0f 'sg0 On.b "gO on,
 have been a close student all my life, and tried to be perfect in what l did. There has been right sharp things said here about bulletins. There was bulletin sent to me several years ago, that there was an experimental station at Uniontown. think Mr. deGraffen- reid lives right close by
 Mr. deGraffenreid-I live near there.
 MT. Palmer-That bulletin read that they had taken an old worn out gull sey, a prairie field. and had planted 1t an grapes, and they were making ten tons of grapes to the acre, and they were selling them at 10 cents pound. That figured up right big to the acre, and got on the cars and went to EJniontown to see about it. l got off of the cars, and took a plank walk and walked to a hotel, and met an old man who was keeping it, don't know his name, and asked him where the ag- rfcultural station was, and he hung hls head and said: agricultural sta- aion? Didn't know one was here; but there is a stable keepAr here that knows everything. and I will send for the stable keeper and he will carry you to this agricultural farm station" Well the stable keeper came, very com- inunicatfve fellow, too. and nice fellow Co talk to. told him what l wanted, and what I had come for. He said he would carry me out. Now there was smother thing said in that bulletin, which was that they had tile drained that farm, and the lands where the hIes were was producing fifty per cont. more grapes than the land that was not drained. That was 2 wonderful thing to the farmer, to increase the production fifty per cent. by laying tile drains. You lawyers, I suppose sou all know the law, but from the way I hear you talk you do not know much about farming. (Applause)
 Well, I went over to see the farm. h9e had one grape vine tied up to a house that marks civilization in every Family where you see it, and the ground as very rich there, and I found that he had counted the punches of grapes on this vine, and averaged 1t by estimat- ing if you put the vines so many feet apart, and every vine was as good as that, there would be ten tons of grapes to the acre. Loud applause.) I said then, show me the tiles, have seen the grape vine behind this little house, but show me the tiling. He said, my dear sir, you are the first man in Ala bama that has ever come here to make an inquiry about them; there is not a sinRle one in working order; every one as dilled up; they run up and down, and aap and down, and we thought the water
 would seek its level and go out, but didn't know the dirt would get in there and stop it up" We'll he was a young fellow, and I said what pay do you get for this thing, and he said sixteen hun dred dollars a year and all that I can make on it. thought it was pretty good place to hide out politician, and get him out of the way.
 Now gentlemen, I am satisfied that you want to do what Is right. We farmers do not object to paying the fifty cent tax, if you will take the money and put it into the common schools. There is where 1t should go, or to the agricultural schools, if they are strictly agricultural schools, but we need farmers that know something about scientific farming. Hall you my dear audience, gentlemen of the Cop yention, do not know anything about parliamentary law and do not want to come to any more Conventions, I am fired of 1t, but I will tell you gentle men, that if you get the stumps out of veur field, and get a disk blow and
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