New-York tribune., 1902-08-26
THE LEARNED FARMER

Wa have heard much that is commendatory Of
the honest farmer and the happy farmer. ana
tbe industrious farmer, and various other types
of farmer From these the learned farmer has
been held apart. an object not so much OF
comnoendation as of ridicule. II not OF contempt
Tho changes Of alleged humor have been rung
unon his pedantic blunders, and the dollars
which each individual potato or ear OF corn cost
him In some cases he may have merlted such
treatment Even then it was not because ne
was learned hut because he was not sufhclenty
or not rightly learned. He was schoiar III
many things. but not in those which had a
practical bearing upon agriculture so far as
they were concerned he was not a scholar. but
an ignoramus We imagine that If thus the
LAWYER or doctor or business man were edu-
.a,ed in all things save those which he had to
Dractise but in them not at all, he would com
mand no more conmendatiOn or respect than
the so-called learned farmer has done 1t is in
this Wow of the case as well in Others that
we hail the appearance of so illuminating ana
suggestive an article as that OF DR.. Galen VIII
son in The Tribune Farmer OF last Week Inc
greatest need OF farmers, he unhesltaungly ana
emphatically declares. is education in the line
of tbeir business" We SHAH not here presume
IN essay q final answer to the question what
farmers need most. which propounded by
The Tribune Farmer. and which has called 10
the desk Of the editor of that journal great
number of answering articles of high merit
But it may appropriately be affirmed that'
whether or not il is their supreme need educa-
ton is at least one of the greatest needs of
farmers.
It is astounding. when we come TO think of it,
that contrary idea has long and so widely
prevailed The boy who was to be a lawyer,
{ was boarding
school and college. The boy who was to be-
come a merchant was sent TO business school.
But the boy who to stay on the old farm
was kept on the old farm. and had to be con
tent with a few terms at the district school.
The three Rs were enough for him. Indeed,
more book learning would spoil him for the
farmers calling And If one who had been 10
college came back TO the farm the neighbors
shook their heads doubtingly, suspiciously,
mournfully. All that book learning, and the
money il cost, wasted, Surely there must be
"a screw loose" somewhere about him! And
YET the fact is and il should he obvious TO every
rejecting mind, that almost above all other men
the farmer deserves and requires broad, thor
ouch and scientific education. Or perhaps
should say that no pursuit is more worthy of
learned and scholarly attention than farming,
and that none more requires it for its most
successful pursuit.
Consider the magnitude and the Importance
of it In the numbers engaged in 1t, in the
numbers dependent upon it, in the amount Of
capital invested in it. in the value Of yearly
output, il easily outranks all other businesses in
the world. Banking, railroads, shipping, manu-
factures are all inferior to 1t and dependent
upon it. Surely, then. mans greatest industry
is worthy of mans highest efforts and best
preparation II Is not only worthy of them, it
imperativeiy demands them. The young man
does not waste a good education by taking it
upon the farm, nor does he thus unfit himself
for farm work On the contrary he is handi-
capped IL he enters farm work without it. For
consider the vast variety OF his activities and
interests and their intimate relationship with
the practical sciences. He is not merely manu-
featuring one thing one line of goods. He is
dealing with the animal, the vegetable and the
mineral Kingdoms He rears and uses animals,
wherefore he needs to know the principles OF
animal life and health-practical biology. He
has half a dozen different kinds of animals,
He cultivates several varieties of trees, half
dozen different grains. several grasses and
forage plants. root crops, tubers, seeds, small
fruits and what not. Each one has its own
individual and peculiar requirements To meet
them all the farmer needs knowledge and skill
surprising that OF the merely academic botanist.
He cultivates the soil There many kinds
OF soil, each requiring special kind OF culture
To do the work Alright he must be a practical
chemist. He uses much machinery. and needs
TO be conversant with mechanics He buys and