The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-07-26

sent an agent over with money in his
pockets. and orders to stay there until he
got the roots. They came.
I'm addition to everything else, we have
to train men in plant pathology study
which is not even attempted at agricul-
tural colleges. We do this for the sake of
abstract science. because the farmers need
help. Our pathological department studied
the important subject of grass and forage
crops, and as a result we are now able TO
send about the country in dry form spe-
cial kind of bacteria which takes nitrogen
from the air into the soil. making clover
and grass to grow where they never grew
before. We have introduced kind of al
falfa from Turkestan which is not killed I'm
northern climates. and that is just what you
want to grow here.
DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED.
IL have given you few samples of our
work among plants and animals; let me
now tell you of some of the difficulties we
have to encounter. The colleges. with their
growing tendency toward extreme speciali
zation, are producing men well trained along
certain lines. but unable to coordinate their
knowledge along other lines. In agricul-
tural work we can make little use of such
specialized men. An ordinary chemical anal
ysis will not tell what is going on in
plant no matter how well equipped the
chemist. In order to find out what we want
to know the chemist must add to his knowl-
edge plant physiology and physics, and
realize that he is working with living or
ganism. which is quite different thing
when killed. He can't get the knowledge
we need by specializing in ali. these lines; he
must specialize aud then take another spe-
cial course in applying his knowledge. Such
broad course. / admit, could not be crowd
ed into four years, and, perhaps, not into
six; ii might take eight. But II the univer-
stiles will not attempt the work we will.
Our forests are disappearing all over the
country, and we are now training several
young men in forestry and cooperating with
private owners in reforesting and preserv-
ing their trees One hundred thousand trees
will be sent out this year to different States
Our universities have begun to realize the
importance of this, and Columbia and Yale
have established schools. But the study of
soils is still almost unknown, and werare
testing and experimenting all the time as to
hundred students at work. This has had
some practical results already.
SOIL FOR TOBACCO.
1--WE have been paying millions to Sumatra
for wrapping tobacco, but we found the
right kind of soil in Connecticut and Mas
sachusetts. and million dollars worth was
raised there last year. We have now found
soil in the United States which will grow
fine aromatic filler tobacco, and that will
soon be opened up. One of our objects. IN
fact, is TO find everything which can be
produced in our ATTITUDES. We buy annually
four hundred million dollars worth of prod
ucts abroad, half of which might be pro-
duced in the United States and in our trop-
icaI possessions. The true policy would be
to grow everything We can here and let our
possessions grow what we cannot, throw
ing our markets open TO their products. In
this way we would help them more than in
any other way. Our department is now
sending agents to them to teach them how.
We could grow all the sugar in the United
States which we needed. and probably all
tie iow-priced tea. We are looking into
the growing of the mulberry tree and the
production of silk, thus giving profitable
light employment for the young in our
warmer sections.
Education is necessary for all these
characterization such as has been neg
lected by our higher institutions of learn
ing. Sixty-five per cent of our exports are
farm products and are grown by men with
no special training save the tradition of the
farmer. The education in this science should
begin In the common school and be rounded
out in the secondary schools land colleges.
II the schools and colleges gave what is
needed by practical farmers more would
60 to them. At present, institutions which
are getting large annual incomes from the
federal government to train farmers are d.
verting the money into other departments.
They are not equipped for the work, and
say. when asked why, that there is no de-
mand. They rob children of the soil for
|, the sake of few more professional men,
who are not so imperatively. needed"