The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-02-02
Eetter$ tO tl,e EdftOr. .
The District Agricultural Experiment
 Stations.
10 the Friends of Agricultural Advance.
 ment: ,

9N&SbS&A0a
 To the Friends of Agricultural Advance ment: C.
 The explanation offered for making per- Sonal appeal for contributions for the de- Velopment of the Agricultural Station is the crying need for some means Of arOus- ing the people in the country to an ap- preclatfon of the vast resources at their command. The migration from country Co city should be stopped When We realize that the very best of our young men are leaving the farms and seeking city life, It is appalling,
 What Is the cause of this condition and what can be done to change It? Shall We appeal to the young man to stay on the farm? What have We on the farm to ask him 10 stay with? To what extent are we showing him how to develop the 1 DoundlcSS resources of the land, so that
 this occupation will be worthy of his high ambition and native talents-So that the farm will be attractive and remunerative to him? Our country districts are filled with youth, both talented and aspiring The advantages offered by the commercial ana professional occupations are inceL t. .ves to them to seek high attainment. On the other hand, farm life Is to & large extent barren and unattractive, for tue simrle reason that demonstration of the easy development of the unlimited pos sib0itiss of land culture is. in the main. lacking. They only need to be shown that farming can be made to pay.
 But the whole situation Of migrating
  By the intelligent and cooperative ef- forts oh the part of those who lead coun- try lite-those who mold public opinion concerning farm life. Who are these? The farmers themselves. Our farmers need to take higher grounds in all kinds of land culture and stock raising. Thrift less methods of filling the soil should be placed under the ban. Scrub stock should become disgrace Tn the community.
 There are various ways of creating bet ter conditions in these things. The farm er3' institute; the various agricultural horticultural and livestock associations: throughout the country; the exchange and practical application of ideas and meth ods developed by those who have sue ceeded in 4f1y particular phrase of agri- cultural eftOrt,--these are some of the agencies that have been used and will continue to be used by lovers of farm and farm life.
 But there is another agency that is of no little moment in reclaiming the farm from neglect, both in the influence it may exert over the young and in the stimulus it may give to practical farm CTS who come in touch with it. This is the EXperincnt Station. We have in Ala bama, besides the Stnte Agricultural School at Auburn, nine of these statioas --one Tn each Congressional District-sup- ported in part by State appropriations
 Think of the great value of these schools to our agricultural interests, if they be organized on the right basis and he con ducted in the right spirit. These schocIs have been in operation for Some years. 1t is true tEey have had obstacles to overcome, and some mistakes have bee n made Tn their management. But nOtwith- standing they have accomplished much good.
 Formerly they were under local man- agement in the several districts in which they were located. Now all nine are un- der one general management controlled by a State Board, of which the Govel- nor Of the State is the head. All the pep- pie throughout the State are interested in the success of these schools; for aS- riculture is the basis of prosperity in all other occupations
 The Experiment Stations connected with 1 these schools are the very heart and core | ot the schools These stations must be brought up to the highest possible levei. | 1T the schools are to carry out the mis- ] sion on which they have been sent. There | must be the School Garden to furnish laboratory work" for the pupils. Tie larm should be a model home. in which | there should live q family Of sufficient | intelligence to improve and beauttfy the | premises. 1t should be model of at l udctlVeness. thrift and economy. The 1 Hafd, the garden, the fowl yard, the | COW lot the pig pen" the pasture lots l tne blot and the fleld-should all be mod els oi thelr kind. In these there shoI-u ! De hothlng but the purest stock Of pian' ana anImal. This model farm and home | Is Of course continually open to the pub 1 ne and with it the students of Rgricul- 1 ture are to become as familiar as wItf
 e Ine nome or their birth and rearing | JheSe students must see demonstrated be | fore them that there is money In the | poultry yard, in the pig pen. in the feed | Ing ana milking of cows in the producing
 of nigh grade beef and other stock. They
 must learn that farming is an art re
 qmring intelligence and skill not only 1T l Knowing now to make crops to the pep ladNantaSe, but also Knowing how to mil