Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1905-10-14
FARMtRAND PLANTER.
THE EXPERIMENT STATION.
riment station Is Greater Than
Many of Them Imagine.

The real purpose Of the experiment
| farm and Its relation TO the farmers Of
the state do not seem 10 be clearly UNI
derstood. There seems to be in the
public mind a confusion Of the expert
ment farm with a model farm. The
two are by no means the same; but
that no distinction is made Is evident
from the expressions you hear in a
crowd going through an experiment
farm: That corr is not as good as
mine" says one, or John, you car beat
that cotton" Such comparisons show
that the speakers think the crops grown
al the experiment farm are intended
as models for the farmers of the state.
This Is a mistake. What then is the
purpose Of the experiment farm? 1t
is TO test the value and adaptabilities
of new crops or new varieties that have
been originated in other sections or are
recommended by individuals to develop
useful crops from mptive weeds or
grasses, to test methods Of culture and
fertilization, and 10 submit the results
- the farmers Of the state in a form
that will be practically useful.
II is clear that since the greater part
of its work is really experiment, that
there must be many failures-more fail
ures than successes. The fact is that
the advantage Of the experiment sta
ton is just this: To save the individual
farmer the time and expense Of making
these experiments and necessary fail
ures himself. 1t is cheaper 10 a%ppropri-
ate money to the purpose and let them
he made once for all than for each of
us TO do this work for himself. It is
unreasonable to expect all the crops
we find on the experiment farm TO be
successful and useful as models for our
farming. What we have u right to ox-
pect is a clear statement Of the meth
DDS, etc, which have been tested, and
the results of the test, so that we may
avoid those that are not good and
make use of these that are.
TO illustrate: The maypop is perfect
ly familiar to us all, as a weed, and
most Of us have enjoyed sucking The
seed while we were boys. Ii is quite
possible that from this weed may be
developed a fruit that would be a source
of pleasure and profit. On the other
hand, it is possible that an attempt to
develop such a fruit would only end
in failure. Certainly the average farm
er has no time or money to spend on
its development, Right here comes in
the experiment station. Though it we
all combine to make the test. The cost
to each of us is very small, and if the
attempt is successful We shall all share
the benefit.
Or again, our woods are full of wild
legumes. Some of these with proper
handling may prove equal in feeding
value 10 clover and alfalfa and, being
native to our soil, will be easier 10
grow. But no individual has the time
and money necessary to make the test.
with the possibility Of failure that has
always to be reckoned with. And so
we should look TO Il experiment sta
tons to do this fer US, Their service
In regard to testing new varieties and
methods Of cultivation and so forth is
similar. And the experiment farms
have done much good in these direc-
tons. Let us judge them by their real
purpose, and we shall not only - more
just to them, but we shall be in a bet
ter position to get good from them,
On the other hand, the experiment
stations are sometimes at fault in esti-
mating their obligations to the farm
ers, by whose will and for whose adj
vantage they have their existence, rs
secondary to their obligation to pure
science and scientific men. That they
can and ought to make contribution to
science is not to be denied. But the
lines of investigation that they pursue
and the form in which the results of
their Investigations are published
should be determined by the needs of
the farmers in their section. The bul.
letin issued should be written in a
popular and interesting style, and
should be eminentfy practical in their
treatment Of the subject. Furthermore,
they should not consist generally in
statistical tables, etc, which are hard
reading. They should state and inter-
pref results in the most simple, clear
and popular style possible. In order to
do this the men engaged in this work
should come frequently and intimately
in touch with the people for whom
they work and understand the manner !
of thought and the problems that meet
them.
When the people expect only what is
legitimate from the station, and the sta
ton realizes its relation to the people,
may expect the best results for ag-
riculture,-B. NJ. Drake, in Southern
C%ultiyator.