Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1905-11-17
FARMERS INSTITUTES
FOR ROGUE RIVER VALLEY
DIR. Withycomb to Hold Six More
Institutes in Josephine And
jackson Counties.

theApplegate and lllino ois liver valleys
with the farmers institutes, that were
held in September at Provolt ard
Kerby by DR.. Withycombe and Other
professors from the State Agricultural
College, that they have requested that
tley be favored again with institutes
this Winter. In reply to a letter OF
inquiry DR.. Withycombe writes tc
the editor of the Courier that he will
be BILE to hold series of farmers insti.
tues in Josephine and Jackson
counties about the first week in Febru.
ary. While the schedule of dates and
places has not yet been made out, in.
stitutes in Josephine county will
pro badly be held at Provolt, Kerby
and Wilderville and likely at Merlin.
In Jackstn county, Talent, Central
Point and Eagle Point will probably
be selected as the places for holdine
institutes.
DR.. Withyoombe, who is whole
institute force within himself, will
be present at each of the meetings,
and SO popular is he with the farmers
of Rogue River Valley that they will
be sure to greet him with large au-
diences. The Doctor will have with
him the full corps of Professors from
the Agricultural College, who do in
stitute work, and he will also have
with him one or more of the larger
dairymen and stockmen of the Villa
mette Valley who will talk TO the
Rogue River stockmen from a
farmers standpoint on practical,
money making dairying and fine stock
raising.
In the Eastern States and in the
Willamette Valley and other Sec
tons of Oregon, where the farmers
institutes have become fixed institu-
tions, as factors in progressive farm
ing, the farmers and their wives, sons
and daughters for miles around at
tend, and never hesitate to lay aside
their work, when an institute is in
session, and take an active part in its
proceedings These institutes, where
the farmers have learned their value,
are in session from two to four day S
and are in reality an Agricultural
College short course IN te chi up
to-date farm methods. The farmers,
themselves, and their wives lake an
active part in the discussions and
oftentimes read papers or give short
talks. In this they are encouraged
by the college professors for the prac-
tical experience gained in everyday
farm work, If success or failure, is
just what the institute workers de-
sire to bring out, as especially help
full to those who are striving to make
farming science aud more profit.
able and attractive vocation than it
now is to such a large number of
alleged farmers.
The farmers institute is an educa-
tional institution of slow develop.
ment, for there is good deal of MIS-.
sourian about the avergae farmer and
he has to be shown. And sometimes
it takes considerable showing to in.
duce him to take hold of anything
that is new and differert from the
farm methods Of his farther The
average Anglo-Saxon is more of
Cbinaman than he thinks he is in his
conservatism, and in sticking to the
old customs, methods and manners
handed down to him by his fathers.
The farmer is no exception TO this
rule, and the first institute held in
place is counted a success if 10 to 90
farmers are in attendance. But with
each succeeding institute the attend
ance gains, until it embraces the
greater number of the farmers within
reasonable distance Of the meeting
place There are farmers, though, in
each community, who can not be in
duced to attend an institute, for they
think it is only place where some
college professors show off their
book learning and talk on ne-haired
theories Of farming that are utterly
at variance with their fossilized ideas.
These rural silurians can readily be
distinguished from the real farmers,
for they raise wheat on the same
ground for 40 year, their fences de-
velop breachy stock, their tools aud
vehicles are in the fence corner, the
barnyard or the roadside, their stock
are scrubby degenerates. their home
Is hovel and the yard about the
house Uttered with all manner of
rubbish, and he is found perched on
the ''loafers' roost' in Grants Pass,
or some other town, more frequently
than at work in his field, while his
wife, with half a score Of children to
care for, is bravely trying to help
provide for the family needs by sell
ing few eggs, taken from stray
hens nests in the nearby bursh
patches, and in making what she calls
butter but which is known to the
merchants by another name. Bot
these cumberers Of the earth are
steadily diminishing in numbers.
death removing the older ones, and
the farmers institutes, the schools,