Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1905-10-12
FARMER AND PLANTER.
THE EXPERIMENT STATION.
The Farmer. Interest q. The E.p.-
rsmest station In Greater Than
MANY of Thea Ima=In~.

The real purpose Of the experiment
farm and its relation to the farmers o.
the state do not seem 10 be clearly IN.
derstOod- There seems to be in ths
public mind a confusion % the experi.
ment farm with a model farm. The
two are by no means the sane. but
that no distinction IL made il evident
from the expressions you hear in q
crowd going through an experiment
farm: That corn Is not as good as
mine. says one. or John. you can beat
that cotton" Such comparisons show
that the speakers think the crops grown
at 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 II
is TO test the value and atap,abIiities
of new crops or new varieties that have
been originated in other sections OF are
recommended by individuals to develop
Esefu. crops from native weeds or
grasses. to test methods OF culture and
fertilization. and to submit the results
to the farmers OF the state in a form
that will be practically useful
Il Is clear that since the greater part
o. 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 expeuse % making
these experiments and Necessary fail
ures himself II is cheaper 70 appropri-
ate money TO the pHrpose and let them
D. mses onee fer al than for each Of
US TO do this work for himself Il is
unreasonable 70 expect all the crops
We ind on the experiment farm 20 BE-
successful ant useful a. modeis fer our
farming What We have right 70 ex-
pect Is clear statement u The meth
DDS. etc. which have been tested. and
the results % he test. 80 that Ne may
avoid those that are not sDod and
make use % these that are
To illssrafe- The maypop Il perfect
" familiar 70 Us al. a. a weed and
most of IA have enjoyed surkiug the
seed while We were boys. u il quite
possible that from this weed may b.
developed fruit that would be a Source
Of pleasure and profit. On tho other
hand. it : possible thai an attempt 70
develop such 4 fruit would ONLY end
in failure. Certainly the average farm
er has no time or money 20 spend on
its development Right here comes in
the experiment station Thrc .gh e. We
all D -rra. 20 -.
10 each 81 Us Is very snail. and il the
attempt IS successful We shall all share
the benefit.
Or again. our woods are full Of Wild
lsgumes. Some Of these With proper
handling NAV prove equal in feeding
value to clover and alfalfa and. being
native to our soil. will b. easier to
grow But 40 individual has the time
and money necessary to make the test.
With the possibility Of failure that has
always 10 be rsckouet with. And so
We should look TO our experiment sta
tons TO 10 this fer Us. Their service
In regard 10 testing rev varieties and
methods Of cultivation and 50 forth IS
similar And the experiment farms
have done much good in these direc-
lions. Let u judge them BY their real
purpose. 1nd We shall not only lie more
Just to them but We shall be in 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
eFs. by whose will and for whose ad-
vantage they have their existence. Is
secondary 70 their obligation 10 pure
science and scientific men That thew
can and ought to make contribution TO
science is not 70 be denied. Bur the
lines OF invetsissiou 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 hui
letin issued should be written in a
popular and Interesting style. and
should be emiEenth practical in their
treatment OF the subject Furthermore.
they should rot 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
then
When the people expect only what is
legitimate from the station. and the sta
ton realizes its relation to the people.
We may expect the best results for ag-
riculture--B. NJ. Drake, in Southern