The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-01-21
where DUDE A|RMI||EI:.RI
. WON over M0ssBACks.
SCIENTIFIC METHODS JUST DoUB.
LED YIELD OF CORN.
The Grocery Store Debating Circle Was
Full Of Cynicism and Bucolic Irony
In the Spring, but Admitted tn Err
ror When the Harvest Time Came
Round.

Here is true story Of s dude - farm
ing brought back from Iowa by J. 8.
McCaull and vouched for by J. A.
Pease, both Of the Minneapolis Cham
Der Of Commerce.:
G. Tryberger of Eagle Grove, Iowa,
one of the largest land owners in his
part Of the state, is the father Of two
boys, who, against much discourage
ment, made a corn-raising record last
season of which the entire state is
proud. Mr.. Tryberger has sought adj
Joining land every season for years
past, until he now looks out upon many
broad acres. His is a big farm. That
1t should be properly handled was his
desire, and, that his sons might know
as much about farming as could con-
veniently be learned, It was arranged
that they should take course at the
agricultural school at Ames The boys
made the most of their opportunity and
they came back from college to the
farm filed with ideas.
Their first propositions were too much
for Tryberger senior, who thought them
radicals and turned them down hard.
| A few experiments, however, and sew
eral long, heart to heart talks with the
boys convinced him that they had
really imbibed something useful at the
college and he finally decided to give
them show.
Long Boards wagged.
When one of the Minneapolis men
dropped in to see customer at Eagle
Grove one day last spring he found
| several farmnrS in tha store ~
"I see old Tryberger has turned the
lower farm over to his boys said one
"and they're putting in the corn &C
cordin' to algebra. -
"Accordin' to geometry, you mean
said another.
''Well, whatever it says in the book
that s what they re doin.' -
"Joe says his teacher was an agron
omist,' said another.
eyes, said an old man, sarcasti
cally, getting up from cracker box
yes-what we need in Iowy is agron
omists. We need 'em bad. We need {
lot of fellows with specs on and biz
books. We want seyenteefc instru
ments and treetises. I've been farm
in around here for twentyeight years
and ain It used any. formulers or fol
lowed any professor s treetises. Blu
we s!nt any good any more, us OLE
fellows. We never; did anything bu
settle up the state, and make old low,
what. she is. Now, Suddenly it 8 dis
covered that we, don't know anything
! We have to- have dude, professors t,
show us how to do our farmin','' AMI
he walked cat with every appearance,
of disgust. ~ 1bsa1 sdf&5b. 40 4 #l.
It was so for miles around TIL.
dude farmers became the feature Of thu
/ county before the summer was hal:
4 gone. They found it hard to stand thu
ridicule: Fortunately all were not o:
one mind. The scofdng element repre-
sented principally the old-fashioned ant
more conservative farmers, altho Otter
i the men Of considerable wealth. TIL,
boys said nothing, however, but waited
'Them Boys Had Did IT,
Iowa passed thru a favorable season
and the crops looked good. Then, a
early morning frosts appeared, tn
farmers began to make everythin
snug for winter, and to talk about tn
returns for the year and the price O.
hogs and corn in the big markets. Sool
the startling rumor ran around that tn
}, Tryberger boys had taken off seventy
1 two bushels an acre from their corn
No one believed. it at first, for all knew
that on land just north thirty-fve bush
els was the yield, while south, east an,
west of the Trybergers, on land exactl,
the same, and subject to the same in
fuences during the season, yields ha,
run from thirty-fve to forty-fve bush
els. Nevertheless the story was true
The boys had taken in the corn. Thei
fields had indeed shown up beautifully
yet even at that there was not the to
indication Of so large an average yield
But the boys had farmed it right, an
T the ears of corn were there and tn
\ kernels. In spots the yields were owe
: eighty bushels.
t The old conservatives were routed
: Their interest in scientific farmin
$ suddenly became aroused. Now the
! are sitting up nights with books, an
l are studying about seed corn and it
) selection, and are writing letters to til
{ agricultural college and to their repr.
: sentatives in congress for printed ma
s ter covering the subject, for whe
!, scientific farming made seventy bushe
0 of corn to grow where but forty gre
r before, it made q lasting hit with tn
l Iowa farmers.
b. : : 2 .