Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1906-09-26
AN ENCOURAGING SIGN.
Increase of knowledge Among Farm
ers Means Better Farming.


Recently some have expressed the
idea that the people living in the
country are not increasing in in
formation relative to the scientific
handling of stock and the methods in
vogue among scientists in the cult
walton of the soil. This is mis-
take, says Farmers Review Agri-
cultural science is gaining among our
farmers and is destined to gain more
rapidly as the years go on. 1t was
natural that at first the progress
should be SLOW A body of 100000
persons is not to be moved in a
hurry. 1t is an aggregation OF hu-
man beings so vast that no one can
conceive Of it's real import.
It must be remembered, too, that
at first the means for affecting this
great mass and moving it were very
meager. When our agricultural col
leges were organized there were few
men capable of acting as instructors,
for the universities of the country
had not been fitting men to teach ag-
ricultural science. In many cases men
had to be taken out of the fields and
the creameries to teach IN the col
leges. While they had great deal of
practical information, they had not
studied systematically the mass OF
agricultural information that had been
accumulated, and were but poorly pre-
pared to teach it.
It is only within the past 10
years that most of our agricultural
colleges have been we'll enough
equipped to become aggressive. Now.
however, the material for teachers and
instructors is abundant and great
work is being done. That the farmers
are being reached is demonstrated by
the increasing attendance at farmers
meetings and in the agricultural col
leges Information is being spread
rapidly by word of mouth. Complaint
is made that the bulletins issued by
the stations are not widely read by
the farmers. This is because it takes
something of student to take liter
airy matter and really absorb it, max
ing it into something having force.
But in each locality are few men
that have this ability and they spread
the information by word of mouth
and by example.
There are numerous factors that are
operating to bring about a better con-
dition in the not distant future. One
of these factors is the taking of more
interest in agriculture by the men
that have money and at the same
time have fair knowledge of farm
ing matters. These men are buying
farms and are putting into practice on
them modern methods of agriculture.
The farms so handled become object
lessons. Other farmers follow the
lead of the most enterprising, unless
they lack the will and the ability to
learn. There are some of the latter
class, but they are destined to disap-
pear during the next generation or
two, for the reason that others will
buy their farms, which will have be-
come Improbable to the present
owners.
1t is becoming increasingly difficult
to farm without thought and still
make money. Farmers must make
than they used to, because they have
more expenses. The expenses cannot
be avoided, and must increase as pop
ulation becomes denser and the price
of land higher. With the increase of
knowledge of how to handle land,
farmers will be able to balance the
increasing expenses with increasing
| returns.