The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1907-10-01

a
our rural primary school system"
OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVEMENT.
1t is quite fortunate that the Pacific northwest
should be honored at this time by visit from
Secretary Wilson. The three states which have
been carved out of the original Oregon country
this year produce approximately one-tenth of all
the wheat grown in the United States. The out
put of the premier cereal in Oregon, Washington
and Idaho will be more than six times as great
as the yield in California, and there will be an
expOrtable surplus after making due reservation
for feed, seed and home consumption, equal to
onefourh of the total exports of the United States
for the fiscal year ending June 30th This pre-
liminary statement is made for the purpose of
calling the attention of our honored visitor to the
Importance, not only in this country, but in the
worlds markets, of trio of states which have
been sadly neglected by the department over
which Secretary Wilson presdes.
There is hazy tradition that somewhere in
California the department of agriculture has an
employee who is supposed to supply figures and
data relating to the wheat crop of the Pacific
Coast There are also other employees in Idaho
and Washington Unfortunately for those most
vitality interested in the accuracy of the statistics,
none of these is known to the grain trade,
and at time since it's inception have the crop
figures of the department of agriculture for the
three states mentioned been even approximately
correct. The weather bureau was for a short
northwest, and through intelligent handling and
compilation of the reports the information thus
collected was a positive advantage, not only to
the grain trade, but to the growers, millers and
other business men.
The agricultural department few years ago
overestimated the wheat yield of Oregon, Wash
ington and Idaho to the extent of 100000 bush
els, and it's figures were eagerly accepted by
the European buyers who endeavoring to
break prices, the misleading figures seriously af-
fected the values in the foreign markets.
Years ago, when the wheat yield of Oregon was
much smaller than now, the department employed
a man in this state. AS his appointment was part
of the political patronage of Oregon, he entered
the service under a decided handicap, which he
never tried to remove and eventually the posi-
ton was vacant and has never since been filled.
So long as the weather bureau attended to the
matter we received accurate data from all parts
of the state, but since it relieved of the duty
of crop reporting we have had no service from
the government except of a haphazard nature,
not at all in keeping with the prominence of the
state as wheat producer Now that the secre-
tary has made personal inspection of the terri
tory which exports more wheat in proportion to
the yield than is exported from any other part of
the United States, he will probably recognize the
necessity for paying little attention to crop
porting. If the crop is small this year as now
indicated by the government reports, the Pacific
northwest will supply more than one-third of all
the wheat that will be shipped from the United
States during the fiscal year ending June 80, 1908
1t is very important to have a system the
farm, for it will accomplish the work on time and
in order. Without system nothing is done in
and no job is finished before another is begun.
There are too many irons in the fire, to speak,
and some of them get too hot. System does away
with guesswork, it generates habits of industry,
of punctualty, of thoroughness. 1t teaches one
to finish one good job before another is be-
gun, and this is more important on the farm than
anywhere else System provides for a crop rota-
ton, and for taking proper of everything.