The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1908-10-09
vas the real money crop.


ment which we have worked out in
practical manner: We were just the
wheat crop ahead, as the increas-
ed yield in corn is caused by the TO
tation has fully made up for the loss
in acreage. In fact, we are now able
truthfully to say that We are the
wheat, clover and alfalfa ahead
clear gain-and this is no mean con-
sideration when you figure the val
lie of clover and alfalfa fed in con-
nection with corn. isis
This one feature of what / learn
ed at the agricultural college is
worth many times over what eX-
pended for my education there. To-
understand the value of the alfalfa
hay in all feed operations is worth
course in an agricultural school,
A few of our farmers tried grow
ing alfalfa and pronounced IL a
failure. They urged against it that
it would only produce two crops a
year; that the first crop would come
in the wet end of the season, which
would render the hay impossible 10
stack without spelling; that the sec
ond crop would not yield well in a
dry season, and that it was after all,
not good feed. .... ..-.
While attending the college l had
my eyes opened on the question of
alfalfa, and on my return to the farm
l said, I'VE will grow alfalfa. The
result has succeeded beyond our expec
tations. We now keep twenty-five
acres in alfalfa and get five tons of
excellent hay from every acre every
year, and an abundance of good
safe pasturage besides. Not only is
it relished by all stock but is by
far the easiest feed to handle.
Before l went to college an ear
OF corn was an ear Of corn and moth
ing more. If 1t had a reasonable size
II looked good to me. knew nothing
and cared less about proportion OF
corn to the cob, about the value of
we'll filled butt and tip, and the
various other vital features about an
ear Of corn. While at home on my
first vacation from school / went to
our corn-crib and tried to pick out
quantity of seed-corn; / was
astonished to find that there was
scarcely presentable ear in the en-
tire crib. Now l can go into any
OF the cribs on the farm and pick
out 20 ears every one of which will
score above seventy-and do this
without any hunting over the pile,
either. We used to think that our
Observation-Disclosures cribs did well If
they shelled out nine-hundred bushels
and often they would fall below
that mark. Now these same cribs in
variably shell out more than thous-
and bushels. ALI this change has
been accomplished in five years simp- /
ly and solely by the process of in
telligent selection-for we grow the |
same variety of corn now as when
We went to college.
Before l took my agricultural course
the oats grown in our locality were |
practicall& confined to two varieties;
one fair yielder in a favorable year
but, unfortunately, most years
we're unfavorable, and these oats had |
a strong tendency to lodge and were
very susceptible to rust; the other
kind, late variety, had heavy straw |
and would not lodge, but was poor |
yielder In school | learned of
new variety OF oats imported from
Russia by the experiment station.
| brought several bushels Of this
kind home This is the variety we
row grow, and The yield is not only |
much larger but far more dependable,
and these oats will stand up after
our heaviest storms, even after they !
are dead ripe. This makes cutting a
comparatively cas-. and successful Op-
Grafton. But the point which ! wish
to emphasize ia this connection is
that one neighbor after another has
seen the success Of our college oats"
and secured seeds, growing them as
successfully as | have been able TO
myself. This little fact tells the story
of the value to the country at large
of the training given by the agrlcul-
tural training given by the agricul-
tural college. Whenever a good STU
dent of one of these colleges has 10
Gated he has become, by sheer force
of example, an active missionary in
the cause of progressive agriculture.
This kind of yeast is working in
almost every locality.
OF course, 1t is idle to expect to
revolutionize the old-fashioned home
practices of rule-of-thumb farming in
five or ten years, but / know from
actual experience how to get a stimu-
lus to the application of physical and
mental energy along Industrial lines