The Marshall republican., 1909-03-26
County Experiment Stations.

county experiment Stations.
The county court of Jasper coun-
ty, Mo. has just arranged to take
advantage of the law making it
possible for each Missouri county
TO have an agricultural experiment
station of its own. The county
will put up $500 annually for a per-
iod of five years, and additional ex
penses will be paid by the state.
The location for the new station
will be agreed upon at once, Prof.
M. F. Miller, of the Agricultural
College at Columbia, representing
the state, and the ground will be
made ready for the 1909 season.
This is the first station of the kind
10 be established in Missouri, and
and it is said TO be the first in the
United States. But several other
Missouri counties will probably ar
range for similar stations just as
soon as possible. The cost of such
a station in any county need not
exceed a few hundred dollars, at
most, while the great value is hard
TO estimate.
The law providing for the es-
Enlistment of county agricultural
experiment stations known as the
Nelson law, from the name of the
author, was enacted in 1907. Sec
ton 1 reads, in part: "In order to
determine and demonstrate the inn
portance Of improved seed, Of bet
ter cultural methods, and to favor
the general adoption of better agri
cultural practice, and to bring the
results OF the scientific research of
the state experiment station and
of the federal department of agri-
culture within reach of all the
farmers of Missouri, the county
court of any county in the state
may establish and maintain a coun-
ty experiment station"
Such county experiment station
may be located on the county farm
or elsewhere. The state expert
ment station at Columbia fur
nishes, without expense to the
county, all necessary advice and as
sistance in the planning of the ex-
periments, the selection ofsuitable
land, and in the laying out of the
plots. 1t also furnishes seed and
fertilizers, and, wherever possible,
a proper officer to superintend the
planting and harvesting and to
make such photographs and re-
cords as may be needed the reports
to be printed for public distribu-
ton,
At a county experiment station
experiments are to be conducted
for the purpose of testing diffe ,ent
crops and varieties of seeds in
which the farmers of the county
may be especially interested. New
and untried crops may also be
tried, crops rotation studied, and
fertilizers tested. Improved seed
may also be grown for dissemina-
ton within the county.
In brief, a county experiment
station is for the farmers of the
county. If they want a half dozen
varieties of seed oats tested they
can have it done right at home and
without expense, thus determining
which variety is best. Or they may
get definite information on corn
trying eight or ten different varie-
ties: In some counties alfalfa in
formation may be wanted, and
test plots, under different condi-
tions, sowed. Thus will they get
an answer to the question, will al
falfa grow in this county3 The
possibilities are not limited to the
answering of a single problem.
Every county in Missouri may
have ar agricultural experiment
station il it, wants it, but it may
not be possible to reach all at
once. 1t will be a ease OF "first
come, first served,n
Il yfaa ~ ------------ t.