The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1909-06-01

| take this first opportunity since my
return from a Farmers Institute trip
in western Washington to reply to
your letter with reference to the
demonstration train work during the
past few months.
Since March l we have operated
three of these demonstration trains.
The first one was over the line OF
the Northern Pacific Railway in the
Yakima Valley beginning at Kenne-
wick and closing at Ellensburg. This
train was exclusively for demonstra-
ton of fruit growing problems,
especially pruning, spraying, and or
chard cultivation. The demonstra-
tion part of the train consisted of
fiat car equipped with power spray
er and a large apple tree mounted on
hinges so it could be lowered fiat
on the car when the train was running
and then raised at each stop for the
spraying demonstration, and series
of one, two, and three year old trees
mounted in tubs to illustrate proper
and improper methods of pruning
young trees. The lectures and
demonstrations were given from this
fiat car. There was also large bag
Gage Cal 1lOu1tCo oPCCi-
mems of orchard pests, various spray
ing and pruning devices, a complete
fruit growers library and specimens
of farm literature, bulletins, etc., and
an exhibit of Autographed labels
which are being used to advertise the
fruit in different sections of the state.
This car was lighted by complete
farm home electric light plant. The
other cars of the train were for use
as audience room in case of bad
weather and for the accommodation of
the lecture party and railroad Off
cialS. The train stopped at thirteen
different towns and was attended by
4,215 people, being an average attend
ance of 324 each stop. The lectures
and demonstrations were given by
Professors Thornber, Melander and
myself. A representative of the Ma
tional Irrigation Congress to be held
at Spokane in August accompanied
the train and spoke briefly at each
stop. This train was operated from
March 10, II and 12.
The second train was operated over
the lines of the o. r. & N. Company
throughout eastern Washington cover
ing the counties of Whitman, Spokane,
Columbia, Garfield and Walla Wala.
This train consisted of seven cars and
was equipped to demonstrate and en-
phaSize three important farm topics,
namely: better soil tillage; improved
seed; and more and better live stock.
The demonstration equipment of the
train consisted of a stock car in which
we carried a fine draft horse, typical
cows representing a beef and a dairy
breed, three thoroughbred hogs and
three thoroughbred sheep of different
breeds. One end of this car was re-
moved and at each stop the live stock
was taken out on platform on a flat
car which had been fenced in with
woven wire fencing, where it could be
easily seen by the audience. The rest
of the flat car was equipped with a
very complete set of farm implements
for scientific soil tillage. This car
was used as lecture platform. In ad-
dition there was two baggage cars con-
tanning exhibits of improved grains
and grasses, a farm library, farm home
literature and farm home electric light
plant. In one end of one of these cars
was carried the sacks of seed field peas
which the o r.. & N. Company dis
tributed to ten farmers at each stop
to be tried out as a possible forage
crop. Also the seed corn which is
distributed to the farmers boys who
entered the corn growing contest in.
augurated by the State College as a
feature of this train A total of nearly
400 farm boys entered the contest and
secured seed from the train. The re-
mainder of the train consisted of two
day coaches, one of which was used
as instruction room for the boys corn