The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1909-04-09
COUNTY EXPERIMENT STATIONS.
The County May Have An Aericul-
tural Experiment Station II Ii
Wants Ii.

The County Court of Jasper
County, Mo. has just arranged
to take advantage of the law MAX
ing it possible for each Missouri
County to have an agricultural
experiment Station of its own.
The County will put up $500 an
nualiy for a period of five years,
and additional expenses will be
paid by the State. The location
for the new station will be agreed
upon at once, Prof. NJ. F. Miller of
the Agricultural College of Co
lutu bia, representing the State aud
the ground will be made ready for
the 1909 season. This is the fist
station of the kind to be estab-
lished in Missouri, and it is said
to be the first in the United States,
but several other Missouri counties
will probably arrange 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 County
agricultural experiment stations
(known as the Nelson Law, from
the name of the author) was en-
acted in 1907, Section 1 reads, in
part: SIN order to determine and
demonstrate the Importance of i'm
proved seed, OF better cultural
methods, ard to favor the gener-
al adoption of better agricultural
practice, and to bring the results
OF scientific research of the State
Experiment Station and of the
Federal Department of Agriculture
in reach of all the farmers of
Missouri. The County Court Of
any County in the State may es-
tablish and maintain a County
experiment station"
Such County experiment sta
tion may be located on the County
farm or elsewhere. The state ex-
pertinent station at Columbia,
furnishes without expense to the
County, all necessary advice and
assistance in planning of the ex-
periments, the selection of suita-
bic land and 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 rec
ords as may be needed, the re-
ports to be printed for public dis
tribution.
AT a County experiment station,
experiments are to be conducted
for the purpose of testing different
crops and varieties of seeds, in
which the farmers of the County
may be especially interested.
New and untried crops may also
be tried, crop rotation studied and
fertilizers tested. Improved seed
may also be grown for dissemin-
alton within the County.
In brief, a County experiment
station is for the farmers of the
Q ounty. If they want a half-a-
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 definate
information on corn, trying eight
or ten different varieties. In some
counties alfalfa information may
be wanted, and test plots under
d ifferent conditions sowed. Thus
will they get an answer to the
question, Will alfalfa grow in
this County? The possibilities
are not limited to the answering
of a single problem.
Every County in Missouri may
have an agricultural experiment
s tation If it wants it, but it may
not be possible to reach all at
once. 1t will be a case of 'sfrst
come, first served"