The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1910-12-08
CORN SCHOOL
AT ABERDEEN
FIRST OF ITS KIND HELD IN THE
STATE.
PROF. c. WILLIS In CHARGE
AND DELIVERS AN INTERESTING
ADDRESS ON AGRICULTURE.

Aberdeen last week had a short
curse corn school, the first one ever
held in the state. and it is likely that
other cities will now take up this sue
cessful method of educating the
farmer boys of the state. Prof. c.
Willis, formerly agronomist at the
college. was in charge of the school
at Aberdeen and gave a most instruc-
tive address. The Aberdeen News
says:
The corr school was an idea Of Cliff
ford Willis when be was in charge of
the agronOmy department at the state
college at BroOkings and was ar
ranged TO begin on Tuesday of this
week to continue four days. 1t was
planned to come at the same time as
the county educational exhibit and
the county corn contest, both under
the guiding hand of the county super
intendent, and that officer had also
had charge of all local arrangements
for the short course school. The
school was made possible by the ac-
tive cooperation and backing of a
number of the busienss men of the
city and the county commissioners,
and all connected with it are this af.
ternoon feeling thoroughly we'll salts
fed with teh success of the project.
Last evening Clifford Willis, who
recently became manager of the
Northwest Farmstead, who has been
promiennt in agricultural work in the
state for several years and who has
had charge of the school held there
this week, gave a talk in the court
room to a good sized crowd, his sub
iect being Past, Present and Flu
ture."
Mr.. Willis firmly believes in the
greatness Of agricultural pursuits,
and sings the praises of country life,
its independence and its physical and
spiritual value. He believes the old
idea of laying poor crops onto the
bad year" is about worn out and in
its place is the theory that a good
farmer gets a good crop any year and
every year. He said that the season
is made up of six things: Sunshine,
rain, winds, heat, cold and dew and
these six things are the ones which
the average farmer lets nqu him
tNtIN nov anu tIltIi. ItuI GHIIES dTt
TO be considered as essential in the
making of a crop: The season, repre-
senting these six things over which
there is no control; the soil which
the farmer can make much hotter or
much worse, as he edsires; the seed
and the farmer. The quality Of the
last two of the four things is abso-
lutely settled by the farmer himself
and his influence is felt on the others.
In talking of the need of constant
cultivation and its great value. Mr..
Willis used a simple experiment as a
demonstration. Colored water vas
used, a lump of sugar was placed in
it and the moisture could be seen
quickly p~ercolating through the lump
to the top, representing the passage
of moisture to the surface of a packed
piece of ground which has been I'M
disturbed. Another lump of sugar
over the top of which has been
sprinkled a covering of finely pulver-
lied sugar, vas tested in the same
way, and it was found that the pull
verified covering kept the moisture
within it, taking in the neighborhood
VI thirty HIllultS lOT Iue NdUeT u
soak through the powdered sugar.
Ground which has been frequently cul-
tivated serves just such a purpose in
conservation of moisture, holding the
precious water supply below the sur
face of the soil, where it is needed.
Mr.. Willis gave a brief talk in the
history of farming, how generations
ago men ignorant Of the first prin-
ciples of modern farming took up land
in New York, New England, Virginia,
in all of the eastern states and for
years got remarkable returns for their
labor. No care was exercised to re-
turn to the ground the good taken
from ii and those states are now dot
ted with WORKOUT, practically worth
less farms, the result of ignorant
farming. The trend of agriculture
has been west to new lands for that
very reason, but SO much time and
attention r being given correct
methods now that the west will un-
doubtedly never face the conditions