El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-04-07

pertinent stations and agricultural de-
partments seldom are acted upon. on
the theory that this might be true on
some other land but IT would not do
the same on mine, the occular dem
onstrations of the modern agricultural
teachers have awakened a live interest
and have convinced the farmer that it
will do on his land
Some time the Wisconsin University
agricultural department. conceived the
idea of taking a corps of scientists out
into the rural districts and superintend-
ing the spraying of apples against the
coddling moth. The farmers were to fur
nish the labor and the state would fur
nish the spraying material Many orch
ards were sprayed. and when the har-
vest home meeting was held and the
sprayed crops were gathered, II was
shown to the large number of farmers
who attended that all but six percenl
of the apples 'on the unsprayed trees
fed off. while nearly 20 percent of those
on the sprayer trees remained on
When the next potato season came on
the same offer was made to potato
growers. and the result was $50 bushels
of fine potatoes 10 the acre where there
were ninety bushels to the acre on IN
sprayed ground The result was that
the mind of every farmer who saw it be-
came as fertile and hOspitables to the
new evangel as his land was to the new
treatment.
Magic Lantern Lectures.
When the farmer sees these things
with his own eyes he loses some of his
contempt for what he used TO denomi-
nate kid glove farming and lowers
his estimate of his old farming with his
sleeves rolled up" He suddenly be-
comes a convert from his old ways. and
awakes to the importance of giving his
son a course at school for farmers
Thereafter it is comparatively easy
Even he may decide himself TO attend
some of the Today courses that his
state university offers. and at least he
will attend every farmers institute that
comes his way
The magic lantern has had a truly
magic effect on many a farmer, for in
the lectures that are now being given
the stereoptician plays no Insignificant
part On the screens he may see
scientifically treated and non-scientifi-
cally treated crops growing side by
side
Every modern method known to en-
list the interest OF those who are indif-
ferent is patiently tried out. and in this
way the farmers are being awakened
The little red schooihouse. so long the
symbol of popular education in Amer
lea, has been partially responsible for
the lack of farming education in the
rural schools. A teacher with 40 pupils.
all of whom she had TO teach everything
they learned had little time for anything
more than the three RS. But when
the consolidation idea struck home, the
high school advantage was brought TO
every child in the community, and an
agricultural course was brought with
In the reach of every boy,
Progress In South.
Throughout the south much progress
already has been made IN Interesting
the farmer Good farming gospel trains
have been run over nearly every mile
of its railroads. and the most ap-
proved northern methods adopted IN en-
listing his interest Corn raising con-
tests have been inaugurated in every
state. in which every boy or girl who has
a plot of land at his disposal is invited
to become a participant; cotton growing
contests. and the like
1t is impossible to estimate fully what
an area of improved agriculture would
mean to the south OF course there al
ways will be difficulties in the way of
a full realization of the benefits of
scientific agricultural training in this
section that are not in the way in other
sections
Millions of acres are farmed by negro
tenants who have no interest in the
soil and who are satisfied when they
can get bare living out of it, But even
with this drawback great things are
hoped for by those far seeing southern
educators who will attend the Little
Rock conference
Technical Training
There is no other kind of education
in which the state takes part that will
yield such great interest On the invest
ment as the technical training in the
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