Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-23

panies addressed have taken a stand in
the matter of rendering assistance in an
educational way to the agricultural in
| terests of the districts which their lines
traverse. After classifying this 1t was
! found that of the various methods by
which this end was being reached there
were nearly forty. Among ,..ese were
, the employment of agricultural experts
| to instruct farmers, furnishing names to
the various agricultural departments for
use in distributing agricultural literature,
organizing and conducting demonstration
| farms. sending out good-road. Seed soil
and better-farming special trains furnish
| ing speakers for farmers Institutes and
several others OF equal Importance and
help to the American farmer.
In making this investigation special
stress was laid upon the work being &C
complished by agricultural instruction
trains, and figures gathered reveal the
fact that fifty-two companies had en-
gagged in this form of aiding farming
during the fiscal year ending June 30.
| 1910. The number of cars employed for
this purpose aggregated 239, or an av-
erage OF more than four cars per train.
! Taking the entire number of trains used.
| it was found that they traversed alto
gether 40, III miles of track during the
+! year and occupied in so doing the eau!va-
| lent of $50 days for q single train. Dur
ing these trips the total number of stops
was 1,793. while the length of the halts
varied from forty minutes to two days
each. During these stops lectures were
delivered on agricultural and domestic
science topics. demonstrations were made.
exhibits of animals shown. together with
| those of charts and agricultural products.
Nor did this prove q small task or an
| inexpensive one. Operating these trains
! per day was reported by thirty-one COM
panies, the average of which amounts to
so each for the 33S days during which
these trains were run, or an aggregate
of $32,3S3.6O. And if the entire number
Of companies running these trains had
reported equivalent costs the total eX-
penditure for this would have reached
$.I6, 1914 Forty-three trains reported the
number of lecturers carried at 346 while
the lecturers themselves contributed al
together 5000 days Of service or about
eleven days each, about eight lecturers
being on each train. If the other nine
| trains that ran, and occupied eighty-seven
days In the aggregate, had the same
number OF lecturers, eight per train. II
would add 696 days, making a total of
1905 days, or a period OF instruction
equivalent to more than fourteen years
OF 800 days each And IL these men had
been paid an average salary Of $500
per year the amount would be $4,000.
And If this sum were added to the cost
of running the trains the total would
reach very close to SOL, 800 for the year.
OF the trains reporting twenty-six
showed an attendance of 1S9,6f5, and if
the remaining number of trains reported
had had an equal number OF hearers il
would amount to almost $4,000.
project of this size is far from being
insignificant when the large number Of
farmers reached and the results are
taken into consideration. While the fig
ures show that this method of lettering
farming conditions, the method in which
these trains are managed and the actual