Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-12-03

colleges, farm institutes extension courses
and the farm clubs all over the country.
Each lecture has forty or fifty lantern
slides connected with It, and also bulle-
tin OF information describing the slides
Here, for instance, is a syllabus on the
helpful hen. 1t Is accompanied by forty
four slides, and It tells how to raise fowls
and how to market them. Its pictures
show all sorts Of chickens and eggs,
geographically depicting how fowls vary
In their production from some hens which
lay $50 eggs a year TO others which lay
none at all. The lecture states that our
farms are now producing $1,000, 900. 900
worth of poultry per annum, and the crop
ranks among the greatest Of those which
come from the farm.
Another lecture relates TO the care Of
milk, showing that our dairy crop Is
worth about $500, 100000 per year, and
how we have 100000 milch cows in the
United States TO supply IT, 1t tells just
how the COW and its milk should be
treated and how to get the most money
out Of all dairy products,
Z Teaching Farmers from Trains.
Another feature OF this educational
NOIA VI ~OHNlb NpdI1'lS CANIitQ OD COn-
pection7 with. tho trains. Last year fifty
two Of our leading railroad companies
were aiding the government in teaching
| farm education. They employed 23s
school cars and sent them over 10000
miles of track. Their trains made 1900
stops, and at each place a corps of ex-
pert lecturers delivered talks upon agri-
culture and domestic science adapted to
the locality. Tho total cost OF operating
each train was something like sos a day,
and the total amount spent was over
$780, 0O This teaching reached hundreds
of thousands OF people. 1t embraced a
total Of about 1900 days. of lecturng, or
period equal to fourteen years Of 800
days each.
Each of these educational trains had a
locomotive, a baggage car and one or
two coaches fitted up for lecture pur-
poses. II also carried Pullman car,
with dining room and sleeping quar-
ters for the lecture force. The lecturers
were from the national and state depart
ments Of agriculture. and from the coll
leges, The subjects were chosen to ut the
locality where the lectures were givenI'
In dairy country the talks were on
NS+'' 'H'b1 anu Nio NlalIlb car
ried dairy cattle and specimens OF but
ter and cheese, and all sorts of dairy i'm
plements to Illustrate the work. In a
fruit country the trains had fruit exhibits
and in stock country they had hogs
and cattle OF various kinds. In the
wheat and corn lands the lecturers talked
wheat and corn, and in some other places
they talked cotton or truck gardening.
These educational trains have their ad-
vance agents. The farmers know when
they are coming, and they gather IN
crowds at the stations. The railroads
realize the value, and say that such edu-
cation has materially added to their
traffic. Indeed, the freight from the
farms has much to do with paying the
dividends Of the railroads. In 1903 of all
the freight carried 1871, 10000 tons was
made up Of agricultural products. OF
this 6,0oO,OOO tons came from the forest
and 7S,OOOO0O tons from the farms proper,
while 2O,0O0OOO tons were made up OF ami
mails and other products, The average
received for this stuff. ton per ton, was
far above that OF coal and some other
minerals, FRANK @. CARPENTER.