Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1909-1915, 1911-03-03
Subjects Of Interest to farmers
/. Discussed...Me Meeting Was
Well Attended.

the previous meeting in the morning.
Professor Shaw spoke on dry farming;
President Worst on 1.-THE Business Of
the Farms" Professor Randlett on Gag
ricultural Education IN che Schools" ;"
and Professor Palmer on "soil Gull
tnre." Each talk was followed by re-
marks and questions from the audi
enee @@i2ss! ~ ~, :E5s:- -7'5<t..: 'r'', 2
Thursday morning Prof. Randlett
spoke on Agriculture In the Schools. :"
This morning Professor Shaw, who
spoke yesterday on Alfalfa, talked on
Grasses and their Culture;" Profess
eor Palmer on "Noxious Weeds" Pro-
fessor Randlett on Corn" a subject
in which he is very much interested.
Mrs. Campbell continued her series
OF lecture on Domestic Science in the
Public Schools" =
There was music by the Norden
Chorus. Professor Holm. Mrs. VIM.
Falger gave her illustrated lecture on
birds, and Professor Waldron speek in
place or President Worst who talked
Wednesday evening. /
! Professor Worst's x.ecsure.
The lecture given Wed. evening by
Professor Worst in the court room
dealt with dry farming, crop rotation
and the agricultural education: of
children. He explained that the man
who had given his field and crop the
proper attention had still to contend
with weather conditions and these
were not entirely beyond his control
The farmers of the old country have
learned to control them and can es.
innate ahead with surprising accuracy
their yields while in this country a
man never knows until his grain is
&hreshad5 how much 1t win amount to.
=: E''I believe" said the speaker, IF ey-
cry farmer In the state would plant4a
line of cottonwood trees or as.rows Of
hedge we would never suffer again
from these drying hot winds. Every
leaf would become heat absorber and
the birds that would nest in their
branches would destroy the insects
that eat up more crop than can be
grown on the ten or twelve acres occu-
pied by the trees" 1t will take twen-
ty-five years to bring about this condi-
ton and for that very reason, tree
planting ought to commence at once.
In speaking of the danger of farming
too much, President Worst said that
It was impossible to farm two or three
sections with small team force
Such farmers should be properly call
ed wheat manufacturers and their
farming is a mere expenditure of Ia
Dor, capital and executive ability. Ev-
cry time they take a crop from their
land they are robbing 1t of so much
power, The land in North Dakota to-
day is suffering from fungi disease;
he said. Fungi, he described as liv-
ing organization that developes in the
coil and preys upon the plant like lice
seemed to have its particular kind Of
parasite SO each seed has, Its fungi.
Now when one crop is planted in a
ground year after year, these fungi
multiply until they do severe damage.
But II wheat Is. planted one year and
something else, say corn, the next, the
wheat fungi would die for something
on which to ,lourish. 4: ! y ~ ~, =, j:
The time was coming. the speaker
said with conviction. when we would
be proud we lived In a dry country.
That time would come when farmers
had learned the methods of dry farm
Ing and their land would raise accord
ingly In value. ~. " =. :. ;. = -.
= The speaker; closed with an eloquent
appeal for the agricultural education
OF children. He said, t'This great ag-
riculturala country cannot bend its <edu-
cation away from the soil and then
7 look to the soil for support. A great:
author has called nature, Gods text
book, and the study Of nature was
nothing bu the study Of agriculture.
The farmer pays directly seyen-ninths,
and indirectly all the taxes that go
towards a school fund to educate the
children away from the farm # # T.3{s
Mr.. Worst would not say that the
school fund was too large, 1t was not
large enough, but he would not have
\ It expended entirely In the teaching Of
Latin, Greek, and other classical sub
jects, but spent In practical instruc-
tion. He would have the course In
troduced into every country school,
High school, Normal and even would
not object to the university devoting
+ its efforts to agriculture. s5. Il! at
Cases existed IN the state where the
farmer worked and toiled to educate
his children in the branches that un-,
4 At him for farm life and tend to turn
his sympathies elsewhere: 81 remem-
ber," he said, "the old pedag gogues who