The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1911-11-07
HILL WRITES UPON
EXPERT FARM WORK
Economic Questions Discus
sed Thoroughly by Great
Rail Magnate.
(National News Assoclation)


SPOKANE, Wash, Nov. 7.-Practi
cal farming. the work of agricultural
colleges, the scarcity of competent
farm labor. the diminishing food sup
ply and Othe economic questions are
discussed freely by James J. Hill,
chairman of the board of directors
OF the Great Northern Railway COM
pany. in letter to David Brown,
chairman of the local committee of the
National Country Life congress.
Mr.. Hill endorses the aims and pur-
poses of the nation wide farm better
ment movement, to be launched in
Spokane, November 23 to 20, and says
it will do a real service by obtaining
authoritative information which it
would be possible for the farmer OF the
country to put into actual use. adding
among other things:
always the first and most impOr-
tant matter is to reach the individual
farmer and show him what he himself
can do on his land. The most highly
educated agricultural professor or
teacher, when placed upon farm, can
do little more. if anything. beyond
adapting his crop to the soil. To Sc
lect good seed and to properly culti-
vate the land-that is all within the
reach Of the average farmer
Should Know His Land.
HE can or should know what crop
his land is best adapted to raise. He
can test his seed by taking a hundred
grains of each kind and planting them
in box of average soil and place the
box in place where the sun will
shine upon it. The number OF grains
that grow will give him the percentage
of good seed from which he will get
results. He should use every particle
Of barnyard manure as fertilizer and
he should prepare his seed-bed by
thorough cultivation before planting
and then it should be well narrowed.
THAT is practically all that the best
informed agriculturist could do under
the same circumstances. If the far
mer is successful in raising full crops
! think 1t is fair to assume that he
can be trusted to improve all his
home surroundings and his social con-
ditiOn. II his farm work is not we'll
done and the results are poor crops,
the other work will not appeal to him
nor can he afford to spend much time
or money in other matters.
Most of the men who discuss agri
cultural subjects are apt to talk over
the heads OF their audience and to
talk about matters beyond the reach
OF the average farmer. Many Of our
agricultural schools are more engaged
In turning out teachers rather than
farmers
'In the agricultural countries in
Europe. agricultural education has fur
ther advanced than with us. Great
Britain has worked at it for a century
and has raised its yield Of wheat from
IA or Is bushels per acre to 33. Den
mark, with an area about twice the
size of Massachusetts, has more than
80 agricultural colleges and schools
and in practically every neighbor-
hood experts are assigned to help the
farmers in a practical and common
sense way. In Belgium every school
must maintain a garden of at 39E2
square rods. All these efforts bring
the better methods OF cultivation di-
rect to the farmer.
What He Didn't Learn.
AT the National Educational asso-
citation meeting last year, a speaker
said: I recently heard a young agri-
cultural college graduate, who had
been placed in charge of a farm, de-
plore the fact that he and others like
him could go through college and re-
ceive a bachelors degree in agricul-
ture without anywhere, either in high
school or in college or on farm,
learning how to plow, or dig ditch,
or harness horse. or milk a cow.
What will help a farmer most is
clearly to enable him to help himself
and this can be done by howing him
on his own farm. We have tried
many methods and found that the only
results worth while have been obtain
ed by showing the farmer through the
preparation Of a small plot of ground.