Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1912-03-14

ty million acres of cultivated lands
at this time. Our population is a.
bout $4,000 and is almost wholly
rural. These figures give you some
idea of the large scale on which our
farming is operated. In 1900 it was
estimated that our farm lands were
worth $11.15 an acre on an average
! over the state, while in 1910 they
had increased to $25.11 per acre,
" hich shows the development of
the state.
! Value of Mixed Farming
"Now there is no question in the
minds of our people that the more
mixed farming is carried on in the
state the more things we can culti-
vate and produce with profit, the
faster our land values will in increase
and the more permanent will be-
come the settlement of our land and
more wealth produced. Our state has
done great deal for itself in this
matter. Our people take kindly to
suggestions and seek in every way to
help themselves. Let me illustrate
i'll three or four ways in which we
have taken hold of this matter in
North Dakota. In the first place our
legislature has provided by law for
the teaching of agriculture, of man
ual training, and domestic science
and the other subjects that are kim
dred thereto, in all our public schools.
We have law which provides for the
establishment of agricultural high
schools and the farming of five or
ten acres of land in connection there
with.
State Aid to Rural Schools
''The state offers an inducement to
all our rural schools that will take
up these subjects by giving them
state aid from $50 to $3.50 per year
providing they hire good teachers,
keep school long terms, and teach
these subjects which are of interest
to the1development of an agricultu-
raj community. Our normal schools
instruct in these branches SO that the
teachers who go out therefrom are
qualified to teach agriculture as we'll
at the ordinary branches thaught in
all public schools. In this way 1t is
hoped to better equip our boys and
girls for the taking care of the land
fof the state and to better equip them
to make farming productive.
Praises Agricultural College
"Our Agricultural college which is
one of the best in the United States
and in which we have some of the
brightest men engaged in agricultur-
al work in the country, has done a
great work. In early days the agricul-
tural college was not appreciated as
much as it should have been for the
reason that the people were not ac-
quainted with the work that 1t was
doing nor with the aid and help that
it might be to them If they were
brought in touch with its work, l
remember distinctly when they used
to run special trains over the state,
bringing people in to see the fields
and the plats and hear lectures on
different subjects, the railroads fur
nishing the trains free of charge for
the purpose. They sent out bulle-
tins all over the state, probably not
read as much as they should have
been but still serving good purpose.
They organized farmers institutes
with which, no doubt, you are all ia
miliar; later they took up and are
doing at present more; comprehen-
Fsive work.
]. Value Of Extension Work.
II "This extension work, in my mind,
has whole lot to do with the de-
yelopment of corn culture in the state
i of North Dakota: In the year 1911,
il 1000 school children were mem
bers of corn clubs or engaged in corn
tests over our state. Thirty-seven
counties of our state participated in
these tests. 1t is estimated that
, the acreage of corn has been In
! creased seven or eight times on ac-
count of the interest that the school
children have shown in this matter
and I might state it better still when
I say on account of the success that
the school children had In raising
this crop. This same extension work
has gone step further and In the
last year, through the college. have
been conducted what might be term
ed farm schools where demonstra-
tions are made In actual practice,
showing by concrete examples how to
test milk, how to build silos, how TO