The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1912-02-03

Pullman, Wn., January "a, 1929
Farm management is comparative
ly new phase of agricultural science
To treat the subject fully in single
address is entirely out of the question
Hence it will be possible here to con-
slider only a few of the more funda-
mental points. 1t must be remembered
also that what is said here pertains
only to farm management as it is be-
ing developed in the United States de-
partment of agriculture.
The office of farm management grew
out of the old division of agrostology
now known as the office of grass and
forage crop investigation. The aim at
the very outset was to study farm
methods and farm experience. 1t was
believed then that many farm prob
lens have been solved in a satisfactory
and practical way by the more pro-
gressive farmers themselves. This stu
dy early proved very fruitful source
of information and it was soon learned
that the farmer has many other prob
lens in addition to those of growing
lens which are difficult to solve and
which are not being discussed by the
agricultural papers or in the bulletins
of the state experiment stations or
the United States department of agri
culture.
The office of farm management has
undergone considerable modification
and evolution since it's organization
some six years ago. AS the various
lines of work develop and farm prob
lens present themselves, the view
point and methods of investigation
change. The process by which this
line of investigation has developed is
concisely set forth by Mr.. Spillman
i'll the Country Gentleman of Novem-
Der %, as follows:
Agricultural science had it's incep-
ton in the work of the chemist, the
botanist and the devotees of other
or primary sciences. {,
These men viewed agriculture from |
their laboratories, and hence looked at |
the farm from the outside. They saw
only that agricultural involved certain |
elements of their particular sciences,
and became interested in farming only |
IN so far as it had to do with these
sciences. First, the botanist discover
AZ hot Mo nte l,,o ri Of OH
enance from the soil. Then the chem
st said: If plants draw food from the
'oil, we, by analysing the plant and
he soil, can prescribe fertilizers for
he farmer to USE. Upon this assump-
ion, which we now know to be true
My within extremely narrow limits,
alf century of soil chemistry was ;
ased.
with the advent of agricultural ex-
eriment stations came new type of t
gricultural scientist. The older type t
-ere followers of the more fundament- G
sciences; the new developed a
cries of secondary sciences, each of c
hich was in certain sense an ap- Y
lication of the principles of such sci a
noes as chemistry, physics, me- t
lanics, botany, zoology and physiol c
sy to some branch of agriculture. We a
ow have the agronomist, who deals l.
18th the problem of growing crops; e
lie animal husbandry man, who stu t
es animal production, plant and ami il
al breeders, who apply the principles n
breeding and selection to the i'm Il
'ovement of farm crops and farm ami |;
ais; and long list of other special |,
is, all of whom are trying to an s.
YER the question 'How?' in some tt
anch of agricultural industry. s.
)lendid results have followed the in O.
of these men, and agri- c,
lture has received a marked slim II
us. Farm animals are better bred h
d more intelligently fed than former
the yield of farm crops has been II
creased. Farmers everywhere are II,
IRE prosperous. Il;
The New Agricultural Scientist. al
But even these men sometimes took ST
view of farming. Their tu
light was into the principles and &C
thods used in some department Of ia
ricultural production and tended
inly to the production of larger de
Id to the acre, more meat to the oh
IND of feed and better quality of wi
,duct / would not in the least min co
re their work; it is fundamentally
)ortant. / wish only to call atten- en-
4 to the fact that they also look Gil
the farm from the outside, and then an
y at those aspects of it that hear
IN the particular science in which do
ir interest lies. ms
1t the last decade third type Of Gel