Mexico weekly ledger., 1912-07-11
Crop Improvement
TsschlnE agriculture By perso1d
contact and practicnl
Transformation
BOYS TEACH MEN
Introducing Modern Farm Methods
while Getting Feseft Of Lone
Experience.

BY Bert Ball.
Agricultural teachings have been
along the line OF the old-fashioned
camp meeting revival. A small per
centage Of farmers have been brought
to the mourners' bench and a con-
siderable portion Of them have back
slid, as converts have ever done.
Everybody says. That Ssss hit me;
that hits the ether fellow" and he
goes on In his old nut.
II is evident that the old methods
must be supplemented by something
rev. and while II Is not exactly true
to say that teaching the men through
the boys Is new. yet applied to aEri-
culture Il Is the keynote Of many Of
the plans which are now being laid
70 crack the shell Of the mgn who
thinks he knows Il all because be
has been praeticing his grandfather's
methods for nigh on to forty year"
As valuable as the boys corn clubs
have been 60 the boys themselves. it
may be said that the men who have
worked with the boys. who have sup
piled the prizes and given their couu-
sci and advice have been eyen more
benefited than the boys themselves
Man Partner fer Each Boy.
Acting upon this principle the Crop
Improvement Committee OF the coun
ell Of Grain Exchanges has intro
duced many plans TO put the boy up
against q real farmer. primarily for
advice, but really az a factor in intro
ducing proper methods and eliminat-
ing the ~fallaciesu Of the past.
II is only a matter OF time when all
Of the rural schools VIII teach at
least elementary agriculture. and Il Is
only because the teachers themselves
have never been able to get a regular
training that this course has not been
introduced long ago.
A Child for Each Farm.
Taking advantage of this condition,
the Crop Committee has succeeded in
getting a half million children to test
seed corn this year for termination.
and in most Instances each pupil has
obtained his seed corn from a differ
ent farmer.
There are about as many children
In an ordinary school district as there
are farmers. and sending the young
est child to father. older ones to
uncles, big brothers and grandfathers.
and others to neighbors who have no
children. for advice. we have estab-
+ lfshed a line OF communication be-
tween modern thought and ripened
experience, which is the first step in
winning the favor Of the man who
honestly believes he can still pick
seed corn by looking at 1t.
The story OF how the preliminary
: test is made In school, AMI how the
final test is made in the evening to
which all Of the men partners have
h been invited is very interesting. The
+ most important thing which has been
n accomplished by this jB that every
!, man sees MS name on the blackboard
in comparison with the names OF all
the other farmers in that school dis
= trict, showing him concluslyely just
y where he stands among his neighbora
] as a.seed corn picker.
q The pupil is encouraged to remain
in partnership with his own farmer
- and who can say but what the union
|. Of boy and man is not the salvation
4 OF the boy and the regeneration o.
the mani
II Planting In Partnership.
= The plans provide that this acre o.
corn which has been tested in schoo
, shall be planted in partnership. har
vested in partnership. and introduced
n the following spring in competition
= as a Joint product Of the man ard boy
The beauty OF this plan is that th'
- dull boy gets the same encourage
ment and has Just as much chanc'
y of winning a prize as the smart bO,
= who generally wins the prizes in cor
N clubs, although such a boy will vii
out in life's battle In any event. 1t
= the slow boy who needs the most al
r tention. Laying all science aside. !
We could demonstrate to all thos
below the average how those abov
the average have succeeded, our prof.
lem would become comparativel
simple.
Where Each Man Stands.
Now, therefore, we must max
-. every man realize just where b
- stands in the agricultural equation
how many there are who can bes
h~im.raising corr or alfalfa or turniT
or anything else. How a we g
u this information? Through the a
SCISSORS books7 Mol Our system
taxation has made Ananfas and s
phira look like amateurs.
~ We have already given every be
q partner, and we furnish him with
=. little blank on corn. on wheat, G
cats. on barley, on everything ell
which makes up the yield Of h
II county. Each boy interviews b
partner. How many acres of col
did you put In In 1917" and, "Ho
many bushels did you harvest fro
Jus those acres?s and after asking him
few other pertinent questions
yer takes these reports back to scho
me with him where the information
obtained becomes the foundation I
pre- an arithmetic lesson, showing he
we much more the successful ones ga
his with the same effort and how mu'
req the others lost.
NC In this way we have learned Il
best corn farmers. the best whe
farmers. the best barley farmers. ct
get in each school district, and It Is