The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1913-02-14
Talks To Farmers
Benefits Of The Demon
stration Farm
(By 7 F Peck }

eulJoTldl pdRts OppOslnR Tie IuOu0I
or demonstration farm, that de-
mauds some consideration on ny
part, as | am urging the establish
ment Of County Demonstration
Farms by the counties of Tennessee
in cooperation with the State De-
partment of Agriculture.
If the writer had confined his
criticism to the model farm / would
have agreed with him. bus when he
included the demonstration farm he
compelled me to take issue with him
In my Efforts for the demonstration
/ farm have always insisted that the
farm, to start with, should be ty-
pical of the average farms of the
: county where it was located. Every
one will agree with me that the
ave rage farm in Tennessee would
lack much of being'a model farm.
] would take that farm and equip
it as the average farmer could equip
his farm. | would operate it as he
could operate his farm. | would
leave him no excCs. to say that he
could not do the same. would
plan nv work aud policy for that
farm so that would increase its
production and fertility each year
and work with view to ultimately
develop it to the standard of model
farm for producing revenue, main.
tanning its fertility and providing
the comforts and luxuries for those
who would represent the owners
Were thu farm privately owned. |
would make the farm a practical
Object lesson to, and within the
reach If, the farmers to be benefited.
[ would take the farmers step at
tinr-ipdu3e them to keep step
with me-. Each step that increased
thpir revenues would encourage
them to take another, until in time
they would be in position to under
stand aud apply on their farms the
results Of the Experiment Stations
without the object lesson of the
demonstration farm.
At no time have | discounted the
work Of the Experiment Station
[ fully appreciate its Importance.
| know that original research work
is too expen i've for the individual
farmer. | know that he cannot do
it, and | know, too. that fully %
per cent of the farmers must have a
practical object lesson in the appli-
cato Of the fact if they get any
benefit from the research work.
The writer says; The idea is
fundamentally wrong, and had its
origin in false conception of the
m IN e. in which good farming is
attained. But ev nat this late date
however, ,here are tho.e in public
places rho, know ng nothing of
agtic il ure, either as t. the science
or the practice, still advocate the
model or demonstratian farm as an
eau ationa institution. /"
The above paragraph was evident
" intended az thrust 40 me le-
cause 1f my position and my atti-
tude re ar ing the County Demon
stration Farm. | was reared on
farm. | had my scientific training
in an Agricu ture College and was
for five years engaged il experiment
station n,rx AMI was for twenty
years a practical farmer and am
willlug tntom are results with the
theorist-wr ter whe makes the above
criticism, and who, according to his
own test mony, is incapable of d.
fferentiating be ween the model farm
and the demonstration farm.
Now. | want 10 ask him it he
can't name numbers Of farmers who
have bought farms for which they
went in debt, who had families to
support. and, withou; outside help
have paid for those farms and in
creased their fertility and supported
and educated thei families, and that
too, without scientific knowledge
of agriculture except that acquired
in the practical work OF farming.
Now, if farmer without scientific
training can do this. why can not
a farm be made to pay with the
$1,000 ,oro ot;oo1 opnlieatiOn atrenpth.