Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1913-02-20
SOME FARM BOYS
Prize Corn Growers Earn a Trip
to Washington.

Tho Grange should Get Suggestion
From This About Interesting the
Boys In Farm Matters and In the
Work of the Grange.
In the first place, there were $40 of
them-that is, $40 Ohio boys. These
boys had grown $40 acres Of corn the
past summer-370 prize acres. Then
these $40 Buckeye boys went to Wash
ington. That is the story in a nutshell
Details may be interesting.
Last spring Secretary Sandles of the
Ohio department of agriculture con-
ceived plan to interest the boys Of
that state in corn growing. He said
that every boy who grew the prize
acre Of corn in his county should be
given a free trip to Washington. And
1000 boys entered the contest. IT
was also agreed that while none but
the prize winners in each county
should take the trip at the expense of
the state others could go by paying
their own way. Result, $40 boys, clear
eyed, ruddy, happy boys, made the
eventful trip. The boys came from
various sections of Ohio, but met at
Pittsburgh, where they all took a spe-
cial train for the Capital City. They
did the town. They were received in
the east room of the White House by
President Taft. They took possession
of the house of representatives and
were addressed by Speaker Champ
Clark. They were guests of the Ohio
delegation in congress at an entertain
ment. They sailed down the historic
Potomac to Mount Vernon. They Wis
tied the National cemetery at Airing
ton. They saw everything everywhere
that was visible to the naked eye, and
yet, as one who accompanied them
said, mot a single act of rudeness or
impoliteness was noted - gentlemen
ALL"
SO much for the story. 1t was much
to have grown an acre of corn. 1t
was more to have made trip like
that. 1t all has teaching for men at
the head of agricultural affairs in 9th
er states. The moral is, interest the
boys. They are the farmers of tomor-
row.
Out in Iowa some one determined to
interest the boys in roadmaking In
fact, it was Miss Jessie Field, super
intendent Of schools Of Page county,
who had the idea. She organized sew
en- teams OF boys to drag the roads
the teams numbering from four to ten
boys each. W. G. Brown, president of
the New York Central railroad, who
owns farm in that county, gave a
prize of 500 to the team of boys who
did the best work on the roads. Some
one else gave valuable trophy to the
individual boy who had the best half
mile road at the end Of the season.
The results were excellent and an agri-
cultural paper of Iowa was led TO say
that eff we are ever to have good dirt
roads in Iowa it will be necessary to
enlist the boys in the matter"
Would the boys do these things with
out the incentive of prizes or awards
of some kind? Perhaps not. Boys
like competition, contest, chance to
measure up with other boys and to
win, if they can. But while they are
doing the things they do under com
petent instruction they are learning
things they will not forget and will
probably have occasion to put into flu
ture use 1t was worth to the state
of Ohio many times the cost of the
Washington trip for the boys in the
bare results Of corn harvested and yet
more in that the boys gained valuable
experience in the growing Of the crop,
which cannot fail to serve them well
as the future farmers of their own or
some other state. 1t was worth to the
state of Iowa and to the highways of
the state more than can now be esti-
mated that several boys were taught to
make good dirt roads and that they
then made them. Making the roads or
making them better-that, was the
thing Again. interest the boys.