Arizona republican., 1913-12-07

Brown. H. U. Nudge and F. A De lano as well as other men of na- tionaI prominence, are at present con cenrating their efforts on bringing about the passage of the Lever agri- cultural extension bill, now pending in congress. The object of this bill is to provide the best means for carrying To the farmer the best methods ana practices as determined at the agricultural colleges and ex- pertinent stations. It would furnish means for maintaining in each agri- cultural county skilled farm dem OnstratOr who would be the repre- sentative of the extension depart ment of the state college of agricul- ture, the expense to be shared equal " by the state and federal govern ments
 MT Gross cites some striking facts as Illustrating the imperative demand for an improvement in farming me thods The population of tne cour- try is rapidly outstripping the pro duCtiOn of food supplies. We now consume 91 per cent of the wheat we raise and 9S per cent of the corn. our exports of live cattle have declined 75 per cent in seven years, while our imports of cattle during the same time have increased ap- proXimately 2,000 per cent. our eX- ports of dairy products have decIin- ed = per cent. We are facing the highest living cost in the history of ! the country. and it is likely to go higher. In ten years our population has increased T per cent, while our meat supplying animals have decreas- ed over 30 per cent. If the present rate of increase of population con tinues, the question as to how the coming generation is to be fed may become a most pressing one.
 The yield per acre of cereals in the United States is approximately 40 per cent of the European yield. The reason. Mir. Gross said, is the attempt to farm too much land and the practice aof growing two crops upon the same field at the same time, namely weeds and grain. Man per man the American farmer produces more than twice as much as his Eur opean contemporary, but he requires practically five times the area upon which to do il. If the American farmer will cultivate one-half the area and do il well, it will increase his total production and net him dol lars where he now makes quarters. For years in this country the farmers have been robbing the soil of it's fer tility, and when farm has begun to fail to produce enough to justify the labor the owner has moved to richer land in the west and repeated the operation. This process manifest ly cannot be continued indefinitely. As MT Gross expressed il. "Agri- culture is the worlds greatest busi- ness and it is the only business that 1t not conducted as a business. The need is the application Of established and well grounded business methods: the application of science to the end that the largest and best returns may be had for the time and money spent, in other words. the farmer must bring to his aid the scientist and the expert. and by their aid rc-di- rect his efforts on more efficient
 lines"
 Mir. Gross criticism is that the methods that have usually been adopted for educating the farmer have not been adapted to his needs; that bulletins have been written in a Ian guaee he could not understand, and that demonstration work Of the rail- ways has not dealt with conditions with which the average farmer must deal. Railway men understand thor oughly that it is one thing to issue rules or instructions. and quite an other to know that they are being learned and obeyed The same thing is true of other kinds of educational work. Something must be done to see that the instruction is brought home to the man most in need of instruction, and to show him in ways that he will understand why il is to his own interest to follow the instruc- ton.
 The bill in which the league is in- terested means placing thoroughly trained aqricclturists in every com munity and maintaining them at puo- lie expense to advise with the farm CT and help him solve the problems of production and distribution. IL is believed by those familiar with the plan that in a few years it would practically double the output of our farms. and give us a larger and less expensive food supply. while increas- ing the profit to the farmer. as well. James J. Hill is quoted as saying t is the most important work for agriculture that has ever been un- dcrtaken in this country. while form CT President Taft has expressed the opinion that it would do more good to more people than any other enact rncnt since the Civil War