The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-12-27

tIaCuIty OF the NORTH DakOta SASFl-
cultural college but now development
agent of the Northern Pacific rail-
road:
Railroads are seeking methods of
increasing the results obtained
through the use of the better-farminS
train, the flying school or agriculture,
such as has come into common use
in the northwest within the last half
decade. They AVE seen results in
the Improvement of dairy herds, in the
multiplication of potato warehouses
owned by farmers, in. an increasing
number of cornfields, in the spread Of
Interest in alfalfa, and in many other
things, but they are not satisfied.
They feel that there is too much fir
ing at random They like to see a
spread Of interest, but they wish to
see more things done.
" The train is good say the railroads,
but it must. be made more effective.
There must be less shooting at
individual BIRDS
~, Follow-up Plan Needed,
AS a result of their thinking rail-
road men have come to the conclusion
that they must. work out some follow
iup plan, by which the individual
farmers n his problems may be met.
That is. after the farmer has. heard
the lectures on a train, and from the
information absorbed has come to see
Ethat something is wrong with his
methods, he must be helped in solving
his particular problems.
lust what follow-up method will be
Ladopted is hard to say, as there will
have to be a. good deal of experiment.
ing to find out which is best but D. e.
Willard, development agent Of the
Northern Pacific railroad, who has
had charge of several successful bet
ter-farming trains over his company's
lines. has a plan that gives promise OF
results.
Mr.. Willard more than a year ago,
while out with a better farming train
adopted the plan of having farmer Wis
itors register, giving names and loca-
lions of farms. After his train had
made it's rounds, he attempted to &C
over the ground a second time In per-
son, in order to talk over special prob
lens with the farmers. A good dea'
Of effective work was done, but 1t sooE
became apparent that it was we'll Nigh
impossible to cover so large a terri
tory in this way. Hence another plar
was sought.
Local Meetings Suggested.
Mr.. Willard now believes that
adopting the an registration plan
he could arrange for local after-meet-
ings in communities where the ques'
tons asked by farmers disclosed al
interest in special problems or In
particular lines of development. Sucf
meetings could be ADVERTISED in ad'
vance. small groups of farmers coult
be gathered together in school houses
or at farmhouses, and with the ai'
Of an expert or two, the. problems o
particular. localities could be worked
out.
This method suggests itself as par
~ticularly useful in counties which
have agricultural agents, or in com
munities which nave high schools will
departments under trained agricul
~turists. who could assist in the work
But for counties or communities hav'
ing no such men, assistance could b.
had from the extension department. O.
the college of agriculture, which pro
vides lecturers for the better farming
: trains.
In any event. this tentative plan in
dicates how thoroughly interested thu
railroads are in pushing the countr!
life movement forward. They wish t.
Though In this they do not differ from
any Of the agencies at work in thu
same field.
Railroads as Educators.
Few people realize, indeed, the ex
tent. to which the railroads Of thu
northwest are aiding in the campaign
for better farming and: better coun
try-life conditions. They are playinl
the part Of neighbor to the people o
the country as never before. Speaking
to a crowd on one. of the most thor
oughly equipped better-farming train
ever run, Mr.. Willard, of the Northern
Pacific company, put the attitude o
the railroads in a nutshell. thus: u
there is something you wish to do, II
~ a~- fhA ~ hahn f.
you, something right as betwee
neighbors, let us know it Is. w
will do everything In our power to b
of assistance
veritahle travelling Colleges.
1t was this spirit that led the rail
roads to venture upon the better
farming train plan. At first the ide
was to make such. trains as compre
hensive in their work as possible
veritable travelling colleges. The traf'
mentioned in the foregoing paragraph
for example, was made up of a farr
machinery car, a car containing horti
cultural exhibits. an animal. hdlsbandr
car. a dairy and poultry car, an agron
omy car, q domestic science: car, 7
sleeping car to be used as a dormltory
a dining car for commons, n a par
lor car as q rest room for he train
faculty-men from agricultural col
sleges-and officials. So equipped Tn
train crossed North Dakota, taking i
~branchlines on the a Having com
pleted the North Dakota circuit. tn
train was run into Montana, wher
the North Dakota equipment was talk
en- out and a dry farming equipmen
installed by the Montana College G
Horticulture. After Montana. cam
Washington, and the train was re
Equipped her to meet still differen
problems. Thousands visited this traf
All along the way, some coming fror
back over the bench ands a distanc
OF sixty miles to attend it's lectures.
Another, and more recent yentur,
Of an ambitious kind was the "Ho1de
Inland Empire Alfalfa Train. Thi
was, operated over the lines of tn
Y Great Northern, the Northern Paclfl'
and other companies in the far north
III west. under the direction of p. {
Holden. It adopted o somewhat diff
ferent plan. Automobiles, met the trai
at central points and carried the lee
! turers to outlying points. In this wa
several meetings were in progress 9
! the same time, each centering atten
ton upoll some local phase of I'll
main ~businessfor which the train ha
been sent out
Specialization Necessary.
- IT, early became evident, howeve
Il that to make the better-farming trai
8 more effective attention must be cor
~ centrated on some special branch (
farming. This has been the tendenc
ed ever since. The Chicago, st. Pau
Minneapolis & Omaha. the Minneape
lis lis 81 81. Louis, the Chicago, MiIWat
lie kee & st. Paul, the 500, the Duluth
or Iron Range, the Q Island, and otl
~, i. na ri ii tya 1lf #aso0n1 Sanat train