The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-10-03

DIohoP SuayiC
Bankers Urge Counties
|, Employmento Of Experts
From Fridays Daily.
That the bankers of the second
district take immediate and positive
steps to secure FOR this section OF
the state agricultural experts for as
| many counties as possible, was the
decision reached at the meeting held
! in the Elks cafe last evening. W.
d. Willard, cashier of the First Ma
tional hank of Mankato made the
official motion that brought about
this conclusion. His motion was that
the county. ohairmen of the bankers
associations in the several counties
of this district be authorized to call
meetings of the local associations at
once, to urge. upon, the county COM
| missioners the necessity Of county
agricultural agents, and to induce
them to appropriate money for this
purpose The bankers, will also as
sist in securing additional appropria-
tons, and will cooperate with the
Southern Minnesota Better Develop.
ment league wherever the league is
! organized in the counties of the sec
ond district.
The State Appropriation.
This year, the state appropriated
$4,000 to he given to those counties
who would appropriate money for the
| purpose of employing county agents
In order to receive a part of this
appropriation of $25.0Oa a county
| must appropriate a certain amount,
| and then it receives an equal amount
from the. statea Nsxt year. the state
appropriation increases to $4,000,
and as all hut $4,000 of the $4,000
was used, ittis quite likely that the
demand will exceed the,supply. How
! ever, the bankers and the develop
/ ment league are doing al in their
power to secure AS much of this
money as. possible ufor this part of
| the state! Is Sors .fA.
w. h. Gold Presided.
w. H. Gold, q member of the agri-
cultural committee of the State Bank
ers association and chairman of the
agricultural committee of the Second
District Bankers association. presided
+ at the meeting, and D. U. Weld.
president ofstheD Window National
bank, was elected secretary Mr..
Gold said that it : was up to the
bankers to assist all they could in
developing Southern Minnesota, and
although there were number of lines
upon which this work could and
should be, done, he said that all the
details must be taken up one alta
time, and announced that the question
of county agricultural experts was
the business OF this meeting. He
introduced Superintendent A. d. Will
son of the extension department of
the university, farm as the first
speaker of The evening" Mr.. Wilson
gave a multitude of figures to show
what could be, done in this state in
an agricultural way when the right
methods are used. Last year." said
Mr. Wilson, 1890 boys took part in
the corn raising contest'ito see who
could raise the most corn on an acre
of ground. @"{s
Forty-six Prizes. E,
''Forty-six prizes were given, and
fifteen of the winners were in South.
ern Minnesota and raised an average
of los bushels per acre.' Twenty boys
in the contest raised over 100 bushels
per acre, and fifty OF them raised
over ninety bushels. This is twice
the average yield of corn in the best
corn states, and we hope with the
aid of better farming methods, taught
by competent county agents to the
farmers, to make the yield of this
part OF the state at least fifty bushels
per acre, and venture to say that
there are not many farmers now
who can average over that. 2'
"A progressive farmer in Cokato
kept tab on his cows, and in 1903,
his eight COWS averaged a3l pounds
OF butter fat The best COW produced
sos pounds and the poorest one ITO
bounds. This farmers average is
fifteen pounds better than the average
for the state. In 1912, his average
was S3G pounds and his poorest COW
produced go pounds of butter fat
This is an Improvement of over 100
pounds, which means about $500 in
money. This is what gray matter.
brains, or continued study of his
cows, did for him.
The Corn Production.
In 1900, there were 1,500,D00 acres
of corn in Minnesota, in Iowa there
were 100000 acres, and in Wiscon-
sin about 100000 In 1900 there
We're 100000 cattle in Minnesota.