Norwich bulletin., 1913-12-20
AN AGRICULTURAL MOVE FULL OF PROMISE


 CW-rirren Specially for The BuHetin.)
 Ie seems ro be quite natural fo- most men and women tC shoot off their mouths" before they have loaded ahelr brains
 We have s5l of Us known plenty who Rere very ready with their T think M4s~ or Il think that" when they kacr't d ghost If q reason or the back fin of a fact 10 justify their so-c3IIed thinking" Indeed, such people don .rhink- in the true sense of the word they mistake the Nagaries or preJu- dice for the verdict CI reason.
 One difference between a real sclen- list and a Quack is that the true scientist never inveuts theories: he studies facts. and then more IacIS-- and stiu other facts till. by and by, o1I o1 hls studies he sees arise certain relations which ooEetail together llil they make of themselves theory, founded on observed facts and able 10 explain them Your true scleh1iss isn't much concerned with theories al the start-ofI- hes after facts when he has got together quite a lot or these. they may suggest theory when h@ has got together Srea' many they may tend 10 evidence probable law when he has collected and classified and described and Labelled all the facts within human reach they may prove the law. but the true scientist doesnt first dream our a theory and then either promuI- gate it without any CorrOboratlFe eN1- sfence or proceed on Q hunt after de- rzcned facts which may seem to bol- Hre~ 3r r1p That sort of thing IS ab- horent 10 all true science: IL is lett Tor r1nsclenr tic ignorance or sell -ccncelt 10 indulge in-
 One illustration Of the idea is sug- geSged hy -ha< little story or the New Tork Experiment. Stations tests for pure mlk. recently summarized ln one of these Talks" Without finding out exactly what effect such things as the whizeRashing of stable interiors, the clipping of udder hairs. the curry- Ing Of nankss etc. really had on the germ contents or milk, many hea4Ih boards have issued regulations re GuirinE these and other things. often 10 rhe needless vexatiOn and cost of the well meaning dairyman- This arbitrary selection of values in the absence or definite information upon the subject has frequently done in Justice to the dairy business, say the Eew York experimeuters. after they have spent five years in finding out Che real facts about the actual effects et these rnicky regulations Many oI the requirements which cIIy health boards penalized milkmen for dis
 
 wholly useless-sometimes worse than useless while some observancess not required nor even suggested by health boards. Nere found to be markedly beneficial
 This was simply rsne case where wel4-Inesn1nG but not WeH-lnIOrmed people had jumped to wrong conclu- E3nns- instead of slowly and patiently crawling from fact to fact till they reached the right conclusion
 The practice is very common,-al- together too common We farmers do cur full share of it. The wise" folks w1o fiji the agricultural papers with GoEma1tc assertions regarding every form of farm work do more than their share 1T any average colec- ton or ten aErfcultural books could have the qCaciIish sophisms, and the personal whiEnsies of their writers, and the iIl-founded theoriZings> of un- balanced v5sioraries smudged out of them I'll wager there wouldn't be enough left to III one pamphlet. Co see the new lines Of work which Secretary Houston Of the Washington department Of agriculture is laying down for that department For one thing. he proposes 10 have the depart Deut ind out something about the
 
 forty percent of what the consumer pays h his recent report he says. One cannot say just what part of the burden IS due 10 lack of system stic planning, or to inef1ciency and economic waste. or to unfair manipu- lations" Right-o. lr. Secretary We don't any of us know, for sure. how much We farmers are to blame by reason of our too general habit of raising stun which we like to raise rather than stun which the markets l want to buy We don't any of us know. for sure. ! how much We lose by waste of our l own homemade manures, and how much by ineffective and insufficient l rlilage. We don't any Of us know, for sure. | how much we are actually robbed of ! by unfair nsnipulations of brokers i and commission men and other toll- 1 takers. Mr. Houston proposes to have his i department find out some of the facts ! about these various things. When the | doctor knows the disease, he can often |