Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1913-12-19
COUNTY EXPERT FOR
FARMERS URGED BY
= RURAL COMMISSION
Credits Board Says Every District
Should Have Agricultural
Instructor.
ALSO NEED COOPERATION.
Declares Soil Analyses and Practi-
cal Education in Schools Are
Necessary.

That every agricultural county
should take advantage of the law pro-
viding for employment of a county ag-
ricultural expert is the belief of the
Washington members of American ru-
raj credits commission, stated in re-
port presented to Governor Lister, fol-
lowing last summers study of credit
conditions in European countries.
Continuing in their report, the
Washington commissioners state:
''The most important law for the
farmer passed by the last legislature,
chapter IS, providing for bureau of
farm development and the employ
ment of an agricultural expert in each
county. has been neglected by most
counties. In every agricultural county
farmers should demand that they be
given advantage of this law.
"A manufacturer and merchant
employs an efficiency engineer. One
of the largest Eastern manufacturers
called such a man from a distant city
handed him a check book and told him
he had deposited a check for $4,000
to his order. He wanted a certain
small reduction in his cost of manu-
facture of each machine he was turn
ing out, whether by devising labor saw
ing machinery or other means he cared
not And he said IL the $4,000 was
not enough, there was plenty more
available He was turning out many
thousand machines year and dol
lar or two reduction on cost of each
meant an increase of five or six fig
ures in his profits.
"The farmer has not been able to do
this; he can do it under this law with
no expense; he needs it more than the
manufacturer. There is plenty of
very valuable information in books
and government bulletins but the only
plan that will work is to carry right
to the farmer the answer to his per-
sonal problems. This law provides the
way.
Agricultural education in schools
and high schools should be made prac-
tical and emphasized. 1t should be
available to the farmer as we'll as to
the school boy. School laboratories
should be available for soil analyses,
which are neglected by our educational
authorities. If practicable there
should be demonstration farm in con-
nection with high school instruction,
where farmers may be shown the enor-
nous difference right farming makes,
while the boys are being taught to
farm right; where the effect of plant
ing the right seed. using the right ro-
tation, preserving fertility by the right
fertilizer, will stand out in Natures
book, forcing attention. and not be
smothered in books and bulletins mold
ing on forgotten shelves. Such a dem
onstration farm would be of infinite
value to the county agricultural ex-
pert.
"Standardizing crops and stock is
greatly needed and will necessarily
come with cooperative marketing. Co
operation eliminates most of the mid
dlemen and of the superfluos duplica-
ton of process Of distribution which
causes fearful waste for the pro-
ducer. Our apple growers must real
ize that there have been hundreds Of
thousands of apple trees planted all
over the country and hundreds Of
abandoned orchards in the East revi-
talized. Whatever the superiority Of
Western fruit, salvation depends upon
a genuine cooperative organization, a
strenuous campaign for increased and
ever widening markets and marketing
upon scientific basis. And the same
principle applies to all of our prod
ucts in every part of the state"