The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-04-19

a row by itself and the rest kept.
THE yield of Zach row is determined
and the mex year the other half Of
those ears that have yielded best are
planted in a breeding plot, and from
these go into Ito acre plots.
Trials are also carried on with mil
let, peas and other legumes, BUCK
wheat and root crops.
Five 1-20 acre plots are devoted to
growing wheat which has separated
into different grades with the tanning
mill.
Eighteen LEO acre plots are used in
trying out he best quantity of seed
to SOW per acre.
The work of the s~ub-stations has
been largely to take up, some problem
especially pertinent to the locality. At
Edgeley the main effort has been the
working out of the durum wheat
growing. At Dickinson-alfalfa and
dry farming. At Williston-irriga-
ton and dry farming. The Hettinger
and Langdon stations are new so have
not worked out any definite problem
yet.
At the sub-stations work has been
carried on in many lines aside from
those mentioned above SO. tina they
become centers of better farming
where the farmers of the community
can see demonstrated what can be
done in the different methods Of crop
production as we'll as in, gardening,
fruit growing, tree growing, and 9TH
er phases Of farming.
The national department of agricui-
ture is cooperating in the work with
the sub-stations at Edgeley. Dickin-
son, Williston and Hettinger, which
reduces the cost of the work to the
state n in a makes the work
more effective as the government sup
plies much expensive apparatus thai
the state fund would not provide for
and also stations men there who work
under the direction of Prof. Shepperd.
This cooperative work was started in
1902. The United States department
of agriculture at present has scien-
tltic men and five of lower rank at
the central station and the sub-sta-
tions.
On the demonstration farms the
best methods that have been worked
out at the station and the sta
| ton are put into practice. Each farm
contains twenty acres in five four
acre fields. The work is done by the
farmer but under the direction Of the
superintendent of the demonstration
farms, who visits the farms several
times during the season. The farmer
in a daily report of weather
conditions and progress in the work.
The demonstration farms are in one
sense the proof Of the. pudding as 1t
is here that the farmers are trying
the results worked out at the expert.
ment stations. On those demonstra-
ton farms run three years or more
the yields of wheat are Just twice the
average for the state. Could these
methods be applied to the state at
large 1t would mean a doubling of the
yield of the different crops which
would mean 146, 000, 900 bushels more
OF wheat in 1912 and other crops in
proportion. Then, again, pedigree
seed is used on the demonstration
farms which is sold to the farmers in
the locality so these farms are made
c~ehters through which to distribute
The best varieties of grain.
This is North Dakota's extensive
plan for solving the problem OF crop
production. 1t has been planned and
is now directed by Prof. j. H. Shep-
perd who has been here from the
start Of old rotation series No. /. 1t
takes much Of his time to Keep in
touch With this work, which he scat.
tered Owe" the state. The work. how
evec, is made easier by the fact that
the superintendent of the sub-sta-
tons and of the demonstration firms
NNSA a Wy LHS HTOIPS-
SIR. have received their instruction
in agriculture in his classes and their
further training directly under him.
9. A. Thompson is superintendent of
the Edgeley sub-station, L. r. Wal
dron of the Dickinson sub-station, y.
G. Scollander of Williston, e. d.
Stewart of Langdon. w. R. Lanxon
OF Hettinger. n w. r. Porter, super
intendent of the demonstration farms.
At the central station Professor Shep-
perd is assisted in crop production by
Prof. O.. w. Dynes, a N. d. A. C. grad
uate, and in soils and plant breeding
by r.. c. Dongehue, an Ohio a
This plan is complete in that it looks
after both investigation and demon
stratlon. IT places it's results at so
many points over the state that it
brings the results of the investiga-
tions home to the farmers in a GA
crete way.