Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-22

Farm doctors! Georgia has about
! sixty-five Of them located in that
! many counties. Other states have.
! them, even as many as one for every
| county or more. 1t is a new thing in
| agriculture, not new fad, but a big
lusty notion. True they do not bear
the name Farm Doctor" but why
/ notE Is that not what a farm dem
| onsTation agent is, after all? Is he
not called upon to prescribe a soil
treatment, to tell how to cure 1t of
| sickness, how to build up its
| strength?
Soil does get sick. It's ailments are
many. Its chief and most besetting
trouble is that Of being rundown on
account Of ocerwork and improper
| diet.
The farm demonstration agent has
a rev we'll tested remedies to apply
| wherever a farmer is willing. Some
| OF these prescriptions are deep pIow-
ing, crop rotation, turning vegetable
matter under, lining, shallow Guilt
| walton, thorough preparation Of seed
/ bed, growing legumes, etc
Doctors Advice Is Free.
The farm doctors advice is free,
and that is perhaps the reason that
more do not take it. Usually not
many farmers can be induced to ac-
cept the farm doctors advice until
II has been preceded by some mis-
sionary work Testimonials must be
produced. But wherever an oppor-
tunity is afforded to apply treatment,
the soil will show for itself so that
the whole community may see and
know. The hard heads passing by
the demonstration field can not help
taking notice that there is a differ
ence in favor Of the new way, and
after this preliminary "sheepish" in
terest, they all come round
This Showing business of farm
doctors has been going on all over
the country and everywhere the re-
suit has eventually been the same.
! Farmers have learned new ways and
/ improved old methods.
Who Is taking so much interest in
the farmer that he is presented the
free service Of a farm physician?
That is a little story In itself Briefly
told, the farm doctor is the bridge
between the agricultural scientist and
the farmer in the field. His is a bust
ness of taking determined facts of
the test plats and the laboratories
of the scientist and applying them
to the farm conditions by telling the
farmer how to do II.
Federal Government Co-operates.
The farm demonstration agent is,
therefore. the product Of the scien-
tific side Of agriculture. True the
farm doctor is not paid entirely by
the State Government, but his serv-
ices are paid for in part by a county,
community, or by a number of
private subscriptions The part which
the Federal Government plays in it
is to duplicate that which has. been
done by the State, County or COM
munity and give general direction or
at least Cooperate with the State
College of Agriculture in giving gen
eral direction to the work which Is
to be done.
What is the need of discovering i'm
portant things relative to agriculture,
things that tend to cheaper the cost
of crop production and increase the
farmers profits, unless these discov-
cries are. transmitted to the farmer?
If the farmer were left to find out,
he would be long time at 1t IN
aided. Hence, those who have been
selected to make laws and direct
public revenues to render the largest
amount of public welfare, have con-
sidered that since everybody is inter
ested in cheaper food, nothing is,
therefore, more important than to put
into the hands of the farmer at once,
ali the information to this end that is
possible.
Cost Tells on Pantry.
The fact is that the high cost OF
living spells to a large class of poor
people, famine in meat, butter, eggs
and other expensive but important
articles of diet. If the high cost is
not checked, the famine will continue
to encroach inch by inch upon the
pantry.
Perhaps It was a realization of the
impending danger that led the De-
partment of Agriculture of the United
States to master quickly surpris-
ingly large army of agricultural ex-
perts and workers whose mission IS
to go out and induce the farmers to
produce larger crops at lower cost, |
more cheaply, but that the farmer
may get just returns,
Be that as II may, it remains that !
the farm doctor is now to be
found everywhere in the land, busy |
seeing to 1t that every farmer pos
sible is given all of the useful infor-
nation that he will take.
This farm doctor is not a stranger, |
not an imported product, but he is
none other than one of the most |
prominent, progressive. intelligent, |
common sense farmers Of the coun- |
ty. What he is teaching, he is .prac- |
ticing on his own place His spe- !
cial training is usually not extensive. |
1t is perhaps no more than a short |
course in agriculture, and confer |
ences about the special message TO |
be carried to the farmers of the re-
spective communities.
"Book" Farmer Shows Worth.
Of course, when this practical farm
er takes up the work he is at first |
dubbed by the shallow wits of the |
community as a book farmer" an |
agriculturist who gets up early. drives |
to town and spends the day and all !
the stock phrases Of the kind, but
when this progressive farmer has the |
results to show. his home would |
have a path beaten to It made by in |
quirers, were it not for the telephone |
The farm demonstration agent can |
always find in each community men /
whose heads lift above the general |
level, who have eyes for visions and |
minds to comprehend without preju- |
dice These are the men who can be |
induced cooperate with the farm |
demonstration agent, and engage IN |
new lines Of farming.
These cooperating farmers are |
called demonstrators, the idea being /
that they will first apply the infor- |
nation and when the results have |
been obtained, demonstrate the re-
a Ffar of a Nv bEs