The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-01-07
And Farmers of Present and
Future Must Keep Pace with
Changed Conditions.
.(By G. w. Dudderar, secretary of the
Clarksbnrg Board of Trades)

(By G. w. Dudderar, secretary of the
Clarksburg Board of Trader
Years ago a man had three grown
sons for whom he selected vocations.
The first son was very smart. the
next one very good, the third was
very simple minded. In his wisdom
1.-THE man said This one who is So
smart I viii make a lawyer Of the
4 good one will be preacher, but poor
I Jack knows 50 little, viii make him
farmer"
Times have changed. The methods
of our fathers will not longer bring
/ a wealth of product from the soil.
Tits native fertility has been squander-
ed by profligate methods, and now
there is no occupation in the world
that calls for more ability of zJudg-
/ ment, brains training. industry and
/ adaptability than farming. 1t is tru-
4 ly a mans job. The plow. SOW and
reap without understanding 1t is no
more real farming than cutting off a
4 mans leg with an AK is real surgery.
In ten years between 1900 and
Il 1910 the population of this country
increased 100000, about Fl per
cent. Our farming area increased
a little over 4-per cent and our meat
producing animals actually dropped
off more than 10000, 900 in number.
In 1900, for every 100 people we
had 90.3 cattle. Ten years later we
had only IS. For hogs the figures
were respectively 81 and 81. Fol
!. was from 80 to 81. Do you appre-
ciate what this means? Sheep meal
n can not bermade on high price land
and zoe corn, but science. The silo
and alfalfa will enable the farmer
to carry three times as much stock
) will build up the fertility of his
fields and reduce the cost of produc.
. ing meat one-half. '
(, * I have not had time yetuto make a
careful investigation of local condi-
lions, but from a general observation
would assume that 80 per cent, of the
: food stuff for our city and COUNTY is
+ imported. This means that we had
to pay fully three times the actual
cost of producing these staples of life
/ practically all OF which could be
raised in our own county and should
reach the consumers fresher and Al
! little over half the cost of imported
) articles.
81 c. r.. Titlow, director of agricul.
tural extension work of the State
: University, backed by the federal
i government, is anxious to bring about
the establishment of an agricultural
Z bureau in Harrison county and bring
: here trained man to cooperate and
advise with our farmers and bring
: wonderful agricultural and horticuI-
: tural possibilities of this coun try
II This has already become country
= wide movement. In the! latter part OF
: 1911. took up this movement for
our board of trade at Washington,
r Pa. and in ,September of 1912 EN-.
s+tployed a trained man, the first county
: agent in that state. BY the end OF
; that year, however, five counties had
5 followed our lead and over THIRTY
: were placednin various parts of the
: county, fhrDu ghs the. cooperation Of
x the fedegaIs goYernment. Already
7 five counties Of this state, namely;
: Ohio, Brook, Wood, Tyler and Kama.
q VIVA, have county. agriculturfsts al
I WORK. and three more, Marion, Ran.
l.dolph and Fayette have pledged the
) necessary financial support and will
\ have men within the next thirty days.
{ 1t Is probable that the university au-
J thorities will not favor the estab lish.
ment of any. more bureaus after the
, First OF March, until fall or early next
year, and it is up to us to see that
Harrison county does not lag behind
in this great movement.
t. The establishment of the county
agricultural bureau will not only ben.
eft the farmer, but will benefit the
citizens of Clarksburg as we'll, fol
increased production of the farm
adds to the total wealth of the coun-
ty, increases the business of the mef
chants and tends to decrease the cost
of living generally.