Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1914-05-08


full and reliable farmers in the county,
who follow the various types of farm
ing, visit them on their farms. study
their methods and practices in detail.
and learn their viewpoint of the agri-
cultural problems of the county. He
will study carefully the methods of the
farmers in preparing their land for
seeding, methods of cultivation. kinds
Of seed used, how it is selected and
kept, and how the crops are harvested
and disposed Of He will study the
live stock kept on the various farms
and the methods of feeding and hand
ling the same.
He will study every phase of all the
farms he visits SO that he may know
what crops and cropping systems are
best adapted to his county or the vari-
Gus localities of the county. lie will
ascertain the field operation that each
crop or farm enterprise requires, the
approximate dates when these opera
tions should or must be done, the
amount Of work that a man with a
given sized team can do in a day. This
information will enable the county
agriculturist to guard against laying
out more work for the farmer than he
can get done with his equipment. 1t
will also enable him to select crops and
other farm enterprises that will not
seriously compete with each other for
labor, and will give comparatively
steady employment to the farmer and
his equipment during most of the year
Such a study also permits him to see
Il farm from farmers viewpoint,
while his training enables him to view
farm problems and farm methods from
the scientific aspect. Practically every
Individual farm has problems peculiar
to itself. These and the financial abil-
ity of the farmer as well as his view
point and attitude must be taken into
consideration in giving advice. AS the
county agriculturist goes from farm to
farm he passes the good practices and
methods that he learns on the best
farms on to those that are less success
full. He gives the farmers the benefit
of the results Of scientific investiga-
ton conducted by the various state eX-
pertinent stations and the United
State Department of Agriculture. In
this way he becomes an Indispensable
advisor to the farmers of his county
The study of so many farms under so
many conditions, as well as learning
the viewpoints of SO many men, enables
him to understand better than any one
else the lines along which the agricul-
ture of the county should be directed.
After becoming thoroughly con
WINGED that the growing of some par
ticular crop, the introduction or extern
sion of some tillage practice the seIec-
ton of seed wheat, corn or potatoes,
and adoption Of some rotation or crop.
ping system or a change in the COM
mon methods of feeding live stock
would be most profitable, the county
agriculturist arranges with reliable
farmers here and there throughout the
county to take up these lines of work
under specific instructions. This phase
of the work is called Farm Demon
strations". II differs materially from
Demonstration Farms.
This movement should give the farm
er much higher appreciation of the
value of the agricultural colleges and
the state experiment stations 1t
should likewise point out to these in
stitutlons more clearly than they have
heretofore seen the problems of the in
dividual farmer