The Dickinson press., 1914-03-07
STU
DENTS AS FARMERS.
Numbers Of Gradu-
ates Return TO- the Solt.
MANY REASONS FOR TREND

AAS oAIOAI " WAASA In0 sIdUudy0S
Of the agricultural colleges engage in
farming has been a matter of fire.
quent discussion ever since the COL
leges were established, and has some
times been taken as a measure of the
success Of these institutions. Some
recent studies give a definite basis for
considering this subject, and also
point to an increasing tendency to
take up farming which has been ap.
parent for some time to those in close
touch with the work of the colleges.
AS this tendency is in accord with
popular expectations it is deserving
of notice, along with the broader con.
ception Of what the colleges should
DO for the industry as a whole and
for education.
Many reasons have been advanced
to account for the larger percentage
of agricultural college graduates who
now take up agricultural occupations.
but all of these reasons are quite
closely related to the fact that agri-
culture is better paid than a few years
ago, and respect for it as an occupa-
ton commanding a high order of abil-
tty has materially increased. It offers
q large opportunity, which is more
broadly appreciated. Among the fac.
tors which have contributed to the
better status of agriculture are a bet
ter understanding of the scientific
problems of the farm, better living
conditions on the farm, better means
Of communication in the country, bet
ter labor saving machinery and better
salaries for those engaged in promot-
ing agricultural interests as teachers,
investigators, extension workers., edi-
tors, or in other ways.
That the agricultural colleges and
experiment stations and the depart
ment of agriculture have had a large
share in bringing about improved con-
ditions goes without saying. The in
vestigations of these institutions have
put farming or a better paying and
more permanent basis, and, thanks to
their teachings, it is no longer GUS
tomary for the intelligent farmer to
yield ground to the grasshopper, the
army worm, the brown rot, and other
pests of his fields and focks. In
stead, he fights these invaders with
the weapons that science. has put into
his hands, and for his pains u
better crops and higher prices than
his careless or ignorant neighbors. u,
| 1t does not take young men long to
see the advantages to be secured by
up-to-date practices in growing, har-
vesting and marketing their crops, nor
do they hesitate long to adopt tele.
phones, new machinery, or other ap-
pliances that will save time or in
crease their own efficiency. The re-
suit is that the younger generation
Of farmers is being recruited from
the brightest and best educated of our
young men, particularly from the
graduates of the agricultural colleges,
and that these recruits are rapidly
putting into practice everything worth
while from the researches of our agri-
cultural institutions.
These young men are taking up
farming with their eyes open. They
realize that the farmers of the future
will have to meet much sharper COM
petition and be content to cultivate
many acres of less fertile soil than
those who cleared the virgin forests
or broke the prairie sod, but they also
see clearly that the population of the
country is increasing more rapidly
than the number of farms. the num-
Der of farmers, or the yield of farm
products, and that this increasing pop
ulation must have food and the ma
terials from which clothing is made.
Seeing these things and knowing that
they can depend upon the agricultural
research institutions Of the country
to help them solve the more difficult
of their new problems as they arise,
| the agricultural college graduates look
upon farming with optimism, as some
thing permanent and worthy of their
| best endeavor.-From an Editorial. in
| Experiment Station Record.