St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1914-12-02
Demonstration Farms Wanted.

DGAnOuSNLALAOn
Nine years ago in an address in
which he had pointed out the neces-
sity of conserving the fertility of the
soil, James J. Hill, head of the Great
Northern Railroad, said:
"The government should establish
a small model farm on it's own land
in every rural congressional district,
and later perhaps in every county in
the agricultural states. Let the De-
partment of Agriculture show ex-
actly what can be done on a small
tract of land by proper cultivation,
moderate fertilization and rotation
of crops. The sight of the fields
and their contrast with others, the
knowledge of yields obtained, and
the profits possible, would be worth
more than all the pamphlets poured
out of the government printing Of
fee in years"
The government gave no heed to
this suggestion of Mr.. Hill and af-
ter waiting six years he decided to
take charge of this line of work him
self. He started it three years ago
and today over $50 farmers in Min
nesota, North Dakota and South Da-
kota are cooperating with the Great
Northern Railroad in demonstration
work. The Breeders Gazette says
''Friend and foe admit it is the great
est private system of agricultural de-
velopment work ever attempted in
this country"
Five acres of a well-drained field
is selected on the farm where the
demonstration work is to be under
taken and this is properly prepared
for planting, fertilizer which soil
analysis shows to be necessary is ap-
piled the farmer paying for the fer
tilizer. Specialists hired by the
road supervise the planting, appli-
cation of the fertilizer, the harvest
ing and the threshing. The farmer
is paid a rental of eight dollars an
acre and has the crop. Some strips
of the ground are left, some not
thoroughly cultivated and others not
fortified in order to show the &C
tual benefit of the cultivation and
fertilization. Samples of soil are
taken from each plot and sent to
soil laboratories in st. Paul for anal
ysis. AS Mr.. Hill could not find
proper facilities at the state expert
ment stations for the soil testing he
built laboratories himself and en-
ploys the specialists in them.
This successful undertaking by
Mr.. Hill suggests the desirability of
similar work in Vermont, also that
practical demonstrations here would
be as much more valuable than
pamphlets as in the Northwest. If
this kind of aid for the farmers is
more beneficial some of the present
forms of agricultural agitation
should be abandoned and the money
used for this. The state experiment
station is not equipped to analyze
all the soil of the state. But it
could maintain from fifty to one
hundred demonstration plots on
heavily travelled roads and show the
farmers what improved cultivation,
intelligent fertilization and scien-
tific analysis of the soil will do. The
expense. the yield and the profit of
the improved methods over the hit
or miss methods now prevailing
could be published and exert an
influence on those unable to watch
the demonstration plot itself. If it
proved profitable and desirable, the
IA: mers would soon be devising
methods for general analysis and
more profitable cultivation of Yer
mont soil. AS soon as farming be-
comes more profitable it will be more
attractive and Vermont will have the
basis of permanent development