The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1914-03-20
A SCHOOL HOUSE CAMPAIGN FOR
BETTER AGRICULTURE.

- Al M ~
BETTER AGRICULTURE.
A school house campaign was put on
In Codington county last fall by the
State College, county superintendent
OF schools and the Better Farming AS
ISOLATION OF Codington County coop
Grating. In all there we're eight meet
ings, seven in the schools and one
at the home Of cooperative farmer,
Msr. r. Stone.
DR.. A.. N. Hume, agronomist at the
State College and Experiment Station,
and state leader for the United States
Department of Agriculture in the
better farming work, was chief speak
er, and took as his subject Soils and
Crops Each one present went away
knowing more about the intricate
problems of the soil, and the produc-
ton OF paying crops than eve be-
fore.
Soils were traced from their earli-
est beginnings down to the present
time, even the smallest child could not
help learning some Of the essentials
Of a permanent system of farming. At
the same time the lecture and demon
STATIONS were SO entertaining that
people as well, were royalty instruct
ed and entertained. We quote from
DIR. Hume's lecture:
"The state ought to map out her
soil areas and establish test fields on
each one of these types, then when
a nan wrote in to the station It would
be possible to give him definite in
formation as to the needs of his soil,
and the county man could be of great
service in interpreting these results"
The Importance Of a cultivated
crop in the rotation was driven home
by referring to the results at the
Brookings station, where a field that
had grown wheat continuously since
1897 gave a yield Of one bushel of
wheat to the acre in 1911, While an
adjoining field that had a two-year
rotation Of corn and wheat gave a
yield of eight bushels to the acre that
same year.
In explaining the nitrogen problem
DR.. Hume said: IF the present sys-
tenn Of farming continues in Codington
county for sixty years more. the boys
of today won burn any straw stacks
then, because there won't be any to
burn. Unless we change our method
sixty years from now we won't grow
fifty bushels of corr On the average.
because it won't grow. But ! wouldn't
be surprised if inside of a few years
there would be large fields of sweet
clover grown in Codington county,
perhaps pastured some by sheep and
hogs and then turned under, to add
organic matter and nitrogen to the
soil. I predict if this were done the
two crops OF wheat and corn from the
rotation will be larger than three
grown without the sweet clover"
The results at the experiment sta
ton show that the application of phos-
phorus to the soil gave an increased
Yield OF thirty-cne per cent more
grain than where none was applied.
The attendance at the meetings was
very large, the people were interested
and asked many questions. and much
EOOu Will Naturally result. IL was Il
new venture, but panned cut well and
will probably be repeated.
with a man in the next county or one
In another part of the state. Then.
too, there must be a better feeling be-
tween the farmer and the business
man of this country. They must be
brought together on some common
ground. The business men are neces-
say and can not be driven out, but
they can be made more efficient and
their number decreased.
It has been the purpose OF this arti-
Gle to give an idea Of the work these
farmers clubs can do and their infiu-
ence on their members. There is no
other force working for agricultural
development which can do as much
towards lettering the people socially.
educationally. and financially as these
farmers clubs.