El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-10-14

I by adjusting his farming system so as
( to employ about the same amount OF
I labor throughout the year.
Farming Capital Needed.
One Of the principal problems Of the
| farmer of today. Is that Of supplying
! himself with the necessary capital
: Formerly a more intensive line OF
I farming was the custom with system
4 Of local restricted markets. but with
: the application of steam and electricity
: to transportation and communication
I and with the multiplicity Of otneT me
( chanical inventions a marvellous and
/ profound change has taken place in
! the rural economy of the civilized
( world.
Before this change took place very
! little land or farming equipment was
/ required by the average farmer. but
with the expansion Of transportation
facilities and the consequent expan-
sion Of agriculture in the western
] hemisphere has come the need for more
capital in the farming business to
, provide the necessary equipment a
unless he has a basis for credit
Credit for Farmers.
Since the men who are most likely
I TO do pioneering on new lands are men
Of small means. II is obvious that il
they obtain credit. they must obtain
I il on some other basis than property
[ or collateral, exclusively. Character
must be made a basis for credit and
the honest young farmer in deciding
I upon location is naturally going to
be influenced by the local OppOrtunI-
ties he finds for securing credit The
matter of extending credit TO farmers
In these valleys must be successfully
/ dealt with If satisfactory progress IS
made.
believe the development OF these
valleys must come mainly through the
production OF staple commodities that
I is. products for which an omen ara
/ ready market exists or can be easily
created OF such commodities. live
STOCK and poultry and their products
viii play the principal part The
marketing OF grains. hay fruit and
vegetables viii, in M estimation. take
on more and more the nature Of side
lines and specialties.
Too Huch Fruit and Truck.
Anybody who is at all familiar with
at least a few Of the more developed
irrigated districts Of the west knows
LhaI IN those districts fruit and truck
farming have often been carried to ex-
cess Many Of such districts formerly
found such lines OF farming profitable.
but good prices automatically in
creased production and increased pro-
dIetion automatically decreased prices.
Those intensive lines are now being
frequently replaced with more ex-
tensiVe and diversified types of farm
inS and with the feeding Of live stock.
W should profit by the experiences Of
other similar districts and also Dy
some OF the experiences which the
farmers have had with intensive farm
ing.
Farm Demonstrations Needed.
Demonstration farms have been mem
TONED by some as being seriously need
ed " hat We need is not demonstrations
farms but farm demonstrations The
laFm demonstrations needed are not
demonstrations of sDecialties which are
only profitable so long as they remain
speciaities in the hands OF specialists:
they are not demonstrations OF nov
elites which are only suitable as OBJ
Jects OF pasume fO- the so called city
agriculturist- but they are demOnstra-
tons Of profitable systems OF farming
which are capable OF being adapted TO
ana accepted by the entire valley. Also.
lhese demonstrations in order to be or
value must be conducted on farms Of
families who are entirely dependent
upon their farm incomes.
NnlUe Of an Expert
To my mind a great signal move
ment in the right direction was taken
when this valley secured the services
OF a trained farm demOnstrator. who Is
associated with and assisted by the L.
= department Of agriculture and the
state college Of agriculture and expert
ment station. But if this work is u
succeed. the demonstration must have
the support and cooperation OF the
people of his territory. The position
Of county farms demonstrator or
county agricultural agent as he is
sometimes called, is not an easy one
70 IN He has great many people
OF ulVers opinions 10 work with and
county agents find that many peopis
are prone to criUcise because the dem
onstrator does not carry on his work
according to each ones prec0nceived
individual ideas.
@CommOn Carrier OF Ideas.-
The people mus exercise some pa
thence because no man has the ability
to step into such a position and tell
the people at once just what TO do and
Fnr = n
demonstratOr to be a perpetual motion
machine and a walking encyclopedia
Of universal knowledge
rev men are capable Of posing as
experts in special lines Of agriculture.
TO say nothing of being experts in All
lines The demOnstrator learns from
observation and by trying the same as
40 Individual farmers, but he also acts
as a clearing house. keeping records
OF individual successes and failures
SO that each farmer gets the benefit
OF experiences Of the greatest possible
number Of other individuals As a
colorado Demonstration put it, he is a J
common carrier" Of ideas
To FIJI n GAP.
The county demonstrator movement I
came about as the result of a feeling :
mat there has been too much Of a !
gap between the L. s. department OF
agriculture and the experiment sta
uons on the one hand. and the farmers
on the other The county demonstra-
gap so that the farmers may derive I
a large measure of benefit from those /
experimental Institutions Organiza- !
ton and cooperation are essential IL J
any rural section attains a maximum /
degree OF development. but it is neces-
sary TO proceed wisely with the or /
EanlzatloH Of a community for IL is I
better to do without organization than I
10 organize before the community is 4
ready and have the organization fail
Cooperation Necessary.
The proper spirit OF cooperation must {
precede organization. The community
whose members are tremendously CO.
operative In small matters can safely
attempt to cooperate on a larger scale. I
~. carver, previously quoted. says.
There must be a clear and definite 4
need for organization before any or
SANITATION can hope to succeed. It is
OF utmost importance that carefuS
study should precede action. Hasty. ill
considered action is likely to lead to I
and failures. few bad mis-
taxes and conspicuous failures will /
the whole movement and put
II back for a generation"
Farmers' ORGANIZATIONS.
i seriously doubt the ACCESSIBILITY OF 1
having anybody but the farmers them
selves take the initiative in attempting !
to create a farmers organization. So !
a Hnn