The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1915-01-30
COLLEGE PRAISEDBY
FORMER IDAHOAN
c. A. ELMER FINDS MUCH TO COM
MEND IN DEVELOPMENT OF
IDAHO AGRICULTURE
Enjoyed Farmers Week Sessions
Thinks Attendance Should Have
Been Greater-Analyse Status
of Institution

c. E. Elmer, for many years a prom
inent citizen of Idaho but now a res
ident of Portland, has been in the city
| the past week to attend the meetings
of the farmers. Mr.. Elmer was Cover
nor Gooding's very able secretary
throughout his term, and was for years
honorably identified with the press of
the state. The favorable opinions of
/ the college Of agriculture expressed
by Mr.. Elmer will be read with inter-
est by the many persons who attach a
/ great value to his judgment of people
and enterprises.
Moscow and Idaho are to be con-
graduated on the work of the Agri-
cultural College," said Mr.. c. A. Elmer
of Portland, who has been in attend
ance at the Farmers Week meeting.
"The work of the sessions closing to-
day has been interesting and valua-
BILE, and l am somewhat surprised that
the attendance was not greater. This
seems unfortunate for two reasons:
First because information of extreme
value to the farmer was offered, and
second for the reason that knowledge
of the value of the work being done
here, if more widely disseminated,
would remove the menace that bien-
nially has vexed the souls of the
friends of this great institution. With
the farmers of the state more thor
oughly informed regarding the institu
ton, the legislative threat of possibly
changed conditions would no longer
be heard. l think in measure this is
true now, and the value of the school
other than as a political plaything is
becoming more thoroughly recognized.
THE meetings this week showed
one thing very clearly-that the leaven
of agricultural knowledge is working
ago when farmers meetings were
held, most of the interest was in grain
and range cattle and horses. The
production of hogs attracted a little
attention, but not much and the lee
turer who talked of soil upkeep or i'm
pregnation, received scant attention.
Who would want to fool with forage
crops, or a potato field, while the op-
portunity was presented to play a
straight furrow three miles long with
six or eight horses, and later watch
the billowy fields of grain. The care
of the orchard, garden or berry patch
was left to Divine Providence. The
desirability of making two blades of
grass grow where one had grown be-
fore, is now not SO much a mater of
sentiment as of hard practicability.
This has largely been through the
work of this great institution.
Il have been glad to notice that
dairying is commencing to attract
the attention of many. To me this
is as it should be particularly as | am
in somewhat extensive ir
rigation operations in the Willamette .
Valley, about sixty miles south OF I
Portland, which we believe is destined
to be one of the great dairy regions
of the world. We call our proposition
the Willamette Valley irrigated Land
The irrigated system has
oeen inaugurated capable of serving
10000 acres of the land in the vicin-
ty of West Stayton. The lands are
adapted to the growing of
fruits, berries, vegetables, garden
lower and field seeds, peppermint,
avender, the various legumes, and
orage crops, and for dairying and hog
'aising. We already have number of
settlers on the land who are making
rood. Naturally the dairymen are
eading in earnings during the first
years. Their first earnings
we're only delayed two weeks after
operations commenced. One of the I
Iairymen under the canal, who start
ID barehanded ten years ago, is now
me of the best-knoWn cream prOduc-
rs in the northwest. His books show
hat his average COW is producing a
let return greater in amount than her.
ale value, and the land used is pro- {
ucing return in addition of more
han thirty per cent on a valuation of I
200 an acre. The climatic advantages !
f that portion of Oregon are very t
reat. Grass grows almost all the /
ime, and green feed is taken from.
le field throughout the year. Through {
irrigation meadows are kept green all {
he year round. The proposition is un- s
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