The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-01-22
COUNTY ORGANIZER OF AGRlCUL TURF IS
 PLAN OF FARMERS
Money AvaiIale for Several Years Now May Be Paid to
 Good Use.

Fairfield county has between $1,-f 900 and $1.200 awaiting it from the government for the appointment of a supervisor of agriculture which. it
 must either accept or refuse within the next two months. This sum has been at the disposal of the county for several tyears under certain con- dttfons, but has not been taken .ad-. vantage of. Fearing that the ines tinable good such offers have been found to have done. elsewhere in New England will be lost to the agrfcul- turaI section of the county grangers, agricultural experts and others in this city have begun to arouse themselves with the result that large meeting to consider the offer has been called in Norwalk for January 29, at 2 O'Clock.
 The NorWalk Chamber of Com. merce. through their board of diree- tors, has consented to act as host on the occasion, it is expected that the Stamford Board of Trade will be we'll represented and the Danbury Board of Trade aresnow considering the mat ter wiht 2 view towards urging ac-. 8ceptance. The Board of Trade of Bridgeport has also been asked to consider. the subject and send dele gates to that city to be represented with the various farmers and grang- CTS who will naturally attend.
 
 naent considers necessary in every farming community and gives the til lers of the soil a technical and prac-# sticaI farmer who can notaonly ad-@ wise them personally as to the best methods of raising certain crops, grading their cattle, and on other farm economies and systems; but who can act as a representative in the saIeo their product as we'll as in the purchase of supplies at the lowest market figures.
 The original proposition of the gov ernment was to set aside S1.000 per annun for three years for the. estab-s lishment Of farm bureau. the state to furnish 8 given amount and the county commissioners an equal sum-. There is at present a bill being pre- pared for the legislature which if passed will grant the needed money to meet the government offer Of the $3,000 thus acquired annually about $1,500E would be spent for qualified supervisor, the balance being expend- ed for office and travelling expenses in the country. England and. New Y ork state 1t is soon to be made in the west. New York state established 26 of these bu- reaus. Massac acllusetts one Gin Hamden county, of which Springfield is the county seat)s Maine and Vermont Ss F 4AcI . IS Dul one SQAAGSL1CUL. aL thep resent time, in New London county. All have been found to l work out beyond the most sanguine expectations and in the Massachusetts agency itw as found that such greater profits resulted from the sale of fer ti1izer. etc. that the scheme was greatly enlarged by the raising of nearly $I9. 900 this year for the con 1 duct of the large staff of advires and sa1esn1en.
 < In SD peaking of the matter necent1y an expert said s 1
 sThe most of the initiative in this movement must come from the people ] themselves. The whole success, aside \ from securing properly trained people 1 to act as agents. depends on local in tefest.
 s.The agricultural agents employed by these farm bureaus should be ma ture4 men who have been brought up | on the farm, have had good scientific 1 training, and have@had farm expert ence. secured by actually managing l a farm, in order to enable them to advise farmers on matters pertaining | to their business.
 Above all. these agents must be 1 good organizers. for their success de- bends on being able to get people l together in groups, and keep them together in good working spirit. The l work of the agricultural agent is to ! demonstrate the most approved agrI- cultural methods and farm practices. 1 Before doing this, however, he must
 make a study of the needs of his l county in which he is working, and | the adaptabi1ity Of differ ent Iocalf- ties to certain crops for specialized l lines of farming Being in intimate 1 touch with local conditions, they l discover why certain things have failed on some farms and succeeded l on others, give publicity to the sue cessful methods and try to suppIant the poorer way with the better. A l part of the agents work is to aid 1 those who ask for cropping rotations. fertilizers, farm management prob l 1ems, dairy breeding and feeding, He should stimulate interest iT1s and insist in organizing, cooperative so- cieti&s for the sale of farm products. | and for the purchase of farm sup | plies.
 NO one person can answer all ] expert in all lines of farming. but he 1 should know where this information l can be secured and then get it.
 According to the 1910 United f States census report, the improved | farm land in Connecticut is 98S,o00 | acres. which is 45 per cent. of the to- tai farm area. In 1850. "A per cent. of the total farm area in the state was improved farm land. There has i been a decrease. therefore in this pc 1 riod of t mioef about 30 per cent. of | Of improved farm land, at present | only 514,0O0 acres are in farm crops, or in other words, only one-half Of the improved farm land is today pro- | ducing crops. |
 ssIn the period 1900 to 1910, there