Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1915-11-17
Great Plains Federal Station
Performing Valuable Service

ress are directed towards increasing
the production, and-more recently
towards solving the problems Of dis
tribution, both of which bear directly
on the profitableness of farming. AS
long as a large percentage of farmers
do not intend to remain on the farm
longer than is necessary to accumu-
late sufficient goods Of this world to
live comfortably in town, increasing
the proftableness of farming Will sim
ply mean that these farmers Will
move into the towns and cities that
much sooner. To simply make farm
ing more profitable will not solve the
problems that confront the agrlcul'
tural economist. To make farm life
more comfortable is eve a greater
task than to make it more profitable
and fully as important. This side
| of rural economics has been overlook.
| ed in the past. I know of no one
| thing that will increase the comfort
| of farmf life, as we'll as its profitable.
ness, more than effective s%helterbelt
! trees about the farmstead.
There is undoubtedly a direct rela'
ton between shelterbelts and a per
manent agriculture in any community.
Better farming afents, farmers insti'
tutes, agricultural schools, experiment
stations, farm periodicals, and numer'
Gus other agencies are. working for
| the uplift of agriculture and are every.
! where advocating the growing of live.
stock. of alfalfa, corn and other feed
crops 1t is, of course, useless for
most farmers to produce feed crops
unless they have live stock to con.
sumo them. On the windsweptj prai.
ries the livestock industry, dairying
in particular, is at best a precarious
one, when the farmstead is not pro-
tected by trees or some natural shell
ter. It is therefore, questionable
whether a permanent agriculture with
livestock as a foundation can be de.
veloped on the Great Plains until
s%helterbelts on the firms r the rule
instead of the exception, as at pres.
ent. .s -,
Our proposal to cooperate with far.
mers in the establishment of shelter
belts was first announced last Oct0-
Der by sending publicity circulars to
all newspapers in the territory includ-
ed in the work. Publicity circulars
were sent to 147 newspapers in North
Dakota; 81 in South Dakota; % in
Montana and 80 in Wyoming. Appli-
cations for next springs planting
were received until May 1. We have
received and accepted 645 applica.
tions from Montana; 242 from North
Dakota; lis from South Dakota and
Al from Wyoming. In other words
each publicity circular that was sent
out to Montana newspapers resulted
in S.S applications being sent to this
station; in North Dakota, bal .6o plus
were received; in South Dakota, FL
and In Wyoming, IL have been re.
ceived from each publicity circular.
In several cases bankers have made
it a point to interest their patrons
and have secured and sent 0ut'a mum.
Der of applications. The bankers in.
terest in this work is quite in keep.
ing with their interest in other lines
Of agricultural development. Bankers
r generally foremost in promoting
the corn growing contests, id 1.-THE sc.
curing of better farming agents. In
some parts Of the state they supply
the farmers with the necessary CAPT.
tai at q comparative low rate of in.
terest for the construction of silos,
the purchase of alfalfa seed, dairy
cattle, etc. The First National Bank
of St. Paul is starting a livestock edu.
cational campaign under the direction
Of Prof. Howard r. Smith, formerly
head of the division of animal husban.
dry of the University. of Minnesota.
Professor Smith will address meet.
ings that will be called by the country
banks. He will favor a policy of live
stock loans to be made by banks to
farmers of limited capital. l simply
mention these points as proof of the
| vital interest which bankers are tax.
ing in agriculture.
All applicants for trees under our
cooperative ~shelterbelt development
will be visited by a field inspector dur
ing the summer following the receipt
of the application, who will advise the
farmer regarding the size and location
| of the ~shelterbelt, the preparation of
the land, etc. One banker who sent
in about ten applications stated in
case the inspector would call at his
bank when he visits that locality he
would take him out in his auto and
see all the applicants in that vicinity.
We can hardly expect such generosity
to become epidemic, but bankers
could assist the field inspectors by
giving them information that would
assist them in locating the applicants
by the most direct routes and other
information that would be of value in
aiding the inspector to determine
whether the applicant would make a
desirable c~o-operator.
The cooperative shelterbelt devel.
opment work affords an excellent op.
%portunity to render valuable service
to their farmer clients with q mini.
mum expenditure in time or money
Commercial West.
INCOMPETENT OFFICERS
IN THE ARMY