The Anderson daily intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson, S.C.) 1914-1915, 1915-02-06
THE FARM DEMONSTRATIONS AGENT.

ress IL as making indicates it will only be short
time until every county in the country will be af-
fected by it. There now 214 county advisers in
the Northern States. There are 4y I'm tho nrov,,co
ci Ontario while in the South in a different form
county men are working n nearly 500 counties 1t
10 worthy OF note that no county with farmers or
samzauon pack OF 1t has dispensed with the ser
vices OF man, once one has been employed.
| Inc forerunner Of this movement can be Traced
Dack ten years TO few counties In Texas and
louisiana where men were employed to teach bet
'ei hethods OF farming in the face of boil weeyjI
CONDITIONS Although this work was kindergarten
In It's nature compared with that being done b,,
the county men in Illinois 1t has been productivo .,
much good. With the support of tho sadar,, xo,,
ernment the general educational board and the local
people, spread throughout the South until now
os' counues have county agents. Alabama Will; one
hundred and two counties has one hundred and two
oouii.y men, The men first used in the South were
usually practical farmers with an ordinary educa
'oh' VINO carried to the farmers the lines of work
planned by the leaders of the demonstration worl
lhis work consisted in giving instructions and uak
ing demonstrations in growing acre plots of corn
COTTON or other crops. AS the movement progressed
oh year 10 year, other lines were taken up and as
iar as possible better men were seeured Nou, q,
many cases we'll trained college men with wide
experience In agriculture are being employed and
the work is being placed on the highest uossibie
plane as fast as it is feasible to do So
| The county work in the east had it's bep,nnins
| I'D bedford County. Pennsylvania in 1906 p
f'oss cooperated with about 65 farmers for three
years uohg this entirely at his own expense Or
M"rch l. 1917 he was employed by the office oi
iarm management as an experiment to find out
"hat erect such man would have on agricuItura,
conditions. On the first of July 1910 he was co
operating with 21S farmers and year later with
I4l farmers. Most of his preliminary work was
done in Bedford County tut extended into au od
Joining counties ~
roio~ing the appointment of Mr. Ross In Bed
iord County the work had its next deyelonment IN
Broome County, New York and from those two
counties, 1t has spread throughout the Northern
States.
county should be fully s.ed before placing
man In the field. Much trouble wiliRbe avoided
IL this policy is pursued The work shm,d he
Planned for at least three years. One years time is
GOO snort to make fair trial. BY this end of three
years well handled, the results will be such 1t
VIII have established itself with the people s
Inc adviser should be college trained man or
It's equivalent with thorough practical experience
IN farming and of good personality. The supply of
such men is not over abundant. These men shon,d
y
tai 10 successful farming. To carry the work
tarthest, an adviser should have training In both
SOILS and livestock or other line alapted tn
the agriculture of tho county
The work should be planned to meet the most i'm
portant problems within county.a5 When oues
tiohed as to what these problems are farmers have
nciuded the following in their replies: Soil fer
Unity; higher yields of crops; how TO make a suc
cess OF alfalfa; smut in grains; increased produc-
tion from cows; hog chol.ra; how to prevent fail
ures OF red clover; how to organize the farm 10
make 1t pay better what crops to grow when clover
iaiis and how; what kind of machinery to huy for
certain purposes; when Is silo needed and what
KIND; what to do with the farm orchard: sweet
clover growing what crops to grow and in what
proportions in given system of livestock farming:
now 10 tile drain marsh; how to grow vetch ON
sandy land; how to market the crops better. the
tenant Question:; poor labor conditions what tyne
ot farming to follow; how to grow clover seed: in
sect injuries better roads; what to do with hilly
land; how to feed livestock; etc. -
These and many others serve to show the pres-
sing needs AS solution to some Of these problems
there is information In South Carolina which If an.
piled would not only keep the soils from wearing
out but would in most cases increase the fertility
II would practically double the average yield of
cotton, corn. oats wheat and clover ~ would ;,ut
successful fields OF alfalfa the greater percent.
age OF farms: II would produce much better seed
and eliminate the smut In grains IL would Increase
the production and profit OF cows: 1t would elimi-
nate 90 per OF the losses from hog cholera: n
would increase the certainty of red clover and give
srsd CROP It would systemstfze the farm
IN sach way the labor. stock and machinery would
be better utilized thereby Increasing the profits Il
would enable farmers to grow soy beans and COW
peas when clover falls so on down the list there is
Information available which IL annIiea would mean
immense profits to the farmers
AZ. ln--u s.F.