Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-04-20
BIG MEMBERSHIP
aim FOR LEAGUE
Rock Island County Agricultural So.
ciety Is Meeting With Much
Encouragement.
DROP EXPERT UNTIL NEXT FALL
Beard of Directors Decide to Delay
Employment of Official for the
Present.


Employment of Official for the
Present
The executive committee of the
Rock Island County Agricultural
league, composed of E NJ. Breaker,
John Eckhardt, c. ]. Searle. ". c.
Wilson, Thomas Curtis and officers of
the league. s l.. WOODBURY., George T.
Harris, J. L. Vernon and Frank T.
Sherman, met at the headquarters in
the court house yesterday afternoon.
Reports received were to the effect
that the business men of Rock Island
and Moline are heartily in favor of the
league and endorse the plans made.
Business men in both cities have
pledged support and are giving CO.
operation TO the movement.
Reports Of the membership cam
paign show that it is meeting with
better success than had been expect
ed at first. When first started the plan
Of the membership campaign as out
lined was that each township director
OF the league should name assistants
in his township and endeayor to Sc
cure an average of % members. At
the present time Coe reports a mem
bership Of 80 in the league. Buffalo
Prairie has secured IS and Edgington
and Bowling each have a large list.
Thus out of the IS townships two
have at the present time more than
oneffth of the proposed member
ship.
No Expert Until Fall.
Other township directors are organ
izing their forces and will soon be
able to make reports as good as those
of the townships named. 1t is desired
to obtain as large a membership as
possible so that farm expert for the
county can be employed. The execu-
tive committee has decided that no
attempt will be made to secure the
services of an expert this spring but
that all energy shall be devoted to
securing a large membership. If the
desired number Of members is obtain
cd this spring the league will then
consider the proposition to employ an
expert this fall.
The township directors who are
boosting the campaign for a large
membership are as follows: Rock Is
land, C. ]. Searle; Moline, DR.. R. c. J.
Meyer; South Moline, T. Jameson
South Rock Island, Edward Jens; An
dalusia, D. l.. Harmenter; Black
Hawk, L. E. Wilson; Bowling, Thomas
Curtis; Buffalo Prairie, John Eek
hardt; Canoe Creek, E. NJ. Breaker ;
Coal Valley, John W. Bailey; Coe, C.
H. Saddoris; Cordova, c. H. Quick
Drury, E. D. Morse; Edgington, G. T.
Harris; Hampton, Henry F. Long;
Port Byron, F. H. Schafer; Rural,
Thomas Fitzpatrick; and Yuma,
Homer Daley.
Want Big Membership.
There are about $50 members in
the league at the present time and on
the basis of an average of % to a
township this will make $50 mem
bers. The directors Of the league de-
sire that every farmer in the county
become full fiedged member and OBJ
tain the benefits of the services Of a
farm expert. In Scott county but few
of the farmers are not members of
the agricultural society and they feel
that it has been a great benefit. G. r.
Bliss who is the expert for Scott
county, has kept accurate figures Of
the work that has been done in Scott
county. His figures show that in the
past three years he has travelled 90
1870 miles in the interest Of the work
and has conducted numerous lectures
and meetings, besides answering let
tiers and inquiries in regard to farm
problems from the farmers in all sec
tons Of the county. The farmers
have attended SAG meetings with a
total number present of 68,199. The
meeting have been on various
subjects pertaining to the farm, among
them being lectures on hog cholera,
oat smut and spraying demonstra-
lions.
Perhaps nothing illustrates the
value of a farm expert better than fig
ures taken from the summary of the
league work in Scott county. In 1911
the number Of fields in the county
planted to alfalfa was u, the next
year it jumped to 40 and in 1913 the
number had more than doubled, there
being So fields planted with alfalfa
The following season there was an
even 200 fields. Not only has there
been an increase in the number of
felds but there has been an increase
in the yield per acre. Figures of the
yield in 1911 are not available but in
the next year the yield per acre of
bearing fields was four and a half.
and in 1913 four and three-quarters
In 1914 it was five and a half The
average gross returns kept pace with
the yield and in 1914 the gross returns
per acre were s62 as compared with
SAT in 1913 and s53.45 In 1912.
Much Accomplished.
The same results which have been
accomplished with alfalfa is notice
able in other crops. In 1914, 81 per
cent Of the oats were treated for
smut and in fields that had been
treated the percentage Of smut was
only one per cent of the entire crop
while in the untreated fields 1714 per