The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1916-03-03

| trains, the movable schools and by
literature sent out by mail and thru
the press, and with it all, the potato
diseases are rapidly gaining on the
farmer, the hogs have more cholera
and nature works wonders to COM
pei the slothful to adopt radically
different methods or be swamped
with losses.
Were Right About 1t
| Eleven years ago this paper raised
the question whether or not the fair
could succeed in it's calling without
adapting itself to the questions con-
fronting the farmer and solving
them. We called attention to the
fact that horse races were not live
question and that the prosperity Of
the country did not depend upon that
or anything growing out of good
race. We were roundly criticised
for the suggestion, and now the
farmers are selling their driving
horses and buying automobiles. The
fair does not raise automobiles nor
devise the way to pay for them.
The Things OF tomorrow
The states and communities that
have doubled or radically increased
their crop yields during the past few
years are those that have employed
the county AGENT to 60 out and work
among the farmers, or the club lead
ers to work among the boys and
girls clubs, farming by new meth
DDS, Cutting loose absolutely from
the old mode of doing it and launch
ing out in smaller areas with inten-
sive methods, pure seeds, and every
operation. from soil preparation to
harvest and marketing done with
precision that puts the farmer into
new world agriculturally. In this
departure he must have guide, as
certainly as the grower of sugar beets
must have the aid OF the field sup
erintendent to guide him the first
year or two till he sets firm hold
on the new way. Once he gets a
taste of the new way he never goes
back. Once the boy raises his patch
of potatoes by the intensive methods
he never plants the old field again
by the hap-hazard means. Once the
girl gets to know the way to can
and preserve things from the orchard
and garden, and the family realize
the superiority of flavor and they all
see the great saving in the grocery
bills, they never again fail to give
the daughter full sway at canning
time. Indeed, they lay off and help
her, for there's success in it.
Encouraging the Wrong Things
The fair has demonstrated the
value of fine stock, but it has not
shown the farmer boy the necessity
of keeping records of breeding and
of being around to care for the COW
and the sow at maternity. The
country is full of examples of valu-
able cows that lost their calves; of
pure bred sows that lost their litters;
fine colts that died at birth and
blooded eggs that got chilled or over
heated in the incubator. The fair
does not teach how to avoid these
losses; does not teach youth the love
of the tender young and their de-
pendance upon the hand of man at
the time of their advent into the
world On the contrary the fair in
vites him to get seat in the grand
stand and to stand up and yell when
somebody says, "Let 'er buck!" The
whole exhibition leads the boys mind
away from every thought of care and
tenderness, and when he goes home
he proceeds to saddle up the steer
calf and bulldog" it, or to torment
the colt till it bucks. He will prac-
tice for hours twirling the rope, an
obsolete accomplishment, when the
members of the boys clubs in other
states are putting in every precious
moment engineering the soil cnndi-
lions so that nature can make them
a liberal harvest.
Bingham county pays $4,000 a
year to the fair for premiums, and
the city of Blackfoot pays $3.50 in
cash and some valuable concessions
that net them few hundred dollars.
Public spirited men and women de-
vote few days of their time to the
fair, and the schools are dismissed
for day so they can attend. A
salary of $4,000 year would hire
q SOOu county agent, anu NC WOIhS
all the year melting people to better
merely for one week
in September. If some Of the public
spirited men and women of the coun-
ty would put in as much time going
around encouraging better farming
with the young folks in the country,
as they have been working for the
fair, we believe it would be a source
of Joy to both as we'll as the begin
ming of profits on the farms. 1t
would build up an intimacy between
the young and the middle aged, the
towns people and the country folks
that is sadly lacking and much need
I'd.
The whole western world needs
and especially the western
states and Idaho. Our beet farmers &
would have made failures without {
he field superintendent; and even I
ho their superintendent was for the 6
special benefit of the individual farm 9
,r, he rebelled at first, and some Of l
hem had to be reminded that un- I
ess they obeyed the field superin- 7
endent, the company would refuse c
o accept their beets raised under Q