The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1916-12-07
Normal School Farm
Is a Large Enterprise

What is commonly known as the
Normal School Farm of Valley City
was started in the year of 1912. 1t is
located just west Of the Tracy's New
Addition to Valley City, west of the
river, and consists of about forty
acres. Besides these forty acres, the
state has a five year lease on another
forty acre plot north of the farm prop
or.
! The farm, up to the present time
has been used chiefly for the raising
or roughage for the feeding of the
pure bred stock and the raising Of
vegetables to supply the state dormi
tories. Those in charge have aimed
to make the work as practical as pos
sible. Last year there were five OF
six demonstration potts, Fred Colby
the superintendent of the Normal
school grounds, lives on the farm and
is its manager.
A large modern dairy barn and silo
was built during the summer and fall
| of 1915. This barn is as modern in
every respect as any dairy barn in the
country. 1t is electric lighted, has &C.
ment floors, and in fact is Just the
type Of barn that can be used for
demonstration purposes in connec-
ton with the farm proper. The cleo.
tricity for lighting both the house and
barn are obtained from the Normal
school power plant.
All Of the live stock that is kept on
the farm is pure bred. The state is
making specially of Holstein-Fres.
ian cattle, Chester White hogs, and
White LeghOrn chickens. The herd of
cattle consists of about a dozen reg.
istered pure bred Holstein-Fresian
cows and one pure bred sire. One of the
cows, Johanna Malow End, is especial
ly noted, Icing registered in the Ad-
vanced Registry Order of the Holstein
Fresian Cattle Association of Amer.
lea. There are about twenty-five pure
Chester White hogs kept in the mod
ern hog house. The poultry consists
of about ESQ pure bred White Leghorn
chickens.
There are from six to eight horses
kept at the farm the year round. In
the summer they are used in doing the
regular farm work but in the winter
they are used in hauling the coal from
the freight cars to the Normal school
power house. Besides these two main
items of work the teams are used in
doing any and all draying that is need
ed to be done around the school. Mr..
Colby keeps about three men, the
greater part of the year to do the
work on the farm and the hauling of
the coal in the winter.
1t is the aim of those in charge of
the Normal school farm to supply
the State dormitories with all the milk
and vegetables necessary. AS these
two items are the main articles of
food at the dormitories it means that
there are heavy demands made upon
| the farm.
The farm is not devoted to the rails.
ing of grain to any great extent but
carries on more of an intensive sys.
TEN of farming. Much of the land is
set aside to garden truck farming.
Prof. Seymour, head of the agricul.
tural department., states that it is
planned to make the Normal School
Farm more of demonstrative farm
and a. community enterprise than it
has been made in the past. Expert
ments will be performed here that will
be of interest to the community and
state. Many demonstration plots will
be laid out and a careful record will
be kept of all work done along differ
ent lines. There have already been a
great many strawberry plants set out
and there will be gradual adding OF
fruit trees.
The school gardens are in way in
cluded in the Normal School Farm.
They consist of several acres of land
and are located on the hill directly
south of the Normal school. This land
has been used for several years by the
pupils of the training school in their
work of planting their small gardens.
It is the aim of those who have these
school gardens in charge to lay the
ground out in permanent garden form
and then to beautify the grounds in
several ways.
All of the work that the agricultural
department has planned, in connec-
ton with the Normal School Farm,
will take years to accomplish; but the
ideal is to make it as home-like as
possible and to make the farm a dem
onstration farm and community enter
prise.