The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-07-30
ARE WOMEN FARMERS?
THE TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
" INFORMATION BUREAU
nv frederic j. Haskin. Director.
WashingtOn ID. g.
I.-Experts Say yes"
washington, ID. G.

I-Experts Say ''Yes."
Washington, D. C.. July So see
no reason why women should not
rnaka inst as good farmers as men,
declared Professor W. j. Spiiiman, ex-
pert in the Bureau of Farm Manage
ment of the Department OF Agricui-
ture, a few days ago.
The professor was seated in MS OF
flee the walls of which are decorated
with maps of the United states
spIotched with colors that interpret
the present crisis to the initiated eye
One covered with large yelloW
snlotches represents the government
mobilization of farm labor that is now
going forward in all parts OF the
country Facing the professor sat
young lady who had come in search
of advice on farming as career,
rs a woman strong enough! asked
the young lady doubtfully. isn't
blowing very hard
The professor explained that in
these days of machinery blowing was
not very hard When you planteo
your crops you rode in a steam
tractor and kept the side boxes full OF
seed Flowing was accomplished
without even this effort Even with
out steam, he said blowing was NOT
difficult Neither was harvesting. All
YOU had to do was to occupy seat
and drive a couple of horses, or, fall
ing seat, to walk along in back OF the
horses with the reins in your hands
Women might have some trouble
stacking heavy bundles of grain, ne
thought, but it was sometimes pos
sibIe to hire men for that particular
task.
Furthermore, declared the pro-
fessor, next season l expect to see
at least thirty thousand women taking
estimated that about 40 per cent, or
250,00G ow the young men drafted,
will come from the farms. Male labor
is already scarce. Women VIII DE
needed to help harvest the crops
In view of this, Professor Spillman
thinks that the present training camps
for women might do well to teach
agriculture instead of shooting, so
that in time of need they might prove
really useful. An inexperienced per-
son is of little use on a far l. Hence,
If the women's clubs will organize
classes in milking, gardening, driving
horses and poultry-feeding, in addi-
ton to a few lectures on agriculture
it would ultimately be of great serv-
ice to the nation.
This opinion is also shared by sew
eraI other experts in the department
of agriculture. Already it is becom-
ing so difficult to secure male labor
| for the farms, that the idea OF hiring
women presents itself as natural
alternative Moreover, there are 9TH
| ers in the department who agree with
| Professor Spillman that women make
! just as good farmers as men, one
man in sudden burst or generosity
said he thought they were likely to
achieve even greater success than men
| for the reason that women were the
principal buyers of the nation and
therefore knew what other women
| liked in buying food.
| Women have been farmers, OF
course, ever since there were farms.
| In a n.
| you consult the last census you will
| find that out of eight million women
IN occupations in the United States,
| 1,S00,00o are in agriculture But the
majority of these are women whose
homes are on farms. Their work is
| not agriculture but housework. Thus
women agriculturists-wome who
| own and manage their own farms or
| women who choose agriculture as
profession-are still rare To be sure,
| the number is increasing almost daily.
Iowa and Missouri now have women
farmers associations, with a central
headquarters and annual conferences
at which the women meet and talk
over their various farming problems.
Then the famous international
Show is no longer a masculine insti-
tuition at all. 1t used to be the case
that the women merely accompanied
their husbands and appeared only at
the horse show, which was considered
Now women are to be found at the
show during all the hours of the day,
and occasionally going home with blue
and purple ribbons A woman won
the Championship prize for the best
specimen of grain at the Iowa agri-
cultural show last year, and other
Iowa women captured prizes on their
poultry and cattle.
The problems of the woman farmer
are no different from those of the
| 70 In :
; ture the first question to be decided is
whether or not you have natural
prediction for farming. Do you pre-
fer to live in the outdoors rather thar
indoors? And-you have often heard
the expression-have you the pa
tience" to make things grown There
is a talent in this as in everything
else.
The most important problem tbs
would-be farmer ever has to face /:
buying his farm. Numerous real es
tate sharks must be met and deal
with-the type is legion-and II
? many instances it will be difficult te
tell whether farm is really good OF
not You must know what land /,
worth in a particular locality; vol
. must be able to estimate the presen
rate of production, and you mus
know the value of the various farm
ing appurtenances, such as the barn
{ poultry house, pasture, water supply
, and farm Implements. One woman
bought a farm once and afterward
: found that it contained no water Sh'
, had to have all the water carried from
: a neighboring farm until she coult
have a well dug. Another woman
who bought a farm on a very small
: margin of capital found that the roo
: of the house leaked; the poultr,
house was falling to pieces and tina
what was supposed to be the pastur'
|, contained many undesirable trees blu
= not blade of grass.
a Professor Spillman always gives tn
same advice to every one, both mel
y and women, in buying farm. HI
s suggests that they work on a farm
@ for a couple of months in order t
| gain the necessary experience Afte
that, they will know a poultry hous
e VIXEN they see it, and know what t.