The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1917-08-10
INTERESTING LETTER | R.
FROM R. L. C[AGEII::
EXPERIMENT :. STATION; !, 'Ill'10N
REPLYING TO A LETTER HE SETS
FORTH MANY ADVANTAGES
!. TO BE GAINED.
BOOSTER FOR MAURY COUNTY
Able Editor OF jackson Sun Gradual
ed From the Columbia Military
Academy and Knows What splen'
did County This Is.

Jackson Sun, In answer 70 leltei
.iritten by the business manager Oh
rhe Daily Herald, writes most inter-
.stinsly of the benefits that have
ome to Madison county and to jack
,on because of the location OF the
West Tennessee Experiment Station
that county. Mr.. Clagetts letter
iollows:
jackson, Tenn, July 81, 1917.
w. D. Hastings,
Columbia, Tenn.
Dear Hastings Replying to your
letter Of July 30. l will give you brief
ly the facts regarding the benefits OF
the West Tennessee Experiment Sta
ton to Jackson and Madison county
1T would be impossible to estimate
exactly the effect the station has had
on land values in this county, for al
though the price of land has advanced
considerably since its location here
part of the advance may be attributed
to the construction of good roads.
However, a farmer told me today tha'
Il would be a low estimate to say that
the experiments at the farm are worth
fully 100000 year to the farmers
themselves in increased production
and saving of time. 1t is only in re
cent wears that Madison county farm
ers have taken advantage Of the ex
periments to as great extent as those
of other counties, but now with a
county demonstration agent who d.
-ects them to it for information and
demonstrations it has become of in
calculable value. vsls5
"As to the number OF people the
station brings to Jackson each year, ]
will refer you to today's visitation by
farmers from six counties. Eight
hundred persons were here today,
|rnen. women and children. Tomorrow
Fl geo will come, the next day $50 and
On Friday fully 1.6OOsor more. These
visitations are made annually about
this season and are in the nature Of
exhibits of what the farm is doing
In addition to these annual visitations
the West Tennessee Farmers Insti-
tute meets here&each fall in a large
auditorium erected pn the experiment
farm and the attehdsneelis always In
the neighborhood Of s,ea6 for about
three days.
"Threughout the year the most pro-
gressiveyfarmers of West Tennessee
come toNthe' Jackson farm to get infor-
nation and instructions on how to
meet some problem on their farm.
The United States department of ag-
riculture is always conducting special
experiments which require the pres
nee of from three to six specialists
here. Bulletins are sent out over this
section giving the facts about expert
ments and presenting to the people
the information they need to make
farming more practical and profita
Bile.
One of the greatest benefits of the
experiment station not only to Madi
son but also to all the counties OF
West Tennessee is the assistance il
gives to the county demonstration
agents. They make frequent visits tc
it to observe the newest discoveries
regarding the common crops of this
section, which information they carry
back to their people and give then
the benefit of it. Without the exper.
ments here they would have to make
them at great cost and with made
quate equipment on farms in theil
own counties. These agents through
the division of extension of the Uni
versity of Tennessee have free use o
| the experiment station for advancin:
| their work. In fact, the station is /;
branch of the agricultural college o
the state university.
I ut was said to me by business nal
in Jackson today that if it would cos
100000 to keep the experiment sta
ton here they would go down in thei
pockets and pay it themselves if tn
county court refused to do it.
81 am especially hopeful that tn
station will be located in Maury coun
ty, for with the good roads they ar
building in Hickman county so tina
tehy will have easy access to it, tn
| farmers will be worth thousands o
dollars to my friends in that county
AS a concrete example of what tn
experiments will do for a farmer tina
I follows them, friend of mine toll
me a few days ago that he is cultivat
ling land that has been under the plov
for more than a hundred years, mos
/ of that time in cotton and corn. B,
following the instructions and expert
i ments of the station he is producinJ
4 this wear "a bushels of corn to tht