The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1919-12-25

NETep2f9o 6y GaS united states Depart
nent Of Agriculture.)
The poets, when they got going on
the calendar, usually ran to spring
and summer months, ending at about
knee deep in June" Thomas Hood
did succeed In getting as far as No
vember, but it wasn't a good poem.
Oh, it was a clever piece of crafts
manship, and all that, but unjust. It
was all negatives-''No morn, no noon,
no other time OF day; no sun, no
moon, no t'other side the way''-some
such Hbelous stuff as that about
perfectly gorgeous month. But they
didn't write even negative eu1ogies
Of December. Poe mentioned it, along
with "dying ember," midnight dreary,"
and such like gObS Of gloom. Just
the same, December might be made
the subject of a very excellent poem.
Indeed, with a verse here and a verse
there, it may almost be said that the
United States department Of agricul-
ture has written a great poem on it
one Of the didactic kind that, in addi-
ton to adjoining the tale, points a
moral. entitled to be considered poetry
because truth is beauty, and beauty is
poetry. The theme Of the thing must
be said to be that December is such
a tremendously important month to
the farmer.
December important Farm Month.
Now, having pulled up long enough
to climb over a period and walk around
the nook Of paragraph-cOnsider. OF
course, December has not been gen
orally considered an important month
In agriculture. On the contrary, 1t
has been q very much neglected month,
almost a month ignored. None the
less, it does come very close to being
the most important month In the year
for the farmer. It is a month Of
such tremendous potentially, a month
whose usefulness may be so spread
out over the other IL.
There is no end Of things that
should be done in December besides
getting ready for Christmas. That,
to borrow a phrase from very old
charge on duty, ''is not on any ac-
count to be neglected. but it is due
to be coordinated.
You have read in the old pioneer
stories how the boys had to work in
the clearing all summer, started to
SC0OO1 III lH6 hluISEs 4ndI O0SAL "
be true still for every farmer, no
matter how old or young he is. De
cember should mark the beginning Of
the session In his school. His school
house may very well be in his own
chimney corner. He has not much
time to read all spring, summer, and
fall. Now, he does begin TO have
little leisur-not that he has any time
to loaf, but he has his heels on the
ground. During the year there have
been printed a considerable number OF
good textbooks on farming. Special
fists OF the United States department
of agriculture and other specialists at
| the state agricultural college have en-
| bodied in bulletins the result OF long
and patient labor on various things
pertaining to farming, have put in type
| facts that will mean dollars to the
farmer who learns them and puts them
into practice.
pupils Study What They Like
OF course, this chimney-corner
school of agriculture allows its stu
+ dents a lot of leeway. The curriculum
/ Is largely elective. The farmer may
study this and leave the other alone,
as his interests may dictate. But
there will be enough bulletins that are
of interest to him to make pretty
full course of study. If he has
neglected his education at all and isn't
/ ''up1 to his grade" there may be
+ great deal more than he can handle in
one winter. The United States depart
ment Of agriculture has been publish
ing bulletins for a great many
/ years. There are more than thou
| sand farmers bulletins now on the
| list, and every one OF them discusses
| something that means money to
large class of farmers. Many of the
subjects have been supplemented and
| localized by state agencieS-the agr1-
cultural college or the state depart
ment Of agriculture. There is abso-
lutely no reason why any farmer may
not have all the scientific information
that exists on all phases Of agricul-
| ture that mean anything in his par
ticuIar operation. All he has to do is
to go to school to himself by his own
| 6reside. If he needs tutoring, there
is the county agent whom he can con-
suit when he goes TO town on Satur-
day-or he might possibly have the
agent out to supper and a session by
| the fireside some night.
The United States department Of az
ricuIture maintains printed lists Of its
various publications, arranged by sub
| jects. Any farmer-or any city dwell
er or suburbanite who is interested in
chickens or a garden or any Of the
things that pertain to farming-can
have copy merely by writing for it.
For the average farmer it is worth
spending an evening over, reading the