New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1919-12-19

ment 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 1t wasn't a good poem.
oh, it was q clever piece of crafts
manship, and all that, but unjust. 1t
was all negatives-'No morn, no noon,
no other time of day; no sun. no
moon, no t'other side the way"-some
such libelous stuff as that about a
perfectly gorgeous month. But they
didn't write even negative e~ulogies
of December. Poe mentioned II, 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 1t
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 a paragraph-consider. OF
course, December has not been gen.
orally considered an important month
In agriculture. On the contrary, 1t
has been a 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. 1t is n 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 a very old
charge on duty, "is not on any ac-
count to be neglected" but ii is due
Ia be coordinated.
You have read in the old pioneer
stories how the boys had to work In
the clearing all summer. started to
school in the winter. That ought to
be true still for every farmer, no
natter 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 "
chimney corner. He has not much
time to read all spring, summer. and
fall. Now, he does begin to have a
little leisure-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
lists 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 mat will mean dollars to the
farmer who learns them and puts them
into practice.
PupIIs Study What They Like.
OF course, this chlmney-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 a pretty
full course OF study. II he has
neglected his education at all and isn't
"up' to his grade" there may be a
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 a thou
sand farmers bulletins now on the
list. and every one OF them discusses
that means money TO a
large class Of farmers. Many OF the
subjects have been supplemented and
localized by state agencies-the agri-
cultural college or the state depart
ment or agriculture. lnere Is apSo
lutely no reason why any farmer may
not have all the scientific Information
that exists on all phases of agrlcul-
ture that mean anything In his par
ticular operation. All he has to do Is
to go to school to himself by his W
II 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
he firesIde some night.
The United States department OF ag-
-iculture maintains printed lists Of its
publications. arranged by sub
Iects. ANY farmer-or any city DWELL
ar or suburbanite who is interested in
.hickens or a garden or any Of the
.hings that pertain to farming-can
a copy merely by writing for 1t.
For the average farmer it is worth
spending an evening yer. reading the
o...zx 80 rran Meet