The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1919-12-04
WINTER SCHOOLING

The poets. when they get going on
the calendar, usually ran to spring and
summer months, ending at about
knee deep il, 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 mo morn. no
moon. 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 eulogies
of December. Poe mentioned il,
along with dying ember," midnight
dreary," and such like gobs of gloom
Just the same, December might be
made the subject Of very excellent
poem. Indeed, with a verse here and
verse there, 1t may almost be said
that the United States Department of
Agriculture has written a great poem
on it--one OF the didactic kind that,
in addition to adorning tale points
a moral, entitled to be considered
poetry because truth is beauty, and
beauty Is poetry. The theme of the
thing may be said to be that Decem.
Der is such tremendously important
month to the farmer.
Now, having pulled up long enough
to climb over period and walk around
the nook OF paragraph--consider.
or course, December has not been gen
orally considered an important month
in agriculture. On the contrary, it
has been 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 month of such |
tremendous potentiality, month !
whose usefulness may be so spread |
out over the other eleven.
There is no end of things that should
be done In December besides getting !
ready for Christmas. That, to borrow
, phrase from very old charge on
iuty, 'fs not on any account to be
neglected." but it is due to be coordi-
,ated. You have read in the old /
pioneer stories how the boys, who
lad to work in the clearing all sum
ner, started to school in the winter.
That ought to be. true still for every
armer, no matter how old or young
le is. December should mark the
eginning of the session in his school,
lis schoolhouse may very well be in
lis own chimney corner. He has not
much time to read all spring. summer,
nd fall. Now, he does begin to have
little leisure-not that he has any |
ime to loaf, but he has his heels on
he ground. During the year there
ave been printed considerable num-
er of good textbooks on farming.
SPECIALISTS of the United States De ;
artment Of Agriculture and other spe-
ialists at the State Agricultural Col |
ege have embodied in bulletins the
esults of long and patient labor on
arious things pertaining to farming
ave put In type facts that will mean
ollars to the farmer who learns them |
nd puts them into practice.
OF course, the chimney-corner school /
{ agriculture allows its students
ot Of leeway. The curriculum is !
argely elective. The farmer may
tudy this and leave the other alone,
$ his interests and his interest may
ictate. But there will be enough !
that are of interest to him !!
0 make a pretty full course of study. /
he has neglected his education at
IL and isn't up to his grade" there I
nay be a great deal more than he can
andle In one winter. The United
tates Department Of Agriculture has
cen publishing bulletins for a great
aany years. There are more than a {
thousand farmers bulletins now on
ne list. and every one OF them dis,
usses something that means money
0 . large class of farmers. Many
{ the subjects have been supplement-
d and locs,lised by state agencies +
he agricultural college or the state
apartment Of agriculture. There is
bsolutely no reason Why any farmer
lay not havs al the scientifc mfors
% SAN SAN ~ s .ftf .ftf - 3 z a 7r!Y x