The Dolores star., 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 good poem.
Oh. it was clever piece of crafts
manship. and all that, but unjust. 1t
was all negatlves-"No morn, no noon.
no other time of day; no sun, no
moon, no tother 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 1t, 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 verse
there. 1t may almost he said that the
United States department of agricul-
ture has written great poem on it
one of the didactic kind that, in addi-
ton to adorning the tale, points a
moral, entitled to be considered poetry
poetry. The theme of the thing must
be said TO he that December is such
d tremendously important month to
the farmer.
December important Farm Month.
Now, having pulled up long enough
10 climb over period and walk around
the nook of a NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. OF
course, December has not been gen
orally considered an important month
in agriculture. On the contrary, it
has been very much neglected month.
almost month ignored. None the
less, it does come very close TO being
the most important month in the year
for the farmer 1t is a month of
such tremendous potentiality, 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 phrase from very old
charge on duty, sis 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
school in the winter That ought to
he 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
and
fall. Now. he does begin to have
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
pertai ng to farming. have put in type
facts ,hat 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
fuIl course of study. If he has
neglected his education at all and isn't
eur, 70 his grade" there may be a
great deal more than he can handle in
one winter. The United States depart
ment of agriculture has been publish
ing bulletins for 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 agencles-the agri-
cultural college or the state depart
ment of agriculture. There is abso-
1utely no reason why any farmer may
not have all the scientific information
that exists on all phases Of agricul-
xure that mean anything in his par
tIcuIar operation. All he has to do is
TO go to school to himself by his own
fireside. 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 session by
the fireside some night.
The United States department of ag-
riculture maintains printed lists of its
varions publications. arranged by sub
Sacts. Any farmer-or any city dwell
Sr or suburbanite who is interested in
chickens OF a garden or any of the
things that pertain to farming-can
have copy merely by writing for 1t.
For The average farmer it Is worth
spending an evening over, reading the