Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1919-10-16
QUESTION.
"How Can the Farm and the School
Work Together For the Best
Mutual Benefit Of All Con-
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The school is primarially, suppose.
for those attending it, but certainly
the school that best serves the farm
will best serve all concerned. We will
speak mostly about our own DEPART
ment, but do not think for minute
that the agricultural department. of
the school is the only thing that can
work with the farm. However, that
is our particular business. The Smith
Hughes law, concerning agriculture,
was made in order that the farmers
might get more real benefit from the
schools. The instructors of Smith
Hughes schools have to sign UP that
they are interested in rural life and
that they will do anything within
their power to help it along. That is
what our department is standing for.
You understand that the farms of
this community are supposed to be
our chief laboratory and text book.
but this equipment can only be used
by the consent and corporation of the
owners and operators. Therefore Won
see that from the schools standpoint
it is very essential that the farms are
working with us. By saying that we
intend to use the farm as our chief
laboratory and text book, we mean
that we intend to make it the basis of
our work. The rotation of seasonal
sequence of the farm work we intend
to follow quite closely. 1t is the prob
lens, that are being, or Should be
worked out on the farms that wo in
tend to study.
Now this is where the school can
help the farm. There are MANY ones-
tions coming up on the farms around
here each year. Things of which YOU
wonder about, things that you should
know about, and yet because of the
lack OF time and of proper informa-
ton, you do not satisfy yourselves
upon. Now we can not answer all of
these questions. Some of them never
can be answered perhaps, but we have
some very good books and literature
and can find out the answers to some
of them. Of course we will be some
what limited for time and the oues-
tlons that we would like best to have
for this year will be largely along
farm crops and some along Inc lioe of
animal husbandry, but we can look up
a limited number along other lines.
IT the farmers will do this and this
refers to the women as we'll as the
men, it will aid US greatly in finding
out the things that are the most
worth while, and it will also make us
all feel like we are doing something
that is worth being done.
Not only in looking things up and
them in verbal way can
we be of use TO the farm, but we
should be able to find out great
many things in more definite man
ner. What is the best method of seed
ing wheat, the best method of treat
ing it. the best time to seed. the best
seed to sow, how to take care of it in
the spring, and many more questions
Which may spell success or failure.
may be fairly well answered by the
boys if they can but keep accurate ac-
counts of the way in which the wheat
was handled and of the results obtain
ed, and then tabulate and work out
this data. ! wish that we could get
the records of one hundred fields of
fall wheat for aur study, and then we
might be able to tell you something
that is worth while and something that
will fit our own community. So on
with corn, oats, alfalfa, barley, sudan
grass, potatoes. and whatever is of
most value. The methods of raising
hogs, cattle, sheep, horses and poul-
try can also be compared.
Is it not true that every one has
some one thing in which he is better
at than any one other thing. Why
can we not get together and trade the
knowledge that your neighbor has on
something else? With land at three
hundred dollars per acre and every
thing else in proportion, it is time for
US to quit our see-sawing and go to
pulling together.
d. A. VanCleve,
Teacher of Agriculture,
Mo. Valley High School.