The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-01-02

The poets, when they got going o.
the calendar, usually ran to sprinI
and summer months ending at abou
knee deep In June" Thomas Hoot
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. 1
was all negatives-"No morn, no noon
no other time Of day; no sun, M
moon, no t'other side the way''-somt
such libelous stuff as that about 6
| 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 very excellent poem
| Indeed, with 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 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 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 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 a 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
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 leisure-not that he has any time |
TO loaf. but he has his heels on the |
yround. During the year there have |
been printed a considerable number of |
good textbooks on farming. Special
SITS of the United States department |
# agriculture and other Specialists at
the state agricultural college have en-
bodied In bulletins the result of long
md patient labor on various things
pertaining to farming, have put In type
acts that will mean dollars to the |
'armer who learns them and puts them
nto practice.
Pupils Study What They Like:
OF course, this chimney Corner
chool of agriculture allows its stu
Tents lot Of leeway. The curriculum
3 largely elective. The farmer may
tudy this and leave the other alone,
IS his interests may dictate. But
here will be enough bulletins that are
+ interest to him to make pretty
ull course of study. If he has
eglected his education at all and isn't
up to his grade" there may be a
reat deal more than he can handle In
ne winter. The United States depart
tent Of agriculture has been publish
II bulletins for great many
ears. There are more than thou |
and farmers bulletins now on the
st, and every one Of them discusses
that means money to a
,rge class of farmers. Many OF the
nbjects have been supplemented and
,calized by state agencies-the agri-
ultural college or the state depart
rent Of agriculture. There Is aDso-
,te,y no reason why any farmer may
OF have all the scientific information
lat exists on all phases Of agricul-
ire that mean anything in his par
cular operation. All he has to do is
20 to school to himself by his own
reside. If he needs tutoring, there
the county agent whom he can con-
lit when he goes to town on Satur-
ay--or he might possibly have the
rent out to supper and a session by
e fireside some night.
The United States department Of ag-
culture maintains printed lists OF Its
rious publications, arranged by sub
cts. Any farmer--or any city dwell
or suburbanite who is interested IN
ickens or I garden or any OF the
ings that pertain to farming-ca e
We a copy merely by writing Tor It.
n the average farmer It u worth
ending IN evening over. reading ths 2