The Oakes times. [volume] (Oakes, N.D.) 1906-current, 1920-04-29
NOTES OF THE
FARM BUREAU
County Agent Leader H. B. Fuller and
Assistant State Club Leader o. A.
Barton Here Last Week

Assistant state Club Leader ID. A.
Barton Here Last Week
NEW CLUB LEADER APPOINTED
A. A. Penn Will Succeed d. +. Mueller,
Who Recently Resigned
H. B. Fuller, county agent state
leader, was here the past week. Mr..
Fuller was formerly inspector Of
county agent work for twenty seven
states in the northwest and has q
vision of county agent work carried
on through the Farm Bureau that no
other man in the country has.
The result will be that the work will
be as thoroughly systematized and az
permanently established as any other
county official work. Instead of the
extension workers gallivanting pro-
miscuously about through the coun-
ty and playing the role of Good Sa-
maritan to three or four hundred
farmers, these workers will deal
through community organizations and
community effort. Those who have
followed the Farm Bureau work will
note that we are beginning to do this
more and more.
For that reason it is very neces-
sary that the program of work be
planned by the community and def
inte goal set by them. This means
a definite Office system, so that il one
worker resigns another may know
just where the work stands, SO he may
know what to do. (At the present
time seven vacancies exist in North
Dakota. 1t is difficult to find men to
fill these positions.)
We feel that the Farm Bureau work
which has been accomplished in the
past and the work to be accomplished
through community effort will give
people in general the idea that it is
not the special function of the county
agent to tell people how to farm, but
to get groups Of people together ia
order that they may help themselves.
This work is worth while. At least
we argue that it is worth 25c per
quarter section to have pure bred live
stock and pure seed, to eradicate the
SOW thistle, to. have a potato ware
house, wool growers association, a
live stock breeders association, and
to in a measure check plant and ami
NAL diseases, and the best of all to
have boys and girls clubs with a
hundred other things we have forgot
ten to mention.
1t is very gratifying to this Office
that we have been fortunate enough
to secure the services of A. A. Penn
as club leader for Dickey county, to
succeed D. F. Mueller, who has re-
signed. Mr.. Penn is teaching the
Dickey consolidated school west of
Glendale, and has given thorough
satisfaction to the patrons of his
school. While he will not be able to
devote his whole time to club work
until his school will be out, on the
eleventh of June, he will devote af-
ternoons and Saturdays to club work
and get the young people lined up
with their various projects immedi-
ately. Mr.. Penn was born and raised
on farm in Wisconsin and has had
considerable agricultural training.
This, together with eight years of
teaching experience, ought to make
him good club leader
Question: Since potatoes are worth
four dollars per bushel and almost
impossible to secure at that price,
what would you think Of planting
small potatoes and keeping the larger
ones for table use?
Answer: BY all means plant the
small seed. While we have no def
mite data from the experiment sta
tion, general farm practice in some
potato growing communities justi-
fies it. In fact large grower of po-
tatoes in New York state highly rec
ommends the use of small seed. He
says, II have been watching results
now for seven years and have yet to
see the time when seed cut 10 two
eye pieces weighing about an ounce
have beaten small seed Of the same
weight when soil and moisture con-
ditions were equal, whereas the small
seed potatoes have come out ahead
repeatedly. have had 900 bushels
of Irish cobblers to the acre from
otHoI SecO, Wulle IIle DeSL tNeA cuL
large seed has done is 100 bushels.
'"The reasons for the increased
yield are as follows:
"Small seed is less affected by JILL
favorable conditions than cut seed.
"Under favorable conditions there
are more vines from the small seed
than from the cut seed, hence the
yield is likely to be larger.
'"The sprouts from small seed come
mostly from the seed end Of the tuber,
and these are more vigorous than
those from the stem end. In my case
large proportion of the small seed
is not entirely mature.
Contrary to the poular belief, seed
which is dug before it is fully mature
is superior to that which is mature.
l am unable to state why this should
be so.
"1n cutting seed in large quantities