Pueblo chieftain., 1921-01-14
SUGAR COATING THE SCIENTIFIC PILL

South, and the photograph submitted
for the cover showed h man feeding
corn to the pigs. We were fixing 1t
for use when luckily some one called
our attention to the significant fact
that they don't feed corn TO hogs down
south. II was a mistake that would
never have been noticed-eScept by
the people who would want the bulle-
tin. OF course. VIC cut the man Oft
the picture. and left just tho hogs,
This sheep bulletin cover, too. had
to DO patched up. In ;ho foreground
you see fine picture OF a man shear
inE the flock Back of Il, originally,
thero was a beautiful colonial man
sion. 1t made an artistic photograph.
Dut the attention was distracted. You
would keep looking away from tho
hcop TO tho house-it was too at
,racuvc. So We cut off the house.
hinuinE the picture at the edge and
catching On tho thinucd edge OF an
other photograph Of some trees. Tho
tree line was low and monoton-
Gus, SO VIC built II up with brush
work. added few clouds, rctouchcd
the whole picture, and the sheep scene
was an artistic unit"
Something Of this sort has to be
done with almost every cover. It
isn't n simple proposition OF getting
a hurried snapshot Of box of straw
drawing = margin around 1t to indi-
cate the cover edge. on the contrary.
every bulletin represents work-the
finest detail work with careful Judg-
mont back of every stroke.
Limited funds sometimes add TO this
difficulty OF turning out te,o itrrSstibly
attractive bulletin. Not 80 long ago
some OF the department employees
thought 1t would be good aca TO use
colorcd pictures on a bulletin covers
and for Illustrations where color is u
guide. as in testing the quality Of ccr-
tain meats or in knowing when a
plant is diseased. Color In such in
stances Is undoubtedly helpful to tho
reader but Congress refused To SEQ
that It would be worth the extra dol
lars q would add to the Government
printing bill. 20 the farmers bulletins
continue TO appear mainly IN black
and white.
The Results
CoIorcd picture would have raised
tho farmers. bulletin TO the final stage
Of perfection and popularity. But
lacking that. no ,onc can deny that tho
bulletins emanating from the Depart
ment OF Agriculture are gems Of art
and samples OF popular literature
compared with the farmers bulletin
OF the model of 1910.
Thirteen million OF these bulletins
are distributed BY tho department last
year. This is just about the average
number sent out in the past seven
years, except In 1915, when twenty
three million were distributed because
OK food and economy campaigns why
then. the assertion that the farmers
bulletin is becoming more popular
Because in this case figures don't
mean much. Since the department
began to print bulletins II has been
sending them out to Congressman for
their constituents. to agricultural cN-
pertinent stations, and to people who
wrote for them. The carly bulletins
went out, oxudinE science at ovcry
line, but how much good they did was
doubtful Now, Congress regularly
cuts down no printing, the Govern
ment Printing Office is rushed with
work. and the result is at best just tho
usual number OF bulletins. But tho
real test Is this: Very many moro
farmers and housewives are reading
tho bulletins and expressing their ap-
probation OF them. The facts that
they wouldn't swallow when served TO
them raw and undiluted. they now ac-
ccpt, and, like Oliver, ask for more
In tho little town of Wellman. Iowa,
"A monument has lust been erected TO