Deseret farmer. [volume], December 12, 1908, Page 4, Image 4

About Deseret farmer. [volume] (Provo, Utah) 1904-1912

Image provided by: University of Utah, Marriott Library

                
H i THE DESERET FARMER Saturday, December , 1908 .
THJS DESERET FARMER
(THAT BIG FARM PAPER)
H Combined With "Rocky Mountain
H Farming."
H Established 1904.
H Official Organ of the
M Utah State Poultry Association.
M Utah Horticultural Society.
fl Utah State Dairymen's Association.
H Utah State Bee Keepers' Association.
H Bear River Valley Farmers' Protoc
ol tive and Commercial Association.
M Utah Arid Farming Association.
K . -
1 Issued every Saturday by the Dcs-
H erct Farmer Pub Co., Salt Lake Se-
H curity & Trust Building, Salt Lake
H City, Utah.
M Entered as second class matter Dec.
M 37, 1905, at the Postoffice at Salt Lake
City, Utah.
H Subscription price $1.00 per year
(Strictly in Advance.)
M Discontinuances.
H The publishers must be notified in
H writing, at time of expiration, when
H discontinuance of subscription is de-
H sired, and all arrears must be paid.
H Advertising rates made known upon
H aoplication. The right is reserved to
H reject questionable advertising.
H All communications and remit-
H tances should be addressed to "The
Deaeret Farmer," Salt Lake Secun-
ty & Trust Building, Salt bake City,
Utah.
H Lewis A. Merrill . ...... .. Editor.
P. G. Peterson Asst. Editor.
J. H. Harper Business Mgr.
Salt Lake City, Utah,
H Saturday, December 12, 1908.
H The Farmers' Institute campaign
H this year promises to be more effec-
H tive than ever .before. The railroad
train given jointly by the various
B railroads of the state, Dcgins its work
I on January 6th, and will continue un
I interruptedly for some sixty days. It
H is expected that every town that lie's
I on the railroad in the state will be
H' reached, and! it is hoped that a good
H representation of farmer and farni
H, rs' wives will be in attendance.
Watch these columns for future no
il tices.
H , 1 n ,
I President Kenyon I. Butterficld of
I the Massachusetts Agricultural Col-
H(f lege, was formerly Superintendent of
B Farmers' Institutes for Michigan.
I While here he took particular intcr-
I! est in the workings of Farmers' In-
stitutes here, inquiring particularly
I into the methods pursued last year
I, where a Farmers' school was con
I ducted. Mr. Butterficld expressed
I himself as being very much pleased
with the West and hopes to be able
1 to mk a visit to th Inter-mountain
Ij country at a more opportune time.
Dr. Widtsoc and the faculty of the
Agricultural College arc making
special efforts this year for the Win
ter's course. The program has been
outlined and a circular has been is
sued giving the entire details regard
ing this work. The fanners who can
afford to leave home for a few weeks
should write to the College and se
cure a copy of this circular.
Professors llogcnson and Cnine
leave for the Uintah country early
during the coming week, and will
spend several dhys ill that section, at
tending Farmers' Institutes there.
These gentlemen arc both Utah born
and have also had splendid special
training elsewhere, and arc well fitted
for this kind of work. The farmers of
Uintah county will undoubtedly de
rive much benefit from their visit.
n ,,- .
Dr. Henry W. Gardiner of Bo.c
man, Montana, has been a visitor to
the city and the writer has had pleas
ure in showing him sonic of the agri
cultural possibilities of this region.
Dr. Gardiner is a graduate from an
agricultural course, later taking his
degree in veterinary medicine, and is
an enthusiastic, energetic, and cour
teous gentleman. This is his first
visit to Utah and he has been delight
ed with the evidence of thrift found
on the farms in these valleys.
THE COUNTRY LIFE COMMIS
SION. Utah was favored last week by a
portion of the committee recently
sent out by President Roosevelt to
inquire into the conditions obtaining
on the farms and throughout the rur
al districts of the country. The com
mission here consisted' of Henry Wal
lace, editor of Wallace's Farmer;
Kenyon I. Butterficld, President of
the Massachusetts Agricultural Col
lege, and C. J. Blanchard of the Re
clamation Service. A' met. g of the
representative men of L.Ji was
called to meet these gentlemen at the
Governor's office. During the day
three sessions were held. All phases
of the pioblcm in Utah were dis
cussed, and it was believed that as
much good was accomplished by
awakening thought and giving an op
portunity for discussion among those
at home here, as by the suggestions
given by the commission. In fact
th commission did not come here
to cive suBcwtions oj make speeches,
but it was a board of inquiry and as
such confined themselves to their
work very closely. The problems
most discussed were the need of
more teaching of agriculture in the
public and high schools throughout
the state; belter roads throughout the
country, and better sanitary condi
tions. The need of inter-urban rail
roads and a cheaper supply of money
was also discussed, but these were
rather incidental.
Prominent among the speakers rep
resenting these various problems,
were Dr. Widtsoc of the Agricultural
College, J. G. Duffin, C J. Adncy, W.
W. Ritcr, Dr. Bcatty, Peter Droubay,
T. R. Cutler, Geo. Austin, W. S. Han
sen, Prof. J. F. Merrill, Prof. W. M.
Stewart, President Kingsbury, md
Prof. Gillilan. Prof. Gillilan misin
formed the commission in stating that
the farmers of Utah were not a read
ing class. The majority of the farm
ers arc readers and as President
Widtsoc informed the commission,
the farmers of Utah arc as intelligent
and efficient as can be found in any
section of the United States.
The writer was asked to explain be
fore the commission, the work of the
Farmers' Institute, and afterwards
received words of congratulation from
President Butterficld, on hc excel
lence of the organization here.
The work of the commission was
helpful in many ways, and Utah re
ceived) much good from the visit of
the distinguished visitors. A feature
of the meeting was the banquet ten
dered by Governor Cutler, and an
other one tendered by the State Board
of Horticulture, to the visitors and
invited guests
o
SLOVENLY FARMING.
It is a fact, not vjry pleasant to
contemplate, that our population in
creases much more rapidly than the
yield of food-stuffs and other farm
products. Hence, we no longer enjoy
that inestimable blessing, cheap liv
ing, without which no people can long
continue prosperous.
There is a remedy intelligent, dili
gent, and thrifty cultivatio(j of the
soil. If American farmers should
adopt and adhere to the methods of
Belgmn and French farmers, in less
than a decade the yield of our farm
products would be more than doubled.
We claim to be the most energetic
and procrosMve population in the
world, and yet, as a rule, our farmers
arc some millions of slovenly agri- il
culturists. Abandoned farms, worn
out old fields, puny crops, weedy pas- '
turcs in evefy St'atc attest this la
mentable fact.
Collier's Weekly cites poor .seed as
one cause of thriftless farming in the
corn States. Where $2,000 in prem
iums arc offered at county fairs for
horse shows, but $10 in reward arc
bestowed for the corn shows; where
as excellence in seeds is more desir
able than superiority in live stock,
for it requires grain and forage to
make a fine horse, ia fine cow, a fine
sheep, or a fine hog. If every grain
of corn planted were perfect, that of
itself would double the yield of corn,
and it requires no more labor to cul- i
tivatc a stalk from a faultless grain J
than one from a defective grain, and
the same is true of wheat, oats, rye,
barley, and all the vegetables. In a 1
measure, it is true of cotton, rice, and t
tobacco; possibly so of hemp, clover,
alfalfa, and other grasses. ,
There should) be more agricultural
schools, and every one should have a
professor in love with his science,
graduated from Luther Burbank's j
farm.
American farms, properly tilled,
could supply the world with food. A s k
farmer in York county, Pa., has sue-
cceded in making an average yield of
35 barrels 175 bushels of corn per
acre on his land. H3e did this by in
telligent rotation, perfect cultivation,
and the propagation of a faultless
seed. When he began, his average
yield on the same farm was less that)
ten barrels an acre.
What that man did any other farm
er of the corn belt can do by employ- j
ing the same system of cultivation
and devoting to the work the same
love of the soil, the same intelligence
to plan, and the same energy to exe
cute. If some philanthropist like Mr. '
Carnegie should offer $100,000 as re
ward for improved seeds, it would
bring more benefit to the American
people than $1,000,000 in libraries. j
FOR SALE. Arid land in Cedar I
Valley; 520 acres, adjoining Cedar m
Fort field; J4 mile from town and
railroad station; $5,000 part cash, I
balance time. Address,
SAMUEL STARK,
730 S. West Temple St., S. L. City. I
Kindly mention the "Deseret Far-r
mer" when writing to or doing busj I
nets with our advertisers. "" I