THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, FJ-BKLAKl' if,
ADEQUATE EXTENSION WORK MEANS MUCH FOR OREGON
More Productive Farms, More and Better Livestock, More Permanent Farm Improvements, Better Roads, More Social Advantages and Happier Homes Outcome of Hoped-for Plans of O. A. C.
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BT RALPH D. BETZEL.
.RERON AGRICULTURAL COL.-
I LEGE. Corvallis. Fell. S. (Spe
cial Un. 1 . .-av . i . .1 . n Vnll
that, according to the broad conception
of the functions of tne state-support-.
ed tnatitutions of higher learning, you
- and every other cltisten of Oregon are
nonresident students of these Institu
tions? Are you aware of the fact that your
requests for practical assistance, when
addressed to these institutions, re
ceive Just as careful and thorough at
tention as do questions asked in the
classroom by the resident students? Do
you realise that the activities of the
college faculty members, during vara
. tion periods, at week ends, and, when
able to leave the campus while college
is In session thus carrying to the
people of the state- the same practical
instruction which the college men and
women receive every day In the class
room are due to the desire of the
general public to receive the advan
tages of scientific aid In all lines of
human endeavor?
And why should this not be the case,
or rather whv should conditions ever
have been otherwise? These Institu
tions of learning were established and
are maintained bv the people to aid in
the general advancement of education.
And so. when a potato grower writes
to the Agricultural College stating that
after his "potatoes are planted and the
sprout gets nearly to the top of the
ground, sometimes clear up through the
ground and sometimes not. then the
sprout seems to blight or die. Then it
win start up again from the potato If
you can send m anything treating on
this you will oblige " a special op
portunity is presented fov the applica
tion of scientific knowledge to the so
lution of a practical problem.
Plaat PatholKtt Geta Bur-
The plant disease expert, known to
the college students as the professor
of plant pathology, must now diagnose
this ase from the information given
end condense his general lectures and
laboratory courses on the life history
of the fungus "Khizoctonla" into a few
words of instruction to fit this indi
vidual cae. The gardener is advised
that "potato blight" is the cause of his
trouble. He Is told to treat his seed
potatoes, before cutting, by soaking
them tor two hours in a solution of
formaldehyde, using one pint of the
commercial drug to 30 gallons of water,
and. if possible, to plant them In new
soil or where Dotatoes have not been
growa for four or five years. This
done, the college has performed its
fuil duty by the non-resident student
as thoroughly as It can do by the resi
dent student In acquainting htm with
the various species of "Rhisoctonla," by
explaining and demonstrating that all
members of the genus are parasitic
fungi which attack potatoes, beans and
other crops, but which may never cause
him much trouble after examination
day. The subject matter of both les
ions is Identical
Yet the non-resident "student' is a
busy man of family and his Instruc
tion must be so adapted aa to meet
the requirements of his particular case;
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it must be so formulated as to aid In ing for their just share of instruction
... 1 la.ai. It. ft
The present endeavor of Oregon Ag
ricultural College to heed this call and
carry the benefits of Its instruction to
the people of the entire state is the
outgrowth of a very modest beginning
made a number of years ago. To be
exact, this form of instruction now
known to the educational world as ex
tension work was begun by Oregon
Agricultural College in 1888 when
farmers- Institute Instruction was first
undertaken at the request of the
Grange. ' ; '
Although no records, giving data
concerning the beginning of the work,
are available, the first meeting la re
ported to have been held-at Hillsboro,
the programme consisting of lectures
and discussions on agricultural meth
ods and farm management. The Hills
boro meeting was signally successful.
The Idea of the Agricultural College
taking the lead In rural development
met with unqualified approval and Its
ultimate position as the practical ex
ponent of industrial education was ap
parent. Other communities throughout the
Willamette Valley quickly caught the
spirit of having the college instruction
brought to them and at the request of
progressive individuals' granges and
other organisations, institutes similar
to the Hillsboro meeting, but adapt
ed to meet varying local conditions.
IIIO OVIU.IU1I VI ' ,., ......
Perhaps you have thought of this be
fore, and. if you have, you already
know, or will not be surprised to learn,
that the work of Instructing non-resident
students has. in many states, come
to occupy a place in the system of
higher education equal In importance
to that of experimental work. In such
states liberal provisions have been
made for their colleges to carry useful
instruction out to the people ju their
homes Instruction in the same sub
jects which are treated fully in the
classroom, yet so modified as to meet
the special needs of the people by fur--.hi.,o.
nractical aid in the solution
of the problems of everyday life.
All rn Too Old to Lear.
This broad oonceptlon of the mission
of the state-supported institutions of
higher learning has recently come Into
general acceptance and the fact that
responsibility for the proper dissem
ination of practical knowledge does not
cease with the Instruction of those who
actually attend college Is well estab
lished. Men and women are never too
old to learn, yet they are often too old
or are otherwise hindered from attending-
college. The age has now come,
however, when the people who have
not been able to avail themselves of
the privilege of special instruction be
fore takina- up their life work are call-
i in Um-Mfllnff number each
succeeding Whiter. With the Increase
In number a correspondingly larger
territory was served until finally re
quests for such meetings began to
reach the college from every quarter
of the state.
Special Attention Required.
Extension service then came to bo
considered one of the minor duties of
the college faculty and experiment sta
tion staff, every possible effort being
made to meet efficiently and econom
ically the requests of the public for ed
ucational assistance. Not until 1911,
however, did. the constantly increastnu
demand on the college for extension
work become so overwhelming as to
require special attention by the board
of regents. With a view to co-ordinating
and unifying under the supervision
of a distinct department of the col
lege the farmers" institute work and
that being done by various other ex
tension agencies such as demonstra
tions, educational exhibits, the publi
cation of bulletins, etc., accordingly,
the extension division of Oregon Agri
cultural College was created by action
of the board of regents and authorised
to arrange for and keep records of in
structional and demonstration work
done throughout the state by members
of the college faculty and experiment
station staff.
The records of the extension services
rendered by the college experts during
first year after the establishment
4 U JI.-ialAn falU thA RtnrV Of a
phase of educational work which has
grown from the farmers' institute to
such proportions that its importance
and future magnitude canrtot be safely
estimated by conservative calculations.
In 1888 the only activity used In ex
tension service was the farmers' insti
tute. In 1913 the agencies used in
teaching the multitudinous extension
lessons pertaining to scientific agricul-
ana nome-maKing. w-nc.
Lectures delivered before farmers
and teachers' Institutes, development
leagues, growers' unions, commercial
-i .. v. ...nnni .Tn monfPTnpnts. Grange
meetings and picnics, church organi
sations, Chautauqua uaiiqurjio, ...--clubs,
conventions and Young Men s
Christian Associations: (2) demonstra
tion work; (8) correspondence courses;
(4 officiating at lairs ana
hlbltlons: o) extension work in tnc
. i t& n,nmntinn nf organ-
PUDIIO BCUUUirti 1 " t' ' " ' .
Isations for agricultural and industrial
Improvement; vi puuuU.i...
tins, and (8) educational exhibits.
inus aerencies the
representatives of O. A. C. came in per
sonal contact wttn i.s,oo-i:u."
the state, while the Influence of the
college waa carried to thousands of
others by means of bulletins, by edu
cational exhibits such as those placed
on display at the State Fair and at
the Portland Land and Products Show,
and by answers to letters of inquiry.
Work's Stage Preliminary.
nrt.iu lint nf the agencies
through which extension work is being
done in Oregon may seem aii'uiuu.i.
to the casual observer, in reality they
.. nniD thA nrAltmlnarv stage
of the work as compared with Its de
velopment in Wisconsin, neorwii
Georgia, Indiana, Pennsylvania and
jther progressive states where Bums
ranging from 115,000 to amounts prac
tically equalling the maintenance ap
propriation of Oregon Agricultural Col
lege are annually Invested in extension
work. '
Going into detail, some surprising
facts regarding the extension service
furnished, or, more properly, not fur
nished, by O. A. C. are brought to light.
For example, the college la now of
fering correspondence courses in three
subjects farm accounting, rural law
and rural economics and the instruc
tors In the school of commerce are di
viding the work in such a way as to
give the correspondence students the
required attention without Interfering
with other regular instructional duties.
But when we see in the extension office
the list of Oregonians who have sent
specific requests for instruction by cor
respondence in dozens of different sub
jects which are not offered, and which
the college cannot even consider offer
ing without additional faculty people
4. J . tlm tn thl Work. WO
lu uovuw u" .
realize that the extension work now
being done Is not by any jneans iu
comprehensive. T .. - J t n .n"nl- oil nASRlhln &R
slstance to these people, who, of their
own voiinon, wnie ivr tuucojjyiv..
Instruction wnicn it is uniiuooiu .
, i M .anc.lvA TVnm thAlr (lU'Tl state
Institutions, the college, frequently suc
ceeds in referring them to the colleges
of sister states, wnere iney m '""
for the desired courses.
Another phase of the work done by
correspondence is that of direct aid
given by the college experts in the form
of personal letters written in reply to
requests similar to the one mentioned
in the beginning of this article. The
.... inG.iinilnn thus Imnartpd cov
ers the widest imaginable field of sub.
jects. and requires nours oi time c.cij
month.
Farm Knowledge Asked.
Thousands of the tetters come an
nually from Oregonians, who have
heard the call of the land, and wish to
acquaint themselves with rural condi
tions before making the move from
city to farm; they come from the pro
gressive farmers who are Interested in
encouraging rural development or have
some special problem to solve; from
prospective settlers at present living
in distant states which they are re
luctant to leave without specific in
formation relative to Oregon conditions
and the possibilities of their succeeding
in such an environment.
Yet. disregarding this constant stream
of letters which pours Into the exten
sion office requesting assistance In spe
cial problems, and considering the re
quests for correspondence Instruction In .
courses not listed in the catalogue. It Is
amazing to sec how far these courses
fall short of meeting the present de
mand for such work.
And this statement is not only true or
correspondence courses, but equally
true of all other branches of extension
work. . '
But. returning to what has actually
been accomplished during the past year.
Instead of explaining the present un
limited demand for the work, additional
facts full of significance to the peo
ple of Oregon are found to "be num
erous. Demonstration work In Its
various forms probably rank second
in importance to regular Institute
work as an efficient means-of extension
teaching. This phase of the work is
based on the old saw to the effect that
"seeing is believing." The efforts ot
the college experts, to phow the people
of Oregon what results are posstble
by the adoption of scientific methods,
were directed along three main lines,
namely, demonstrations given by means
of a poultry car, those given before
public gatherings and those on private
farms.
The poultry demonstration car was
equipped by the college and operated
over the Southern Pacific lines in the
Willamette Valley from April 6 to May
4, 1912. Attaches of the poultry hus
bandry department of the college ac
companied the car In Its tour, giving
lectures and demonstrations In BO towns
and villages. .The car was visited by
21.932 people, who saw all the latest
appliances which are In use at the col
lege poultry plant, and heard the lec-
fConcludert on Page II.)
a-, x ET the greatest athlete have dyspepsia and Ma
X'W O Ol2.Il 1.3 I , strength will soon fail. One's stamina force--1
' ' fullness and strength of mind or muscla
depend upon the blood, and the blood in turn,
requires a healthy stomach, for the stomach is the
laboratory where the food is digested and such ele
ments are taken up or assimilated which makm
blood. In consequence all the organs of the body,
such as heart, lungs, liver and kidneys, as well as
the nervous system, feel the bad effect if the stom
ach is deranged.
Stronger
Than his
Stomach
The Medical Adviser by
R. V. Pierce, M. D., Buf
falo, N. Y. answers host
of delicate questions
about which every man
or woman, single or mar
ried ought to know. Sent
free on receipt of SI ons
eent stamps to pay for
wrapping and mailing.
Dr. Pierce's Golden
Medical Discovery
helps the stnsaa to direct food properly, starts the
liver into new aaci vity, removing the poisons from the
blood, and the various organs get rich, red blood, in
stead of being illy nourished. The refreshing influence
of this extract of native medicinal plants has been
favorably known for over 40 years. Everywhere
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Said all medicine -eaters la llqaJd or tablet forim
or send SO one-cent stamps to Dr. Pierce, Invalids"
Hotel. Bmt rlo. aad a trial box will walled jroa
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