FARMER OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
He Pursues His Calling in a 5cientific Way These Days and Does Not
Leave Everything to Providence and the Weather.
BT used to be the rule that when a
man wasn't at for anything else
he was considered good enough to
be a farmer; that If he hadn't brains
enough to master military tactics or
the Intricacies of the law or medicine
or of theology, and was utterly lack
lug in creative ability, then his proper
sphere of usefulness was the farm.
And lu those days even the "gentle
man" farmer was a person of Inferior
standing, and he was made to feel his
Insignificance whenever he came In
contact with the superior persons who
ruled the State and made or expounded
Its laws. Society spoke of him as a
"gawk," and his sons and daughters
were "country bumpkins." But all this
IOWA STATE COLLEGE OP AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC ARTS.
has changed and Is destined to still fur
ther change. Science, which has done
so much for the world at large, has
taken the farmer in hnnd and Is Invest
ing the man and his works with the
dignity and standing that are theirs of
right. The masses are being made to
realize what they have known dimly
nil along, but never fully appreciated
that It is the farmer who feeds them,
and that he is more necessary to them
than they are to him; that without
him works great and small would come
to a stop and the peoples of all the
CHEMICAL I.A1I0KATOKY, ALABAMA
INSTITUTK.
earth be reduced to a state of savagery
and cannibalism.
Farmer Knows Why.
Science is bringing not only the pub
lic to a realization of the hnportauce
of the farmer, but the farmer himself
to an appreciation of the Importance
of his work and of the necessity of fit
ting himself for it by studying nature
and inducing her by sclentlllc means
rather than by haphazard to yield her
store. Formerly the fanner could tell
you "when" without knowing "why."
Experiment showed him that rotation
LESSON IN IRRIGATION-UNIVERSITY
lu crops made his laud produce better
and last longer, but he couldn't tell
nature's reason for it, nor explain the
thousand other seeming mysteries of
the soil. Science has done and is doing
that for him. It is experimenting for
111 in day lii and .day out the year
round, and teaching him the why and
the wherefore. Uncle Sam Is backing
science In this matter, and the farmer
Is getting the benefit without cost. The
farmer learns from the bulletins that
nre sent out by the Department of Ag
riculture, and all over the land the
farmers' sons and daughters are tak
ing courses lu agriculture and horti
culture, farm gardening and dairying,
nnd stock breeding ami stock raising,
In colleges supported Jointly by the
State and Federal governments.
. Their Instruction is practical, too,
for the colleges have farms under cul
tivation and herds and droves of cattle
and swine, and dairies and truck farms
aud orchards. The Instructors are men
who are entitled to write. "Bachelors
of Science" after their names. They
know all about the soils and the sea
sons, and what crops are adaptable
and what are not, and their science
goes so far as to Include conditions In
foreign countries and to be able to
judge from them whether corn, or
wheat, or barley, or whatever product
of the farm will be most lu demand
for export, and so command the readi
est market and the best price. They
have reduced farming to a science, and
are teaching it as a science. The course
in agriculture includes history and gov
ernment, French and German. English,
and the higher mathematics and music,
so that our farmers of the next genera-
tlon will not only know how to get the
best and the most out of the ground,
but will be able to hold their own for
general Information and polite accom
plishments with the elect of any land.
W here They Are Taught.
Colleges of agriculture are main
tained in universities, with the aid of
national fuuds, in Arizona, Arkansas,
California, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois,
Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota,
Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New
York, Ohio, Tennessee, Vermont, West
Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. In
Massachusetts Harvard University has
a school of Agriculture known as Bus
sey Institution. Besides these, agri
cultural and mechanical colleges have
been organized in Alabama, Colorado,
Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michi
gan, Mississippi, Montana, New Hamp
shire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsyl
vania, Rhode Island, South Carolina,
South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia,
and Wnshiugtou. Separate institutions
of this sort are maintained for colored
students in Alabama, Delaware, Flor
ida, Mississippi, North Carolina, South
Carolina, and Virginia. Massachusetts
has the only college whose curriculum
is wholly devoted to agriculture.
In the universities in which courses
in agriculture are maintained the gen
eral tendency Is to make this course
correspond lu scope and thoroughness
with those given in the other depart
ments, to divide the Instruction in agri
culture among an increasing number
of specialists, and to provide buildings
and apparatus and Illustrative ma
terial on a scale In keeping with those
In other branches. At the same time
efforts are mnklng to bring the uni
versity in close touch with the masses
OF WISCONSIN'.
of fanners through special schools,
farmers Institutes, uaturts teachings,
and other forms of university exten
sion work. Along with this Is the
deepening nud strengthening of the
scientific and practical researches, car
ried on with a view of widening the
world's knowledge of the facts, laws,
and processes required for the Im
provement of agriculture.
Thirty Thntianml Farmer Students.
The classes In agriculture In these
schools range lu enrollment from 200
to 000 students. The total enroll merit
Is 30,000. The full course In agricul
ture covers four years, and practical
farmers who know enough of other
matters to make them Intelligent and
desirable citizens are being sent out
from these colleges at the rate of 8,000
a year, or 80.000 In a decade. That
they will assist wonderfully In the de
velopment of the couutry need not be
doubted. Their knowledge ami train
ing will enable them to get more out
of the earth and themselves tnan the
tens of thousands of other earnest an-1
honest men who have taken up home
stead and gone to farming without
any knowledge of or preparation for
the cultivation of the soil.
In an article in the Year Book of the
Department of Agriculture on "Some
Types of American Agricultural Col
leges," A. C. True, Til. D., director of
the Government's experiment stations,
describes the essential features of some
of these Institutions of learning. Of
the Massachusetts Agricultural Col
lege, which is near Amherst, on a farm
of 400 acres, situated in a most beau
tiful part of the Connecticut river val
ley, he says:
"In 1897 the college had permanent
endowment funds aggregating $300,
000, and its buildings, farms and equip
ment were valued at about $315,000.
The college buildings include combined
dormitory and class room building,
chapel and library, laboratory for
chemistry and physics, entomological
laboratory with lnsectary, botanic la
boratory and museum, drill hall, dormi
tory, president's house, several resi
dences for professors, farm houses,
boarding house, horticultural plant
houses, and barn, Including creamery
and dairy laboratory. The experiment
station also has a chemical laboratory,
botanical laboratory with plant house,
and barns.
1 xcellent Kquipuicnit
"On the farm 150 acres are under
cultivation with a variety of field
crops, and the extensive college barn
Is stocked with 100 head of cattle and
equipped with the most Improved agri
cultural Implements and machinery.
The horticultural grounds cover 100
acres, with orchards, vineyards, small
fruit and vegetable plantations, and
groves of forest trees. Much attention
is given to floriculture and landscape
gardening, and the ample plant houses
are well stocked with numerous varie
ties of exotics. Some eighty acres are
devoted to the work of the experiment
station, Including numerous plat exper
iments with varieties of field and hor-
CLASS SCORING PIGS -
tlcultural plants, fertilizers, methods
of culture, etc., feeding experiments
with animals, soil Investigations, etc.
"The laboratories of the different
scientific departments are w;ell equip,
ped with apparatus for experimenta
tion and demonstration and with illus
trative material, such as specimens of
plants, insects, animals and machines,
particularly those of lmiortauce In
their relation to agriculture. The li
brary of 18,(M10 volumes has been care
fully collected with reference to the
needs of an agricultural college, and
Is thoroughly catalogued and managed
with a view to providing the students
every facility for obtaining the infor
mation they desire to gather from
books. It Is one of the most extensive
and valuable collections of books on
the science and practice of agriculture
to be found In this couutry.
"The instruction is given by a corps
of eighteen professors aud assistants.
The chairs Include botany, chemistry,
agriculture, horticulture, zoology, vet
erinary science, mental aud political
science, English and Latin, modern
language, mathematics aud civil engi
neering, and military scieuce and tac
tics. There Is also a lecturer on farm
law. The student Is required to follow
a definitely prescribed curriculum dur
ing three years, and In the last year of
the course he Is allowed wide latitude
of choice among numerous specialties,
English and military scieuce being the
only required studies."
For a time the college was open to
men only, but women may now attend
special elective courses in such
branches as botany, entomology, flori
culture, fruit culture, market garden
ing aud dairying. Candidates for ad
missiou must be at least 10 years old
aud are required to pass examinations
In English gra mniar, geography, Unit
ed States history, physiology, physical
geography, arithmetic, the metric sys
tem, algebra (through quadratics), ge
ometry and civil government. The
students as a rule room In the college
dormitories and are boarded lu rlnh
or private families. The expenses for
room rent, iward, fuel, washing nnd
military suit for the college year are
estimated to range from $150 to $300.
Students performing labor at the col
lege are paid by the State, nnd there
are small endowment funds for the as
sistance of needy students. The stu
dents hate their athletic associations
and glee clubs and social amusements
the same as at Harvurd aud Yl nd
they are required to attend prayers and
worship In the college chapel.
The Michigan State Agricultural
College Is the oldest in the country. It
was established by an act of the Mich
igan Legislature in 1855, and for thirty
years, like the Massachusetts College,
had only an agricultural course. In
1890, under a materially increased in
come, a mechanical course was added,
and later a woman's course. The laws
of the State prescribe that it shall be
a "high seminary of learning, In which
Uie graduate of the common school can
commence, pursue, and finish a course
of study terminating in thorough theo
retic and practical instruction In those
sciences and arts which bear directly
MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGE BARN.
upon agriculture and kindred Indus
trial pursuits."
The college land, comprising G70
acres, is divided Into the farm of 230
acres, devoted to field crops grown un
der a system of ioi.uuuii, forty-five
acres of woodland pasture, 114 acres
of lawns, gardens and orchards, 240
acres of forest, and 47 acres of experi
mental fields and plats. The farm Is
equipped with cattle, sheep and swine
of the principal breeds. There are an
arboretum of 150 species of trees, a
botanic garden containing 1,200 species
of native and foreign hardy herbaceous
plants, with some shrubs, a grass gar
den of 200 species of grasses and clov
ers, and a weed garden of 100 species
of the most troublesome weeds. The
students in agriculture are required to
work two and one-half hours a day on
the farm or garden. The annual aver
age expenses of students for board,
IOWA STATE COLLEGE
room rent, heat, light, books, laboratory
and other fees are estimated at $125.
These expenses are often reduced by
receipts for labor performed on the
farm or elsewhere about the college.
There are thirty or more professors and
assistants In the faculty, and In addi
tion to the chairs provided by the Mas
sachusetts College there are professors
of mechanical engineering, domestic
economy, and household science.
Tl, r)Tr?e, ,Not deceived.
the Mississippi Agricultural aud Ma
chanlcal College Is conducted on the
same general plan, except that women
and negroes nre not received as stu
dents. Out of a total of 308 students
outered last year 310 elected to take
be agricultural course. By farm lalmr
the students may reduce their expenses
there to $100 a year
Over 800 students took the farming
course last year In the Kansas State
Agricultural College, in Manhattan.
The college farm comprises over 300
acres, and is well equipped with live
heCrnli fe,SUte ba8 ""lamented
the Lnlted States grants by the erec-
n?a f TUlH'r of 8l,btantlnl build
ings, xMilch are valued at $350,000
Students of both sexes are admitted la
14 years of age, after passing an ex
am h Ion in reading, spelling. wrltlng,
ailthuie lc geography, EUgiisU grnn
mar and United States history. Con
noted with the course of study here
Is Industrial training In several of ti e
arts t0 which each student is reX'S
o devote at least one hour a day
throughout almost the entire course
l7lTVmV fariulrllen
ing. fiuit growing, woodwork, Iron
vork, or printing. Young women n.av
ake cooking, sewing, printing norS
ure, or music. Tuition is free , S
the annual expenses of the student
range from $100 to $200. s Sent
The Iowa State College of Agricul
ture and Mechanic Arts is a flourishing
nud well attended institution It has
fifteen buildings, erected by he St te
at a cost of $500,000, and these Incl e
a ha for women. There are besides
dwelling houses for professors and o h"
er employes, a creamery, bams, stables
seed houses nnd forcing houses. The
college lands, of which 120 ncres have
been parked as college grounds, nre 000
ncres In extent. "The farm." Mr True
says, "consists of rolling prairie, bot
tom and woodland, nnd Is stocked with
good representatives of five breeds of
liorses, six breeds of cattle, .eTen
breeds of sheep, and six breeds of hn
These animals nre used In ciasa ..."
tratlous and for the various Ji'U.!
ments in breeding and feeding for ,;,
meat, wool,' growth, and nialutenani
conducted by the experiment station
a department of the college All ti
crops of the farm nre grown for s2
educntlonal purpose; all the mi!,
are fed by rule and system, and the
suits of their management reported Z
on and used In glass work. LawT
not compulsory, but students in the a?
recultural courses nre given work tJi
is parallel with their studies s0n
students pay for their board by 'W(JI
in the mornings aud evenings flier
Is a practical working creamery am
cheese factory In operation throti-iiont
the year. During the summer seaso
from 15,000 to 25,000 pounds of mil
are taken In daily nnd manufactured
into butter and cheese. The nnrnbei
of students in 1897 was 573, iucludlm
women." '
New York Method.
In New York State the Agricultural
College Is an annex of Cornell Uuiver
sity, aud In 1897 there were 127 stu
dents taking the farming course. The
tuition In agriculture at Cornell s free,
and the yearly expense of the studeal
ranges from $300 to $500. The f0UI
years' course in agriculture Is designed
to afford an education as broad and lib.
eral as that given by other department!
of the university, nnd on,U t0 the dc
gree of Bachelor of Scieuce In Agricul
ture. The college farm occupies 12;
acres of land, aud it Is well stocked
with dairy cows, sheep, horses, hogs,
and poultry. The dairy building Is
equipped with modern appliances and
machinery for making butter and
cheese. Ten acres are devoted to the
gardens, orchards, and nurseries of the
horticultural department, which alsc
has eight forcing houses. Candidate!
for admission to the Cornell agricultur
al course must be at least 10 years old
and pass examination In English, ge
ography, physiology and hygiene, his
tory of the United States and England,
Greece or Rome, plane geometry, ele
mentary algebra and either Greek oi
Latin, and French or German, or ad
vanced mathematics.
It Is pretty much the same with all
the other agricultural colleges. The
student gets practical Instruction and
assists In practical work, obtaining at
the same time the benefit of experi
ments made for the purpose of im
provement In cultivation and la the
quantity and quality of farm products.
There is the same enthusiasm and, In
some respects, extravagant devotion
to athletics that obtains in oth
er colleges, and there are musical,
literary and social societies with more
or less clannishness and secrecy. There,
are college papers and annuals, tifcl
which some serious lourualistic worfJ
and not a little lampooning is done.
The students are leading earnest and
useful and happy lives, and they are
Judged by the same moral standards
as are men and women throughout the
country. They do much severe mental
work, and enjoy the sports aud social
recreations of college life to the full.
With an Institution of this sort in al
most every State in the Union, the
American farmer of the near future
ought to be at the hend of the proces
sion of those who feed the world.
WORLD'S PETROLEUM OUTPUT.
Yield ! More than 5,000,000.000
(allon. Hnlf r it r-... a .-.-:...
More than 5,000,000,000 gallons of
petroleum, according to the treasury
bureau of statistics, is now produced
aununlly lu the world. Of this amount
2,500,000,000 gallons Is produced In the
uuueu states, 2,250,000,000 in Russia,
and the remainder is iiiatrihiitPfl nmonz
a dozen countries, Austria producing
87,000,000, Sumatra 72,000,000, Java
30,000,000, Canada 29,000,000, Roll-
mania 24,000,000, India 15,000,000, Ja
pan 8,000,000, Germauy 7,000,000, Teni
3,000,000, and Italy about 1,000,000 gal
lons. While the United States and Russia
furnish the bulk of the world's petrol
eum and Stand nl in out nl.runat- In the
quantity of. crude oil produced, the
amount of refined illuminating oil sup
plied by the United States Is more than
double that produced by Russia. ThU
Is due to the fact that a given quan
tity of United States oil product
three-fourths of Its bulk In refined Illu
minating oil, while of the Russian oil
me ratio is only about three-elghtus.
Deei) Ilnwtl In tUa L-orlh
The deepest hole In the earth Is at
Schladebach, near Ketschau, Germany.
It Is 5,735 feet In depth and Is for geo
logic research only. The drilling wa!
begun In 1880 aud stopped six yeart
later because the engineers were un
able with their Instruments to go deep
er.
The cake at Eugllsh weddings Is al
ways n star feature. Usually at
fashionable affair It Is fully six fee
high and Is a marvelous architectural
structure of Icing adorned with flovveri
aud figures.
Some folks arc so industrious tha
when they haven't anything else to do
..v nun v,
It isn't what a woman says that influ
ences a man, but the wav she savs it.
No man who has never been tempted
7