74 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
course, the answer in a few words is: “Codperate with the 
farmers living along the line.” But to this they reply that 
the farmers, from boyhood up, have been taught to fight the 
railroads in every way possible. This is true to a large degree, 
and we sometimes see practical demonstrations of it to-day. 
For instance, when a finger is pinched in the car door, be- 
cause one was standing up when he was warned by a sign on 
the door to “Sit down until train stops” and “Passengers are 
not allowed on the platform when trains are moving,” he sues 
the railroad for $50,000, and gets, after several years, a few 
hundred, and the lawyer gets about nine-tenths of that; and 
when a razorback is killed, the road is asked to pay for a reg- 
istered Duroc if it is red, or a Poland China or a Berkshire if 
it is black. 
These conditions are largely passing, however, and to-day 
the car door of an official bears the sign, “Office Car” or 
“Business Car,” instead of the warning, “Private.” Railroad 
officials are merely business men, and to-day they mix with 
the people living along their line more than ever before. The 
railroad is dependent upon the farmer for a great part of its 
business, and the farmer, on the other hand, must have 
transportation facilities; and this mutual dependence makes 
a common meeting ground. 
There are numerous ways by which this development or 
educational work can be, and is being, carried on by the rail- 
roads. To begin with, agricultural, industrial, and immigra- 
tion development all come under one general head, and fre- 
quently they are operated under one department with an ex- 
pert in charge of each division. At other times they are 
divided into different departments, all separately reporting to 
the traffic officials. 
A careful survey has recently been made of the railroads of 
the country, and it has been found that over three-fourths of 
their mileage is controlled by companies having an organized 
agricultural, industrial, and immigration department. In 
this survey a step farther was made, and it was found that 
this work could be distributed under about thirty-nine differ- 
ent heads. To emphasize what these heads are, a few will be 
outlined covering duties of the agricultural department as it 
particularly affects the work of the writer, viz. : 
Encouraging and assisting farmers in planting diversified 
crops; employing agricultural experts to instruct farmers 
with respect to the selection of seed, planting, cultivation and 
Richens of crops for markets; organizing and conducting 
emonstration farms; sending out special trains in the inter- 
est of good roads, seed, silo, soil, packing, and better farming; 
