It is therefore important that arrangements be made whereby 

 farmers may make soil tests with fertihzers at small expense and 

 liave instruction and" assistance so that tlie results shall be trust- 

 worthy guides in actual farm practice. Such an arrangement has 

 been made by this College and is described more in detail at anothei' 

 place in this circular. 



Again, it is well understood that a difference of yield equal to 

 25, 50 or even 100 per cent often results simply from a difference 

 in the variety of the crop grown. But these varietal differences 

 are not constant in different parts of the State. The Station is con- 

 stantly making .more or less variety tests, but not to the extent that 

 would be done if it were felt that results obtained on the home 

 grounds are of certain application to large and widely separated 

 areas throughout the State. It is believed to be the better policy 

 for tlie College to encourage and assist the farmers to make tests of 

 recommended varieties of the crops they grow on their own soils. 

 The same is true in regard to the introduction of new crops or those 

 that have not heretofore become widely disseminated throughout 

 the State. It is desired to keep in touch with farmers growing such 

 crops, that conditions of success and failure may be noted. 



Many farmers do not read the bulletins published 

 Educational by the Stations, or, if they read them, are not suffi- 

 value of ciently impressed with the suggestions contained 

 Experimental therein to be led to endeavor to put them to a prac- 

 Work. tical test. What they see upon their own or their 



neighbor's farm has much more inffuence with them 

 than what they read concerning results obtained at the College farm. 

 Hence the desirability of every farm being, to a certain extent, an 

 experiment station. Xot only are the facts made more real, but the 

 educational effect of an experiment upon the persons conducting or 

 observing it is of no small importance. Probably no one thing will 

 account so much for the failures among farmers as the lack of habits 

 of accurate observation. They guess at results, or judge by appear- 

 ances, instead of making accurate weights or measurements. They 

 will judge the effect of a certain fertilizer, for instance, more by 

 the appearance of the straw or vines than by the yield of grain or 



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