488 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



agricultural people did not require that knowledge, I am quite 

 certain that the Department would not waste money for the sake 

 of entertaining anybody. 



I know that it is a very easy matter to gut up and tell this one 

 and that one how to formulate rations, how to compute actual value 

 of fertilizers, how to reckon the amount of plant food extracted 

 by growing crops, and all that, and how much those crops take up 

 from the soil, but it is entirelv different to illustrate that on the 

 blackboard. They will say they understand it when really ninety 

 per cent, of the class of people that we are sent out to teach do 

 not understand what we say, and by the time they go out the door 

 do not know any more than when they come in unless we take the 

 time to explain that on the board. 



I was talking at a certain institute in this State about dairy 

 ration. I made it just as plain as possible by speaking. I told 

 them how to get at this nutritive ration and it seemed easy, and I 

 thought 1 made it so clear any child could understand it; but 

 after the institute was over a gentleman came to me and said, 

 "Barber, you are the second man I heard speak on that subject and 

 explain the point you explained, and I must confess I do not under- 

 stand it." He pulled out a little piece of paper and said, "suppose 

 you do that question for me." I did it as I told it. I demonstrated 

 the problem complete until he said, "give me the paper," and he took 

 the paper and put it in his pocket and went home saying he could 

 do it now. I am thoroughly convinced that the successful man of 

 to-day is the man who makes a specialty in any one line of business, 

 and if we can teach them one point thoroughly, it is better to do 

 that one thing right than to tell them how to do a half dozen things 

 they do not understand. I believe in taking time. As a general 

 thing, our programs are overcrowded. I>y that I do not mean to 

 say we should go to the trouble to formulate a complete dairy ra- 

 tion or give average percentage of digi'stibility of foods, etc., but 

 we want to teach them how to use the material at hand. We have 

 got that material and it is within the knowledge of every agricul- 

 tural man in this State. The State Departments are issuing bul- 

 letins every month and have been doing that for several years, and 

 our Experimental Stations are issuing bulletins which will interest 

 any farmer in this State, but the trouble is that tli(» large per cent, 

 of the farmers do not know how to use them. It is our duty to 

 teach them how to do it, and do a little less work and do it thor- 

 oughly. We should simply show them how to do one problem and 

 the rest are pretty much the same, and T (hiiik Ihey can follow it out. 

 Tt will give them tlu^ idea and they will go lionic and woi-k it out. 



By the way, 1 think the greatest trouble of the people to-day is 

 that they do not know how to use the lead pencil. That is the 



