BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 55 



have been perfected for carrying on under one central authority a 

 system of work which we have designated as "farm management." 

 Tliis work has been placed in the hands of Prof. W. J. Spillman, and 

 so far only preliminary surveys and observations have been made for 

 the purpose of inaugurating, as soon as opportunities offer, investiga- 

 tions and studies on a more extended scale. During the summer 

 some sj3ecial studies have been made of farming conditions in differ- 

 ent parts of the country, and particular attention has been paid to 

 the management of high-class farms. The questions pertaining to 

 rotation of crops, handling of stock, and all such matters have been 

 taken under consideration with a view to determining what steps have 

 been followed and what the results have been in a practical waj^ from 

 operations carried on under the best systems. Some interesting 

 results have been secured from these studies, as it has been shown 

 that systems of farming in different parts of the country are largely 

 the result of conditions of soil, climate, markets, etc., existing in the 

 different regions. There has been developed, in other words, a sys- 

 tem, through long experience, which has given the most jjractical 

 results and the most profit under the existing surrounding conditions. 

 It is i3lanned, as soon as this work is put into full operation, to con- 

 tinue such special studies and to secure the cooperation of farmers in 

 different sections, with a view to putting into oiDeration systems of 

 farm management that may be worked out by the officers of the 

 Bureau. For example, it will be our object to la}^ out and plan the 

 best metliods of diversified farming in certain parts of the South, to 

 suggest the kinds of crops that may be grown, methods of rotation, 

 methods of controlling diseases, and, in short, all operations which 

 will lead to the greatest profit with the least expenditure of time and 

 money. The same general plan may be followed in connection with 

 work on fruits and work on other crops as well. The question of 

 securing proj)er statistical data in regard to oi^erations of the most 

 successful farmers will be continued, and this in large measure will 

 form a basis for suggested work in improving conditions in other sec- 

 tions of the country. It is believed that work of this kind will be of 

 great practical value, as it will enable the Bureau to put into opera- 

 tion suggestions that may be secured as the result of its extended 

 scientific researches. 



DEMONSTRATION EXPERIMENTS. 



Closely allied with" the foregoing class of Avork, the Bureau is put- 

 ting into operation demonstration experiments in a number of direc- 

 tions in different parts of the countiy. The object of this work is to 

 reach farmers and fruit growers in a direct way. Those who till the 

 soil are, and must necessarily be, conservative, for a mistake means 

 a loss not only of a crop but of a great deal of time as well. Hence 

 suggestions in regard to improving agricultural conditions which may 

 be given in publications, no matter how simple or plain these publi- 

 cations maj^ be, are received with a great deal of conservatism by the 

 great mass of those whom it is intended to benefit. The speculative or 

 venturesome spirit in the farmer is fortunately largely lacking, and 

 it is only here and there that some one with less fear of failure under- 

 takes to put into operation improvements that may be suggested in 

 the bulletins or other papers issued from time to time. Demonstra- 

 tion experiments, however, are intended to act as object lessons, and 

 "will go far toward convincing farmers of the utility or nonutility of 



