108 Missouri Agricull lira! Report. 



work such as 1 am trying to do. If all could accomplish tlie equivalent 

 of niy adding one grain to each ear, you could hire all five of them for 

 nine years. As it is we can scarcely employ one man. 



Now the people have said that tliey want this work, and if you want 

 it you must provide for taking care of it, that's all. We are practicing 

 an economy that might he illustrated by the case of two farmers — the 

 farmer on one side of the road is farming economically (?). He 

 doesn 't spend any money keeping up his fences ; he doesn 't l)uild sheds 

 for his machinery, if he has any ; he handles scrub stock because he can 

 buy it more cheaply; he doesn't paint his barn nor grease his plow. 

 The farmer on the opposite side of the road is farming extravagantly 

 ( ?) — he spends a little money in keeping up fences; he cuts the weeds 

 from his fence corners, if he has any weeds there; he builds a shed for 

 his machinery ; he handles pure bred stock because it is more profitable ; 

 he paints his barn and greases his ])low\ Which economy should j\Iis- 

 souri practice? I am too much afraid we are practicing the economy 

 of the former. We are buying good machinery and leaving it out in the 

 field to rust. So by spending a little more money than we are today, it 

 becomes a matter of economy for the people, I wonder how many peo- 

 ple are aware of what Missouri Institutes are costing them. Should the 

 farm owners of the State pay the whole bill it would cost each one of 

 them less than a two cent postage stamp. Since, however, the farm 

 owners do not pay to exceed forty per cent of the taxes, their share has 

 been less tlian eight-tenths of one cent. I am fully convinced that if the 

 farmers were aware of how little this work is costing them they would 

 certainly see to it that the institutes are taken care of in a more sub- 

 stantial manner. 



Why should we spend more money to put this work among the 

 people? I nnist say to you that the specialist who is solving the farm 

 problems today has only one line of work to look after. I am giving 

 my attention to two iiro])lems — the corn and the soil. One man in this 

 institution is giving his life to the problems of fruit culture and another 

 is building up the greatest dairy herd the sun shines on — each one giving 

 liis thought to a single proposition. The farmer on his lands has all of 

 these problems to handle, all of these problems to solve, and I say to 

 you that one life is too short to solve them all, and that farmer is wise 

 who comes to this gathering where all these problems are talked over and 

 discussed. Joe Wing said that the first farmers' institute ever held 

 was where two farmers leaned across the fence and talked to one another 

 and l)otli learned something. 



The cry of "Back to the Lnnd" is doing two tilings — -one benciieial, 



