EDITORIAL. 405 



This is illustrated by an old farmer in the South who, in describ- 

 ing a method he was following in putting in a crop, said : " I know 

 this method gives the best result but I wish I knew why." Until 

 recently the theory of agriculture and the rule of practice was dog- 

 matic. Tt was based on some one's opinion, frequently crystallized 

 into a tradition, without the actual facts. The average man did not 

 distinguish facts from notions or opinions. These were a result of 

 general observation and experience. Experience is as good a basis 

 for facts and for truth as any other, so it is rightly gathered and 

 interpreted, without prejudice or preconceived idea. But very often 

 this has not been the case. 



The farmer has learned through his association with science the 

 difference between dogma based on assertion and a true fact. The 

 thinking farmer of to-day does not accept some man's dictum unless 

 he has the facts. He has had impressed upon him the danger of 

 half truths; he expects the man who advises him to have the facts 

 behind him, not ahead of him. Pie finds facts more valuable and im- 

 pressive than argument. The truth is what is wanted by the large 

 body of farmers, and the demonstration of this rather than its asser- 

 tion is the strength of extension teaching. The acceptance of new 

 facts has aroused reason and created an open mind. As has been 

 said, " long-continued practice solidifies opinion and makes it im- 

 pregnable to evidence. We come at length to substitute habit for 

 reason." The introduction and acceptance of new ideas breaks up 

 this habit. 



The man of scientific mind seeks to know the facts first of all ; he 

 makes his inquiries long before he has an opinion. He realizes the 

 importance of this. A large body of farmers is coming to realize 

 it also. To a greater degree than ever before it is recognized that 

 " we can not solve our questions by unscientific polemics, however 

 much we mny settle them for the time being." Carefully collected 

 evidence has become the basis for conclusions and theories, and these 

 viewed in the spirit of science remove the fear of truth and the fear 

 of dogma. 



In a very large measure, then, the farmer has come to a realization 

 that science is for him in his daily life ; that he is to " practice with 

 science," and that its influence on his method of thought and open- 

 minded attitude is hardly less than its practical results. In other 

 words, that truth is valuable not only on its own account but for the 

 range and reach it imparts to the mind. 



These things have come about very largely from the work of the 

 experiment stations, and especially as a result of the experimental 

 method. The change began when the experiment stations began to 

 apply the test of science to tradition and to dogma, and employ the 



