54 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



tion we now have will be spent away from the county, where it 

 will do us no good. 



Another thing I will say, and that is, at the present time, the 

 first cost of the machinery it takes to conduct my farm is probably 

 about $4,000. If I take the same view of it, in regard to cen- 

 tralization — for instance, one binder could be made to cut 200 

 acres. I have a threshing machine to do my own work ; not be- 

 cause I couldn't get a threshing machine, but because I couldn't 

 get it when I wanted it. And it is so with institutes. In regard 

 to getting public speakers, I have no trouble. We hold our in- 

 stitute the 23rd and 24th of January. We have on the program 

 for months, a Mr. Wilson from Ames ; we have Governor Cum- 

 mins to speak in the evening; we have the assistant Dairy Com- 

 missioner ; we have Mr. Morrison of Wallace's Farmer to speak 

 to us; and we are working now to get a gentleman from North- 

 western Iowa to discuss the abuse and use of pedigrees. I will 

 say this, the public speaker must be inconvenienced to some ex- 

 tent, and I would rather pay double my appropriation to what it 

 costs Calhoun county for car fare, to know that I can get a pub- 

 lic speaker and have him there. I believe that this agitation at 

 the present time of centralization in Iowa does not come from the 

 practical farmer, but it is coming from a class of men who are 

 desirous to get hold of this $75 to the county. I was a young 

 man who never received the benefits of a school education; my 

 views of farming have been largely formed by reading agricul- 

 tural papers and attending farmers' organizations. While I 

 think I have attended when it was a great sacrifice, I feel I have 

 not only had returns, but would hate to see anything done in any 

 shape or form that would in any way decrease the interest now 

 manifest in local organizations. 



Mr. Van Houten : Iowa has tried the central organization 

 and don't want it. The central organization was in effect so long 

 ago, that the only one alive was father Clarkson, who is now dead. 

 Col. John Scott is dead. Lathrope is dead. Fitch B. Stacey is 

 dead. President Shafer is dead. They were the members of the 

 first organization of central institutes in Iowa. After that first 

 central organization was re-organized, I had the honor of being 

 the Secretary and Manager of that concern for four years, and 



