548 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
EDUCATIONAL FEATUEES. 
The Iowa State College had a very fine exhibit in the old Administration 
building. One thing in which many farmers took a great deal of interest 
was a collection of mounted specimens of common weeds and grasses, to- 
gether with small samples of seeds of each variety. The Extension De- 
partment of the college has been devoting a great deal of time and effort 
to making collections of this kind during the last summer as well as col- 
lections of the common insects, shov^^ing them in their different stages 
of development. These collections will be for sale to schools teaching 
agriculture and will also be supplied at cost to all agricultural clubs and 
societies that may wish them. A few collections, we understand, can be 
furnished to private parties. 
A minature cement silo was also exhibited by the college, and directions 
for constructing silos of cement were given. It was claimed by those in 
charge of this exhibit that a cement silo can be constructed at a cost not 
to exceed 25 per cent in excess of the cost of wooden structures, and it 
was suggested that wherever sand and gravel can be easily secured 
cement silos will be much cheaper in the end than wooden structures. 
The soils department of the college showed in a very striking manner 
a county map of the state by means of the principal grains and grasses 
grown. It was evident from this that the area devoted to clover in Iowa 
is exceedingly small as compared with the area devoted to corn and other 
crops. Thus for every acre devoted to clover in Iowa 16 are devoted to 
timothy and 46 to corn production. 
Many important educational meetings w^ere held on the grounds and 
plans were made for introducing agriculture into rural schools. Secretary 
of Agriculture, James Wilson, made several addresses, in one of which he 
said that he would never recommend that the federal government give 
financial aid for the introduction of agriculture into the public schools un- 
til the states provide teachers competent to teach agriculture. The sec- 
retary urged the importance of eradicating bovine tuberculosis from the 
herds in the state and was in favor of the enactment of laws to that end. It 
was also his opinion that the state should partially compensate farmers 
and breeders for any financial loss they may sustain in cleaning up their 
herds. He called attention to the tremendous waste that is going on on 
the average Iowa farm and urged farmers to take steps to save the corn- 
stalks, of which he estimated that 90 per cent are practically entirely 
wasted. While he was looking forward to a big crop of corn this year, he 
advised farmers, especially those in the northern part of the state, to 
grow early maturing varieties and to pay more attention to early ma- 
turing qualities than to the size of the ears, as it is the ripe corn that 
counts. 
Reference was also made to the importance of tiling and of getting 
every acre of land in condition to produce crops so as to be able to secure 
good yields not only in a dry, but also in a wet s'eason. 
