February', '16] DEAN: HESSIAN fly TRAIN - 141 



seriousness of the infestation and what should be done to protect the 

 crop of the next year. It is the opinion of the writer that much of the 

 success of the Hessian fly train and the good accomplished were due 

 to the fact that all departments and all persons concerned were to- 

 gether and that nothing was said or done but what met with the 

 approval and recommendation of every one. The fact that the very 

 methods advocated for the control of the fly were in keeping with 

 the very methods recommended by the Agronomy Department and 

 which the progressive and successful wheat-growers knew should be 

 practiced for maximum yields, appealed to the better judgment of 

 even the most skeptical ones. The time allowed for each stop was 

 about forty minutes. The speakers usually arranged for a few min- 

 utes' discussion before closing the meeting. Specimen cases, charts, 

 and illustrated material were used in nearly all lectures. As the men 

 left the lecture cars or the waiting room they were given circulars 

 on the Hessian fly and the preparation of the seed bed for wheat. 

 The Hessian fly circular was printed primarily for the occasion. It 

 was simply a timely article emphasizing the methods of control and 

 closing with a brief life history of the fly. 



In nearly all cases large crowds met the Hessian Fly Special and the 

 total attendance for the week was appproximately seven thousand. 

 The farmers came with a desire to learn of better methods of farming 

 which would reduce the loss from the Hessian fly. A remarkable in- 

 terest was taken in what the lecturers had to say. At Stafford, Kan- 

 sas, for example, 317 farmers met the train, and after the cars were 

 filled an overflow meeting was held in the station. Three men were 

 giving the Hessian Fly talk at the same time. There were seventy- 

 six motor cars, representing seventeen different companies, parked 

 near the station. 



Mr. Frank Jarrell, the publicity agent for the Santa Fe, at the close 

 of the week, said "it is beyond doubt one of the most successful insti- 

 tute trains ever operated by my compan5^ The vitally interesting 

 thing to me was the interest in better farming, shown by the men who 

 met the train. The very evident wish which these men have shown 

 to learn of Hessian fly control indicates a very hopeful future for 

 Kansas agriculture, for it shows that there is a more general belief than 

 ever in scientific agriculture, which, after all, is nothing more nor less 

 than business farming." 



President Glenn W. Herrick: It seems to me that it will be 

 well to defer discussion until we have the paper by Mr. Gossard which 

 follows closely the same lines. 



