No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 283 



up with it tlie question that he eventually must make the mud roads 

 in his neighborhood. 1 tell you what I did at my farm. We have a 

 road running through it and half of the farm lies on each side of the 

 road. Everytime it rains we have a split log drag and my men hitch 

 on to the drag and drag that road and that road is in perfect order 

 and keeps in ])erfect order if you follow it up. You want to have the 

 comb so the water goes into the ditches instead of standing on the 

 road. Let the farmer understand that he is responsible for the road 

 passing his pro})erty. The sooner we can do that the better for us all. 

 We must make the road or pay for it and if we make it ourselves we 

 know it is right. If the farmer knows it is in poor condition it is a 

 rertectiim on Lis farm, and eventually we have all our roads 

 made, all the mud roads. We can never get away from the mud 

 roads. The stone roads should be made by the State. This is one of 

 the ways to do it, and I think if we would try to do that, that would 

 be a great relief on this road question. 



ME. HULL: There has been considerable said this afternoon as to 

 what sliould be done to interest the farmer. The time has never been 

 within the history of business in this country, the time has never been 

 within the history of everything in this country, when the farmers 

 have been more interested in their calling than they are at the present 

 time. Now I am not willing to give any one department full credit 

 for bringing this about. The Department of Agriculture has done its 

 part without discredit, but the agricultural press has also done its 

 part, and the agricultural colleges and the editorials in our metro- 

 politan farm press. I am impressed more and more with the growth 

 and progress made in the science of farming. Our experiment sta- 

 tions are doing their work and, all in all, I think that the time has 

 never been that the farmers were more generally interested in their 

 calling than they are now. Only a few years ago there was a call 

 made at one of our round-ups by counties so as to know what the effect 

 had been in the trial of raising alfalfa. In very few counties had 

 there been any success. To-day, through the impetus given by our 

 college here, the Department of Agriculture here, the metropolitan 

 press, we are succeeding in all the counties in raising alfalfa, and it is 

 a farm crop that we cannot do without. The spraying of fruit trees 

 and the spraying for potato scab and fungus growth in the different 

 plants have received great impetus. The farmers have got the infor- 

 mation necessary to combat these and they are doing it, and the time 

 is coming and near at hand when we will not only be benefitted by the 

 instruction at farmers' institutes, through the press and bulletins, 

 but a better knowledge of tlie insect foes will be brought about and 

 the means brought about as to how to combat them, for we are going 

 to raise better, fairer fruit than we have been, so that it has been a 

 blessing in disguise. Now I feel that the Department has done its 

 part, that the press has done its part, and that our State College is 

 doing its part, but. one tiling I want to say right here, that with all 

 the letters that I have received to use what little influence I have in 

 bringing about experiment stations over the State and for my in- 

 fluence over our representatives to have an appropriation for these 

 difi'erent branches, I want to say that I am in favor of one central 

 place. I want that the State Farm, and I want that supported so that 

 H will be a eredil to the State, and I want it so well supported that 



