332 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



ered at his door at least once every day he would have been called a 

 dreamer, and vet at the present time the arrival of the morning pajjcr 

 and of the daily mail has become one of the mixed features of farm 

 life. The next great step forward will be the organization of the town- 

 ship rural high school, as thoroughly graded and as thoroughly 

 equipped as is the city high school ; — the development and the train- 

 ing of the country boys and girls in the country, not necessarily in 

 agriculture, but under tlieir natural surroundings in which they will 

 be taught to see something of the beauty of country life; something 

 of the possibilities of the farm. Through this will come the de- 

 velopment of our rural liio. ; the improvements of social conditions 

 and the establishment of better relations, and more thorough under- 

 standing between our country and city population. 



SOME LESSONS WE SHOULD TEACH 



By R. P. KESTER, Grampian, Pa. 



I do not expect to present anything new this morning, anything 

 that has not been advocated by at least some of our institute speakers 

 in the past, but realizing that some men thinli the only legitimate 

 field of the institute worker is to teach how to increase production — 

 how to make more money, I wish to call our attention to some other 

 phases of the farmer's life that needs his increased attention and 

 activities quite as much as that. 



There is no question but what first and foremost of the practical 

 questions is how to naturally and most cheaply maintain and in- 

 crease the fertilit}' of the land. Need of this knowledge is evident 

 from the fact that the average farm produces little, if any, more than 

 it did in the days of our grand-fathers. For many years much has 

 been said and written on the subject and many bulletins published 

 by our experiment stations giving the results of their findings, and all 

 of this has been said and written on the subject and many bulletins 

 published by our experiment stations giving the results of their find- 

 ings, and all of this has been suggestive and useful, yet a great deal 

 of it seems to be in the nature of temporary expedients and have not 

 solved the problem of building up permanently and economically a 

 productive soil. Instead of figuring so much about pounds and per- 

 centages of potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen as purchased in the 

 fertilizer sack, for which so great a part of the crop's value is paid, 

 the general farmer demands and needs to know of natural methods 

 by which he can maintain and increase his fertility and have profit 

 at the end of the year. A few families have been doing this for years, 

 many of them in this beautiful county of Lancaster, and in almost 

 all the instances T have examined, the four C's — corn, cattle, clover 

 and cultivation — have been the four corner-stones of success. These 

 four agencies, intelligently handled, will bring success to any general 

 farmer. 



