2O PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOLL WEEVIL CONVENTION. 



culture don't know everything. There is a great deal of wisdom among 

 the good farmers, and I want all that you know about your soil, your 

 climatic conditions, what has occurred in the history of your agriculture 

 thus far. Select one of your best farmers to carry on these experiments, 

 or these demonstrations. "They did so." "Now," I continued, "I want a 

 guarantee fund, and we will make a contract with this farmer, who is fol- 

 lowing my instructions, that if he loses any money, you citizens guarantee 

 to make it good." Several farmers, among them I remember Major 

 Brenan who, as you know is one of the great farmers of Texas, with a 

 farm of five thousand acres just outside of the State; he rose, and said: 

 "We will raise the money." In fifteen minutes, they subscribed five hun- 

 dred dollars. It was all settled that afternoon. We put the farm on its 

 feet, and I left. We went through the year. I went there perhaps half a 

 dozen times. At the close of the year I said to Mr. Walter C. Porter, the 

 man who carried on the agricultural experiments or demonstrations : "How 

 much do these gentlemen owe you? How large an amount 

 do they owe you?" "They do not owe me anything," he said; 

 "I made $700.00 more than I would have made in the ordinary 

 way. I do not want anything of the people." It cost the people, not a 

 cent, that demonstration; and the farmer who carried it on made money. 

 He paid all expenses. The Government paid nothing; the people paid 

 nothing; and that was the result. 



Now farmers saw that from day to day. Delegation after delegation 

 visited it. A committee from the Congressional District visited it, on one 

 occasion. The result was that the farmers almost without exception came 

 to me and said : "We are going to put our farms on the same plan." Mr. 

 Brenan said : "My 5000 acres go on the same plan, next year." Mr. Har- 

 rison and other prominent farmers said : "I am going under the same 

 plan." This same man, Mr. Porter, has 800 acres; he puts 300 acres in cot- 

 ton next year on the same plan. They have all ordered their fertilizers, 

 and that county is completely organized. It had more effect than that. 

 It interested the President of the road, Mr. Green, and he said he would 

 take a little dip into it. They wrote me that at first he thought he would 

 take 50 acres, but before he got through, he bought four hundred acres ; 

 and before he was through, he had given orders to the extent of $10,000, 

 and he was to put the best demonstration farms in the South; the 

 best in operation there, as an example of what the people can do. He 

 made inquiries of me, and I went there. "Well," he said: "you have got 

 me into this, and now you must stay by me." So I stayed there a while, 

 and we laid out the plan of his farm. The county below it and the 

 county above it sent a delegation when I was there last spring, and they 

 organized 60 farms on a small scale. 



Now, that shows that the people will take hold, if you prove to them 

 that it is their experiment. They put up the money. They furnish the 



