THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



19 



above, there will be required 2^4 cubic yards 

 of crushed rock, 1% cubic yards of sand and 

 12 bags of cement. Ten dollars, the cost of the 

 materials, may prevent the drowning out of several 

 acres of growing crops and save the expense of dig- 

 ging up and relaying the tile drain. 



THE AMERICAN FARMER TODAY REQUIRES A 

 LARGE FUND OF KNOWLEDGE. 



By J. E. Buck, of I. H. C. Service Bureau. 



In the preparation of an article treating of the Ameri- 

 can farmer as he is today, the writer recently had occa- 

 sion to say: "The farmer today is engaged in a business 

 that requires more brain work than any other profession 

 or vocation. The drudgery of irksome tasks has gone from 

 the farm forever, and the wreath of laurel belongs to the 

 inventors and manufacturers of the implements and ma- 

 chines which destroy the servility of endless drudgery and 

 make bread cheaper." 



The first sentence in this paragraph was severely crit- 

 icised and declared to be absolutely untrue. 



Inasmuch as the writer lived on a farm for some 

 twenty years, and since leaving the farm has spent several 

 years making a special study of the farmer and farm prob- 

 lems, he believed himself to be in position to write au- 

 thoritatively on the subject of "The American Farmer 

 Today," questioned the criticism and sought a verification 

 of the statement criticised. Accordingly, a letter was ad- 

 dressed to ten of the highest agricultural authorities in 

 the United States, asking them whether or not it would 

 be an exaggeration or over-statement of the fact to say 

 that the business of farming requires a larger fund of 

 knowledge, wider reading and closer application than any 

 of the higher professions. 



In response to this letter the following replies were 

 received, which we believe will be of special interest at 

 this time, when so much remains to be learned about agri- 

 culture and the business of farming: 



From John M. Stahl. 



Editor Illinois Farmer. 



After carefully considering the matter, I am sure that 

 the sentence you submit is correct. I thought for a time 

 that the lawyer might dispute with the farmer the state- 

 ment made in that sentence, but see clearly that, while a 

 few lawyers may need, as episodes, as wide and varied 

 knowledge as the farmer, the average requirement of the 

 farmer is much broader. I once in my younger 

 days studied law. During my three years in a law office 

 we studied, for example, a dozen leading works on 

 surgery, and for the time bieng could trip almost any sur- 

 geon. During that time, also, we studied hydraulic 

 dredges from the ground up. But these were exceptions 

 and the practice of law was not specialized in those days 

 as it is now. In nearly all industries and professions the 

 tendency has been to narrow the operations of the indi- 

 vidual and therefore to narrow the required knowledge. 

 In farming the tendency has been the opposite to broad- 

 en the operations of the individual and far more to 

 broaden the scope of required knowledge I am sure your 

 statement is correct and can easily be defended. 

 From A. F. Woods, 



Dean and Director, University of Minnesota. 

 I have your note of the 12th inst, asking my opinion 

 of your statement that the farmer today is engaged in a 

 business that requires a broader scope of knowledge than 

 any other vocation or profession. I think the statement 

 is entirely safe. 



From Cyril G. Hopkins, 



Agronomist and Chemist, University of Illinois. 



In my judgment, the sentence which you have framed 



is a good one. It is not putting the matter too strongly. 



The old statement that "any fool can farm" would be less 



erroneous if it stated that any fool can wear out rich land. 



From Henry Wallace, 



Editor Wallaces' Farmer. 



I think your statement would be quite correct, if 

 before the word "knowledge" you insert the word "prac- 

 tical." To be successful, the farmer must know his soil 

 and almost every farm, even in the prairie sections, con- 

 tains several types of soil. He must know the elements 

 of fertility which the soil contains, and also those in which 

 it is more or less deficient, and the means of supplying 



them. He must know in a general way the laws that gov- 

 ern the movement of water in the soil, and the manage- 

 ment of the soil that will enable him to control as far as 

 possible the water supply both from below and above. 

 He must know the water storage capacity of his land, for 

 upon this stored water he must draw during the summer 

 season for the water needed to perfect his crop. 



He must understand his plants, both the root system 

 and the leaf system. He must know the life history of 

 the insects which prey on his plants, in order to combat 

 them successfully. He must have a practical knowledge 

 of the laws of heredity which govern both in the plant 

 and in the animal. 



He must have a practical working knowledge of bal- 

 anced rations, in order that he may know how to feed as 

 well as breed, how to grow as well as finish for the mar- 

 ket. He should have a 'practical knowledge of the dis- 

 eases, parasitic and otherwise, that prey upon his live 

 stock. He should have a working knowledge of markets, 

 of supply and demand. 



In addition to all this, he must have the knack of 

 doing things, which can be acquired only by the doing of 

 them. In short, he is obliged to be more nearly an all- 

 around man than any other class of men of which I have 

 knowledge. The reason why our lands do not yield more 

 than half their capacity is because farmers as yet do not 

 have this practical, working knowledge combined with the 

 skill or art of putting it in practice. 



I do not think your statement is too broad if you in- 

 sert the word "practical" before the word "knowledge." 

 It is the ideal rather than the practical farmer, however, 

 that you are describing. I believe in putting ideals clearly 

 before the minds of the people, for in everything we must 

 have an ideal before we can realize the actual. 

 From P. G. H olden, 



Formerly Superintendent Agricultural Extension Department, Iowa 

 Agricultural College. 



There is no doubt whatever as to the soundness of 

 your statement. Not only this, but all the rest of the 

 world is dependent on the intelligence displayed by the 

 farmer in his business. 



From C. F. Curtiss, 



Dean and Director, Iowa State College. 



I have your valued favor of the 12th instant. I think 

 you are entirely safe in making the statement that success- 

 ful farming at the present day and under the present con- 

 ditions requires a larger fund of knowledge, and wider 

 range of knowledge, deeper study, and closer application 

 than any of the higher professions. In addition to the 

 broad scientific, technical and practical information re- 

 quired, a good farmer needs to be a successful business 

 man and understand the principles of economics, the laws 

 of supply and demand, buying and selling, and all factors 

 that affect market conditions 



From K. C. Livermore, 



Professor of Farm Management, Coinell University. 



In the absence of Director Bailey and of Professor 

 Warren, to whom your letter of July 12 was received, I 

 shall give my opinion upon the requirements for success- 

 ful farming. 



The old idea was that anybody could succeed as a 

 farmer. This was simply an admission of the fact that 

 so little was known about the business of farming that 

 all were on the same footing. But today it is very safe to 

 say that no vocation or profession involves so many prob- 

 lems as does farming, unless, to quote Professor Warreri, 

 "it be housekeeping." The successful farmer must com- 

 bine executive ability, business ability, mechanical ingenu- 

 ity and a great deal of skillfulness in farm practices. Be- 

 sides this, he should be a naturalist. And if he is to under- 

 stand his business he must be a scientist in the broadest 

 sense. 



There is no doubt but that the successful farmer of 

 today is the equal of the successful lawyer, banker or 

 manufacturer in ability, intelligence and resourcefulness. 

 From H. L. Russell, 



Dean and Director, University of Wisconsin. 



I think you are entirely right in the statement which 

 you make. The agriculture of the future has got to be 

 along scientific lines and the breadth of knowledge which 

 is necessary to adequately handle matters which relate di- 

 rectly to agricultural practice is so wide that it practically 

 involves not only fundamental, but all of the applied sci- 

 ences, including social and economic sciences, as well at 

 the material sciences. 



