20 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



that it tends toward sections where farming is con- 

 ducted by owners rather than tenants. 



These thoughts are presented to our readers as 

 preliminary to a series of articles on rural credits 

 that will appear in future issues of THE IRRIGATION 

 AGE. 



Western states are up arms against 

 Lane's Secretary of the Interior Lane's re- 



Ruling cent ruling on desert land entries. 



Hits Desert Just read it : 

 Settlement "Applicants to make entry under 



the desert land laws should be made 

 clearly to understand that where a water supply is 

 made available for irrigation purposes by means of 

 a pumping plant, such plant must be of a capacity 

 to make available at the time of final proof a sufficient 

 supply of water to irrigate all irrigable land embraced 

 in particular entry." 



Unless this ruling can be withdrawn the people 

 of the west might just as well quit trying to take up 

 land under the desert act in many localities where 

 water for irrigation is available only by pumping. 

 The requirements of the government are almost, if 

 not, prohibitive. It is stated that a second foot flow 

 for twenty-four hours is required for 100 acres. This 

 means a capacity of approximately 650,000 gallons of 

 water pumped per day for each 100 acres of land 

 entered. 



The town boy does not get into suc- 

 Keep the cessful farming as readily nor as 



Farm Boys quickly as the farm-bred boy can. It 

 on the would be strange if he did. 



Farms Quite a large number of town boys 



are taking up the courses in agricul- 

 ture at the agricultural schools and colleges, and 

 some of these have had no farm training whatever. 

 While it is possible for them to become real farm- 

 ers, it is also probable that they will have some 

 hard sledding before they get safely past the "ten- 

 derfoot" stage. 



The farm boys beat them at every kind of prac- 

 tical work, and it is often seen that these urban stu- 

 dents of farming are the despair of their teachers at 

 the agricultural schools because they seem to take 

 hold of everything "wrong end to," from the way 

 they lead a horse up to the wagon tongue to the 

 way they catch a hen. In spite of this, these boys 

 make good. 



A man who never has taught a calf to drink, nor 

 broken a colt, nor even learned to milk eight or ten 

 cows twice a day for a year, does not start in on an 

 even footing with the boys who have mastered these 

 and a hundred other tasks of ordinary practical farm 



life. We can read and apparently master the man- 

 ner of planting a tree, ringing a lot of shoats, or hiv- 

 ing a swarm of bees. But he who thinks he knows 

 will be likely to make a sad mess of things the first 

 time he tries to do the work. Nevertheless, these 

 men succeed. The best plan, however, is to make it 

 profitable for good farmers to stay where they are. 



If our solid sensible farm boys, who have al- 

 ready had a most valuable apprenticeship in the best 

 business, trade or profession in the world, can be 

 made to constitute the greater number of students 

 at our agricultural schools, it will be the best possi- 

 ble plan for all concerned. 



Roger W. Babson, leading business 

 Remember! expert and commercial statistician, 

 We Are talked to a large audience of Chicago 



All business men the other day. He 



Brothers! made some remarkable statements 



and predictions about the European 

 war, based largely on the science of business mathe- 

 matics. 



Buried down near the conclusion of his address 

 was a little sermon on a big subject cooperation. 

 Every American, particularly the farmers, should 

 study this Babson sermon. Here it is : 



"The idea that one concern, or one city, or one 

 country can benefit by the misfortunes of another is 

 an economic fallacy. Whatever one merchant or 

 one city, or one nation loses must be spread out over 

 the entire industry, country or world. In business 

 and commercial life the Europeans have already 

 learned this and the cooperative movements in Eu- 

 rope are far in advance of what they are in this 

 country. The war will result in welding our com- 

 petitors together more closely and only by develop- 

 ing a better spirit of cooperation in this country be- 

 tween competing manufacturers, between labor and 

 capital, and between different sections of the coun- 

 try, can we hold our own with Europe after the war 

 is over. I say that such a spirit of cooperation is ab- 

 solutely necessary for us to hold our own after the 

 conflict is over. 



"If we are to continue to grow after the war is 

 over, we must even go further. Only as the war re- 

 sults in some formation of world organization where- 

 by the other nations will be able to devote their 

 wealth and energy after the war to constructive re- 

 building instead of to destructive implements of war- 

 fare, will they be able to again buy of us as they 

 have in the past. In other words, when Jesus of 

 Nazareth taught that we are all brothers, one of 

 another, whatever our nationality, class or business, 

 He stated a great economic fact which must some 

 day be recognized." 



