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S C 1 E X T I I- 1 C AGRICULTURE 



Marcli. V.m. 



What can Agricultural Engineering do for Agriculture^ 



-MACGHEGUR SMITH. Professor of Agrii-ultural 

 Engiueerinir. Uiiivei'sitv of Alberta. 



At the outset let me ((iiote a statement inaile by' a 

 farmer about to retire from active fanii work : 



"Wlieu we are ready to quit the strenuous period of 

 life, wife aud I have planned to feuce off a couple of 

 acres alouy: the road and put up a house modern in 

 evei'v respect. We will have our own lighting, water 

 supply aud sewage disposal systems, and maybe a me- 

 clianical refrigerator. We won't move to town where 

 nobody wants us. but we'll stay right here where our 

 frieuds and interests are. aud where we can help along 

 with the work just as much, but not any more than we 

 care to.'' 



There is much sound common sense to the fai-mer's. 

 statement, but he needed this vision twenty years ago. 

 Tlie time of retiring from farm work is usually deter- 

 mined, not by how long can father stand it, but by how 

 long mother can. Let us point this out most emphatic- 

 ally ou every occasion. 



^lany views are expressed on tlie standardization of 

 equipment, the tractor versus the horse, and so on. We 

 are wrong in thinking tlmt the planning of a barn and 

 the efficiency of tractors constitute the sum and sub- 

 stance of helpfid agricultural engineering work. We 

 may think the ventilation of a barn is more important 

 tlian getting the smoke of frying meat and potatoes out 

 of a farm kitchen. The important jjoint for those i-es- 

 ponsible for arranging courses and for giving them, is 

 to remember that the subject covers a w^ide field and 

 one that is worthy of an important place in every agri- 

 cultural course. A student who goes back into a com- 

 munity should realize the value of knowledge gained 

 about livestock and field crops, aud at the same time be 

 in a position to lielp the members of his community by 

 holding up an ideal that will make living conditions 

 better in the future than they have been in the past. He 

 should try to convince his neighbors that although in 

 some districts, drainage may be the first step in suc- 

 cessful crop production, the farmer's wife likes to have 

 some otiier methods of carrying out dishwater tlian in a 

 pail: that while it is important to keep the soil froni 

 l)lowing or washing off our farm, it is also necessary 

 to provide equipment to wash it out of our dotiies. 



The reason tliat the foregoing renuirks have been 

 brought forward by way of introduction is that so many 

 people .seem to tliink tliat Agricultural Engineering is 

 another term for Tractor Farming. Tlie tractor is only 

 one small item in the study of this .subject and its aj)- 

 plication of engineering problems to farm life. 



Many colleges have not awakened to the importance of 

 tlie work and even at this time some colleges c(>nduct 

 the little agricultural engineering they give under the 

 department of agronomy. Agronomy covers a large and 

 mo.st important field and those in charge have jdenty 

 to do without being burdened with something in which 

 they are not particularly interested. The writer is not 

 making any plea on behalf cf his own department be- 

 cause the importance of Agricultural Engineering is 

 already well establislied and recognized in the Uni»^e<l 

 States. It has also an important place in Western Can- 

 ada, more important than in the East. If this state- 



ment is wrong the writer is willing to stand corrected. 

 Saskatchewan has a department of agricultural 

 engineering in a college 10 years old, that compares 

 most favorably with any other in Xorth America. 

 About 15 years ago the University of Nebraska 

 graduated the first student with a Professional Degree 

 in Agricidtural l^ngineering, and it is interesting to 

 note that last year a new Agricvdtural Engineering hall 

 was completed at a cost of $300,000. The main part 

 of the building has a frontage of 180 feet and is 76 feet 

 deep. It is two stories in height and has a full base- 

 ment. Besides there is a rear wing 84 x 140 feet, and a 

 tractor testing plant, which contains the most modern 

 testing appliances. Every tractor that is sold in the 

 State of Nebraska has to go through a standard test 

 and prove its worth. 



The College of Agriculture at Ames is contemplating 

 the erection of a new building for this work. This year 

 there are 45 freshmen registered in the Professional 

 Agricultural Engineering Course. When the writer 

 visited Professor David.son last summer at Ames there 

 was a list of over 50 requests for men to fill positions in 

 various lines of agricultural engineering work in the 

 commercial as well as the educational field. 



Cornell CoUege of Agriculture at Ithaca, N.Y., is 

 planning on a $500,000 Rural Engineering Building. 



California has a strong division of Agricultui-al En- 

 gineering, and is devoting a considerable amount of 

 time in traming men to teach Farm [Mechanics in the 

 Rural High Schools of the state. 



It is not the object of this article to suggest the 

 amount of time that should he given to the teaching of 

 the various subjects in this department, but rather to 

 point out what should be covered. 



In the first year a course in shopwork along with one 

 in drawing should be given. The object in view is to 

 imi)ress upon the student the importance of accuracy 

 and to give him a training that will be of use to him no 

 matter in what he may specialize before or after gradua- 

 tion. Shopwcrk should not be purely a course in man- 

 ual training, but exercises should be carefully planned 

 so that they are ajiiilicable to problems met with on the 

 farm. This is being emphasized very .stnuigly at tlu' 

 present time. The object of a course in forge work is 

 not to nuike each student a blacksmith, so that he will 

 lie able to shoe his own horse. This takes years of 

 training. 



Every agricultural student should be required to take 

 a course in Farm Machinery. Sufficient sjiace should 

 be available so that a good display of farm machines 

 can be kept for laboratory work. Such an exhibit is 

 also of direct value to any Province. It offers farm- 

 ers an opportunity of looking over and conqiaring dif- 

 ferent makes and types of machines. The writer is 

 convinced that the exhibit of fai-m machinery at Sask- 

 atoon has been of inestimable service in tlie latter res- 

 pect. Hundreds of new settlers have come there for 

 advice. Lectures in farm machinery and farm motors 

 can be gi-eatly improved by having the machines that 

 are under discussion in front of the class. It is not 



