746 



The National Geographic Magazine 



HELPING THE FARMERS 



NO government in the world spends 

 so much for the development of 

 its farms and farming interests as does 

 that of the United States. Many mil- 

 lions of dollars are annually appropriated 

 by the U. S. Congress and our state leg- 

 islatures for practical experiments and 

 researches to increase the profit of our 

 farmers by creating or finding new and 

 better products for them to grow or to 

 protect or improve the soil of their farms. 

 As a result, much greater progress in 

 practical agricultural science and meth- 

 ods have been and are being made in the 

 United States than in any other country. 

 One of the most interesting and im- 

 pressive annual volumes of the national 

 government is the yearly Report of the 

 Office of Experiment Stations of the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture, which 

 summarizes the work in progress at the 

 many state experiment stations. The 

 list of investigations at the Wisconsin 

 station, at Madison, as given in the last 

 report, is typical of the others. Here 

 they have discovered improved methods 

 in cheese-making which will mean an in- 

 creased annual profit of $150,000 in this 

 industry to Wisconsin alone. They have 

 also found that by spraying with iron 

 sulphate solution it is possible to destroy 

 wild mustard, oxeye daisy, cockle burs, 

 and ragweed in oat fields without injury 

 to the oat crop. The strength used has 

 been about 100 pounds of iron sulphate 

 to 50 gallons of water per acre, and the 

 cost of material from 60 to 75 cents per 

 acre — much less than for a copper sul- 

 phate solution. The pictures on pages 

 474-749 illustrate other lines of work at 

 this station. 



One of the most important efforts of 

 the national and state governments is to 

 encourage the study of agriculture in the 

 schools and colleges and to help the 

 Farmers' Institutes. These institutes are 

 now organized in all of the states and in 

 all of the territories excepting Alaska. 

 The number of institutes held in 1906 

 was 3,409, and the number of sessions 



11,409. The attendance at these insti- 

 tutes was 1,299,172, an increase of 

 403,980 over the attendance of the pre- 

 vious year. The average number at each 

 session was 114. The appropriations 

 for the institute purposes amounted to 

 $269,672. Fifteen states reported round- 

 up meetings, with an attendance of 

 24,598; 19 states held special institutes, 

 attended by 85,762 ; 13 states reporting 

 upon agricultural trains give an approx- 

 imate attendance upon these trains of 

 215,890. The aggregate attendance for 

 the year, including the regular institutes, 

 the round-up meetings, special institutes, 

 and railroad specials, was 1,625,422. The 

 number of institute lecturers increased 

 from 995 in 1905 to 1,225 in 1906. 



NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY 



Members changing their addresses should 

 notify the Society, at the earliest moment in 

 order that the Magazine for the current month 

 may be correctly forwarded. When this is not 

 done dupHcates very often cannot be supplied, 

 as the edition of the Magazine may become 

 exhausted. 



Members desiring to attend the annual ban- 

 quet of the Society on December 14 are re- 

 quested to send to the Society at once their 

 names and the number of reservations desired. 

 The price per plate is $5.00. The program for 

 the evening has not been completed, but one of 

 the features will be the presentation of the 

 Hubbard Gold Medal to Captain Roald Amund- 

 sen, of Christiania, Norway. 



Practically all of the following addresses 

 will be printed in the National Geographic 

 Magazine, 1907-1908. 



Friday, October 25, 1907 — "The Tombs of 

 Uaa and Tuaa and Queen Tiyi in the Valley 

 of the Kings, at Thebes." Mr Theodore M. 

 Davis, of Newport, R. I. 



Friday, November 1, 1907 — "The Northwest 

 Passage." Captain Roald Amundsen, of Chris- 

 tiania, Norway. An account of the first suc- 

 cessful passage around the north coast of 

 North America from the Atlantic to the Pa- 

 cific, a feat which had bafHed the world for 

 centuries. Illustrated. 



Friday, November 15, 1907 — "Peaks, Passes, 

 and Glaciers." Prof. Charlqs E. Fay, of 

 Tufts College, President American Alpine Club. 

 With lOD illustrations from the unrivaled col- 

 lection of mountain photographs by Signor Vit- 

 toria Sella. The Alps, the Caucasus, the Him- 

 alayas, and Alaska will be fully represented, 

 and it is hoped that a few Sella photographs 



