PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 193 



vide for popular attendance and general instruction in agricultural 

 practice." 



From the above it will be seen that the main objects of the farm are: 

 first, to carry on investigational work, and second, to provide instruc- 

 tion in various agricultural subjects. 



To turn now to the horticultural phase of the work at the University 

 Farm, let us first consider the educational side. For some years past 

 in this State there has been an ever growing feeling among the farming 

 ( lass that the long period of years required by the University for an 

 agricultural education could not serve their best interests. The four 

 years in the high school followed by the four years in college was too 

 long a time to keep the young man away from the farm, besides creating 

 in him a desire to remain away. To avoid this, a three-year course, for 

 which a high school training is not necessary, has been established at 

 the farm, which aims to give the boy a thorough training in agricul- 

 ture. At present this school is in but the second year of its work, and 

 although many rough places still remain to be smoothed out, yet on the 

 whole results are very encouraging. In horticulture the work so far 

 has been confined to tree fruits. But in this we have tried to give the 

 boys a thorough working knowledge of the subject, such as the selection 

 of sites and soils for the various fruits, preparation and planting of 

 the young trees, the various cultural methods necessary, irrigation, etc. 

 Pruning in its various phases is taken up. The harvesting and handling 

 of fruit is carefully considered, and the various marketing processes 

 are followed until the goods are in the hands of the consumer. Each 

 boy is instructed in the work of the nursery. He is taught how to 

 propagate orchard trees, and the actual work of budding and grafting 

 is clone until the hands have been trained to do what the mind has 

 been taught to understand. 



Another feature of the educational work at the farm is the short 

 course in horticulture. We now have under construction a $20,000 

 horticultural building. "When this is completed we will have abundant 

 facilities to offer short courses in this subject. These are primarily 

 for the busy farmer. One who can spare but two or three weeks from 

 his work. Here he gets in touch with other people and sees what they 

 are doing. He is able to follow the experiments carried on by the farm, 

 all of which help him to keep up to date. Problems and troubles of 

 the farmer are discussed and remedies suggested, and instruction in the 

 more general problems are given by the men from the University. 

 With our new equipment, together with the hearty cooperation of the 

 people of the State, we hope that much good will result from these 

 short courses. 



Turning now to the investigational phase of the work, which, I pre- 

 sume, to you people is the more interesting, let us see what the Univer- 

 sity Farm is doing to help solve the problems of the agriculturist. 

 How can the farm benefit those who have passed beyond the time and 

 reach of the high school or college? California is a big state, and 

 farming in it is done under more varying conditions than any other 

 state in the Union. Our climate varies from that of the tropics in the 

 south to perpetual snow in the north. Our moisture conditions vary 

 from those of the barren desert to that of almost continual rain. It 

 is very apparent, then, that under these many different conditions that 



13 — FGC 



