could make the 
sage he had for 
tural chemistry 
which these 
understand ? 
364 
Hope Farm Notes 
“THE BADGER STATE.” 
No. 3. 
Early Days. —Dr. Babcock spoke of the 
early life of the College. There were but 
few students in agriculture and it was 
hard to know just what to teach them. I 
know about this, for when I went to an 
agricultural college 30 years ago the 
“course” was in some ways inferior to that 
in a modern high school. The fact is that 
the teachers in these earlier days did not 
know what to teach or how to teach it. 
For example, at my old college there was 
a course in dairying. There was a herd 
of Short-horn cows, but no dairy apparatus 
whatever except an old-fashioned dash churn 
which the farm manager’s wife occasionally 
used! This remembrance of the crude form 
of instruction the old-timers knew is the 
first tiling which comes into mind when we 
see a modern agricultural college and the 
crowd of hopeful students. Dr. Babcock 
tells me he would often go into his class 
room in those days wondering how he 
boys understand the mes- 
them. How could agricul- 
be put into a language 
untrained young minds could 
That was. and is still, the 
great problem of farm education. The pub¬ 
lic country schools of that day were not 
training boys and girls to think so they 
could follow the stronger thought at the 
college. In addition to this the problem 
of what to teach and the methods of 
teaching were at best experiments. Thus 
the earlier days of agricultural education 
were filled with efforts to fit an unformed 
educational system upon untrained minds! 
I sometimes wonder that the “new edu¬ 
cation” ever succeeded or that it did not 
turn out a great army of “misfits.” 
Hard Problems.— In some ways, too, 
Wisconsin presented harder problems in the 
racial habits of her people. Dr. Babcock 
gave me one illustration of this. There 
came into his class, one year, two German 
boys who could not understand a word of 
English. They would sit through the lec¬ 
ture and demonstrations and get the other 
boys in the class to explain what they could 
not otherwise understood. At the end 
of the term they asked to be per¬ 
mitted to write their examination papers 
in German. They prepared excellent papers 
in German script—showing a thorough 
knowledge of the subject, and the trained 
German mind carried them on to further 
Investigation. Now these boys were born 
and raised in Wisconsin within a com¬ 
paratively few miles of the college; yet 
they had lived and prospered without 
enough English to enable them to under¬ 
stand the college lectures. The same 
thing might be said of three or four other 
nationalities in that earlier day. This 
incident merely illustrates the great prob¬ 
lem which the Wisconsin College Is working 
out with great success by learning the vital 
points of human nature upon which all 
races and creeds may agree. 
Influence. —Dr. Van Ilise, president of 
the Wisconsin University, told me that this 
great school had influenced the history of 
its State to a greater extent than any other 
State University in America. I think that 
is unquestionably true, and the larger part 
of that influence is due to the work of the 
agricultural college in reaching close to the 
people. In the older days of New York 
State, Cornell University grew rich and 
great very largely through the advertising 
and friendly sympathy given by the old 
agricultural college under Prof. I. 1*. Hob- 
erts. The great college of to-day belongs to 
another era—with probably more money 
given to poultry equipment than Prof. Rob¬ 
erts had for his entire work. I am speak¬ 
ing of the foundation work. It is now 
covered by great buildings which swarm 
with humanity. But let us not forget the 
pioneer days which made all this possible. 
The State of Wisconsin was saved for 
America by a mere handful of forgotten and 
neglected pioneers—who were left to do 
the impossible with their axes and guns. 
This great nation did not pour its wealth 
of men and money into Wisconsin until 
the pioneers had done their part—and it 
is so with our agricultural education. There 
was sterling stuff in the men and the 
methods which made agricultural education 
possible, and this must not be lost out 
in the modern shuffle of power and ad¬ 
vantage. 
Growth. —I cannot say that Wisconsin 
is working out her farm education problem 
to better advantage than other States, be¬ 
cause I do not know, but without question 
there is a mighty force gathering at Madi¬ 
son. One could feel it in the swarming 
crowd that had gathered from all over the 
State. There were boys of 15 or younger 
and gray-haired men who had come to the 
college for the first time—drawn there by 
an irresistible, power to investigate and 
learn. I noticed that spirit particularly— 
THE BtUBtA.lv NEW-YORKER 
with evident and 
in their trip. Dr. 
short courses have 
various ways. Stu- 
after taking the 
it was not a . gathering for fun or for a 
pleasant outing only—but for serious busi¬ 
ness. You met men and their wives or 
daughters on the cars or on the streets 
bound for the college 
open pride and interest 
Russell told me that the 
developed the college in 
dents have come back 
short course and entered for the longer 
term. Many have brought others with them. 
These boys went home and talked of the 
wonderful things they had seen and heard. 
In some cases their parents would listen 
a little doubtingly and then quietly plan 
to investigate. So it happened that the 
next year the older people might come 
back with the children to see for themselves 
what influences surrounded these students 
This advertised the college, and also main 
tained the closest scrutiny of the teachers 
for these older critics would be keen to 
look for defects if their children were to 
leave home. 
There was a band of some 80 young 
boys who were having a glorious time with 
glory of the right sort. These were corn 
growers who had won prizes at local fairs 
or corn shows. Formerly these prizes were 
paid in cash, but this plan did not alw'ays 
give good results. So it was arranged to 
give as a corn prize a week’s trip to Madi¬ 
son with all expenses paid. And so these 
young corn growers were here, listening 
and seeing things which they will always 
remember. They met the Governor of Wis¬ 
consin, saw the Legislature in session and 
got a little of the spirit and inspiration of 
education. One man told me that these 
boys “were in fairyland” for a week. It 
was true, and they each carried one of the 
fairies back home—a silent companion 
either to bring them back some day or 
make them study out some nobler way of 
life at home. As an example of what these 
boys do, Dr. Russell, in his report, tells 
the following: 
“In a considerable number of cases, young 
boys who have taken part in this work in 
former years are now going into the pure¬ 
bred seed business. The case of Pierce 
Martiny of Baraboo typifies the results that 
flow from this line of extension activity. 
This youngster had become interested in 
these corn contests and had won recognition 
at the local fair. Through his success, the 
father was induced to use the improved 
variety of corn with which the son had 
won. Last year, the boy came to the Boys’ 
Course, and in partnership with his father 
had enough seed corn so that he sold over 
$500 worth at the time of the Farmers’ 
Course. This Fall he and his father have 
over a thousand bushels for sale. Already 
a seedsman has contracted and paid the 
boy $2 a bushel at wholesale for 600 bush¬ 
els. Verily, ‘a little child shall lead them.’ ’’ 
The college is reaching out into all sorts 
of rural activities, with a most thorough 
organization. If the work is continued the 
time will come when the college authorities 
will know the location and character of 
every church, every Grange, every social 
or business organization which touches the 
life of Wisconsin farmers. They will be 
able to show you on a map the location 
of practically every farm home in the 
State, and something about its ownership 
and prospects. That is needed work, and 
something the agricultural college may well 
do. Wisconsin seems to be moving away 
from the old theory that the agricultural 
college must show' how r to produce more 
and then sit down and think it over. Here 
is a college which recognizes its larger 
duty to the State and to the farmer as a 
man as well as a producer. h. w. c. 
March 8, 
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Land Plaster and Hen Manure. 
Some time ago Mr. G. Howard Davison 
wrote an article advocating the use of 
land plaster as an absorbent and eonserver 
of ammonia under hen perches, etc. Im¬ 
mediately afterward two experimenters of 
Cornell, I think, controverted Mr. Davison’s 
statements and claimed that the plaster lib¬ 
erated the ammonia, which was lost. In 
a recent issue you recommended the use 
of land plaster and explain its combina¬ 
tion with the hen manure and ammonia 
therein in practically the same way that 
Mr. Davison did, and quite contrary to the 
Cornell men. Who is right? w. r. d. 
No. Germantown, N. Y. 
There must be some mistake about this. 
Wc doubt if Cornell ever stated that land 
plaster liberates the ammonia of manure. 
Land plaster Is sulphate of lime and, as 
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You must use enough of the land plaster 
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not the Cornell people refer to wood ashes? 
If so they were right, for the ashes con¬ 
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for keeping hen manure. Land plaster has 
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chunks so that it may be crushed' or ground 
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