33 
Farmers and College Education 
Successful College Men 
A n editorial in a recei’*^ issue of your paper on 
“Does College Help Financially?’’ has .inst been 
called to my attention. I am very much interested 
and surprised at the negative answer you have given 
to that question. While it is always possible to lind 
isolated cases to help bear out the argument on 
either side of any question. I cannot understand 
uhy you see fit to summarize .vour views in such 
general conclusions as “Judging from personal ob¬ 
servations, it is the man, after all, and not the college 
training, or the lack of it, that makes the farmer a 
success or failure. * * * if a man is financially able 
really to afford a college course he is able to live 
without farming * * * i can see no difference what¬ 
ever in the ultimate success of the young man with 
and without a college training, in our own com- 
munit.v.” 
That it is the man and not the college training 
which makes him successful very few persons will, I 
think, take exception to, but to intimate that the 
college training was of no added value to the man 
as a farmer must surely be based upon a mere local 
coincidence and not iqum any ex¬ 
tensive investigations. I admit it is 
useless to try to make a man. as 
one correspondent has put it, “out 
of a tin-horn sport who has come 
back from college too proud to work, 
not worth a hill of beans before he 
started and worth less Avhen he has 
finished.” The average man is cap¬ 
able of learning .something at college 
later helpful to him in his business, 
and is practical enough to apply this 
ti'aining intelligently. The farm 
youth is no exception. 
’I’o .vour second stateme it that if 
a man is financially able real'y to 
afford a college course he is able to 
live witliout farming. I can .-ay that 
unless financial conditions of college 
students ai’e radically different in 
the Fast from in the IMiddle West, 
my inforniatii>n w.arrants an entire¬ 
ly different opinion, or el>e I do not 
iiiteri)ret the statement as you 
r.u'ant it. It is a well-recognized 
fact here that farm boys who secure 
a college education r ane from fam¬ 
ilies in moderate or even poor cir¬ 
ca mstance.s, more than from Avell-to- 
do. From a report of IKK) students 
from the upper classes in tiie Wi.s- 
consin (’ollege of Agriculture in the 
F:ill of IhK), S2, or over 40 per cent, 
were earning a part or all of tludr 
((tllege exi)ens(>s while a student at 
the college. 
Students who have suflicii t to 
p.ay their entire expenses through 
college seldom try to get outside 
(Miq)loynient. The majority of this 
class, however, are in only moderate 
(iiTumstances. Sucii facts as just 
given certainly are convincing that 
the farm boy who can financially 
afford a college education is not by 
any means .so fixed that he need 
not woi'k for a living after com- 
l)l('ting college. 
If, howev(>r, .von meant to con¬ 
fine the agricultural college graduate's employment 
to fanning, then 1. xvill gladly admit that the man 
who can afford a college education is able to live 
without f.armiiig. Farming isn't the only occui)ation 
that gives our graduates employment. The once 
believed statement that if a man couldn’t earn a 
living an.v other wa.v he would go to farming is no 
longer accepted by the practical inan. Fifty j»er 
cent of the studenTs of the AVisconsin College of 
Agriculture are farm-rai.sed boys. Only about one- 
half of the.se return to actual farming. The otluu' 
half find man.v other profitable lines of employment, 
where their farm experience and agricultural train¬ 
ing are valuable. 
fi’o your third statement that you can see no 
difference whate ?r in the ultimate success of the 
.voung man with and xvithout a college training in 
your own communit.v T will again say that all com¬ 
munities are not alike. From S25 Wisconsin f.-irm 
management records it was found that 47S of these 
farmers never had more than common school edu¬ 
cation. q'hey averaged a $022 labor income. One 
hundred and eight who had a short cour.se training 
in agriculture averaged .$720 labor income. One 
hundred and fifty-five had either a part or the oom- 
l>le(o high school course. This group averaged 
"Ghe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
$k02 labor income. Eighty-four of the S2;‘> farmer.^ 
had a part or were graduates of a four-ye.ar college 
cour.se. This class of farmers averaged $1052 labor 
income. 
The .statistics just given and conditions as we 
find them here hear us out in our more optimistic 
view of the value of a higher education to the Wis¬ 
consin farnu'r. u. v. (U'xx. 
College of Agriculture. Fniversity of Wisconsin. 
It. N.-Y.—Mr. Cunn seems to have mixed things 
a little. The article he criticases was not apparently 
an editorial expression, but was written by one of 
our contributors. We thought we had made it clear 
that Tuk It. N.-Y. often permits writers to give their 
side of a case (even when we do not agree with 
them) in order to have a full discussion of the 
subject. 
more than the needs of one family. This box is in a 
lemon-curing tent located in a citrus packing hou.se. 
q'he conditions are not .so good, in my opinion, as in 
a cool cellar. The upper box is planted to another 
species, and has not been so productive as the one 
containing A. campestris. Many more families than 
at present. 1 feel sure, can grow this delicious, nu¬ 
tritious and valuable food crop at very small ex¬ 
pense. Try it.” 
Mushrooms for Home Supplies 
M 
It 
A. D.j SII.VMEL of California asks for an 
article on growing mushrooms, not so mucli 
l\)r commercial i)ur[)oses as for home u.se, in the 
house cellar. AVe shall try to have .such arti(4es 
soon, as we find tlmt in tbe.se meatless days many 
A Bed of Agaricus Campestris Muslirooms. Fig. 11 
Compulsory Land Laws for England 
U NDER the English law tlu* government, through 
its representatives, nmy retpiire a farmer t'> 
plow and lit a certain nundter of acres of his band. 
The first test of this law came up recently in a ca.se 
where a farmer was directed by the government to 
break up (>2 acres of his grass hind. He was re- 
((uired to plow 25 aca-es not later than October 1, and 
the remainder by Alarch 15. The farmer was bu.sy 
with other work, :tnd did not do any plowing before 
October 1. The government stated tliat it had 
offered to provide tractors or find labor if possible, 
but the farmer had made no application for either. 
On his side the farmer told how the weather, in¬ 
creased labor of harvesting, and 
sborRige of help had jirevented his 
doing the work. He said he tried to 
cultivate tlie land as soon as he 
could, jind seemed to have a good 
defence. The judge stiid this was 
the first case brought under the law. 
He felt the farmer had a fair th'- 
fence and would not give the ftill 
penalty, but he was obliged to bike 
notice. The farmer was lined $125, 
with ,$25 extra for costs, as a w.ar 
measure, to .show tlmt government 
orders must be carried out. 
Under the .s:une law, the govern¬ 
ment hits the right to enter ji man’s 
farm :iud cultivate it for him when 
he does not .seem to be working it 
to the best advantiige. The govern¬ 
ment agents found a farmer who 
was not doing ji good job, or kt'cpiiig 
ui) with cultivation. They entered 
the farm, notified him to Iciive, juid 
went to work on the land with sol¬ 
diers and tnictor.s. The farmer tore 
the notices down and tried to inter¬ 
fere with the work. At the trial he 
was fined .$250, all of which goes to 
show how desi)er;itely the English 
peoi)le are Avorking to increase tlieir 
food supiily. As a result of all thi.s 
there is a very large increase in 
grass laud a\ hich has betm iilowed 
ami littt'd for gr.aiu ami potatoes. 
A Commercial Field of Chicory. Fig. 12. See page 34 
of our retiders tire turuiiig to nuts and mushrooms 
for itrotein AvitU Avhich to balance their ration. It 
is doubtful if commercial growing Avill be profitable 
exceiit for the most expert grower.s, but a ftimily 
supply may help out in nmny ctises Avhere the food 
siqtply is ii ])roblem. Air. Shamel pretty nearly tiiis- 
Avers his own request by .seudiug the jiictui’e tit Fig. 
11 iuul the following notes: 
“I sim enclosing a ri'ceut photogniph of two boxes 
of mushrooms. The lower box is (i ft. x f*> ft. x 1 ft. 
Fresh horse manure wtis used. It Avas turned over 
si'vertil times until the tenqierature riaiched about 70 
di'grees F. ’Phis cooling-off process took about three 
Aveek.s. q'he cool manure Avas packed in the box to a 
depth of about 10 indies. One brick of spawn Avas 
usial for planting this box. The brick Avas sawed 
into small sipiares. I'lie sipiai’es were set in the ma¬ 
nure at the rate of about one to every sipiare foot of 
surface, and about one inch deep in the manure, 
q’he spawning process Avas allowed to go on for tAvo 
Aveeks. q'hen. a la.ver of one indi of fresh soil Avas 
spread OA'er the manure. In 10 days the mushrooms 
began to appear, q'his box began producing mush¬ 
rooms, as shown in the photograph, last October, and 
has been growing good crops about every other day 
since that time until the iirescnt. It has supiilied 
as advice to 
Oats, Canada Peas and Cow 
Peas 
III a recent issue T read an article 
on sowing oats on AA'a.shington’s llirtli- 
day. Alay cow peas be sown with 
tbein? I have a tliree-acre field which 
is overrun with witch gra.ss. AA’ould 
yon advise .sowing it to pinis and oats 
and tlnm .seed it to clover in the Fall? 
Alassachusetts. j. u. K. 
T he a Hide inei'ely told Avbat a 
farmer in t'eutral Indiana did, 
and was not intended for general 
advice in the East. AA^e have often 
cautioned our readers against tak¬ 
ing such suggestions or experiments 
ho followed just as given. As a rule 
any advice ipiite contrary to the usual practice in 
any given locality should be taken Avith caution. It 
is well to exiieriment with it if you feel you can 
afford to do .so, but in most cases the plan followed 
by local, successful farmers, is best adapted to any 
particular section. It is true that such methods are 
often radically changed, but the changes Come 
through exiierimentiiig—not violently. 
q'he plan of .seeding oats in Febimary has been 
tried by many of our readers, and most of them op- 
po.se the plan from their experience. It may work 
out now and then, but, in the.se times, Avith all farm 
exxpenses so high, Ave advise the old, AA'ell-tested 
plans, Avorked out as Avell as possible. AA’e should 
seed to oats and C(in<t<ht peas in April. 
Do not use con' penn with the oats, q'he Canada 
field pea is a cold Wiathe. plant. Like oats, it Avill 
sprout and grow in cool .soil, and a light frost Avill 
not seriously injure it. The cow pea is not a pea at 
all, blit a hcioi; and, like all beans, is far more ten¬ 
der than the pea. It is a hot Aveather plant—just 
the re\ er.se of the Canada pea. If you seed the cow 
l»eas Avith the oats the iieas avouUI probably never 
sprout and Avould give only a feeble growth. If you 
.soeel the Canada pea in Summer the hot AA’eather 
