1356 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 7, 1918 
HOPE FARM NOTES 
This is the season when farm bureaus 
usually hold their annual meetings. Farm¬ 
ers come to the point of figuring whether 
this organization is really of benefit to 
them. Here in Bergen Co., N. J., this 
question comes home to us sadly in the 
death of our farm demonstrator, Louis F. 
Merrill, who died of the influenza when 
that scourge swept over us. It is doubtful 
if any public man in this country would 
be so sincerely mourned or so truly missed 
as Mr. Merrill has been. There is no ques¬ 
tion up here regarding the value of the 
farm bureau, and I think it was one of the 
hardest centers in the country to sati.sfy. 
Our country people are of two general 
types—the old-time “practical” farmer, 
vei-y conservative and a little bitter at 
modern ideas, and the back-to-the-land 
farmers, who are just the reverse, since 
they expect too much from these “modern 
ideas.” 
^ lie lie ^ 
Mr. Merrill came into this county to 
build up a farm bureau, and had to stand 
in between those two elements. Some 
men would be ground up between them. 
Others might side in with one type and 
help grind up the other. Mr. Merrill, 
with about the finest tact and judgment I 
have ever seen, succeeded in harmonizing 
the.se two elements and getting one to help 
the other. In fact, I think Mr. Merrill 
Avas the most successful farm demonstra¬ 
tor I have ever seen, and his methods 
and manners might well be studied by 
the thousands of young men who are 
training for this work. Evei\vone knew 
. the demonstrator and had respect for him. 
Ilis car went flying about the country, 
and was known on all our roads. I have 
often had letters fTOin people who were 
puzzled over something connected with 
their farm or garden work. Sometimes 
they had only half a dozen trees in a 
small patch of garden. It made no differ¬ 
ence to Mr. Merrill. Whenever I told 
him about these people and their troubles 
he went right to them and gave the best 
advice and help he could. 
^ ^ ^ 
I think it was this unfailing and good- 
natured courtesy which gave Mr. Merrill 
his power over our people. It is evident 
that the first thing the manager of a farm 
bureau must possess is that strange and! 
indefinable thing we call “personality.” 
I do not know what it is, but there is a 
cerain human quality Avhich in another 
affects us—we know not how. It makes 
some men offensive. We cannot do busi¬ 
ness with them with any satisfaction. 
Such a man would ruin a farm bureau in 
less than a year. He is not a human hat- 
rack on which the rest of us like to hang 
our hat and coat and feel comfortable in 
our shirt sleeves. There are other men 
who attract. There is something about 
them which somehow will induce children 
to run to them and old people to confide 
their troubles. I do not know just what 
this “personality” is—whether a man in¬ 
herits it, or whether it is a part of hi.s 
training—^^but one thing is sure; no man 
can reach success as a farm bureau agent 
unless he has something of this very hu¬ 
man quality. 
ilr. Merrill had this quality at its best, 
and that Avas Avhy he took high rank as a 
farm demonstrator. He Ava.s a college 
man, AA^ell trained and thoroughly read, 
yet that fact made itself felt not through 
any advertising on his part, but it grew 
out of the man’s life and acts. You have 
seen a horse possessing great speed, a 
man Avith great skill as an athlete, a 
Avoman of tremendous power and sympa¬ 
thy. You did not need to see them exert 
their great speed or their pliysical or 
mental power. Every little movement 
gave indication of it. It is pretty much 
the same Avitli your well-trained college 
man Avho has got a glimpse of the higher 
things without forgetting the language 
and the spirit of the humble people who 
live down on the earth. I have heard 
farmers and plain working people show 
resentment at Avhat they call “education,” 
and call our colleges failures, or worse. 
Yet these same men can usually name 
several college-trained men who, as they 
say, are “all right.” The trouble is that 
some of these college men forget, if they 
ever knew, that the plain, solid, humble 
life Avhieh their parents worked out should 
ever be the solid foundation for their edu¬ 
cation. and not a thing to be kicked away 
to make room for some fancy underpin¬ 
ning. 
He Hs 
Mr. Merrill succeeded, because hie had' 
this inspiring quality of “personality.” 
That gave him leadership, and he used it 
wisely. He could, if need be, stay in the 
•background, do the Avork and planning 
and let others haA-'e the credit and divide 
the glory among them. That seems to be 
a very necessary quality in developing a 
farm bureau. The man to do it properly 
must have a keen sense of humor and 
knoAv hoAV to efface himself when need be. 
It is evident, hoAvever, that the successful 
farm bureau man must be something be¬ 
side a good fellow and an organizer. At 
times he must be as adaptable as rubber 
or Avax, and at others as solid and un¬ 
yielding as concrete. Every public man 
must at times take a firm stand for what 
is right in his department and stand for 
it. I do think that Louis F. Merrill was 
the most succe.ssful farm demonstrator I 
haA'e really knoAvn. Had he lived I think 
he Avould have gone high in his profes¬ 
sion. Yet when I come to try to analyze 
his work and tell hoAV he did it I find 
myself unable to lay down any laAvs or 
rules to govern others. It was the per¬ 
sonality of the man and his tremendous 
energy and untiring good nature Avhich 
brought success. Who can tell how to 
acquire these? 
>!: « :)! >s< lie 
I have spoken of this farm bureau Avork 
as a “profession.” That is Avhat it is 
coming to be—more so, 1 think, than any 
other department of education. These 
farm bureaus are noAV established as a 
definite part of State and National work. 
Some counties may refuse to support 
them, but in general they have become a 
fixture in our farm life, and we must ac¬ 
cept them as such. My belief is that these 
young men who are starting in as agents 
have ideals and would gladly live up to 
them. I think the directors try hard to 
find suitable men for the work. In theory, 
at least, such a man should have a college 
education, but he ought to be a farm- 
raised boy, and not a mere laboratory stu¬ 
dent. He ought to haA’e this quality that 
I call “personality” and a large share of 
“horse sense.” I should think that in 
most counties such a man should be an 
organizer rather than an “educator,” for 
in most places our farmers need to learn 
to AA-ork together at Avhat they are now 
doing more than they need Avorking indi¬ 
vidually at something ncAV. I can easily 
see that these young men who go into 
farm bureau Avork will be likely to follow 
out one of three paths. One leads out of 
the Avork ; for a coloidess, inefficient man 
ought to get out when he shows that he 
is not fitted for the job. Some of these 
men will develop into real helpers and 
solid champions of the farmers. Others 
will undoubtedly become mere parasites 
upon the State or nation, Avorking chiefly 
to retain their job. In such cases the 
farmers of the county will be pretty much 
responsible for it, for I believe that in 
most counties the farmers can make these 
bureaus about Avhat they want in the way 
of service. It is very easy to see Avhat 
such an organization might do for farmers 
if it can be kept true and handled so that 
all may have a fair chance. It is hut 
natural that a young man right from col¬ 
lege should seek the support of the strong¬ 
er and more influential farmers, and also 
the natural talkers and writers. The.se 
men are naturally interested in politics, 
and usually the majority of them Avill be¬ 
long to one particular party, so that some¬ 
times, without meaning to do it, the man¬ 
agement will give the bureau a reputation 
of handling “politics.” The men who 
most need the farm bureau in any rural 
county ai’e the plain farmers, Avho are 
often more or less prejudiced against these 
new things. When the agent or demon¬ 
strator can get hold of these men, get 
their confidence and shoAV them the value 
of organization, he Avill do the finest and 
most patriotic work in all farm education. 
* * Ht O * 
As the season draAvs to a close we find 
four of our white turkeys left. There 
were 12 at the beginning, but one by one 
they faded aAvay. I never could tell what 
killed them—they just greAv weary of life. 
We gave them all the care we had, and 
surely no turkeys ever had more advice 
poured over them. Still they faded aAvay, 
and after Thanksgiving there Avill be one 
less. Some of the neighbors haA'e tried 
geese this year with great success. The 
goslings seem tough and hardy, and they 
reach good size by Thanksgiving. I think 
raising geese is a far surer proposition 
than turkey raising—at least in our coun¬ 
try. At any rate, we are not entitled to 
any prize this year on our turkey crop. 
I read articles in the farm papers advis¬ 
ing turkey raising as a fine chance for 
back-to-the-landers! Well there Avill be a 
unanimous vote at our farm that the job 
in our section Avould surely put the hopes 
of a back-to-the-lander on its back—in a 
grave, h. av. c. 
Wintering Bees 
We^ hope to Avinter two hives of bees. 
Will it be safe to put them on the south 
side of the house, as protection from cold 
winds, or would it be better to put them 
in the barn? It seems as if the barn 
would be rather cold in severe weather, 
and so little sun. Last Winter we lost 
the hive we started with, but many experi¬ 
enced keepers did the same. We took our 
two hives to a farmer Avho said he had 
trouble getting a SAvarm in the old one 
but did succeed ; Avill not say that they 
made much honey. But the other hive, 
he said, had a good SAvarm. He asked us 
$5 for each swarm. A. M. H. 
Butler, N. J. 
It may be well to place your hives in a 
sheltered place south of your house, but 
they will need more protection from the 
cold than that. This protection may eas¬ 
ily be given them by packing the hives 
upon all sides and the top Avith a layer of 
cut straw, leaves or chaff several inches 
in thickness. A small entrance opening 
should be maintained for the use of the 
bees during the cold weather, though this 
should be much less in size than the Sum¬ 
mer entrance. The hives may be packed 
at any time before cold Aveather, but 
should not be moved to their neAV location 
while the hees are still flying, else many 
may be lost by returning to their old 
stand after a flight and finding no home 
there, m. n. d. 
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A Bulletin, containing a list of 1,100 farms 
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1 
