Conservative *
ist can suggest , but the practical man is
required to put in operation his ideas.
The scientist may make suggestions in
regard to methods , but the man with
practical experience as a farmer can dis
count him in the results obtained from
the application of those methods. Ex
perience is required in the successful
management of a farm. Practical knowl
edge is a necessity. Theoretical knowl
edge alone will not suffice. Hence the
absurdity of the model farm idea which
contemplated the profitable manage
ment of a large farm with only theoret
ical knowledge as a basis of capital.
With the establishment of the govern
ment experiment station in 1887 , the
model farm idea was wisely abandoned.
The Experiment Station.
Congress passed , in 1887 , the Hatch
Act , which provided for the establish
ment of experiment stations in the vari
ous states for the purpose of "acquiring
and diffusing among the people of the
United States useful and practical in
formation on subjects connected with
agriculture , and to promote scientific
investigation and experiment respecting
the principles and application of agri
cultural science. " It was under the
provisions of this law that the experi
ment station was established at the col
lege farm. The station publishes , each
year , four regular bulletins and about
the same number of short press bulle
tins. Each edition of the regular bulle
tin number 10,000 copies , of which 8,000
are distributed upon application among
the farmers of the state. These bulle
tins deal with experiments in soil cul
ture , animal diseases and other subjects
of like character.
The Station and the Farmer.
While these bulletins may be valuable
from a scientific standpoint , they do not
result in any particular advantage to
the farmer for whom they are especially
designed. He is' not made to feel that
these experiments are of any commer
cial advantage to him , simply because
he has no way of knowing anything
about them. There are , approximately ,
about 200,000 farmers in Nebraska. For
these 200,000 farmers there are pub
lished 8,000 bulletins. It can be readily
seen the extreme difficulty the farmer
must have in being informed as to what
science is doing for him through the
medium of the experiment station. The
8,000 copies are only available , too , upon
application , and few indeed are aware
of the method to be employed in obtain
ing them. No matter how excellent
from a scientific standpoint and how
practical these experiments are ; no mat
ter how rich in scientific erudition the
writer moy be , of what avail are they to
the farmer if the knowledge of them
remains , either looked up in the intel
lectual vaults of the one making them
or stored away in a publication he has
but slight chance of seeing. The lack
of funds to insure publicity of experi
mental work practically negatives any
real material good coming from it BO
'ar ' as the farmer is concerned.
What It Costs.
The annual endowment from the gen
eral government , for the experiment
station is $15,000 , for the agricultural
college , $38,000 under the act of 1862 ,
and $15,000 under the act of 1890 for the
Irst year and increased at at the rate of
1,000 per year for ten years , after
which the annual appropriation shall be
25,000. The total amount expended in
; his state , up to 1895 , by the general
government along the line of agricul
tural instruction , was $845,000 , intended
more especially , according to the verbi
age of the law under which the money
was appropriated , to promote the educa
tion of the farmer. In return for this
expenditure ten farmers have been cre
ated. So far as the results intended ore
concerned , it means a cost per farmer
of $84,500. It would seem a rather costly
system of incubation. If the expense of
producing the article is to measure our
appreciation , the college bred farmer
deserves to be the most highly cherished
of Nebraska products.
This statement of cost does not in
clude the expense of conducting the ex
periment station , which for the same
period amounted to $195,000 , making
the total sum expended in Nebraska up
to 1895 for agricultural education and
research $1,040,000. When it is taken
into account that Nebraska is only one
of many states , all of whom enjoy this
educational bounty from the general
government , and most of them to a
much greater degree , the cost becomes
appalling. Have the results been at all
commensurate with the amount of
money expended ?
The Act of 1800.
Congress passed the second Merrill
Act in 1890 , intended as a more com
plete endowment of agricultural col
leges , to be applied only "to instruction
in agriculture , the mechanic arts , the
English language , the various branches
of mathematical , physical , natural and
economic sciences with special reference
to their application in the industries of
life. "
The New School.
In 1895 the board of regents of the
university , in conformity with the pro
visions of this law , established the
school of agriculture , not as college
work but simply as a school for tech
nical and practical instruction. It firs
offered a short coarse occupying eleven
weeks , during the winter months when
farm work is not so urgent. It was de
signed to meet , as stated in the cata
logue , "the demand for simple and prac
tical instruction in agriculture , to give
the student something that will be o :
value to him when he returns to the
farm. The practice is not in the work
of the farm , but in the operations re
quiring skill and knowledge and which
are not ordinarily acquired on the
arm. " The subjects treated are : Soils
and Crops , Diseases of farm animals ,
Breeding of live stock , Farm dairying ,
Plant pests , Farm accounts and like
subjects of immediate concern to the
'armer. The course in 1898 was supple
mented by a three years course in which
similar work is treated more exhaust
ively.
The CoHt
The cost of maintaining the school of
agriculture per year is :
For current expenses $ 200
Salary of director 1000
Instruction in botany 250
" in general science 800
" in mathematics 200
Total $1050
Professors Lyons , Burnett and Emer
son also render services to the school ,
but are not charged to it. The part of
their time , however , devoted to this
work is worth about $2,000 , making the
total annual cost of the school $3,900.
The StmlcntH.
The number of students who have
taken the short course has been :
In 1805-00 15 students.
In 1800-97 83 students.
In 1897-08 51 students.
Since the establishment of the three
years course the number of students has
been :
In 1898-99 85 students , short course.
In 1898-99 22 students , long course.
In 1890-1900 03 students , short course.
In 1899-1900 52 students , long course.
Total 115 both courses.
The number of students in 1895 was
15 , in 1899 , 115 , a gain of 666 % per cent
in five years. The students are from
the farms and thus far appear to be re
turning to the farms upon the comple
tion of their course.
The Future.
What this school will do for the agri
cultural interests of the state is difficult
at this time to determine. The physical
conditions of our state are quite differ
ent now from what they were a few
years ago. The land is becoming more
densely populated. The farmers are be
ginning to see the necessity of more
intense effort. Competition is becom
ing more severe. This combination of
new conditions necessitates , on the part
of the farmer , the lessening of his cost
of production. He is beginning to real
ize that ho can no longer farm as his
father did. The introduction of ma
chinery and the displacement of hand
labor is a factor that has already been
made use of to accomplish this end. At
first this innovation had to combat
strong prejudice. As in the case of the
manufacturer , who made use of the
chemist and the engineer to cheapen his
t