Agricultural Colleges
A MONO llii' marvels of progress at
the opening f Hie in w century la
what Hie iigrp ulitiral colleges are
doing for lh rnrim r ami mi -I'lianli
In genet a I hi cipo ngrl
tural ("hunt Imi helps lu tmiko ton acres
On what loo acres iihimI tn ild. It do-
clops l tut ikimhI lit It I lis of a better null, u
ilchcr plant, t: fuller harvest ami a fuller
pockotbook li leaches 1 1 tn fill Iiik nf
hull it animals ami iiinn piulltalilr innikotB.
It iridic ok 20-renl Imlii't- nut if the s.imo
inaliii IiiIm uh foimcr III-(Mil Imiti'i It hur-
lllnlll.CH till' pIlllllM llf til" pIllW llll'l III'1 (It'll
'In III' npi c I lie. Ill II 11 III I II I II I I'lllli at tun till)
Miutli Ih iiiiikIiI in riiii'ly tin' causes ami
i i'lili'illi'H uf li It 1 1 ti I diseases Vi'li'l lliniy
Sliolien ildl'H llllll'll III plevcllt till' spli'ild llf
contagious diseases Many of t lw nilm r
diseases that nllrrt doluoKlle animals nl'i'
brought iimli'i' i I'liminiilili' eonltul In the
dissecting mom tin' anatomy of iik-hi Ic
anlmalH Ik Htmlliil us carefully iih I tin t of
tlio tinman subject In medical cnllegis. The
yonlli Ik taught pKipii' catc, handling,
breeding, icaiing mul luuilictlng of these
ii ii I inn Ih. 'llii' va 1 in- ami prollt of ilnini'Htlc
anlmalH arc plomntril mllllnns of dollars
through vi'icrliiary siioiu e
Tim ugrlcullurnl college tralliM mi'li fur
government Services III IIM'lll IUHpl'I'lloll, In-
Hpi'i lliiii of vchhoIb. i'Iiih ami yards against
infectious iIIhi'iihi'h ami llii' niililly widen
ing work of tin' Unlli'il Stales lliiri'iiu of
Animal IliiHtmmlry.
lllllllll lllixlilllllll .
rim young fanner is taught the laws of
liclrdlly, selection ami v a l iu t lull an fiind.l
- i ' 1 1 1 1 1 1 in Htock bleeding ami tenting Tim
(tillege keeps on liaml only puu- bud nnl
II ill Ih . iih object lessons of tin' several
bleeds, for tlu Htmlulit of agriculture. Tin
farmer Ih taught tlio cniuparul Ivc merits of
tlio liiL'filH. 'I'lii' ni'W questions arising. 1 1 1
t hit t of tlu liai on hog, niiltliin ami wool
sheep, till1 dairy row ami the lii'Ht becf
prnducliig animal arc iindeitukcii x it 1 1 tlio
nolo viow of determining what l.s advisable
ami doslruhlo for tlio faimor Tho prao
Ural 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 y hIiIoh of rearing IIioho anlmalH
aro ful low nl with Krc.it painstaking ami
eminent rcsulls Young n ii I ii i ii I h of the
leading lirccilH arc cHtlinatcil fiuin l In: site
ami tho mother, In oohI nt fund, worth of
proiliiit ami handling, all the way (o (ho
lull! Iiit'k block ami the i-iihIi rctuniH The
relative mcrltH of the ilairy anlmalH, with
their ooHt ior ilay, their reward of prulll
ami porinanciit value to the owner aro dc
torniineil with roinarlialilo skill anil clcar
iiohh. Tho t ok I li k iminoy li.ittlo from a pour
animal of any Mini Ih pnrlrayeil. The icla
live merits of anlmalH for Hpccllle pur
poses, lllio Hlioep for in u 1 1 i n or wool, hwIiic
fur bacon ur laid, cattle fur market nr liecf
mill Iioihch fur drii ft tim. mailing or speed,
aro all Boiuntlllcnlb ilctcrmliieil and rcHiiltH
tahluatcd for tho coming fnriner
I 111 I II III I IIK
In tho colenco uf Insects nut ulil aid Iiiim
lici'ti given to the fatnuT liy agricultural
How
AO l biimni 1 1 i irvi'iiiii no ion (
Now York with a little group of
men brow tied to a copper color b
exposure to the tropical sun. A.
they reached the dock a tiumbei
of people uniting to meet lllein give cu.'b
a b.iirt) handshake and eMcmlcd cougratu
lutiiius lu the engineering wot Id thin
group will be Icug remeiubereil as the men
who put up the gteatest railroad bildge lu
thu world lu a country none of them had
over seen, amid trials and tumbles which
might be expected lu dlseuuinge nnnue but
n Yankee engineer.
Two ur three years ago the Hiirveyors of
a rallioad Hue lu llurtuah came to a hole
lu the ground which wiih so deep that It
seemed ns If a balloon would be thu only
way to crot-s It ThlH was tho (ioktotk
(orgi To go uiuiiuil It would require
twciit) or thltty miles mure of Hack, and
the question aioso whether it could be
spanned by a IiiIiIkc. The general olllclals
uf the cuiupnti) though! It could If the right
men could be found to mull Hake ilio work
Several American llrius were linlied to put
lu bids and one of them, (he Pennsylvania
Sin I company, .seeuieil the Job li was a
i ,iHo of hurry fioni start to HuIhIi. for the
work i ii t ih t be dune within a year fium the
time the contract wiih let. The steel for
the tnwei'N, girders and oilier work had lu
be I uriii'il nut at Hie wutks, shipped lu Now
York, loaded on board vessels, carried to
ItHliguuti, loaded un ears and then trans
ported ir.O miles to this hole In thu ground
Special iuachliicr had to bo built to put
the bridge togetlur and to raise the differ
ent pieces and hold them lu position In
all about 5,0011 tuns of metal alone were re
quired for the wink, the bridge Itself tak
lug 4. sr.': tons
I. unit uml llluli.
l-'roin i ue side uf tho valley to the other
was nenrb half a mile, r'or two-thirds of
ihiH distance the railroad track had to bo
laid at heights ranging from 100 to WO feet
ubovo the ground Then came a drop nf 320
f. cl to the top of a bridge nature hnd
thrown across one of lite mountain t Ivors
of southern Asia. Upon this natural bridge.
Jim wide enough to form a safe support,
heavy sleet tuwem wore riveted together to
such a height that the men working upon
them at the (up looked like Insects to the
observer from below
As snnn as the cablegram came frmn
U'l. I L! I I 1 I I 1 I .. .. .. ( .....I .1
education. T'iu determining uml prevention
of any pesi upon any farm product is oftoti
of thu tmiHt far reaching moment. Tlio in
nod pent ni.i bu, lu certain localities, du
strut tivo to sonic entlro llulil ptndtlct ami
materially alfei t tin; markets of the na
tloil. Tho lavages of the eliliirliliinr .in.
well known. An insect like tin pututuhug
may affect the entire raising and maiket
I'lllltB aro especially subject to the pley
of iitimeriius IiihcUh. Animals are also do
predated liy llic. tli Kb ami pests of kindred
nature. Thiuugh scletitllic rosearch In
Ht'i'tleldes have been provided uml thu
ktmwli'ilgu uf their appliance put within
Hiu eniiy ouch of the farmer. Tho Insect
world Is caiefully studied and i Inssllled m
secure acquaint, un e with their types and
habits. Their life history Is studied in
connect Ion with the grass, ticcs and ali
mills upun which they oMst, ho Unit, when
any species become iiumeruiiH and doHtru
the the practical ami ocuiiuinlcal iiuosttuiis
hearing on their subjocllon and do
Hlructlon can be ilctcrinlncd readily for
the farmer. The S.ili Jose scale, whnh
princd mi destructive to fruits lu certain
localities, Is a kooiI Illustration of how tin
agricultural cuIIcko can study Its nature
and omlurancc lu dlllcront latitudes, Its
liability to spread, Its destructive cliarac
Iciislics and Its preventives Ily strln
Kent laws of the various suites under the
direction of expert entumoloKlsts this scale
him been kept from HpreadliiK. Uocently
ropurt was scut in to tin, ()wa station that
San .Jose si ale had onurcil on rose bushca
at a prouilueiil city in a certain slnto
In which is located a laiKc nursery Tho
pioprlelors uf tills nursery had thirty live
enrH of slock pieparcd for the spritiK mar
kot In all pans of tho union. This report
throatemd tho entire output. KutomoliiKlsts,
liy InvestlKatliin, found Unit It was nut San
Jnso scale at all and wore able to Klvo a
eertlllcalo to the owners to that uu"eot,
thereby biiMiik them many dollars. This is
a sample of tho many different methods of
iufurmatluii ami help to the fanners.
Horticulture,
Many varletliH nf fruits that would tun
acclimatize lu certain latitudes have In i n
tested and thrown aside. A number of a-
rlolliH i upploH, cherries and plutiiH have
' icHiid ami Introduced, provliiK of un-
tnld wealth and IiIossIiik in the farmers lu
I he hybridization of fruits. New varieties
have neon produced that have materially
I"'" ted the welfare uf the farmer.
Shrubs ami urmimental plants have been
lin.UKht from afar and placed within easy
rciuh of his family Central bureaus of
Inforinallon, wide lu scope, practical lu ap
plication ami most valuable In character
have boon established ihroiiKh uKrlciilturnl
coIIoi;oh.
Hutu ii) ,
lu botany the f.unicr Is Kreatly benolltod
by the InvesllK.iiiuii of iIIhohsch uf cereals,
trees and hIiiuIih and horticulture and plant
llfo. Tho rust mul smut nf com, rust of
the Yankees Built a Bridge in Burmah
Hie Hurmiih Hallway rompan accepting
Miienciiu inn, a special force of wnik-
inen was selected to turn out the material
iih rapidly iih poHHlbb and the bridge .Ic
pnrtmeiil winked du and night As fast
as the columns and glnb is came fioiu
tho shops they woie piled u u,. iulllo.nl
Jiirils and painted to prevent rusting.
Ordliiaiily when a bridge Is transported In
sections each part Is Icttcicd and num
bered to Indicate Its parlH and position
in the structure. Hut It was borne In upun
Hie company that It would have to depend
for Its labor upon tho Kast Indian coolies,
who knew nothing or American letters
and numbers nor, probably, of any other
kind. Hut even a coolie can tell colors,
so the trusses, girders and lulumns were
painted In one color and tho pieces used
lu Join them were striped, while the metal
work for the bridge eonstriietlou ma
chinery was painted dead black. .Sub
sequent 1 some trouble ilev eloped because
two uf the native llrotneii were color-blind,
bill in general the scheme worked well
To move the mass of machinery required
throe different stontnshlps.
Ilctluhts nr I he Clllnille.
When the eonstriietlou gang i cached the
spot the llrst thing they hud tn encounter
wiih the rainy housoh. The locality s In
the mountains l.non feet above sea level,
where It Is so cold at night that a man
shivers under heavy blankets and so hoi
at inhl-d.iy that no man with a while skin
can live in the sun glare. During the ralnv
season the clouds seem tn literally open h
this part of the country and the vvat. ,
comes down in tnrteuts from sutiilse nnni
afternoon, drenching and soaking everv
thing. u that It Is Impossible to d ,i'
thing but remain Indoors ami wait , t
tho rain stops.
The work, particularly In Its initial
stages, was performed amidst various
perils lu the depths uf the gorge, matted
wltlt underbrush nnd scattered with huge
rucks, lurked the deadly snakes of India
Some of the coolies were bitten and died
Poisonous vegetation also affected the men
and vapors arising from the depths of the
ravine bred low fever In American hones
There were beasts of prey, too but, nl
though they were seen and heard prowling
about the camp nt night, the bridge builders
sitllered nothing from their depredations ex
cept tho loss uf some live stock The In
cessont rains turned the ground Into liquid
mud and the masons laying tho stone
and the Farmer
pp' "pi
Il 11 1
WIM.I M MM I.IIII lli:ltl)Slli:ll
oals. win. ii an I l..irhj arc in t si ial ed to
the prollt of tin- farmer Diseases win, h
prey upon uras.-. ., aic studied and oricti
currccted. lilsiiiMcs nf fruits, like the
cherry, currant and others, are studied to
the discovery of a successful mixture to
prevent the Increase uf the disease. The
fin. "i.s diseases uf the siiKar beet have been
studied and Infi ruuitlun kIvcii for the pro
ven! Ion. The rot of the turnip uml the
rutithnKU, which has proved destructive in
sumo parts uf the country are treated llrsi
In tho eollcKP and sukkosiIuus made fur
correction disease arTootltiK alfalfa has
been n mutter of research, and In roKard to
It valuable lnform.it Ion Is Riven In the pub
lic. Tho whole question of fnraKe plants
Is greatly promoted by tho botanical de-
inundations tm the towers were held back
(on weeks At lust those were completed
and then tho "traveler" was put In position.
This was a tuechanlc.il giant, tho largest
by far over used lu bridge construction. It
lifted and lowered the tons of steel and
held them In Its grip while the men fastened
them into place. Although In tho photo
graphs of the work the traveler looks to bo
only twenty or thirty feet lu length and to
weigh perhaps four or live tons. It extended
from its support on the end of the railroad
trai k a ilist.im f li'". feet over the gorge
and contained ninety tons of metal alone.
Tho beams or trusses which formed its
lower portion were 21!) feet in length and
from Its top to the railroad lr.nk was forty
feet. To keep this Immense weight from
toppling over a counter-weight of seventy
live tons was loaded upon the rear portion,
which was mounted on wheeled trucks, so
that ii could he rolled along as tho bridge
was crci ted
Tie litile band of thlrtv live American-
iMiillPST PUlT P Till
f. I , n . " vfT?:
Written for 1 lie Hoc by XV. M. Ilcardshear.
President Iowa State College Mini Presi
dent National l.tliicational Association.
p.ir'it.iin In the Kuvornment at Washlng
nn an entire section Is devoted to work of
liu kind. Bulletin No. y In UKritoloK.
'in Ii r the I tilted States Department of Ak
iii ii 1 1 u re on Krasses ami foreign plan Is uf
Iwa. Nebraska and Colorado, was pro
ii.iii 1 by the botanical department of tho
Iowa State collect'.
few years nKO a so-cnllcil foriiKe plant
named sacnllnu was heralded over the
ountry us a Krcat discovery, a freidi b..un
in the fanner. Its frnudtllency was de
ii riiiincd by scicntlllc luveidlKutlons of tho
liKrliulniral coIIckoh. Cuin, the ureal
H'apli farm ptoiluct of tho cum belt. Is In
vis'lK.itid from the botanical standpoint as
i 'he mil, lit vitality, Us resistance to
drouth ami Its economic feature-i. The
sulijci I of weeds received much advanta
geous ait. in Ion, with a view not only of de
'crinmlUK i lie various el'le ts upon ckiih.
but the more economical methods of pre
vention and destruction.
i'l'' Onli-v I'nrnier.
In recent jears tho iiKrlcultur.il coIIcko
Ii done remarkable thltiKs for tho dairy
fn run i" It has helped him to see the
- ' dilfi retiee between quality and quan
'. of mill. It shows him that in the
kiintned milk of the faun that he dally
'brows away niio-slxth to oiie-fourth of the
I'liur fat in his milk ami teaches him
bow lu save the one-sixth ami one-fourth.
I' ii a' lies him the Individuality of the
ini'v cow how to determine tho worth of
'la' ow liifole he buys her or disposes of
11 worthie s animal that eats oil' its bead
u ml shrink his pocket. It is bringing
I n in te,ili.e the marked Ineiease of prollt
'I 'In an fill sanitary and elialily c m
li'lon throiiKli which he takes his milk
I induct to the creamery. It is IcadlliK
him to discover now prut esses In tho
ripeniiiK uf ctcain, in the sicui'Iiik of
rli her flavor for ills butter, a larKcr and
better ptodiicl. It enable! him to pro
luce IS and J.".-eetit butter, whole b.'fi.rc
he had an article much of which broiiKht
12 and K cents a pound. The c( llt'Ke has
lirnilKh' the i-clence of b.ietel luloKy to dls-
. lose its si cnts fur the enlluhtcnineut and
nrlihmeni uf the entire dairy Intercuts.
Moro than this. It has sent out youiiK men
'quipped to make butter and chei se in the
creameries uf tho states that command
tho tups of tho markets, mil only at home,
but In the markets of London, win rein
the products of the whole world ((titer,
(if such valuo have these woikmen proved
that they have been nwarded many uf the
llrst prizes nnd gold tncdnls In competltiK
with tho workmen of tho countrv
tinniest Ic Science.
In domestic science the colloue Is doliiK
much for a higher home life. The sani
tary eon. UHons of the full life in the home
arc pionioied h teacher and pupil. Many
have been mintc more intellectual and
practical In hnine-inaklng and hoino-keep-lug.
Many student" arc i.iuuht In regard
to location, enn-trucion. Iltil-hing. furnish
ing, lighting lonting and ileuimg nf the
put the maiuinoih bridge timet her from side
to sid ' of the gorge In a Utile over eight
months afior the work was commenced.
The bridge is so strongly built that It will
support a tin in of load"d freight ears reach
ing Its entire length, in ii ' 1 1 1 1 1 lou to four
locomotlvis weighing llfty-four Ions each.
Owing to its great height It must be
strongly braced to withstand the force nf
tho pales which sweep dow n the valley nt a
velocity of sixty or seventy miles un hour.
Tho etglucers had to calculate upon these
ami other delicate points, hut lists made
after completion show that they cnloiilut-d
to a Illiety. It was expected lu blllldliK
the bridge to have the aid nf i (impressed
air In boring holes through the steel and
fastening the rivets, but when the r.oO na
tives who were employed us liborers heard
tho hltsing and noted the etfect of the un
seen force they believed It to be something
supernatural and not one of them cnuld be
Induced to touch the compressed air tools
s n result all of the bolts ami rivets.
111 ItM Ml Ilt.li.tip
house, the buying and serving of the food,
the .electing, designing, making and cleans
ing if the clothing, remembering that
U. in. i live without books,
Hut civilized III. in cannoi Uv wlthou'
cooks.
In the report of the secretary of agricul
ture, our own Mr. Wilson and the nation b
most ellicletit secretary of agriculture, then
Is a tectluu devoted to the work uf domestl'
science in ngricitultural colleges In which
he says. "In the great work of helping th
women of the land, nearly half of whom are
tolling in thu homes upon tho farms, this
department, It Is bulloved, ha a largo duty
to pet form, l'or whatever will be clfectlV"
In raising the grade of the homo life on tin
farm, lu securing the bettor nourishment
nf tho farmer's family and lu surrounding
them with the rcllneiueut nnd attractions of
a well-onb rod home, will powerfully con
tribute alike to the material ptosporlty or
the country and tho general welfare of the
farmers."
Mlssl ir III)' i:ierlllienl .Million.
Th" government at Washington has most
extensive olllces, departlut tits ami sections
embracing as a whole the questions having
to do with sclent lllc agriculture lu ui
i ountry. (luestions that are too costly fur
the Individual states are llrst taken up by
the tiailoiial government. The crops ami
local needs uf tho respective states var
greatly, lu tho south cotton would be i
prouil.ii'iit question, while lu the north corn
would hold chief place. It is the mission
of the Iowa experiment station to bo the
dlslributlng point to the farmers of Iowa
of the mi st recent and valuable Information
along the various 1 nes of sclent Hie agricul
ture. More than ihK Hie government ex
lands $l.i,uoo n year tor the adoption of
the most recent illsioverlex and problems
to our Iowa soil and climate. We make
original Investigations of soils, crops, ani
mals end diseases having speclllcally to do
with the Iowa farm and farmer. These re
sults are distributed free uf cost to all who
apply fur them. To describe the benefUs
of the experiment station Itself would re
quire a volume.
I have not time to mention the other
great departments lu the state colleges of
the laud. We aro equally as proud of tue
i Iiatllcs, of englneeilllg. of siicm cs and
military tact lis, and of the higher education
of women. We are fur the man with
his coat off, with his head and hand skilled
fur more useful labor and the peer uf the
man trained in the professions. We nre for
the woman dispensing sweetness nnd light,
with her head ami hand skilled in her own
defense. Congress designed by tho laud
grant of to make agriculture and the
mechanic arts the leading and chief types
of tho Industrial classes and give the
children of these masses an education that
would bu equal In degree to the training
of tho professions and would enable them to
successfully compete and i njuy. In the
t-trtlggle of life W l. lli:.ltl)Slli:AH.
nearly 2uu,uuu, wcru fastened in tho old
fashlnnod way by hand hummers. This de
layed the work about one month.
The (Joktelk Viaduct, as It is known in
Asia, Is located upon the principal rail
way between Rangoon and the Chinese
fiontbr. li s the highest bridge lu the
world with two exceptions -the Pecos
viaduct in Texas and the I. on bridge in
South Americi It Is 100 feet longer than
any other railroad bridge In the woild
and contains l.r.oo tons of metal moro than
any other, the next largest being tho now
bridge across the Kltuua valley in Pennsyl
vania. 'lTic Klnua Is but 2.0ja feet in
length and is nineteen foot lower than the
(Jnktolk. The natural bridge upon which
the llokteik structure rests Is one of the
wor.ileis of Asia, being an arch 200 feet
lu thickness and about r.00 feet long
Agis ago the river which Hows beneath
worked lis way through the barrier Pho
tographs taken from the bed of the
Htrcntn when the traveler wiih cotuplei lug
the last towers showed the columns and
girders in the bridge structure like deli
cate lace work, so small did they appear,
while the top portion of the traveler was
actually Invisible.
The work was done under the supervision
ot J. Turk of New York, a engineer
for the Pi'iiin-ylvaulti Sleel c piny, under
i he general direction of Mr .1 V W
ItcMiders, general superintendent of the
bridge department, who prepared the
iiawings fur the sttucture. The bridge
"-I $71.0.000, nr $310 a fun, Of the little
Intel of Atneilenns who went half way
ouiid the world to do this work, every
ii hi enmo back alive nnd hearty, but with
''ii- memory of one of the most trying
-ks ever completed .y Yankee pluck and
wenulty.
The New Reporter Again
Haltimore American "That's a very
i our story very poor. Indeed," growled the
i'i editor to the new reporter, who had
"st turned In his account of the lire.
What's the matter with If" asked the
' r who was an Inquisitive youth.
Matter'1 Why, man. nt no point In the
' nirailvp do you refer to the bravo fire lad-
'lli s "
The new reporter returned to his d sk
in sadness, feeling that the Iniriean.H
nf Journalism were mnnv indeed