Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 August 1902 — STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE

History of the Organization From 1851 to 1902. i ACT UNDER WHICH IT WAS ORGANIZED, GIVING NAMES OF FIRST MEMBERS. Figures Showing the Splendid Progress of Agriculture in Indiana by Decades Since 1850. THE STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AS AN EDUCATING INFLUENCE IN ADVANCING AGRICULTURE TO THE DIGNITY OF fLEARNED PROFESSION. State Fairs and Their Influence in Carrying Forward the Great Interests of Agriculture. *

(By J. B. Maynard.)

Since Lucius Quintus Cinclnnatus, the grand old Roman consul, dictator and warrior abandoned office, honors and emoluments to cultivate his farm with his own hands, there has been conferred upon agriculture a certain kind and degree of dignity that attaches to no other calling, employment or profession, whatever. Indeed, Cincinnatus conferred upon the plow more honor than Cyrus, Alexander, Caesar or Napoleon, or any other great captain ever bestowed upon the sword. Since the time when it was said “the farmer feedeth all” the plow, like the bow upon the brow of the cloud, has symbolized “seed time and harvest” and the farm has been a land of promise, and the harvest home song has voiced a sweeter and a more Inspiring melody than when the “sons of God and the morning stars” sang together their adoring hymn of nature. Indulging in a little sentiment it may be said that agriculture has in it many of the elements of poetry. It boasts of the “Old Oaken Bucket” as Woodworth immortalized it when he sang: "How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood. When fond recollection presents them to view! The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tan-gled wild wood, And every loved spot which my infancy knew; The wide-spreading pond, and the mill which stood by it, The bridge and the rock where the cataract fell; Uue cot of my father, the dairy house nigh it. And e'en the rude bucket which hung in the well." The farm Is the home of flocks and herds, birds and bees, fruits and flowers. It Is the land "Where peaceful rivers soft and slow, Amid the verdent landscape flow.” And Shakspeare. who knew, for England never had a more devoted lover of rural beauty and rural haunts, says: “And this our life, exempt from public haunt, Finds tongues in trees, books In running brooks. Sermons in stones and good in everything.” And this finds a living witness in the inspirations of Riley’s the justly famed "Hoosier poet,” who, remembering the clover fields, says: "Some sing of the lily and daisy and rose. And the pansies and pinks that the summertime throws In the green grassy lap of the medder that lays Blinkin’ up at the skies through sunshiny days; But what is the lily, and all of the rest Of the flowers, to a man with a heart In his breast That was dipped brlmmin’ full of the honey and dew Of the sweet clover blossoms his babyhood knew?” The fields of clover In full bloom are pictures of beauty that only nature can paint delectation of farmers, their wives and their children, all the more beautiful and lovable when touched by poetical genius. And there are thousands of the farm boys of Indiana who will think more of the "Old Swimmln’ Hole” as they listen to Riley’s description of the place where the boys played pickerel to perfection: “Oh! the old swlmmln-hole! In the long lazy days When the hum-drum of school made so many run-a-ways, How pleasant was the journey down the old dusty lane. Where the tracks 'of our bare feet was all printed so plain You could tell by the dent of the heel and . the sole They was lots o' fun on hands at the old swlmmln-hole.” But perhaps Riley’s best rural poem, the one that has made the barnyard and tha autumn cornfield things of beautv and joys forever, and has won for its author national renown, bears the title, "When the Frost Is On the Pumpkin." It is a farm picture painted to life: "When the frost is on the pumpkin and the fodder *a in shock. And you hear the kyonck and gobble of the atruttin’ turkey cock. And the clackin’ of tho gulneys, and the cluckin’ of the hens, And the rooster’s hallylooyer M-be Untoe* W JJw tonco; .

O it’s then's the times a ifeller is a-feelln* at his best. With the risin’ sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest. As he leaves the house bareheaded, and goes out to feed the jstock, When the frost is on the pumpkin and the fodder's in the Riley responds to the Shakspearean Idea that there is “goad in everything.” and that poetry has an abiding home amidst the scenic beauties and attractions of tho farms, its verdent and flowery fields, Hit rocks and rills. Its brooks and its vine-embowered hom<jnf It .lonr -sUtfc btfbme proverbial philosophy that the farm, the country, agricultural pursuits are more favorable for virtue, chastity, integrity and all the enobling virtues which we attribute' to our Christian civilization; than our cities, the Congested centers oi[ ouf population, can boast with all the advantages which schools and churches anti art confers, to say nothing of the restraining power of courts, the police, work houses, flower missions, salvati- n armies, “Door of Hope,” “Friendly Inn.?’ charity organizations and “resuce retrktes. In the coutry a moral atmosphere prevails at all seasons of the yenr which resists more es- • fectually “the pestilence that walketh In darkness” and ' the destruction that pasteth at noonday” thar cities can claim, and if we could summon its witnesses distinguished men of affairs! tn all the walks of life, such would be the overwhelming testimony. To maintain and perpetuate this enviable distinction agrictulture is admittedly a potent factor. The State Board of Agriculture. The act of the! legislature creating the state board of agriculture was passed Feb. 14. 1851, and provided, among other things, as follows: “Sec. 2. That It shall be the duty of tho several county or district societies which may be formed under the provisions of the preceding section during the continuance of this act, annually to offer and award premiums for tha Improvement of soils, tillage, crop manures, improvements stock, articles of domestic industry, and such 'other articles, productions and improvements as they may deem proper, and may perform all other acts as they may deem best calculated to promote agricultural and household manufacturing interest of the district and of the state; and it shall also be their duty so to regulate the amount of premiums and the different grades of the same, as that it shall be competent for small as well as large farmers to have an opportunity to compete therefor, and in making their awards, special reference shall be had to the profits which may accrue or ba likely to accrue from the improved mode of raising the crop or of improving the soil, or stock, or of the fabrication of th* articles thus offered, with the intention that the premium shall be given to the most economical mode of Improvement; and all persons offering to compete for premiums on improved modes of tillage or the production of any crop, or other articles, shall be required, before such premium is adjudged, to deliver to the awarding committee a full and correct statement of the process of such mode of tillage or production and the expense and value of the same, with a view to showing accurately .:e profit derived or expected to be derived therefrom. Personnel of the Board. Section 4 of the act names the members of the first state board of agriculture, as follows: That Joseph A. Wright of Marion county, Alexander C. Stevens of Putnam county, Jeremiah Mcßride of Martin county, ' Roland Willard of Kosciusko county, Jacob R. Harris of Switzerland county ( Henry S. Ellsworth of Tfppecanot county, John Ratliff of Morgan county, Joseph Orr of Laporte county, David P. Holloway of Wayne county, John B. Kelly of Warrick county, William McLane of Lawrence county, Samuel Emerson of Knox county, John McMahan of Washington county* Thomas W. Bweney of Allen county, George Brown of Shelby county, George Hussey of Vigo county, be, and they are hereby created a body corporate, with perpetual succession. In the matter hereafter described; under the name and style of the Indiana State Board of Agriculture, On May 27, 1851, the first meeting of the board was held, with eleven members present, vis.; Joseph A, Wright. Jeremiah Mcßride, Roland Willard, Jacob R. Harris, John Ratliff, David P. Holloway, John B. Kelly, Samuel Emerson, Thomas ,W. #w«w. Gsor« K,

Russey. The board was organized for business by electing— Joseph A. Wright, president; . John B. Dillon, secretary; Royal Mayhew, treasurer; George Hussey, first vice-president; Samuel Emerion, second vice-president. Such was the beginning of the state board of agriculture fifty-one years ago. By referring to sec. 2 of the act creating the board It will be noticed that the legislature had in view the upbuilding of Indiana’s great industry and chief source of wealth, and manifestly, in naming the men who were to be the representatives of the great Interests Involved and give character and dignity to the enterprise, no mistake was made. They set the pace of progress. They were true to duty and to mission. They have all passed over the "great divide.” They sleep with their fathers. As a distinguished official of the board remarked, "They are all angels now." They sleep, with perhaps one exception. In unknown or obscure graves; but why may it not be said of the "turf that wraps their clay:” "When spring, with dewey fingers cold, Returns to deck their hallow’d mold, She then shall dress a sweeter sod Than fancy’s feet have ever trod.” The Board of Agriculture as an Educator. Manifestly the state board of agriculture was organised to exert an educational Influence in all matters pertaining to agricultural affairs In Indiana. This idea is deducible from the literature of the board from the first. Governor Wright, the first president of the board, in his message to the legislature In 1852, said: "Through the operations of a thorough system of organizations over the state the board will be able to collect not only general but particular and reliable information concerning the different soils of the state, the kind of agricultural labor that pays best, what articles are best adapted to such a soil and climate, the stock most in demand in the market, the various productions of each county in the state, different modes of farming by the best practical farmers, experiments on different soils with various crops, redeeming wet land, the mode and system adopted, stock raising, ditching, barns, stables, smoke houses, wells, spring houses, modes of supplying stock water,” etc. Nor was this all in the line of education. In addition the governor said: "The great advantages that result from ♦ho assembling of farmers, mechanics and

nanufacturers In association in which (he productions of their skill and labors *re exhibited, consists in the free interchange of views and opinions; you tnereby stimulate Industry, bring together the moat distinguished mechanics of the state, with not only the work of their brain and hands, but they come together to inquire into the wants of the country, that they may return to their workshops to perfect their Inventions that have been suggested by these means. The manufacturer exhibits the results of his inventions and labors, the farmer the mode, process and Improvements of the farm The trials, tests and experiments that are thus exhibited will create a spirit of rivalry well calculated to develop -ue resources of the state and country.” There is no mistaking the tenor of such expressions. They establish the fact beyond controversy that the supreme mission of the state board of agriculture was and is educational. And this Idea receives support from the fact that Governor Wright, the first president of the board, was a university graduate, a statesman of broad views, a member of congress and of the United States senate, and twice a minister of the United States to Prussia, and withal, par excellence, an Indianlan, proud of his state and devoted to Its welfare, an historical fact in which the board may feel a genuine pride. Subsequent History. When the state board of agriculture was Organized Indiana had 93.000 farms, and in 1900 there were 221,897 farms, an increase In fifty years of 136 per cent., but the per cent, of increase in the number of farms affords no rational basis upon which to measure the increased percentage of staple products, as will appear in the tabulated exhibits which are herewith presented. In view of the vast totals the conclusion Is Inevitable that influences of tremendous force have been in operation to give Indiana supreme distinction as an agricultural state. We do not underestimate the power of the press It has doubtless done its part, particularly the agricultural press. Wo do not underestimate the ever wagging tongues of the trees as they tell of the glories of the timberland and its value. We do not underestimate the influence of the song books, of the brooks as they blend their melodies with the songs of the birds and win a verdict for rural retreats by their reposeful lullabies. Wa do not underestimate the orthodox divinity of the sermons preached by the stones, whether reposing tn the Bedford quarries or piled up in archlctectural beauty in the Indiana capital, but after all that can be said of these and other agencies the great work of educating farmers has devolveu upon the state board of agriculture and the work accomplished. though it has been eminently satisfactory, would have been still more gratifying if the state had provided for twice or three times a larger number of the annual reports of the board, since these documents contain the best thought of capable men of the state on matters pertaining to the interests of agriculture in all of Its departments. We do not overlook the fact that Purdue university has responded to every demand which scientific agriculture has imposed upon ft. A thorough knowledge of •oils and adaptable crops, of fertiliser and their proper application to different soils, and the demonstration of facts by experiments. are all In the line of agricultural progress in which Purdue has done and is doing a work worthy of the highest commendation. Nevertheless, the educational work the state board of grlculture is required to perform Is scarcely than herculean, and if We except

Purdue university it has no education assistance whatever. Governor Mount tn his message to the legislature in 1899 devoted considerable space to the advocacy of introducing text books on agricultural subjects into the common schools of the state. In his message he refers to what is being done tn certain European states as also to what is being done in the great state of New York, and, closing his remarks upon the subject, said: "I have quoted at length to show the trend of public sentiment in other countries. The abandoned farms In the older states sound a note of warning. The hundreds of thousands of acres of worn-out and abandoned land in the South earnestly appeal to intelligent thought. In our own state much land fails to produce paying crops and is being neglected. Many well-meaning and Industrious farmers who have to do directly with nature’s great laboratory are ignorant of its forces and reckless waste of soil fertility is the result. Insect peats and fungus growth threaten serious inroads into the profits of agriculture and horticulture. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. The time is opportune. Let Indiana take advanced steps in the introduction of this important science into her public school curriculum.” In 1850-54 there were 3,652 common schools in Indiana, and in 1900 the number had Increased to 10.038, or about 175 per cent., but in all these years, notwhb standing more than half of the number of these schools are located in the farming districts of the state, there was never k lesson taught the children of farmers remotely relating to agriculture or to horticulture. The farmers of Indiana have paid more than half of the many millions required to support these schools, but in return for these vast expenditures the schools have treated agriculture with uniform neglect. Governor Mount quotes from a report of distinguished citizens of New York, In which It was said: "One of the great underlying causes for the discontent that exists among the farmers is the fact that, as a class, they have no special training or education for their business. The methods that gave success in the past fall to do so at present. The soli has been depleted over a wide range of country'. The active, energetic young men needed on the farm to develop better possibilities are leaving it, because they have but little education or training fitting them for the business." And the committee suggests that to remedy the evils complained of is to begin "at the foundation and In the public

schools.” To repeat, as matters now stand in Indiana, the work of educating the children of farmers devolves upon the state board of agriculture and the fifty-six county agricultural societies of the state. Definitions. It may be well In this connection to define with critical exactness the classes engaged In the great work of agriculture, who are known as "farmer.” "husbandmen” and "agriculturist”—lexicographers say that the term "farmer" is derived from the Saxon feorm-food, and signifies one who "manages a farm or cultivates the ground for a subsistence” and that the term "husbandman” relates to one who “ follows husbandry.” that Is, the tillage of land by manual labor; the farmer, therefore, conducts the concern and the husbandman labors under his direction.” "Agriculture,' 'it Is said. Is derived from the “Latin ager, a field, and culo, to till,” and signifies any one engaged in the art of cultivation. The farmer is always a practitioner: the agriculturist may be a mere theorist; the farmer follows husbandry solely as a means of living; the agriculturist follows It as a science; the former tills the land upon given admitted principles; the latter frames new principles, or alters those that are established. Between the farmer and the agriculturist there Is the same difference as between practice and theory, the former may be assisted by the latter, so long as they go hand in hand, but In case of collision the farmer will be of more service to himself and his country than the agrlcultrulst. Farming brings Immediate profit from personal service; agriculture may only promise future, *and consequently contingent advantages.” Such definitions may seem hypercritical, but manifestly they are sound and state conditions. In Indiana the three classes, or their distinct characteristics, may all be found In one, that Is to say, the farmer may be husbandman and agriculturist, and the husbandman, who, In common parlance, is the "farm laborer," under the direction of the farmer, may become. If properly educated, a farmer and an agriculturist In the best sense of the terms, and Indiana has produced thousands of them. Methods of Teaching. Tfcat the state board of agriculture has been from the first a great educational force In Indiana does not require an affidavit. It was the original design that it should be thus distinguished, and the annual reports of the board demonstrate conclusively that It has not been unmindful of Its duty and mission. And It Is well to Inquire who have been the students of this agricultural university. We use the term "university” advisedly. It does no violence to language, but, on the contrary, the title is strictly in consonance with the proprieties of speech. A university, according to Webster, Is “an Institution organised and Incorporated for the purpose of Imparting Instruction and empowered to confer degrees;’’ and if "premiums” are substituted for "degrees" the state board university takes on all the dignity that attaches to Harvard or Xale or any other university in the country. The students of this great university come from more than two hundred thousand farms and are more than five hundred thousand in number. True, this great educational institution may have no Greek fraternities of the Alpha Tau Chi description, nor a hair-raising yell. The students may not be learned In the dead languages nor familiar with the dead past. They may know little of Greek mythology and careless about Homer’s description of the military methods of the gods In capturing Troy. They

might not be able to translate a Latin poem, were the performance to save the world from a second deluge. The state board university confers no degrees upon Its hundreds of thousands of students nor sends them forth Into the world or battle decorated with such titles as A. 8., A. M., Ph. B. and Ph. D.; Instead the university bestows premiums, every one of which is promotlve of the agricultural welfare and glory of the state. The Hon James Wilson, secretary of agriculture, is quoted as saying in a speech delivered at Savannah, Ga.: "The young farmer of the South should study soil rather than dead languages. He should learn of the plant in preference to ancient history and the feeding of animals before giving time to better letters. The study of the movement of moisture in the soil will pay better than the study of oratory. Barnyard poultry offers greater rewards for its intelligent care than county offices. ’’ This is as true of Indiana as of Georgia and thousands of Indiana’s farm boys are catching on to the idea and our agricultural university is rewarding their achievements with substantial premiums amounting to thousands of dollars annually. We do not know, but in glancing through the “Golden Jubilee" premium list we fail to discover a premium for the best Improved and conducted farm tn the state. If a royal premium of, say SSOO, for such a farm was offered it would be in the line of progress, Just what the rank and file of Indiana farmers require to inspire them with high endeavor, not only to make farms beautiful, but profitable. It may be difficult to determine, except on paper, what constitutes a farm of the various degrees of comparison, "good, better, best," but the state board of agriculture could readily determine the point. The farmer who exhibits the best stallion gets a premium of $25, for the best bull $25, for the best cow and heifer $25, for the best ram sl2, for the best boar sl2 and for the best of cocks, hens, turkeys and geese $3. This is all right and proper. It Inspires emulation, a desire to excel and in offering such premiums the state board of agriculture Is conducting an educational enterprise of far reaching Importance. Nevertheless premiums ranging from S2OO to SSOO for the best Improved farms, would, we do not doubt, be productive of results eminently favorable to the progress of agriculture in Indiana. The press would give special attention to such farms. They would be like the pictures painted by the best masters and would be be as attractive as the Indiana soldiers’ monument or any other grand achievement in architecture and thousands would visit such farms and interview their proprietors as to methods, soils, fertilizers, stock, barns and implements. and the result could scarcely fail of exerting a salutary influence upon agriculture, and the general welfare of the state premium farms of Indiana would have national renown.

M. S. CLAYPOOL, PRESIDENT STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.