Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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RALPH W. EDWARDS Hamilton Athletic Association Agricultural Association OLIVER A. FINDLEY Hamilton Athletic Association Agricultural Association

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HE term Agronomy comes from two Greek words meaning the cultivation or use of the fields. The full meaning of the work in agronomy as related to agricultural instruction embraces three divisions: A study of the soil with special emphasis upon its hand- ling to produce crops; a study of field crops in their relationship to men, and a study of the implements employed in the gi ' owth and utilization of the field crops produced. Perhaps no other state in the Union offers the natural facilities for agronomic research and instruction afforded by Kansas. Geogi-aphically, the state is centrally located, and is surrounded by a rich agi-icultural territory. On the boundry of arid and humid districts, it has the advantage of affording investigation and study in methods of farming adapted to humid and arid conditions. With a normal rainfall of more than forty inches in the Southeastern part of the state, we are able to gi-ow nearly all crops adapted to humid climates. With a rainfall of less than twenty inches in the Western part of the state, opportunity is afforded to study irrigation methods where water is at hand, and dry farming methods where water for irri- gation is not available. Extending two hundred miles North and South, the state covers a latitude de- manding different crops and different varieties of the same crop. To determine the crops, varieties and methods of farming adapted to these sections, a number of branch experiment stations and demonstration farms have been established. At these stations, information is collected upon crop adaptation and methods of culture adapted to the climatic conditions of every section of the state. This in- formation is furnished the farmers of the state and the agricultural students by the Agi ' onomy Department. The Agronomy Department operates a 280-acre farm to furnish experimental data and for instruction. The experimental work is carried out along the three lines. A study is being conducted to determine the effect of continuous cropping compared with crop rotation upon soil fertility. Methods of maintaining fertility of the soil under different rotations are being studied. New strains and new varieties of crops are being produced, and tested out against the old standard varieties in the hope of producing higher yielding varieties of better quality. Selections are being made to increase the yield and quality by propagating only the strongest individuals. Three well-equipped laboratories are maintained for instruction in agronomy. In the soil laboratory the students may investigate the physical properties of the soil and study methods of maintaining its fertility. The farm crop laboratory is supplied with samples of the different clas.ses of farm crops grown in the .state. The farm machinery laboratory is equipped with all the latest farm implements, so that the student may compare the operation of many of the implements in the field. A green house is provided for research work in soils and crops during the winter.

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JAY KERR Agricultural Association Senior-Junior Dancing Club Athletic Association HILMER H. LAUDE Webster Agricultural Association Y. M. C. A.