Wilbur High School - Tomahawk Yearbook (Wilbur, WA)

Page 26 text:

failed. During recent years, however, a great change has been taking place. Slowly, but surely, science has been invading the domain of agriculture, until to-day the term U scientific farming confronts us on every side. What, then, do we mean by scientific farming? Broadly speaking, we mean farming directed by definite knowledge, rather than by chance. ln answering the question more in detail, three different aspects must be taken into consideration, namely: the selection of seed and stock, the tilling of the soil and general manage- ment. The many new plant varieties, originated by Luther Burbank, impress upon us the importance of the proper selection of seed and stock. Poor seed invariably brings poor results. Hence, the scientific farmer selects his seed according to rules established by thoro experimentation. The selection of stock is quite as important for the efficient farmer. A thorobreil horse is more valuable than a scrubg a cow that will produce fourteen hundred pounds of butter in a year is better than one which will only make three hundred. Still more important is the preparation of the soil for crops. This, too, was form- erly a matter of chance. But it is now being replaced by scientific tilling. Rapidly we are coming to know how to plow, when to sow, and under what conditions to harvest. Water, which formerly went to waste, is now being saved by proper culti- vation. Soils. lacking certain elements necessary to plant growth, are being replen- ished by fertilizers. Even the varying climatic freaks, such as hot winds and dlroughts, seem no longer terrible, since we are coming to know how to deal with t em. But scientific farming will affect management and distribution quite as much as production. The farmer of yesterday did no accounting. He had no way of find- ing out which one of his enterprises paid and which did not. He tried to raise a little of everything. With the scientific farmer all this will be different. He will keep definite accounts. He will distinguish clearly between profitable and unprofit- able enterprises. Hence, he will be more prosperous. It is in distribution, however, that perhaps the greatest change is taking place. ln the past, the farmer sold his produce in a haphazard manner. With the coming of the trusts and the monopolies, the farmer has been losing his independence more than ever. After gaining control of various products, these concems pay the farmer what they please. He does the work and they get the money. This tendency toward monopolization has been rousing the farmer to action lately. He is begin- ning to realize that in union alone there is strength. As a result, such agencies as the Grange and the Farmers' Educational and Co-operative Union have been called into being. Thru one of these unions, the farmers in this state saved several millions dollars on wheat sacks alone, during the past year. The movement, however, has only just begun. Many other agencies are helping the farmer in his upward struggle. Among these are the Bureau of Agriculture, experimental stations, agricultural colleges and high schools. The Bureau of Agriculture is constantly keeping the farmer in touch with the results of important agricultural experiments and discoveries. Experimental stations located in different sections of the country are rapidly coming to assist the farmer in dealing with his peculiar local problems. Even our own county is placing an agri- cultural expert at the service of its farmers. Agricultural colleges all over the coun-

Page 25 text:

and he becomes a human machine. The world is too full of villains, zealots, mon- sters and machines. lt calls for the all-round education of to-morrow. This thoro education of to-morrow will be expensive, but the enlightened tax- payer will be ready to pay the price. He will realize that every dollar spent on the training of his children will repay a thousandfold. The school of to-morrow will usher in a stronger race, a better civilization, and a more glorious humanity. This school is coming. Soon it will be in our midst. Let us hail its advent. ETHEL BROWN -'I3. THE COMING FARMER 'This oralion awarded third place l Situated among rolling hills and thriving plains, stands a stately home. lt is surrounded by green lawns, fragrant flowers, and groves of trees and shrubs. The house, with its spacious halls, its library and music room, and its modem con- veniences, is invit'ng. The large stables and machine sheds are conspicuous above the trees. Beyond, the fields, tilled by the tractor, yield an abundance of crops. Such is the home of the coming farmer. What has made it possible? Before answering this question, let us briefly review the history of agriculture. ln prehistoric times man was a hunter and a wanderer. He did not stay long enough in one place to raise crops. During the pastoral age, however, he began to domesticate plants and animals. As he stopped in his wanderings from time to time, certain suitable plants were raised. Then came the agricultural age. Man now began to settle down permanently. As a result, rapid progress was made. Naturally, such favored spots as the Nile and Euphrates valleys were best suited. Here rude tools, such as the wooden hoe and plow, soon came into common use. Thus the soil-tilling movement was launched. From now on progress was inevit- able. Devices for threshing grain svon followed. As time went on, more plants and animals were domesticated. Then the coming of metal implements capped the climax. Thus the Egyptians and the Babylonians came to be prominent agricultural people. Of the farming of Palestine and Greece we know little. ln Rome, however, agriculture came to occupy a prominent place. Several books were written on the subiect. ln fact, the exportation of grain became an important industry. After the decline of the ancient nations ca'ne the dark ages. Little progress was now made, but after the Renaissance, agriculture began once more to assume an important place. The rapidly growing science: began to exert their influences. Fertilizers came to be used. The improvement of plants continued. The discovery of the new world about this time gave an additional impetus to agriculture. Vast areas of land were made accessible. New plants, such as com, tobacco, and the potato were acquired. During the nineteenth century, enormous strides were made in the invention of machinery. These, in a sense, revolutionized agriculture. But, in spite of these mechanical improvements, farming remained largely a matter of chance. The farmer tilled his field, sowed his seed and reaped his crops without any definite knowledge. lf he accidently did the right thing, he succeeded 3 if he did the wrong thing, he

Page 27 text:

try are more and more supplying the farmer of to-morrow with a thoro educationl. Even the high schools are beginning to undertake this worlc. Our own school wil undoubtedly, in the near future, give a prominent place to such a course. Thus the farmer of to-morrow bids fair to be very different from the farmer of yesterday. The farmer of to-morrow will be surrounded by all the modem con- veniences. Constantly increasing inventions will break his once enforced isolation. Good rural schools and social centers will supply much that is now wanting. More- over, the farmer of to-morrow, as an educated man, will appreciate literature, music and art. He will be in touch with the movements of the day. Last but not least, the farmer of to-morrow will Hnd time to live. RAYMOND SCHEIBNER-'l3