Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, October 5, 1917, Page 10

(Written Specially for The Bulletin.) York state dairyman re- to his dairy paper for informatio: as o ths vaius uf roots for feediag c ws. The expari of the paper duly answered him, in about the usual ‘ formula. “No =ucculen: food better: o much is from tkirty pounds of ensilage; “for practical purposes equal mangels, carrots and ruta ;* objection is that “it costs more to producs them than corn sil- age;” etc. etc. All the above is trits and common- jace. We have 21l read it or keard ¢t meny times. It is tho usual form in which the matter is invariably dis- cussed in farm manuals ana farm ja- . But, in this cas2 tho expert winds up his pacagroph with what seems to me a vividly enlightening | pal admission, namsly, that is to say, as 1 = “It is quite a rommon practice for persons who desire tc make an offi- cial record to 1 very appetizing and ha: effect upon the ~ow's dige: ion.” Do you krow, | find that short re- mark a good and a great deal more than anything else I happen to have read from expert dairymen abou everlasting dispute betwaen root: silage” In the laboratory test-tube silage pans out almost twics as.valvable, pound for pouni, as rodts. “In the cow's internal works the re- sult geems to b> scmewhat diffcrent, since shrewd dairymon who went to make records feed roots. u see, the question is mot Hmited to the comparative value and costs of silage and roots, but' to the larger and ‘wider cispute between the comparativ: importance of - ana: theorv and of actval evervday use. It is the old. old question whether the farmer should depend for his 2 upon deductions from labor- atory tests, or upon the practical re- sults of direct experience. I know,—those of you who me the honor to read these talks. in the pas*,—that I ecry or minimize the value of tory, of the -test-tube and the ltmus paper and .the other para- phernalia. - Great Scott! is the averags farmer that he doesn’t want Is he so neariy om- use a wider individually and know more apout farm- anybody and eve ‘ybody else In the world? If not, then he ought to be not only ‘willing but eager to get information from any and every ' yuarter of the universe;—from his own experience. of course; also from the records of his father and the traditions of his ‘grandfather; from observation of his neighbors; - from little tricks and de- vices of his new hired man; even from the stoop-shouldered “and be-specta- cled professor in college. Everything ‘should be grist that comes to his mill. At least he should be willing to.get a srist out of it, if possible, not matter ‘what its source. ramblin, do not This idea that, because one profes- sor-in an agricu:tural college has writ- ten a foolish article or given a bit of (mpractlcal advice, therefore all the work and all the advice of all professors should thenceforward be condemned, off-hand, evidences a de- XTee of unreason which is neither commendable nor excusable. “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” queried one stiff-necked' old bigot, centuries ago. Perhaps nothing good ever had, up to that time. Yet at that very mo- ment the widening circles of the great- est. good which ever came to humanity ‘were beginning to rise and roll. out- vm:& from that same despised Naz- areth. In the old .days when we used to thrash out our oats and rye with flails on the barn floor, we “banked up”. against the side-wall after each flooring a mixture of short etraw and chaff and weed-seeds and dirt and . Later it had to be put through the fanning-mdll to separate the de- sired grain from the worthless chaff. But no sensible farmer refused to cut and thrash his oats because, after thrashing, he knew he would have to winnow them. Every farm is, or should be, a big threshing-feer on which to thresh out the grain of new ideas and better methods and increased yields. Every farmer’s head is or should be a win- nowing machine in which to sift and sort out the grain of real ideas from the chaff of impractical or ill-judged ones. The farmer who won't take help and instruction and suggestion, no matter from what source it domes, is a fool- ish fellow, throwing away chances when, God knows, he needs all chances he can earn, beg or borrow! It makes smzll difference in the .end what source they originate in. ter test and discard nine chunks ' of gravel than lose the one nugget of pure gold which may hide under the Girt incrustation of the teeth. What difference does it make to you whether the suggestion comes from John Snooks, Fortescue, Professor of agronomical agrostology in some college,—so long a8 you can use It and make a doil with 1t? A e Therer ere’s no use talking or preachin; to the contrary, mere theory isn't equal to practical experience as a suide to practical farm operation, T greatest service is in suggest- ing lines for investigation and actual cest. If a certain idea or a certain by the fertile brain, of some experimenter promises well, ‘in theory, the thing to do is to try it -and see if it pans out as well ‘Ohildren Cry FOR FLETCHER'S STORIA roots, as they are splendid Jeal more informstory suggestive hired man, or Erastus | as it promises. If two contrasting methods ‘test out about equal in value in- the laboratory, the thing to do to try 'em both on the fleld or in th stable . and sec which really works better with the dirt or in the cow’s stomach. Here’s this matter of corn silage and roots, for example. Under analy- sis in the laboratory, corn silage in- dicates a ‘superior value. But, when a dairy man wants to make a record, he feeds roots. At least so saye onc dairy expert. There you have it. C The cow's stomach and the test- tube mre .two different propositions. The dairyman has to look for results to the cow and not to the test-tube. Practically, He may find it cheaper, considering the cost of labor, etc., to raise and feed silage. That's a thing to be ‘determined, not by the an- alysable value of the silage, but by ‘the results which accrue in the milk- 1. If he wants to obtain record produc- tion or beat record production, them “ijt is quite a common practice,” ac- cording to expert information, for him to feed roots, instead. Because, of course, he finds that they are more Hr);ely to help the cow beat the rec- ord. But it is the cow he appeals to to settle the dispute, you note, not to any theory of feeding nor to any re- port on the protein-carbohydrate con- tents of the fodders. That'’s the thing which impresses me in the whole matter; the admitted- ly superior importance, of actual ex- perience in actual f processes. It isn’t a question of what “seems reasonable” or of what “looks prom- ising” or of-what the results ought to be. It's a question of what the re- sults actually are. That can be settled only by putting the . question right square up to the soll or the animal for a defective ver- dict. It doesn’t make. much whether you're difference feeding a dairy or growing a ten-thousand acre peach orchard of raising a few hundred cab- bages or planting potatoes: the more you can find out about -your job the better, both for you and for the job. Also, as Joe-Ailen used to say; “The way to find out is by ascertaining.” The way to ascertain is to try and try and then try again. It is to keep cn trying till the verdict is clear and unmistakable. The agricultural college graduate’s off-hand assertion is apt to be that old-fashioned farming was all drudg- ery and small results. Too many. of us horny-handed old hayseeds are prone to sneer at the agricultural col- lege’s way as mostly splurge. Both are wrong. The brash young fellow, full of plausible theories and loaded up with “book-farming” ideas makes a big mistake when he ignores the value of hard-won experience as set forth in the often too dogmatic dicta of bent-backed old farmers. When he has had more experience, himself, he won't ‘be so -confident nor so supercilious. He will come, as years mellow him, to eee thaf theory and practice are simply the two-arms of his labor and that, in actual farm- ing, unlike charity, he must always let his left hand know what his right hand is doing, so they can work to- sgether. : Likewise, the old farmer who never had much teaching other than what has been pounded into him in the hard school of experience, makes a mistake when Le sneers at all theory and all “book farming.” He does not need to swallow whole all he reads or all he hears. But good has come out of Nazareth, even the Nazareth of the laboratory and the college experi- ment plat. It has come, not once or twice, but maay times; it will come again. The worth of an idea or of a sys- tem or of a method is not gauged by its source but by its accomplishment; not by where it' comes from but by how it works. Who are we, that we should refuse hos ity to wandering knowledge becausé it didn't come out of our own barn-yards? “There are hills beyond Pentland and streams beyond Forth.” There is an infinite ocean of knowl- edge -outspreading around ue to the uttermost frontiers of unimaginable space. Why should we refuse to go through .any dcor which affords an opening to even one corner of it? But, when the door opens and we essay to step through, the question whether we shall set foot on sold ground or only on a fog-bank still re- mains. And the only earthly way to settle that i1s by trying it.—not with a tsst-tube but by stepping on it! THE FARMER. CHANGES IN DIRECTORATE OF DENVER & RIO GRANDE R. R. ic Road Control New York, Oct. ‘With the an- nouncement here today of the resigna- tion of H. U. Mudge, as president and director of the Denver und Rio Grande Rallroad and the election of E. L. Brown, former vice president, as his auccessor, it became known that changes in the directorate of the road are contemplated, which, it i1s under- stood, will give Missouri Pacific inte ests a dominant position in the con- trol of the road. Kingdom Gould, who is now in.the national army, also resigned today as director of the Denver and Rio Grande and his place was filled by S. N. Rice. It is understood that at the annual meéting of the company on October 16, his place would be filled by.J. W. Platten, of New York, and that Ben- jamin . B. McAlpin_would be replaced| as director by J. Horace Harding, of New York. Platten and Harding rep- |’ The Eagle Clothing Company ' 152-154 MAIN STREET, NORWICH, CONN. WE BID YOU WELCOME ’ m\muumumn//m/@,/ : - * WE NEED YOUR ' . {77, INOUR ; Z PATRONAGE NEW AND ENLARGED ' AND WE HOPE BY THE (SATISFACTION WE GIVE TO DESERVEIT After several weeks of hard work with ' all kinds of mechanics we are now pre- ‘g pared to announce the opening of our ., . New and Enlarged Store. For the past £ 16 years this store has enjoyed a lucrative trade in ;' «x_ in Men’s Wearables only. The constant inquirieé from '_ —_=-§ the women folks of our numerous customers why we .' did not have merchandise for their wear prompted S us to lease the entire building of which we have il \.\\\\\\\@\\\\\ SIS occupied the main floor only, and now we are pre- pared to show the Ladies of Norwich and vicinity 2 as complete a line of Ready-to-wear Suits, Coats, Skirts, Waists and Furs - as you will find in cities five times our : N ¢ A N . 'size and at prices that cannot be equalled. " The Eagle Clothing Company' among those .present. 152-154 Main Street, Norwich, Conn. resent the stockholders’ protective committee of the Denver and Rio Grande, also Missouri Pacific interests; it was safd: The Missouri Pacific has had for some time an interest in the 10% DISCOUNT . mmhx;gaa through substantial stock ON ALL S ChesterTre archaeaconry meetins, MERCHANDISE Eh Ng OPEN FOR BUSINESS B e T m i Toy, FOR FIRST 8 DAYS, 7%y, preserit from out of town. Rev. James Lord, of East Hartford, who was a rmer lay: reader at the mission, was SATURDAY, 2y, ‘ T : _ OCT. 6th TO 1§u. ‘//@////, it \\\\\\\\\\\ . OCTOBER 6th, 1917, |