Gov. Keith Neville	Dr. George E. Condra

THE NEBRASKA AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE

By DEAN E. A. BURNETT

     The College of Agriculture of the University of Nebraska is situated in the suburbs of the city of Lincoln upon a half section of land, furnishing an ideal location for healthful and inspiring study. The instruction given is mainly technical, along lines of Agriculture and Home Economics.
     The physical plant consists of a group of modern and well arranged buildings, costing approximately $1,000,000. Recent appropriations for the development of the Agricultural College have made possible the erection of new buildings for Dairy Husbandry, Agricultural Engineering, and Animal Pathology, and a modern horse barn and a heating and power plant. Splendid herds of beef and dairy cattle, horses, sheep, and swine are available for instruction in the live stock industry; land and technical laboratories are available for instruction in crops and in the more technical departments.
     Twelve hundred and eleven students, as shown by the last catalog, were in attendance during the year 1916-1917. Instructional work is divided into two groups, namely, that of college grade offered to graduates of accredited high schools and that below college grade offered to students who come from rural schools or from high schools which are not fully accredited to the University.

     Young men and women coming to the College and the School of Agriculture receive splendid technical instruction, enabling them to return to their farms and help to develop the agriculture and the social life of the communities from which they came. The College courses in Agriculture and in Home Economics are four years in length and lead to a degree of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture or in Home Economics. Many of the students graduating from these courses go back to the farms, but, as there is a great demand for technically trained men and women along these lines, a portion of them are employed as teachers and as investigators of agricultural problems, while some of them enter the service of the Government in the United States Department of Agriculture. The secondary School of Agriculture also offers a four year course leading to a certificate of graduation. Men taking this course go back to farms while young women who graduate may teach for a time in rural or town schools.
     A branch School of Agriculture located at Curtis, Nebr., is also connected with the College and is under the control of the Board of Regents of the University.
     The Agricultural Experiment Station, organized under federal law in connection with land-grant colleges, is engaged in the study of agricultural problems which are too technical for the farmer to work out upon his own

State Fish Hatchery at South Bend

Bass Pond, State Fish Hatchery at South Bend

farm. New crops are investigated, new methods are tried, and varieties best suited to different areas are studied. Plant and animal diseases and insect pests are investigated and suppressed. During the last twenty years, the Experiment Station has assisted in working out such problems as the control of cholera in hogs and of blackleg in cattle, the development of rations most suitable for meat and milk production, the development and distribution of new varieties of grains and forage crops, the management of land, of orchards, and of special industries, and many other problems which relate to profitable production.
     The appreciation shown by the people of Nebraska for the work of the Experiment Station has resulted in the establishment of a number of branch stations in different sections of the state to study the special problems connected with those regions.
     The branch experimental farm at North Platte, Nebr., contains three sections of land, a portion of which is under irrigation by pumping, where problems relating to dry-land agriculture and to pump irrigation are studied. Life stock problems are also prominent at this station, especially along lines of pork production and the development of the dairy industry.
     At Valentine, Nebr., an experimental farm is established for the study of sand hill problems and the development of the live stock industry of the sand hill region.

     At Mitchell, Nebr., a branch experiment station is conducted in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture, where problems in irrigation farming are studied under the conditions obtaining in the North Platte valley.
     The Agricultural Extension Service of the University of Nebraska is developed under federal and state law and supported by federal appropriations which are supplemented by state and county appropriations and by funds supplied by local communities. Since the declaration of war, special appropriations by Congress have been used by the Extension Service in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture to promote increased agricultural production.
     The Extension Service is organized into the following activities: Publications, Extension specialists in Agriculture and in Home Economics, County Agricultural Agent work, Junior Extension work, and Home Demonstration Agent work, which deals with woman's work in the home.
     The County Agent came with the establishment of Extension work under federal law. Under this plan, a man with energy, organizing ability and technical knowledge is selected by the County Farm Bureau, or local organization, to assist local farmers in the improvement of their agricultural methods. Special men who have experience in dealing with farm problems cooperate with the farmer in trying out different methods to determine which are best adapted to the farmer's special condition. For example, the potato problem has been studied in northwestern Nebraska with a view of determining the best method of selection and treatment of seed, the best methods of cultivation and of harvesting, and finally with the view of assisting the farmer to secure the highest market price. In co-operation with the Bureau of Markets of the United States Department of Agriculture, a daily market report was established at the principal potato centers in northwestern Nebraska and this resulted in materially increasing the price which was paid for carloads of potatoes when placed upon the market.
     In one county, the dairy interest was developed by interesting local farmers in the purchase of several carloads of dairy stock. Several high class dairy sires were purchased and a foundation was established for a permanent wealth producing industry which had not before received attention from this community.
     In several counties the plant disease problem has been studied and such diseases as potato scab, diseases of the apple orchard, and smut in wheat and oats have been treated with profit to the farmers. In one county the farmers gave special attention, under the County Agent and specialists from the College, to the butchering of animals on the farm and the curing of meats. Experienced men got new ideas and put them into practice. Those with the most experience were the most interested and made the best use of the knowledge they received from outside sources. The amount of meat cured by farmers after this campaign was inaugurated was very greatly increased and the quality of the meat secured was superior to that of previous years.
     Through the County Agent an extensive bureau of exchange has been established, mainly in seed grains, potatoes, purebred live stock, etc. In

such cases an effort is made to list all men who wish to purchase a particular class of commodities and men who have such commodities for sale. These lists are then exchanged, giving the purchaser an opportunity to communicate direct with the seller and thereby eliminate unnecessary handling and expense.
     The war garden has been one of the useful activities of the Extension Service. At the present time, nearly every important city and town has secured a garden supervisor, thousands of acres of lots previously vacant have been utilized, and many persons who previous to the outbreak of the war had never thought of growing a garden have become producers of vegetables for their own families.
     The drying of fruits and vegetables is an old industry which has been renewed and simplified. The community drier has resulted in a saving of food for future use where individual driers were not available. The community drying plant bids fair to be a permanent factor in the conservation of food in every enterprising city and town.
     The exhibits at county fairs of the agricultural work of the Agricultural College and the Experiment Station have developed a great deal of interest in the work of the institution and have furnished a great deal of information regarding the Experiment Station. These exhibits have been attractive from the standpoint of securing attendance at the local fairs. More than 40,000 people visited such exhibits at the seven county fairs where exhibits were made in 1917.
     Several thousands of boys and girls in rural schools and small high schools are organized in garden clubs, canning clubs, pig clubs, corn clubs, and other organizations which develop interest and competition and stimulate local leadership.

     Wool and mutton growing has never been developed in Nebraska as it should have been, nor as it is capable of being developed. Sheep feeding, however, has been successfully practiced for many years, the sheep being brought in from the ranges and fattened for market. For a number of years Buffalo county has been the foremost in the sheep feeding line, Shelton being one of the largest sheep shipping stations in the middle west. The late T. B. Hoard was one of the largest feeders of sheep in the west. There is no doubt that Nebraska is peculiarly well adapted to the production of mutton and wool. The climate is well suited and there is always an abundance of grazing and winter forage. Men interested in sheep growing have inaugurated a campaign looking towards a fuller development of the industry. One phase of the campaign is to secure "a sheep in every back yard." In other words, the boys and girls are being encouraged to raise lambs for pets, later utilizing them for mutton and incidentally increasing the wool supply. A band of

sheep, if few in numbers, would be a valuable adjunct to every farm. They would clean out the weed-grown corners, consume much forage that now goes to waste and add materially to the meat supply. Better than all else, there would be an increase in the supply of raw wool. Nebraska might easily take the lead in mutton and wool production, just as it has taken the lead in the production of pork and beef.
     One drawback to increasing the sheep industry is the prevalence of useless and worthless dogs. Until something is done to abate the dog nuisance it is hopeless to expect any material increase in sheep production. One plan, which seems to be the most feasible, is to impose a heavy tax on dogs, putting the money thus obtained into a fund to reimburse sheep raisers for losses inflicted by dogs. This, coupled with a law making dog owners responsible financially for damage done by their dogs, would give sheep raising a great impetus in Nebraska. Of course the days of the wide, free range are gone forever. But the disappearance of the free range did not destroy the cattle industry, as many had feared. The opposite has been true-just as it might easily prove true in the sheep industry. Nebraska offers exceptional opportunities for the production of mutton and wool, and for many years to come there is no danger of an overproduction of either wool or mutton.

     "The Mortgage Lifter" is a good way to describe alfalfa as it has benefitted Nebraska. It is grown profitably in every county in Nebraska. It has proved a "life saver" to many a man just beginning the struggle to secure a farm home of his very own. It has been the silver lining to the dark cloud that hung over many a farm in the days of drouth and "hard times." And save in irrigated alfalfa sections nowhere does this wonderful clover do better than in Nebraska.
     A quarter of a century ago it was practically unknown in this state. It had been mentioned often in farm papers, and Nebraskans came back from New Mexico or Old Mexico and told about it, but their stories were discounted. Anyhow, "it wouldn't grow in Nebraska." The Department of Publicity has made patient inquiry into the early history of alfalfa production in Nebraska and is compelled by these researches to give Captain Clare B. Adams of Nuckolls county credit for being the pioneer in the alfalfa business in this state. He was one of the first, if not the first, Nebraskans to experiment with it, and in season and out of season he urged it upon the farmers of Nebraska. But he made very little headway until the dry years of the middle '90's came, and despairing farmers and stockmen in southeastern and southwestern Nebraska were compelled to try something if they expected to hold onto their farms. Little by little the acreage increased, and pretty soon marvelous stories of the new clover's yield and worth began appearing in the newspapers. It was no

longer an experiment--it was an actual fact. Then began the "alfalfa era" in Nebraska. Today there is scarcely a quarter section of cultivated land in Nebraska that does not boast of at least a few acres of alfalfa. The Nebraska farmer would as soon think of being without a barn to shelter his live stock as to be without a field of alfalfa. Its yield is enormous, and in addition to providing an abundance of hay, it is the greatest fertilizer known to mankind. It is bringing back to native fertility every year thousands of acres that had been actually "mined" of their fertility until they were beginning to be worthless for crop purposes. With the advent of the "alfalfa era" began the dairy industry in Nebraska. Twenty-five years ago only a few hundred acres of alfalfa were to be found in this state; today not less than 3,500,000 acres of alfalfa yield their riches every year-and the acreage is increasing by leaps and bounds. It is being successfully grown in the bottom lands and upon the highest tables. Its dark green is to be seen everywhere in the "Sand Hills" region in contrast with the lighter green of the short grass native to that section. Its yield is never a failure. Its price is always high enough to insure a profit to the producer if he sells it instead of feeding it on his own premises. It puts cash into the producer's pocket and fertility into his soil. It puts fat on the cattle and hogs, and smiles on the stockman's face. It has lifted millions of dollars' worth of mortgages and put the clear deeds to magnificent farms in thousands of safety deposit boxes. The Nebraska alfalfa crop is worth $50,000,000 a year in cold cash to Nebraska, and much more than that in actual value. And wonderful as it has proved itself to be in Nebraska, it has scarcely made a beginning in the work it is destined to accomplish.

     Northwestern Nebraska has become famous as a potato producing country during the last six or eight years. Box Butte, Sheridan, Dawes, Kimball, Morrill and Scottsbluff counties are recognized in eastern markets as producing superior "spuds," and from a small beginning in an experimental way a few years ago the industry has grown until now these counties annually produce and market millions of bushels of potatoes. Both climate and soil lend themselves to successful potato cultivation in this section of Nebraska. The climate is seemingly just right, and the character of the soil makes the work of cultivation and harvesting comparatively easy. Scientific methods of cultivation are rapidly increasing the yield per acre, and organized methods of marketing are making the margins of profit more satisfactory to the producers. There are thousands upon thousands of acres of land in these counties well fitted for potato production, and as yet these acres are comparatively cheap. The possibilities of potato production in Nebraska are practically

unlimited, and the opportunities are peculiarly inviting to men of limited means and unlimited ambition and industry.
     Sooner or later potato starch factories will be erected in western Nebraska to consume all the undersized potatoes that the foodstuff markets will not absorb, and as the industry grows it will be profitable to raise potatoes solely for market at these factories. Men who get in on the "ground floor" and secure potato acreage in the counties named, will be hereafter called "lucky." That is the term usually applied by men who never grasp an opportunity to those who seize the opportunity the moment it appears.

     The problem of labor has heretofore prevented a satisfactory development of the canning industry in Nebraska. There has never been any question about securing an abundance of the raw materials-tomatoes, corn, peas, beans, pumpkins, etc.--but the help necessary to can it and get it ready for market has never been found available. The reason for this is not far to seek. Nebraska boys and girls are not compelled to work in the canning industry. They find easier work at better pay in other avenues of employment.
     But ingenuity has offered the solution, for machines are now available for the work that formerly required human hands, and not only is it now possible to perform more labor but it is equally possible to do it more quickly, better and at less expense. And along with this goes the comforting knowledge that the product is cleaner and better in every way.
     There is absolutely no reason why Nebraska should import a single can of tomatoes, corn, peas, beans, pumpkin or apples. There is every reason why Nebraska canning factories should be annually sending millions of dollars' worth of these things to other states. There is every reason why a hundred or more Nebraska cities and towns should be pointing with pride to large and prosperous co-operative canning factories, and why immense factories operated by corporations should be doing business in the larger cities. Our schools are given a wonderful impetus to interest in farm and garden work, and in raising raw materials for local canneries the schoolboys and schoolgirls would find profitable and healthful employment, and at the same time find vent for the youthful desire for recreation in the open. There should be, and in time will be, a cannery or a community drying plant in every village, hamlet and small city in this state. When that time comes Nebraska will be known throughout the Nation as a "garden products state," just as it is now known nationally as a meat producing and a wheat producing state.
     There is much in this matter of canned goods to attract capital to Nebraska. There is plenty of idle capital in Nebraska to develop the industry to the limit.

     The Nebraska Department of Publicity will do all it can to furnish information about Nebraska -every section of it. But there are a few things the Department can not, and will not, undertake to do. It will not undertake to advise inquirers where or how to invest their money. It will not undertake to give information about the reliability of men engaged in the business of selling real estate. The Director of the Department has had dealings with hundreds of real estate men in Nebraska and has found them all to be reliable men. But there must be exceptions to this rule, as well as to other rules-and the Department will not take chances.
     But the Director of the Nebraska Department of Publicity will gladly undertake to answer all queries about the resources and possibilities of any particular county or section of Nebraska, basing answers upon the statistics gathered by the government and by the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture. It will undertake to give reliable information about school and church facilities in any county. It will give reliable information about transportation facilities, fertility of soil, etc.
     This Department was established for the purpose of furnishing full and reliable information about the state-its possibilities, its advantages and its opportunities for the homeseeker and the investor. Its purpose is to benefit not only the state, but to benefit the people here and the people elsewhere who are seeking opportunities for bettering their condition in life. Its services along these lines are absolutely free.