WHY PERCY WENT TO COLLEGE
"I AM interested to know where you learned these things about acid
soils and lime and limestone," said Mr. Thornton.
"Mostly in the agricultural college," replied Percy, "but much of
the information really comes from the investigations that are
conducted by the experiment stations. For example, the best
information the world affords concerning the comparative value of
burned lime and ground limestone is furnished by the Pennsylvania
Agricultural Experiment Station. Those experiments have been carried
on continuously since 1882, and the results of twenty years' careful
investigations have recently been published. A four-year rotation of
crops was practiced, including corn, oats, wheat, and hay, the hay
being clover and timothy mixed. With every crop the limestone has
given better results than the burned lime. In fact the burned lime
seems to have produced injurious results of late years, and the
analysis of the soil shows that there has been large loss of humus
and nitrogen where the burned lime has been used, the actual loss
being equivalent to the destruction of more than two tons of farm
manure per acre per annum."
"Well, we surely need this information," said Mr. Thornton. "I have
always supposed that the teachers in the agricultural college knew
little or nothing of practical farming."
"I did not go to college to learn practical farming, if we mean by
that the common practice of agriculture," replied Percy. "I already
knew what we call practical farming; that is, how to do the ordinary
farm work, including such operations as plowing, planting,
cultivating, and harvesting; but it seems to me, Mr. Thornton, that
this sort of practical farming has resulted in practical ruin for
most of these Eastern lands. The fact is there is a side to
agriculture that I knew almost nothing about as a so-called
practical farmer, and I am coming to believe that what we commonly
call practical farming is often the most impractical
farming,--certainly this is true if it ultimately results in
depleted and abandoned lands. The truly practical farmer is the man
who knows not only how to do, but also what to do and why he does
it. The Simplon railroad tunnel connecting Switzerland with Italy is
twelve miles long,--the longest in the world. It was dug from the
two ends, but under the mountain, six miles from either end, the two
holes came together exactly, within a limit of error of less than
six inches, and made one continuous tunnel twelve miles long. Now,
this was not all accomplished by the practical men who knew how to
handle a spade in digging a ditch. The work was controlled by
science, and it was known in advance what the results would be. I do
not mean that it was known how hard the digging would be, nor how
much trouble would be caused by caving or by water; but it was known
that if the practical work was done, the final outcome would be
successful.
"I think it is even more important that we understand enough of the
sciences which underlie the practice of agriculture so we may know
in advance that when the practical farm work is done the soil will
be richer and better rather than poorer and less productive because
of our impractical farming.
"As I said, I did not go to the agricultural college to learn the
practice or art of farming; I went to learn the science of
agriculture; but, as a matter of fact, I found the college professor
knew about as much of practical agriculture as I did and a great
deal of science that I did not know. I found that the Dean of the
college, who is also Director of the Experiment Station, had been
born and raised on the farm, had done all kinds of farm work, the
same as other farm boys, had gone through an agricultural college,
and after his graduation had returned to the farm and remained there
for ten years doing his own work with his own hands. He has had as
much actual farm experience as you have had, Mr. Thornton, and ten
years more than I have had. He was finally called from the farm to
become an assistant in the college from which he was graduated, and
in a few years he was advanced to head professor in agriculture.
About ten years ago he was made dean and director of the
agricultural college and experiment station in my own state; and I
have been told that he will not recommend any one for a responsible
position in an agricultural college unless he has had both farm
experience and scientific training. He and most of his associates
are owners of farms and would return to them again if they did not
feel that they are of more service to agriculture as teachers and
investigators."
"I am very glad to know about this," said Mr. Thornton. "Certainly
your opinion, based upon such knowledge as you have of your own
college, is worth more than all the common talk I have ever heard
from those who never saw an agricultural college. I wish you would
tell me something more in regard to what crops are made of and about
the methods of making land better even while we are taking crops
from it every year."