We come here to perform a helpful service as educators. The judge has given us a most excellent educational address. He has told us of the necessity of educating the farmer. He has told us of the course of study that must be taken by the lawyer, and he can talk from experience when speaking of the study of law, he has told us of the educational training needed by the physician which of course is apparent to all; but what must a lawyer know in comparison with a farmer? He does not need to know the law, if he knows how to get at the knowledge he needs for each individual case he has to try, when the case comes to him. He must know where and how to find it. What has the physician to do but to keep one being, or animal if I may so speak, going a little longer in the way nature has determined that it should go? But what has the farmer to do? If his animals do not suit him, he must go to work and breed others that will be more satisfactory; if his poultry does not suit his taste he must go to work and improve the breed. Why, only yesterday on my way up here, I read of a proposition to breed hens that will lay red eggs. I should like to see the lawyer, or the doctor, who has a proposition on his hands like that! Why, the farmer to be well equipped for his business must be the best educated man of all. We who are here in this work are not all college-bred men. I see before me some men who are among our most successful Institute workers, who have never been inside the walls of a college as students. They have got their education right out upon the farm.

I remember that about fifteen years ago I was assisting Mr. Piollet, whom I see sitting before me, in holding the farmers' institutes in this county, and one very cold morning we drove about fifteen miles through unusually severe weather. There was a little academy building where the institute was held. I can't recall the name of the town, but I remember the academy. We were nearly frozen when we arrived at the place and we went into a little hotel to get warm. The entire house was cold with the exception of one room, which had a large stove in it. There were several people crowded around the stove and as we came in and were trying to get warm, one young fellow said to another, not knowing as I supposed who we were, "Jim, are you going to stay for the Institute?" "No," replied the other. "What would I want to stay for? Why those fellows that are coming here are college fellows, and I'll bet they don't know anything about farming. I see that one fellow is going to talk about plowing and I'll bet anything that he never plowed a furrow in his life."

At that point I said, "My good man, I guess you mean me, for it is I that intends to talk upon the subject of plowing." "Well," said he, "Did you ever plow?" And I answered, "I got about half my growth between plow handles." This statement was true then; it isn't true now because I have grown quite a good deal horizontally since that time; it might still be true, if the measure were taken lengthwise, or up and down. "Well" he said, "If you really mean that you have plowed some yourself I shall go to hear you." And so he came into the Institute. When it came my turn, I took up the subject and talked about the manner in which the horses should be hitched to the plow in order that both horses and plowman might perform their work with as much ease and comfort to themselves as possible. I spoke of the manner of adjusting the plow to regulate the furrow-slice and to throw a flat furrow or to stand it at an angle. The method of

regulating the depth of the furrow and everything else connected with plowing received proper consideration, and after I got through, the young fellow came to me and said, "Well, I believe now that you have done some plowing and I am glad that I came to the meeting."

My own experience in this matter has been the experience of a great many of us. My friend here, from Lycoming county, Mr. Hughes, and my friend from Lackawanna county, Mr. Northup, and my friend from Clinton county, Mr. Herr, and most of the members of the State Board of Agriculture that are here, got their education just as I did. These are the men who can talk from experience, as well as give to us the theory of this great industry.

Now I have not told you this in order to brag of our work. We did not come here for that purpose. We are somewhat like the Irish girl, who when she went to confession, was telling the Priest her shortcomings and bemoaning her sins and said, "Did you know, Holy Father, that I am engaged to be married?" "Why, no, Mary, said the Priest, "who is the lucky man?" She answered, "Patrick Dolan; and he was over to see me last night, and stayed until after midnight." The Priest said, "That's too long, Mary." "And," she said, "he kissed me." The Priest, willing to have a little fun at her expense, said, "Didn't he kiss you more than once, Mary?" And, quick as a flash, she answered, "I came here to confess, Holy Father, and not to boast." That is our position. We came here to do what we can in the way of helping you along the lines in which you as farmers are interested and not to boast.

ADDRESS OF MR. MARTIN

We have been thrice welcomed this afternoon, in these addresses of welcome. The Honorable Judge of the Courts of this county has addressed us in a manner that must, of necessity, give us an uplift in our calling. The President of one of the agricultural societies of the State, and of this county, has welcomed us in an address which arouses enthusiasm on the part of the citizens of this great Commonwealth, who are here represented today; and the chief officer of the town has also welcomed us with a very high tribute. Previous to the selection of this place to hold the meeting, I felt assured that we should meet with a very warm welcome from the people of Bradford county, because for more than twelve years I have mingled with the farmers of this county, and I can think of no one instance in all these years. where the Institutes were not fully sustained by the farmers of the county. It is one of the most pleasant parts of my official work when I go over the counties of the State and consider the moral support they have given the Farmers' Institute, hence I am confident that every representative here today is proud and grateful for the privilege of coming to Bradford county to hold this Institute.

And now, my friends, we are proud for another reason to come here, because we are coming to a county which stands among the first in one of the greatest interests along the lines of agriculture-the dairy interests of the State. If Bradford county does not rank first, it is a close second, and I think she is first. I know she stands first in the production of good butter. I do not have the figures of the number

of pounds that are produced in this county to supply the United States' Navy. Will some of the gentlemen freshen my memory on that subject?

Why shouldn't the people of Bradford county be proud of their community? I wouldn't give much for people who are not proud of the community in which they live.

Some things have been said here in reference to the political history of Bradford county, that will bear investigation and reflect credit upon the county. It has been my privilege for a number of years to be associated with the members from Bradford county, and they have been an incentive to the interests of agriculture. The worthy Secretary said he was a small boy, but I want you to understand that he was not a small boy in his efforts for agriculture.

During the sessions of this Institute I expect to be called upon to do my part in anything that will contribute to the best interests of this Institute.

ADDRESS OF MR. STEVENS

Mr. Chairman, and Members of the Farmers' Normal Institute: I want to add a few words of welcome to those already spoken this afternoon. I am glad to see this State Board of Agriculture in this section of Pennsylvania because it is a very good section for agriculture, in the success of which we, as a whole, are very much interested. The upbuilding of agriculture along the line of this road has been my work, and there we have a common ground. It was a pleasure to me to meet the people at Institutes, and it was a pleasure to have so many of you gentlemen with us, and an honor to me to be allowed to contribute my part to the work in which we are all engaged. I feel very much as your Secretary of Agriculture did. In his address he described the situation exactly when he told about being called upon to take the place of a man who did not put in an appearance, or he would not have been on the program, and as he did, I feel like holding on to the table to keep myself from trembling.

I want to say some things straight from the shoulder, and I want to say them without having a definite address in mind. I want to say to you, because we are working together for the apbuilding of agricul ture, we need other methods. Here in Bradford county, a territory with which I am familiar, we have wonderful possibilities. Some men are taking advantage of these possibilities. If you will go a little ways up here you will find what our friends are doing in the growing of fruit. I have been over these farms-some of them. I find that their apple trees and peach trees produce fruit, as much to the acre, of equally good quality with the prize land of the apple belt of Western New York, and yet the land in the Western New York apple belt is sold at from $200 to $250 an acre, and you can buy land in this section of the same kind at from $20 to $30 an acre. I find in this section alfalfa lands that have been made to produce four and five tons to the acre, that could be placed beside any other alfalfa land in this or any other section. I find land back over the hills, ten or twelve miles from here, land that is largely A1 potato land-land that in Maine would bring $150 per acre, and yet here it is selling cheap.

I find here dairy herds, similar to the best we find anywhere else, 50% of which are kept on the land, and we find people here who insist that dairy herds do not pay. Friends, we are in a prosperous agricultural section, and yet you will agree with me that these things are true.

Now, then, the work of draining these lands so that they will produce a hundred and twenty-five bushels of corn to the acre; that it will produce three hundred bushels of potatoes to the acre; that it will produce five tons of alfalfa to the acre, as has been done within ten miles of Towanda the past year. The selection of our dairy herds so that each cow will show a profit; the tilling of the land so that it will produce a profit of a thousand dollars an acre, instead of thirty dollars an acre-to show these men how to do this, is your work and my work, but how to do this is what we must discuss. If I am to be permitted a moment. I want to emphasize some things.

We have too many agencies for work, and these do not co-ordinate. To be explicit, we have our State College doing extension work. I am not referring now to the work being done within its walls, but to the extension work. They are doing this work well. The State Department of Horticulture is giving instructions in the growing of orchards, and it is doing well. The Farmers' Institute Bureau is conducting a series of Institutes up and down the State that are firstclass in every respect, and that work of extension is being done very well. The railroads have also taken up the work, and they are doing the best they can to aid the State in its work. The great work that lies before us is to unite these forces, so as not to work at cross-purposes; so as to avoid spending money uselessly, because we have none to spend in that way. The time has come when these things should be taken up when we should work as a unit in the State. At least this is my judgment. It seems to me that co-operation should begin at home. It seems to me that in agricultural extension this cooperation should be first considered.

In addition to what I have said, let me add: The State College is not being supported as it should be. It should be the work of this body, in my judgment, to take hold of this fact, and work to secure additional appropriations for the building up of our college, for it is the institution from which most of our agricultural education is received. The State should be called upon to appropriate money suf ficient to support these schools, as is being done in New York State. One other thing. This body of men and the corporation I represent here this afternoon should work together, and so far as I am concerned, I want to say that we are willing to do all in our power to bring about a relation between the producer and the consumer which will do away with the conditions that Brother Menges mentioned this afternoon, and we want to do away with every possible obstruction that stands between the producer and the consumer, except the factors that are absolutely essential.

My friends, I came up here to speak directly of some things I have had on my mind for some time, and I feel better since they are off my mind.

I want to make a further suggestion: That the Board of Agriculture appoint a committee to confer with us and see if some of these things cannot be brought about. I would like to have some member of the Board formulate it in his mind, and then put it in the form

of a motion. I am not a member of the Board, so simply make it as a suggestion that some member make a motion that such a committee be appointed with authority to represent this body, to confer with other agricultural bodies, and we will do all in our power to bring about these conditions.

ORGANIZATION FOR SOIL FERTILITY

BY DR. THOMAS F. HUNT, STATE COLLEGE, PA.

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: Since I agreed to write this paper on Soil Fertility, something happened to me. Had it happened to me before I promised to write this paper, I fear I should not have presented it. As a matter of fact, since this happened to me, I have been almost ashamed to look a farmer in the face. Now, what happened to me was this: I took a vacation of thirty days, and during those thirty days I drove practically every day, barring Sunday, in a horse and buggy through the State of Pennsylvania. I was brought up in a one-room schoolhouse out in Northern Illinois, and I learned about the Andes, and the Rocky Mountains, the Himalayas and the Appalachian Range, and they all looked alike to me, and I have never gotten out of my mind that childish presentation of the Appalachian Chain; I have never fully gotten out of my mind the childish imagination, that I know a great many people outside of Pennsylvania have, that a great deal of Pennsylvania consists of large mountain ranges running across the State. So I started out to drive from State College to Morrison's Cove. Now, to my childish imagination, Morrison's Cove was a little bit of a narrow place, through which we could drive in a very short time. As a matter of fact, I spent three days driving through Morrison's Cove. It was not a little bit of narrow cove, but a big farming valley. I drove from Bradford to York County, and then on. Instead of mountains I found valleys filled with beautiful farm lands, and I never before have seen such good farm lands; never before have I seen such uniformly good farms. In all that thirty days' drive I saw but two places that made my heartache because people lived there. And now do you know why I am ashamed to look a farmer in the face? Because I wrote bulletins teaching these pople how to farm, and from the looks of things they were practicing all the things I wrote before I was born-and some one told me that was the reason they were good farmers.

A great deal is heard in these days about methods of selling farm products. Co-operation ad credit are being widely discussed in their application to farming.

The United States Department of Agriculture has announced that for every thirteen dollars a consumer pays for farm products, six dollars is received by the farmer.

A year ago I brought to your attention the fact that at Freiburg, Germany, the farmer could come to town by train with his produce, a distance of ten miles, for less than the price he could obtain for three pears. Recently, some time was spent among the farmers of York county. For a distance of ten miles from the City of York, a