What I learned in high school
Originally published in 2010
It has been 81 years since my first day in high school, and I still have the textbooks I used to guide me through that great adventure. We had to buy our own textbooks back then, and it sure took a lot of possum hides to pay my way through high school.
Just a few days back, I was rambling through my accumulation of books and came across my old textbook, "Principles of Agriculture" that I used in the ninth grade. This book of 592 pages stressed the fact that proper care and feeding of farm animals--especially the horse--was the most important factor in successful farming. The book went on to say that, as of January, 1919, there were over 21 million horses and 4 million mules furnishing horsepower for farm operations in the United States.
This textbook also mentioned the fact that some people had predicted the tractor would someday replace the horse on the farm, but on page 223, it went on to say, "This has not occurred, nor will it ever occur." However, in a very short time, the workhorse WAS replaced by the tractor, with most of the older horses being sent to the glue factory.
Agriculture was a required subject back then, even for the girls, and we all learned which breed of cow gave the most milk, and which ones produced the most butterfat per gallon of milk. We learned how to test milk for its butter content and how to operate a cream separator. The summary of the chapter on dairy cows stated, "Dairying is one of the most important farm operations, and its importance is increasing each year." There were eleven in my graduating class of 1933, and I seriously doubt that any of the eleven ever owned a dairy cow. I am also personally acquainted with most of the farmers in this area, and none of them that I know own even one dairy cow.
My textbook "Principles of Agriculture" had some pretty pictures of chickens in it, and it plainly stated that every farm should have poultry. It went into great detail, telling us how to build a chicken house, indicating that there should be at least 400 square feet of floor space for every 100 hens, and there should be "scratching shed" that is open to the south, with at least 8 inches of straw on the ground, where grain could be fed in the straw, so the chickens would get exercise while scratching for the grain. It told how to provide a ration that would produce equal amounts of egg yolk, whites, and shell.
Today, there are no poultry houses down on the farm, and some of our younger generation may not even be aware that eggs come from chickens, as they get theirs from the grocery store.
This book recommends that the seedbed for wheat be prepared in July and left idle until planting time in late October or November. They suggest that the wheat be harvested with the binder, when the straw begins to turn yellow and the kernels are just past the dough stage. Bundles of wheat should be put in shocks to mature and dry before threshing.
Today, we harvest a crop of soybeans from a field in late October or November, and with very little tillage, we have it planted in wheat in a matter of hours. Back then, 20 bushels of wheat per acre was considered a good yield, whereas today we wait until the grain is completely mature and dry, before harvesting the crop with a combine, expecting a yield of at least 60 bushels per acre.
I never considered myself as being an overly industrious student, but this book shows lots of wear, with notes and dated scribbles on the pages, indicating that I surely must have put in many hours, cramming my head with knowledge I would never need or use.
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