Show Proposed National Agricultural Museum Would Tell Story of the Men Who Have Contributed So Much to Greatness of America Her Farmers B By ELMO ELl SCOTT WATSON ATSON V Released by Western Newspaper Union OME day the United States SOME S may have a national museum museum mu mu- I seum the purpose of which will be to tell the story o of f those Americans who since this nation was founded have contributed so much to its prosperity and to its standing as the greatest nation on earth Those Americans are our farmers When that museum is built and put into operation it will not be a place of static exhibits exhibits exhibits ex ex- ex- ex hibits a storehouse of ancient relics in glass cases with written writ writ- t ten en or printed labels to explain explain explain ex ex- ex- ex plain their meaning Instead it will be a living museum which presents graphically not only the history of agricultures agriculture's agricultures agriculture's agricultures agriculture's agri agri- cultures culture's past but also the story of its present and its promise for the future The establishment of such a museum was forecast recently recent recent- l ly Iy y when the National Agricultural t tural ural Jefferson Bicentenary committee made a pilgrimage pilgrim- pilgrim age to Charlottesville Va there to visit the University of Virginia and Monticello and pay tribute to the man whom Claude R. R secretary of agriculture and chairman of the committee characterized as the Founder Found er of Modern American Agriculture Agri Agri- culture Thomas culture Thomas Jefferson Another speaker on this occasion occa occa- sion and sion-and and the man who made the proposal for a national agricultural museum was was Herbert A A. A Kellar director of the McCormick Historical association association as as- in Chicago Speaking Speaking Speak Speak- ing on the subject of Living Agricultural Museums he said in part Let us consider for a moment what should be the character of a National Agricultural museum It should probably be located in W WashIngton Wash Wash- sh- sh Ington i or oth other r appropriate place I In the United States housed in one or more large buildings and surrounded surrounded sur sur- r rounded with appropriate ing Here outdoors and under glass sho should ld be shown in cultivation cultivation t tion ion representative trees shrubs fruits plants flowers and other I vegetation of ot the United States The outer walls of the buildings should present bas has showing the evolution of ai agriculture In this country country country coun coun- try from the primitive Indian culture culture cul cul- ture lure of the time of first settlement to the mechanized farming of the present day On the inner walls should be placed large murals depicting depicting de de- de- de p famous agricultural events and scenes Thus might be found Eli Whitney experimenting with his cotton gin Elkanah Watson holding the first agricultural fair Cyrus Hall McCormick trying o out t his first reaper or Lincoln signing the act creating the land-grant land colleges Of equal interest would be the portrayal portrayal portrayal por por- of different types of agricultural agricultural tural rural operations such as the production production pro pro- of wheat corn tobacco cotton cotton cot cot- coton t ton on sugar cane rice and other field crops the cultivation of fruits and flowers and the raising of cattle and livestock In addition to murals there should be a gallery of paintings of agricultural leaders leaders leaders lead lead- ers representing all types of activity A theater should likewise be provided where lectures music plays ballets and moving pictures of agricultural interest might be presented Dioramas and Operating Models The evolution of agricultural machinery rural architecture electrification elec in farm regions transportation tation milling tanning pack meat ing and other types of processing should receive separate attention in inappropriate appropriate exhibits including the use of dioramas operating models and sized full originals The museum museum mu mu- seum should develop a special library li library li- li include provision for publishing publishing publish publish- ing magazines bulletins and books house bouse and operate a ratio station maintain close relations with the agricultural press cooperate with the land-grant land colleges and possess a microfilm and photostat laboratory laboratory labora labors tory for reproducing copies of litera liters literature literature ture tune about the museum as well as pictures of its exhibits An important part of the museum should be the exhibits devoted t to o the social aspect of agricultural de de- The life lite of the rural people should be fully portrayed fo for r each era and for all classes an and d d dr r h r IL r rI I 4 ri Cl r rr 44 r Gi TRI TRIBUTE UTE TO TIlE THE r FOUNDER OF MODERN AMERICAN AGRICULTURE AGRI AGRI- CULTURE Members CULTURE Members of the National Agricultural Jefferson Bicentenary Bicente icente nary committee meeting In the rotunda of the University of Virginia In the background is a statue of Thomas Jefferson founder of the uni Seated directly behind the speaker at the microphone is Herbert Berber t A. A Kellar director of the McCormick Historical association who ou outlined outlined out out- t lined the plans for a national agricultural museum places The relation of agriculture to geology geography climate and soils entomology biology chemistry chemistry chemistry chemis chemis- try and engineering also merit adequate attention The National Agricultural museum museum museum mu mu- seum should serve as the headquarters of Important national farm organizations organizations or or- and provide appropriate quarters for this purpose This would add prestige to the institution An essential feature of the museum museum museum mu mu- seum would be to establish close relations with educational institutions institutions and organizations On its part the museum should otter offer general and special courses In the form of lectures seminars and laboratory research pertaining to various phases of the history of agriculture agriculture agriculture ture and of technology in this and other countries These courses should be open to the public and qualified students should be permitted permitted permitted per per- to take them for educational credits In addition the museum should provide internships for indi indi- individuals individuals desiring to specialize in the i history of of agriculture and technology technology technology tech tech- or to learn agricultural museum technique In reciprocity educational agencies should invite members of the museum staff to lecture and to give courses to the students of the institutions and to arrange for regular visits of students students students stu stu- stu- stu dents to the museum for the purpose purpose purpose pur pur- pose of information and instruction tion In all the activities of the museum its facilities should be developed developed developed de de- to promote a better understanding understanding understanding under under- I standing of democracy as illustrated illustrated illustrated illus illus- in our agricultural develop develop- ment These and like activities fully carried out would undoubtedly justify justify justify justi justi- fy the designation of the National Agricultural museum as a Living Agricultural museum Establish Branch ranch Museums In addition to a National Agricultural Agricultural Agricultural tural museum located in Washington Washington Washington Wash Wash- ington there should be associated with it branch museums situ situated ted in indifferent indifferent different parts of 01 the United States These would be of such character as to merit the designation Living Agricultural museums to an even greater degree than the national in in- In- In These branch museums should take advantage of the existence in numerous places in this country of notable sites of representative agricultural activities which flourished flourished flourished flour flour- in a former day and for a considerable period Where possible possible possible pos pos- sible such activities should be recreated recreated recreated re re- created at the original locations Among those which come to mind are arc the production of wheat corn tobacco cotton rice sugar cane indigo hemp flax vegetables fruits flowers Bowers ca cattle and livestock dairying stock farming maple sugar sugar sugar sug sug- ar turpentine and lumbering Asfar Asfar As Asfar far as practical in each instance operations operations op op- should be shown for lor several sev- sev eral periods such as the colonial post revolutionary post bellum ante-bellum Civil il war reconstruction and early century Likewise wherever earlier periods are shown some attention should be given to present day operations to show contrast and evo evo- lution Collections of physical objects objects objects ob ob- such as implements and machines should also be assembled where pertinent to the particular activity The bonanza wheat farming of the Dakotas from the to the has long vanished vanished yet yet we the know where the were located locate d and have information about them The lumber camps of the same period pe nod in Michigan and Wisconsin n no e longer exist yet we have voluminous voluminous voluminous volu volu- minous records of particular companies companies com corn and a few tracts of virgin virgi n timber are still standing It would woul nd d still be possible to acquire wheatland wheat wheatland t land and timber and to reestablish h hm and operate a bonanza wheat far farm m or an time old lumber camp There are a number of well well- known tobacco cotton rice an and d sugar cane plantations in the South and cattle ranches dairies and stoc stock I t It farms in the Middle West and West Wes t where original ownership of land lan lanhas d has passed and original agricultural 1 activities are now changed Some o of i these could be acquired and reestablished reestablished reestablished to operate as formerly In other instances the ownership P has changed but the original landholdings landholdings landholdings land land- holdings have been held together r and still produce agricultural crops though not always the same as be be- fore Westover and Curies Curles Neck k and on the lower James Jame s are plantations of ol this type Again there are a surprising number o of f famous holdings which even toda today Y are owned by the same families s which were in possession a 1 hundred d or more years ago Shirley the tin e Carter estate on James river Folly the Cochran plantation in n Augusta August a county Walnut Grove the McCormick McCormick l mick farm in Rockbridge county and Berry Hill the Bruce plantation plantation plantation planta planta- tion near Halifax all of which ar are e located in Virginia meet this pat pat- tern The same is true o of the Middleton Middle Middle- Middleton ton estate on the Cooper river an and I Hampton Hall the te Rutledge plantation plantation planta planta- plantation tion on the Santee river both i in n South Carolina In Louisiana Rose Rose- down the Bowman family estate estat e an and the Cottage time long-time residence residence residence resi resi- dence of the Butlers should b be e added The list could be considerably considerably considerably con con- enlarged In other cases case S such as Mount Vernon Washington's Washington's Washington's Washing Washing- tons ton's estate Stratford the Lee plantation plantation plantation plan plan- tation Monticello the residence o of t Jefferson and the Hermitage home hom of Andrew Jackson memorial associations associations associations asso asso- operate these places as museums museums mu mu- with major attention given give n to the main dwellings The national na national park service operates Wakefield Wakefield Wake Wake- field the Washington house and A Alington Arlington Arlington Ar Ar- r lington the Lee residence as we well 11 as other well-known well places In keeping with the thc establishment establishment establish ment of branch agricultural museums museums mu mu- in various parts of the United Unite d States it would be appropriate to se set setup setup t up a Jefferson Agricultural Memo Memo- r rial association which might operate oper open ate atc in connection with the Thomas I Jefferson Memorial foundation at Monticello Shadwell Poplar Forest Forestor or other places directly associated with Jefferson On one or more of these original Jefferson plantations two types of activities might be on display One would be to carry out ut and reproduce the agricultural experiments recorded by Jefferson in his Garden Book and his Farm Book including his development and trial of the moldboard plow A second second sec sec- ond and would be to relate these early enterprises to the latest and most advanced agricultural experiments of the present day Set up side by side on the same plantation they would provide striking contrast between between between be be- tween the early time and today and would indicate the evolution of agriculture In the United States I |