Show proposed national agricultural museum Mus eurn would tell story of the men who flave contributed r so much to greatness Great nez of america her farmers by ELMO SCOTT WATSON 1 Rel relegated Relea ted sd by western union E day t the he U united states SO SOME may y h have ve a n national tio 1 mui se seum um i the purpose of which will be to tell the story of those americans american s who ho sin since this nation was f founded id i have cave I 1 contributed so much to its prosperity and to its standing as s the greatest nation on earth those americans are our farmers when that museum is built and put into operation it will vip not be a place of static exhibits a storehouse of ancient relics in glass cases with written or printed labels to explain their meaning instead it will be a living museum W which hach presents graphically n not t only 7 the history of agri culau cultures past but bu t also the story of its present and its promise for the future the establishment of such a I 1 museum was forecast recently when the national agricultural jefferson bicentenary ary committee made a pilgrimage to charlottesville va there to visit the university of virginia and mon monticello ti 11 0 and pa pay tribute to the man whom claude claude R secretary of agriculture and chairman odthe of the committee chara characterized ai as the founder of modern american agriculture thomas jefferson another speaker on this occasion and the man who made the proposal for a national agricultural museum wa was H herbert erb erta A kellar dire director actor of the mccormick historical association in iw chicago speaking an on the subject of living agricultural mu museums he said in part let us consider tor for a moment what should be the character 0 a national agricultural museum it should probably be located in washington in gion or other appropriate place inthe in the united states housed in one or more large buildings a and 71 d surrounded with appropriate land landscaping a cap here outdo outdoors ori and under glass should be a shown 6 in cul cultivation tivi representative e rees trees shrubs fr fruits its plants flowers and other vegetation eget atlon of the united states the outer walls of the buildings should present bas showing the evolution of agriculture la in this country from the primitive indian culture of the time of first settlement to the mechanized farming odthe of the present day on the inner walls should be placed large murals ide pitting famous agricultural events and scenes thus might be found ell whitney experimenting with his cotton gin elkanah watson holding the first agricultural fair cyrus hall mccormick McCorm trying out his first reaper or lincoln signing the fact act creating the land grant colleges of equal interest would be the par portrayal of different types of agricultural operations such as the pro of wheat corn tobacco cotton sugar cane rice and and other field crops the cultivation of fruits and flowers cowers and the raising of cattle and Ilves livestock tock in addition to murals there should be a g gallery a alery of paintings of agrical agricultural a 1 1 leaders representing an all types y pes of activity A theater should likewise be provided where lectures music plays ballets and moving pictures of agricultural inte interest reit might be presented Dl dioramas oramas and operating models the evolution of agricultural machinery rural architecture elec ij io farm regions tra transport tation mining milling tanning meat pack ing and other types of processing should receive separate attention in appropriate exhibits including the use of dioramas operating models and full sized originals the museum should develop a sp special ecial library lisp include provision for publishing magazines bulletins and books house bouse and operate a radio station maintain close relations with the agricultural press cooperate with the land grant colleges and possess a microfilm m and photostat laboratory lor reproducing copies of literature about the museum i is as 1 well as I 1 pit pictures tures of I 1 its exhibits 1 an important part of the museum should be the exhibits d devoted e v c ted t to the social aspect of abric agric agricultural u 1 tu ral development the life if of the rural people should be fully portrayed for each era and for all classes clas clab ses and 1 41 lk y i AM TO THE FOUNDER OF ma MODERN AMERICAN CAN AGRI CULTURE members member of f the tt national Nt ll jefferson R ideate nary committee g in the h of f the tk university siti of Vir giali letfie background iss statue ta tuf ef thomas jefferson founder aier of f ticul esteil directly behind at a the tk li Is herbert berker A kellar director of f the th mccormick historical association wk who outlined u for a national agricultural museum PI places a ces the relation of agriculture to climate and soils sells entomology biology chemistry and engineering also merle merit adequate attention ahe the national agricultural museum should serve as the headquarters of important national arm organization organizations and pr provide otride appropriate quarters for this purpose this thi 8 would add I 1 prestige to the institution an essential feature 0 of f the museum m wa would uld be to establish est close relations i with educational educational institutions and its part the museum museum should offer general and special courses in the forslof form of lie lectures tures seminars and laboratory research pertaining 6 to various phases W of the history of agriculture eta and of technology in this and ad ther other 0 countr countries lis these courses r should hould be open to the public ard and I 1 qualified students should be permitted m bitted to take tak them ethem for educational credits in addition the museum 86 should provide internships intern ships tor for individuals v desiring to t specialize rn ro the in history story of agriculture and technology n 0 logy I 1 or OP nto ta letone agricultural m museum technique jn in reciprocity e educational d agencies should invite members of thi the museum staff to lecture i and to io give courses courses to the students of the institutions and to 6 arrange for foe regular visits of students to the museum tor for the purpose of information and instruction in all the activities of the museum its facilities should be developed to promote a better under r standing tan ding ot of democracy as illustrated in our agricultural development The seland like activities fully carried sut would undoubtedly justify the designation odthe ot the national agricultural museum as a living agricultural museum establish branch museums in additional addition Ad to a national agricultural museum located in washington there should be asso associated plated with it branch museums mu S a ams situated of t aa ted in different boull parts pa of 0 czuch the th united states these would j be of such character as to merit the designation living agricultural mit museums to an even greater greate ideO degree e than the national institution ution i these branch museums mus eunis should take adv advantage anlage of the existence in numerous numerous places in this country coun try of notable sites of representative cepres tentative enta tive agricultural activities which flourished in a former day and tor for a considerable period where possible such activities should be recreated at the original locations among those which come to mind ari are I 1 the production ot of wheat biorn corn tobacco cotton catton rice sugar cane indigo hemp flax vegetables vege tables fruits flowers cattle and livestock dairying stock farming maple sugar turpentine and lumbering As far as 6 practical in inch each instance operations erat ions should be shown tor for several periods such as the colon colonial fal post revolutionary antebellum ante bellum civil war reconstruction and early century likewise wherever earlier periods are shown some attention should be given to present day operations to coshow show contrast and evolution Colle collections Jons of physical objects such as implements and machines should also bi be assembled where pertinent to the particular cular activity the bonanza wheat farming farmin if of the dakotas from brogi the to the has long vinis vanished hid yet yek we know where rethe the Dalrym ples were located and have information about them the lumber camps althe of the same period in an michigan mic higan and wisconsin no longer exist yet we have voluminous records of particular companies and a few tracts of virgin timber are still standing it would still be possible to acquire wheat land ind and timber and to reestablish and 0 ind operate a bonanza wheat farm or an 0 o old id time Ita lumber hber camp there are a number of well known tobacco cotton rice and sugar cane plantations in the south and cattle ranches dairies and stock farms W in the middle west and west where original owne ownership iship of land has passed and original agricultural activities are naw now changed so some me of these could bi be acquired and reestablished to operate as formerly 1 in other instances the ahe ownership has changed but the original land holdings haye have been held together and aad still pi produce agricultural crops though not always the semeas same as before westover and curies auries neek heck and claremont on the lower james re plantations of type e ag bazis again i a there are i surprising number of famous holdings whichever which cheven even today aai are owned by the same families which ivere were in pos possession sessio n a hundred ar or more years ago shirley the carter estate on james river folly the cochran plantation An in augusta county walnut grove the mick farm in rockbridge county and berry hill the bruce plantation near halifax all of which are 10 located c ate d in virginia me meet this pattern ie rn the same is true of the middle ton estate on the cooper river and hampton hall the rutledge Hut ledge plantation on the santee river bothin both in south Caroll carolina ni in louisiana rose down the th bowman family 7 estate and the Cat cottage tige longtime long ing time re resi i sf dence of I 1 the butlers should be added the list could be considerably sider ably enlarged in other cases S uch such as mount vernon estate stratford the lee plan lation citation monticello the residence of 0 jefferson and the hermitage h home omo a of f andrew jackson memorial associations ciati clat ioni ons operate these places as museums with major attention given t to 0 the main dwellings the national park service operates wakefield the washington house and arlington the lee residence as well as a ther other well known places in keeping with the thea establishment ou of branch agricultural museums in various parts ot of tile cited united states it would be appropriate to set up a jefferson agricultural memorial yeal association which might operate in connection i with the thomas jefferson memorial foundation at monticello shadwell poplar foris forest t or other places directly associated with jefferson on one or moreon these original jefferson plantations tw two 0 types of activities might be on display one would be to ta carry out and reproduce the agricultural experiments recorded b by jefferson in his garden book and his aarm book including his development and trial ot of the moldboard plow A see sec ond toT to relate elate thesie these early arly enter enterprises pr foes to the latest and roost adva advanced need agricultural experiments of althe the present day set upside by side on an the th e same plantation they would provide striking contrast between the early time and today and would indicate the evolution ot of agriculture lif in the united states |