For the Good of the Farmer , livre ebook

For the Good of the Farmer
Books in the Founders Series By Frederick Whitford


The Grand Old Man of Purdue University and Indiana Agriculture: A Biography of William Carroll Latta
The Queen of American Agriculture: A Biography of Virginia Claypool Meredith
For the Good of the Farmer
A Biography of
John Harrison Skinner
         DEAN OF PURDUE AGRICULTURE         
F REDERICK W HITFORD
Purdue University Press West Lafayette, Indiana
Copyright © 2013 by Purdue University
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Whitford, Fred, 1955-
For the good of the farmer : a biography of John Harrison Skinner, Dean of Purdue agriculture / Frederick Whitford.
pages cm. – (Founders series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-55753-643-3 (hardback) – ISBN 978-1-61249-265-0 (epdf) – ISBN 978-1-61249-266-7 (epub) 1. Skinner, J. H. (John Harrison), 1874-1942. 2. Purdue University. School of Agriculture. 3. College
administrators–Indiana–Biography. 4. Agricultural education–Indiana. I. Title. II. Title: Biography of John Harrison Skinner, Dean of Purdue agriculture.
S537.P88W55 2013
630.71′1772–dc23
2013003364
Design by Dawn L. Minns
The aim of the School of Agriculture is to train young men for scientific and practical agricultural work and to teach them to think straight, to analyze and meet every situation open-mindedly, and prepare them for useful work and citizenship. Agriculture has a bright future for those who have the vision to see the opportunities. —John Skinner, Purdue University Debris, 1927
DEDICATION
Purdue University’s College of Agriculture has, for more than a century, committed its full attention and all-out energies in making the farm more productive, the farm family healthier, and the farm populace—young and old—better educated. During this time, thousands of individuals from the College of Agriculture have contributed their talents to the betterment of agriculture and rural Indiana. Their work continues today as a living legacy, with each preceding generation of agricultural worker providing the basis by which the next generation adds to the ever growing and expanding scaffold of agricultural knowledge. This book is dedicated to the memory of all those who have, in the past, applied their expertise to help Indiana agriculture, the Hoosier farmer, and the farm family. Those of us working in the College of Agriculture are proud to carry forward their aspirations along with our own that we might contribute to a better Indiana.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One Purdue University and John Harrison Skinner: The Institution and the Individual
1 The Evolution of Indiana’s Cow College
2 The Farmer Earns an Agricultural Degree
3 The Transition from Farmer to Livestock Professor
Photographs and Illustrations
Part Two Building a Livestock Program from the Ground Up: Only the Best Will Do (1902–1907)
4 An Eye for Livestock
5 Astute Judge and Fiery Competitor
6 The Teacher, Advisor, and Recruiter
7 Using Scientific Studies for Profit
8 The Newspaper Writer, Public Speaker, and Farm Advisor
Photographs and Illustrations
Part Three The Age of Agricultural Expansion at Purdue University: Building the Agricultural Programs (1907–1928)
9 The Challenge to Grow
10 Bringing Expertise to Classrooms and Departments
11 The Builder of Barns, Buildings, and Pavilions
Photographs and Illustrations
12 The Undergraduate Experience
13 Farm Boys and Their Necessity for Work
14 Staff and Students Drafted for World War I
15 Enrollment Bubble Bursts during the Agricultural Depression
Photographs and Illustrations
16 Footsteps around the Farm
17 All Roads Lead to the International Live Stock Exposition
18 A Research Reputation Built on Livestock Feeding Experiments
19 A Fledgling Graduate Program
20 Expanding Purdue’s Teaching and Research Farms
21 Extension Gives Voice to Research
Photographs and Illustrations
22 The Dean of Politics
23 Two Old Rams Butting Heads
24 Offers to Leave for Greener Pastures
Photographs and Illustrations
Part Four The Agricultural Executive for Purdue University: Leading the Teaching, Research, and Extension Programs (1928–1939)
25 The Wizard of Depression-Era Budgets
26 Maintaining the Status Quo of the Teaching Programs
27 A Commitment to Land for Research and Demonstrations
28 Riding the Extension Wagon across Indiana
29 The Trip to Europe and Accolades for Achievements
Part Five A Career Ends Like It Started—On the Farm
30 Put Out to Pasture
31 The Last Farm Visit
Epilogue
Hoosier by Birth, Farmer by Choice, Researcher by Passion
Photographs and Illustrations
Notes
Sources
Index
PURDUE
Purdue is not so much a place as an idea.
The Idea is that knowledge is a common good,
Not to be preempted by the few
But made available to all,
Including those who lack both wealth and social status.
The Great Idea is to dip
Into that huge reservoir of intellect
Possessed by those not born to the elite,
To share accumulated knowledge,
Thereby to multiply its total
And Make more broad the base of our society.
I came bearing common baggage:
Myths, perceptions, attitudes and questions,
Loyal to my background,
More inclined to build thereon than challenge it.
My teachers changed that.
They opened doors I hadn’t known existed.
I came to study agriculture, and so I did,
Farm management, agronomy, genetics, and the rest.
“Useful?” was the question I first asked
Of all I heard and read.
But my teachers gave that word new meaning.
I sought to learn how to kill the cutworm;
They taught me metamorphosis.
I wished to know how best to feed the animals;
They offered me the benzene ring.
I hoped to learn who made the price of wheat;
They drilled me in supply and demand.
“Applications”, my teachers said,
“Are well and good. That is for the Winter Course.
You should be ploughing deeper.”
Slowly I let down my guard
And so began to learn.
I had thought of education as filling empty cups
Held out for learning.
I came with that perception, well-motivated,
Holding out my bowl, intent to have it filled.
Then I learned what education really means.
It doesn’t mean “fill up”; it means “lead out.”
I was led away from ignorance and prejudice
By my great teachers:
Estey, Young, Sears, Lull, Muller, Cutler, King,
And my mentor, O. G. Lloyd.
I added extra courses
And obtained a liberal education
Along with the degree in agriculture.
I came intent to know the facts
And learned to grasp the principles.
I learned that what I thought was chaos
Was mere confusion, amenable to ordering.
My genes were from the common wellspring;
I brought them to the academic pool.
To some Purdue is but a place
With grounds and trees and buildings.
To some Purdue is sports, with teams that win or lose.
To me Purdue is the Great Idea,
The Great Idea that always wins.
—Dr. Don Paarlberg
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
B IOGRAPHIES ARE NOT WRITTEN IN A VACUUM. The work involved in the compilation of information is more than just what the author writes. It involves many people to make such a book possible about someone who lived so long ago. This author was indeed fortunate to have had the assistance of so many people who all helped and provided much encouragement on this long journey.
While it is impossible to name everyone, I would like to acknowledge a few who helped pave the road to the completed biography of John Harrison Skinner.
I would be remiss if the editor of this book, Carolyn McGrew, were not mentioned. Her professional editing and her willingness to go beyond just the words helped to make the life of John Harrison Skinner a more cohesive and easier-to-read biography.
Special recognition goes to Dawn L. Minns for her artistic talents in designing the dust jacket and the layout of the book. Thank you also to Marilyn Augst of Prairie Moon Indexing for preparing the index.
The following individuals provided important contributions and assistance in the development of this biography:
Richard Bol, Purdue University Libraries
Shauna Borger, The Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special
Collections Research Center, Purdue University Libraries
Mike Foster, The Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special
Collections Research Center, Purdue University Libraries
Nancy Skinner Giddens (granddaughter of John Skinner),
Greenwood, Indiana
Neal Harmeyer, The Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special
Collections Research Center, Purdue University Libraries
David Hovde, The Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special
Collections Research Center, Purdue University Libraries
Kristin Leaman, The Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special
Collections Research Center, Purdue University Libraries
Phil Reid, Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University