6. Descriptions of the Collections


Agricultural society publications, such as proceedings, newspapers, and constitutions and by-laws,
demonstrate that interest in agriculture became intense during the latter half of the nineteenth century
due, primarily, to the economy and falling cotton prices. Farm protests movements such as the Farmers
Alliance and the Arkansas Agricultural Wheel, founded in Des Arc, Arkansas, looked to political remedies
to economic woes. By 1884 there was a Grand State Wheel with nearly five thousand members in 114
subordinate Wheels. The Arkansas Grange was much larger with over twenty thousand members in it
peak year of 1875. The state legislature responded by enacting the Barker Act in 1887 which, among
other things, created the position of superintendent of agriculture at the University. Albert E. Menke, a
young chemistry professor, became the first superintendent. Among his early accomplishments was the
creation of a University agricultural farm.

Legislation at the national level, namely the Hatch Act of 1887, also had an impact. The Arkansas
legislature officially accepted the $15,000 provided by the Hatch Act, and the Arkansas Agricultural
Experiment Station came into being, with Mr. Menke as its first superintendent. The first Bulletin was
entitled "Experiments on Cotton and Corn in Drew County" by F.M. Bordeaux. Subsequent issues of the
Bulletin dealt with a multitude of problems that beset Arkansas farmers, including hog cholera, fertilizers,
and erosion. The Station also produced studies on cotton, corn, sorghum, and tree diseases. Materials in
need of preservation include extant circulars, special reports, and annual reports that document the
programs and activities of the Experiment Station.

The establishment of the Agricultural Extension Service in 1914 by the Smith-Lever Act, and the
Arkansas State Plant Board in 1917 by the state legislature, were major steps in the promotion of
scientific agriculture. The Arkansas Gazette, the state's leading newspaper, had long complained about
Experiment Station bulletins being too difficult to comprehend for the large number of illiterate farmers,
suggesting that demonstration projects could provide tangible results from scientific research that would
benefit farmers directly. Thus, the Extension Service became a conduit for the application of basic work
that was done at the University. One of its early successes was in the eradication of ticks in western and
northwestern Arkansas, supported in part by an allocation of $50,000 from the state legislature.

In 1808 Fortescue Cuming suggested in a letter that a small lake near present-day Helena, Arkansas,
would make "a fine situation for rice grounds." It would not be for nearly 100 years, however, that a
successful crop of rice was grown for commercial purposes. In 1904 William H. Fuller grew a stand near
Carlisle, Arkansas. Five years later the rice harvest passed the 1,000,000-bushel mark. Up until 1940
Arkansas was one of the four leading states in the production of rice, growing about twenty percent of the
country's crop. Today the state is the number one producer.

By the end of World War I, the agricultural economy of Arkansas, like much of the South, was devastated.
Records of the time show that many state legislators proposed sweeping changes to address the needs of
farmers, going so far as to suggest that the University be relocated to Little Rock. How such a move
would invigorate the economy was never fully outlined, but reflected the desperate conditions of the time.
However, in 1918 in a printed report entitled Arkansas, Farming Conditions and Farm Loan Needs, the
Banking Committee of the Little Rock Board of Commerce expressed optimism when it stated that: "We
have shown here that the spirit of progress has awakened in our state and that our farmers are taking
advantage of the opportunities of learning better farm methods... We have pointed out our excellent
system of co-operation of County Farm Demonstration Agents in place in 64 counties. These people
work under the supervision of the United States and of the state and are teaching better farming methods
and the diversification of crops and also developing the livestock industry." The report proved to be
somewhat prophetic. By the mid-1920s the state's agricultural bases showed improvement, largely due to
a favorable turn in the national economy.

However, the upswing in the economy was short-lived. The flood of 1927 had a devastating effect on
thousands of people along the Mississippi River. In 1930, the Arkansas banking system collapsed as the