AGRICULTURE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12911, 28 February 1906, Page 7

AGRICULTURE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

(Nebraska, Letter in New York " Sun,")

Under a new law in this State, all teachers in the primazy and secondary grades must be able to'impart the rudiments of agriculture to their pupils, to tell them, something of the soil, its constituents, its culture, how it is seeded asd hew. the crops are harvested. It i» nob supposed that every teacher will be able to iissan, neither is it proposed to make of every pupil a practical -agriculturist. The aim is to instil into the minds of the children, a love and respect for agriculture, to make plain its possibilities, aud in the end to make more farmers.

This new departure has come ruilierfrom the farmers than. from the tchi<*ators, although the latter have been quick to see the advantages of the new system. Scattered through the West are thousands of men who have made -comfortable fortunes at .farming. They like their vocation, and they believe more men ought to be pursuing, it. They believe also that there will never be much else in the west than farming, and that the tiling to do :s to shape the educational poliey of this section so as to prod ,ce more farmers and ftwer professional men,.

Some western States have establisned experimental high schools where agriculture ds taught to. advanced pupils. These have not been very successful. The error lay in not beginning the instruction in the lower grades. That mistake is now to be remedied. The advocates of the new plan insist that the present educational system has turned out; too many trained dreamers and.trained thinkers, and that it is high time that its , product be trained doers.- '-.-"■'

Missouri, lowa, and .Nebraska TJniverskies # have been offering for several years nornfal course in agriculture for teachers who desire to or must give such instruction. This step has received the recognition of State superintendents, who award certificates on the agreement' to accept satisfactory work in agriculture in lieu of any science. The result has been to give- rise to chairs of agriculture in the State normal schools: Other near-by States are following suit. In Colorado Senator Patterson has offered 2500 dollars in gold as prizes to be distributed among the children, of the State for the best cereal seed raised within the next three years. The competition is open to every boy or girl under eighteen. In Nebraska and Kansas, two great corn States, corn improvement is the . end sought. Back of the movement is the influence of the State college of agriculture, the farmers' institutes,, the com improvers' associations, and the agricultural shows. In. 42 counties this year competitions have been held, the '"object of which is to induce the boys and girls to study the principles and conditions of plant growth. The public schools have in many instances taken up the work of corn, growing under the direction) of the county superintendent. In some of the farmers' institutes, association of the neighbourhood or of the county has organised corn-growing contests, and' arranged for a list of prizes. In others the teachers have urged the boys to grow a patch of com .of their own and prepare to exhibit iti when harvested next fall. The jnerehahtsand business men. generally of the sjnall towns have taught the spirit and .v__ >•; [\' . ..'