Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-07-29
Operation Of am Agricultural
COLLEGE.

Operation of am Agriculture
College.
! 1.-THE following interesting letter, receive
by Suel Foster Foster, Esq, of this city, fro,
an intelligent and practical farmer of Penn
sylvania, who is acquainted with the operatio
Of the Agricultural College Of that stat'
ought to remove the prejudices existing in tn
minds of many farmers against such institr
tions :-EDIToR JOURNAL.
HUNTINGDON Co., Pa, July l6, 1853.
have received yours of the llth. 1t is
source Of pleasure to me to communicate witt
you, or any other person who has the intercs
of agriculture in view. l feel assured tina
the men who have the magnanimity tn. devot
themselves to introducing and getting int
operation schools of that kind are among tn,
greatest benefactors to the rising generation
and all succeeding ones, and their name!
ought to be handed down III company with
the Signers of the Declaration of Independ
ence. 1t is lamentable fact that grea
majority Of our youth that have been educated
at our no-work colleges have returned from
them with only book education, and, il
studious, with debilitated body and consti
tuition; if otherwise, with bad habits, and in
both cases without any practical understand
ing of how to apply their knowledge to the
everyday business Of life, and with an utter
abhorrence or a looking down on all useful
labor as being beneath them. Now, if we can
give them good book education, and at the
same time teach them to apply it to the useful
purposes of life, developing their physical
faculties, and teaching them that all useful
labor is equally honorable, and that the man
is best educated who is taught how to be most
useful, we shall have accomplished that which
hope our Agricultural Colleges will do.
Our College is about % miles from here.
l visited it in May, and spent part of two
days there. was really delighted with its
operation. There were no idlers among the
students or professors, all being engaged in
writing, studying or working. There were
l04 students divided in.o two classes third
and fourth the third class to graduate in
three years, and the fourth class in four years
Each student labors three hours each day
There is list made out each week, showing
what hour of the day each student has to 60
to work, and what he must work at. 1t is
hung up in the main hail. so that each student
knows what he has to do, and when to COM
mence, for that week. There are no servants
"a baker, cook, washer woman, farmer and
uperintendent-the rest being all done by
the students; and l was astonished how
much they had done, and how cheerfully and
energetically the boys went to their work.
When the time comes to change, they put on
their working clothes, and, at the ringing Of
the bell, start off running and jumping and
singing; the others come in more quietly, 60
to the wash-rooms and wash, change their
clothes, and 60 to their studies or recitations.
On going over the farm where the boys were
at work, and asking them questions, they
would answer very civilly, but would not stop
to talk. They put out about 80 acres of corn,
have about 80 acres of grass to NOW, and
about 80 acres of winter wheat-all very good;
about 5 acres of garden, large nursery, Q5
or 20 acres,) large lot Of potatoes, &C., and
a hot-house for plants anu flowers. noticed
that the boys almost all had small spot for
flowers and shrubs, and had boxes and pots
in their study windows, showing that they
had taste for their occupations. On my
enquiring of them how they liked the work
part, they invariably said they liked it better
than the study, that it was exercise and rec
reation. Each two students have room "A
by 16 feet, with two single beds, bureau,
dressing glass, clothes press, writing table,
and place for books are quite comfortable,
and live well. They fatten and kill their own
beef, and raise their own vegetables, and
heartier, fatter, better looking set of boys l
never saw in my life. They are taught and
lectured on grating, budding, splicing, fruits,
flowers, grain, insects, feeding cattle, their
anatomy and diseases-in fact, almost every
taught that they will have to
graduate, and that their diploma will state
what grade or standing they will be entitled
to on all the different branches of agriculture,
horticulture, &C., as we'll as book education.
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CUBA AND THE AFRICAN SLAVE Trade