The Iowa transcript. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1858-1866, 1859-08-04
Principles and Advantages OF Iowa
Farmers College.

Farmers College.
There are so many who do not un-
derstand the principles and advantages
Of an Agricultural School, that / have
been induced to embody sones Of them
in the following article, which I hope
will call forth some reflection upon the
subject. I have been induced to do this
from the fact that I have frequently
heard it remarked, by some Of our most
intelligent men, that "Agricultur.l Col
lege was very great humbug." On
conversing with such person two or
three minutes, they almost universally
acknowledge the principles to be right,
and hope we shall succeed. Political
strife has not entered our Board, and We
do not expect it. All parties wish US
success, and give US their aid:
!. Our State is pre- emincntly an
agricultural country, and hence the
greater necessity for agricultural knowl-
edge.
2. Our State is new and compare
lively poor, and but few who would be
glad to send their sons to High School
have the means to spare to do so. The
tuition of this school is to be forever
FREE, and the boys will all compelled to
work few hours each day, enough to
pay about half their board; thus making
it Of less expense to both the State and
the scholar than any other school.
8. Regular daily exercise is indis
pensible to health. It is great dctri.
ment to the health of a young man to
take him from hard labor of the farm
or shop, and set him down at school.
Backward ia his studies, and ambitious
to keep up with his class, his great
change of habit ruins his health.
4. By manual labor, and vigorous
health Of body, the student learns fas-
ter.
5. By the three or four hours labor
upon the Farm, the student requires the
most APPROVED PRACTICAL KNowL.
EDGE OF THE CULTIVATION OF THE
EARTH, and all the variety Of products
suited to this climate-A KNOWLEDGE
SECOND IN IMPORTANCE ONLY TO THAT
OF THE WRITTEN LANGUAGE OF OUR
MOTHER ToNGUE-in the omission of
which, most Of our educationa. men
have made wide mistake.
s. It is expected to giye most thor
ough instruction in all the Natural
Sciences, and especially the vegetable
and animal KINGDOMS in all their i'm
mense variety Id thereby acquire a
knowledge Of raising fruits, crops, for.
ests and animals, and to remedy the
diseases and defects Of the same, by ac-
tnal practice upon the Experimental
Furn,.
Z. The graduates CT this school will
be qualified for the mechanics shop, or
the farm, or any other business, either
public or private, except it may be the
learned professions, and these studies
are indispensable to them. They only
need to add other studies.
8. The United States government
appropriates annually from $4,000 to
100000 for agricultural purposes. This
is far more useful than many millions
otherwise spent. A powerful effort will
be made next session Of Congress to
establish an Agricultural Bureau, with
a Secretary. It now becomes the duty
Of each State to open an Experimental
Farm, to receive, plant, cultivate, and
report to the Secretary Of Agriculture
those valuable seeds, plants and animals
which are gathered from all nations Of
tho earth, and to return to that Office q
portion Of those valuable seeds Z; and
thus to cooperate with the national
government in encouraging and sus-
tanning the most important and valuable
(though much neglccted) interest Of!
our country. SUEL FOSTER.
Muscatinc, July, 1850.