Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1871-07-21
From the Vermont Farmer.
Agricultural Students what will they
0o2

From the Vermont farIntr-
Agricultural Students what will they
Do?
We notice paper after papers among our
political exchanges taking up the following
statistical item and basing sncers at agricul-
tural education upon 1t:
- Ot the graduating class, twenty-nino in
numbor, at the Massachusetts, Agricultural
College, some intend to be lawyers, some
ministers, some engineers, eleven are unde-
cided, butnof one sets himself down as pro-
posing TO he a farmer
Now we submit, in the first place, that
these facts are quite too small 10 base any
| conclusions up1n-still less the conclusions
that agricultural college are ofno value % the
| agriculture Of the country. To be so very
eager 30 draw this conclusion as some of our
! c9jemVorarios are. looks as though ''thc wish
were father to the thought
II ont of half "a dozen or a. dozen such classes
considerable majority should regularly en-
gage, at first. in some other occupation than
farming, it would still be nothing against the
usefulness Of agricultural colleges
Most of the young mon who have attended
these colleges, So far. arc not sons Of farmers,
and they are mainly poor. They cannot en-
gage I'm farming at once, for they cannot get
farms. They have good practical educations.
embracing knowledge OF all the natural
sciences, mechanics and engineering, and this
I opens g. them nc once a number OF lucrative
emroyments. Ii Is not 70 he wondered Mt
that they accept them, and this Is no proof
that they have no intention Of embarking IN
agriculture. when q proper time occurs.
IN Europe among like chances for young
men graduating from agricultural colleges.
are the 0ycrsoCrships oi large farms and
/ landed estates, and we understand that the
majority Of such graduates are demanded for
| these situations. Ia this country there arc
| few or no similar opportunities. The rail-
roads, and other great engineering and in
| dustrial enterprises, do offer them opp9rtu
mites. and viii at first absorb many Of them.
/ But most OF these VIII eventually bring upon
/ farms ot their own, and VIII have abundant
chances Of demonstrating the value Of "a sci-
cntiic and systematic agricultural education.
As for those who choose the ministry oI
/ the practice of medicine. most of them viii ho
/ located in the country. ard viii prove eff
eient missionaries IN just the places where
they VIII De most useful. 1t viii not be
many years before the most of them viii BE
tilliug farms of their own.
While We hope tia, gradually the farmers
VIII gain confidence in the wisdom of send
ing their sons to agricultural colleges, and
viii afford them, on the old homcstcais, op-
/ portunitos llr carrying out into practice the
/ knowledge they obtain thee. even the fact
that mest Of the pupils arc drawn from other
classes Of the population does not discourage
us, OF lead us to doubt that the knowlcdg
acquired there VIII, in most cases, he reduced
To practice Meanwhile wc think the agri
cultural journals ought TO caution their read
ers against beiug pTci4dicci or misled by the
sneers and pooh-p0ohins of the political
press in regard 10 this subject. There j.
a c5l1red individual on that wood pile