Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-03-15

" Farmers" letter, as follows:
lie says it The Agricultural College Fund
should leGitmately hsve been expended in tn
| education Of the of tho farmers and the me
chanics of the state, to prepare them not only 70
private success in their various calIngs, but ais
| to engage in the great work OF developing tn
agricultural and mechanical resources OF tn
State"
That is precisely the way in which the in
come of the fund has been expended
The Register proceeds to comment, will
remarkable fairness and good sense, on tht
subject, as follows:
Now it is proverbially easy to tear down
lington claim, and their claim seems
founded on experience, that an agricultural
school cannot be maintained in this State
and that an industrial school cannot be
maintained in connection with one. The
.eason is plain The farmers of Vermont
feel no active interest in agricultural educa-
ton. The farmer who intends son 20 fol
low his own pursuit keeps him ut home
upon the farm and educates him himself
Tic does not propose to have him wasting
valuable time at an agricultural school
learning what he could learn more thor
oughly al home. II he educates a son, he
does not educate him for farmers labor
ious and humble calling, but for lawyer, a
perehance congressman. Agri-
cultural colleges in this country are nOtori-
ously failures. However ample their funds,
however practical and valuable their curri-
culum, however learned and competent
their beard of instructors, they fail
of their end - the education OF farm
ers - because the young men do not 90
to them to be educated. The num-
Der of graduates from the highest endowed
and best managed agricultural schools in other
States is insignificant and altogether out of
proportion to the expense of running them.
Therefore, until Farmer can make his
fellow farmers see that the reason why they
are falling behind in the race for prosperity,
why terrible competitor is fast eating off
their profits, why mortgages remain unpaid
why dissatisfaction and discouragement with
their calling are daily driving them from
their farms and into worst conditions else
wherein short, until he can make them
understand that the reason why farming
does not pay Is the want of that intelligent
method and economy which scientific knowl
edge put into practice alone can give, he
ought to admit that there is force in the plea
of the advocates OF Burlington that they are
doing as well with the fund as can at pres
ent be done.
The Brattleboro Record expresses regret
that the agricultural College question"
was not up for discussion at the Montpelier
meetings of the State Board of Agriculture.
No representative Of the University and
State Agricultural College laid straw
in the way of such di-eussion,- the College
has nothing to conceal and the Record can
be sure that the College welcomes any fair
discussion. and is anxious to meet any gen
uine desire on the part of farmers for better
facilities for the education Of their sons "
The Record says:
Since the Agricultural College and
the Board of Agriculture are so in
timately connected, President Buckham
being er-oGcio member of the
Board, it was to BE- expected that at this
grand rally of educators, the subject of edu-
cation would have prominent place in the
and that an opportunity would
be given for the college to speak for itself
President Buckham was called upon by some
one in the audience to speak on the general
subject of education in connection with Col
Mead's address, and he responded very hap
PLY, offering some very practical and yalu-
able thoughts. He also, in connection with
Prof. Atwster's address, took the opportu-
nifty to say that system of experiments has
been in contemplation, to be tried the COM
ing season, in different parts of the State,
under the direction of the Agricultural Col
lege, and arrangements are being made for
that purpose. We said last week that no
valuable results could be expected from any
thing the college proposed to DO on a single
farm. ut the opposite extremity Of the State
without funds or help. We are very glad to
learn that something more than this is pre-
posed, and shall lock for system of expert
ments which will bo of real service to the
farmers nf tho Stotc