The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1881-11-03
Practical EdaeatIon.

Wherever the Agricultural College
has been united with the university,
the former has failed in the accomplish
ment of its true purpose. The expert
ence in Canada, where an attempt was
made to attach an Agricultural College
to wellequipped university. is thus
.ruthfully described by the officers In
charge "The one word failure gives
he history of all such arrangements.
Agriculture is oyershadowed by other
,tudies farming is elbowed out by
other professions. Agricultural stu
dents feel themselves of an inferior
.rade, the class dwindling and unsue-
essfII affair. Stubborn facts refuse to
sustain the theory that this department
sill work well in connection with gen
eral literary course" The Canadians
aow have an Agricultural College sepa-
ate from the University, where the
Students all laber upon the farm, often
Is many as FIVE hours daily, and so
sreat is the success Of the institution
WREN conducted in this practical way
that during the past year the manage
nent were obliged TO turn away two
hundred applicants for want Of accom-
modations. A similar experiment in
se separating the agricultural department
rom the literary and classical college
occurred in Mississippfan and Texas.
If the trustees Of our unsuccessful Ag-
ricultural Colleges would throw aside
their own hobbies and prcjudices, and
earn wisdom from their own expert
ence and the experiences Of others, they
would see that their failure to enlist the
sympathies and support Of the farming
classes arises from the fact that the col
eyes are not teaching practical agricul-
.vre. In far too many instances they
ire IN direct and senseless competition
with such institutions as Yale, Harvard,
Amherst, Bowdoin and others, in teach
.ng the languages and such higher
udies as are not needed by The young
man who desires a practical education in
agriculture. Even the name Of college
is unfortunate in this connection, as it
implies an attempt TO follow all the
routine of literally endowed universe
ties, 4 school Of agriculture represents
far better the purpose of these inslitu-
tons, a technical school for teaching
young men to earn their living through
agricultural pursuits, school where
not only theory but practice is exem-
pIifed 1t cannot be said there is anv
danger that farmer may know too
much, but it may be truthfully affirm
ed that life is not long enough for the
average young man OF moderate means
to spend four or five years in the theory
Of agriculture, astronomy, mathematics,
in the study Of languages and the higher
branches. when he stands in immediate
need Of such qualifications as shall ena-
Die him to earn living in cultiyating
The soil. a practical education, with q
proper groundwork Of theory, is far
more valuable to him than Il smattering
ofmany sciences without mastery of any,
or than head full of other peoples
ideas without the power of applying this
knowledge in the daily walks of life.
The Michigan Agricultural college is
the oldest successful institution of the
kind in the country. The past year
there were two hundred and sixty-fs e
regular students. Prof. W. j. Beal an
nounces that at this college the students
have from the start labored three hours
a day, and they have kept up a famili- |
arity with various operations on the
farm, orchard and garden. Exemption
from work-out-door farm work-has
always tended to wean students from
the farm. In college course for far
mers great stress should be placed on
the thorough training 70 investigate any
topic; they should be taught to make ex-
periments and to study the laws Of cor
rect Xperimentations. They will thus
acquire the habit of obtaining informa-
ton for themselves. Prof. Beal also
admits that his students declare few
practical work in the garden
or vineyard with the tutor is worth
more than all his lectures on similar
subjects. Books, lectures or theoret-
cal knowledge alone cannot make sue
cessful farmer. Without practical
knowledge it is difficult to comprehend,
apply, or even 10 prove the truth Of the
important theories. The study Of metal
IurgY alone would never fit the village
to forge il shoe or point a
nail 4 practical education would ena-
Die a young farmer to deal with special
rs they are seen to arise at
every turn, while mere theoretical
by itself would cause the en-
leavor to treat the special difficulties on
general principles, often leading to loss
md disaster. Our agricultural colleges
will never fulfill their true mission until
hey come down from their horse of aca-
lemic lore and teach their students prac-
ical agriculture through a combination
If the first principles Of the art, with
continuous and practical training in the
ield. There is no lack of colleges
wherein the student may devote his
ime to literature, the study of langua-
res and the higher mathematics but,
n the other hand, the college or schools
wherein the young man may secure a
PRACTICAL education in agriculture are as
ct few in number. The farming elias
es for whose advancement these insti-
utions were established have certain
lights which the trustees of these mis-
ranged colleges, with but few excep-
ions, have ignored. 1t is high time
hat the agricultural interests should
e consulted in this connection, and that
tactical education should be the watch
ord of the future-American Cultiva-
".
then to Feed Corn for Fattening Hogs.
L Z. IL