Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-05-03
AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS.


The year 1862 usually regarded as
marking the beginning of new era IN
the progress of agriculture, since it was
then that the department of agriculture
was created as an independent bureau,
and congress made it's liberal appropri-
alton of 1000 acres of tie public land
for each representative for the endow-
ment in each state of an agricultural
college. Twenty years have passed since
then, and the states have mostly drawn
and used up their appropriations in diff
ferent ways and with different results.
The experiments continue with varying
success, but have gone quite far enough
to show that the hopes raised by the leg
lslation of 1862 have not been realized,
and that a vast amount of the public
domain has been unwisely squandered
without agriculture being any the better
for it.
In the April Atlantic Eugene W. Hill
gard reviews these state efforts to found
schools for the special eduation of far
mers, and points out what he regards as
the causes of their failure. He was for
some years professor in an agricultural
college, and he remarks dryly that his
paper is due to " the abundant leisure
and opportunity for reflection which
such position afforded him. Pennsyl-
vania and Massachusetts divided the
fund, applying one part to instruction
in agriculture and the other to instruc
ton in mechanic arts, both purposes be-
ing embraced in the original donation.
The other states have not separated the
fund, but have either endowed a school
for these special purposes or have added
the endowment to some existing institu-
ton.
Inasmuch as the funds realized FROM
the congressional donation were seldom
sufficient to endow separate institution,
the only feasible way of utilizing them
seemed to be the adding of agricultural
and mechanical departments to existing
institutions; but in many states there
was a popular demand for separate
schools for farmers or none at all. The
radical error of the advocates of this
plan, says Prof. Hilgard, was that in
their anxiety to protect the agricultural
student from possible sneers, arising
from the Anticipated idea that all manual
labor is beneath the dignity of educated
men, they proposed to make that idea
determining factor in the choice of the
location, connection and organization of
the new schools by withdrawing them as
much as possible from contact with the
existing centers of high culture. In this
dignifed seclusion they hoped to con-
vince the pupils, uncontradicted, of the
dignity of labor, surrounding them with
dense agricultural atmosphere through
which no other rays should penetrate.
But the average student is obtuse to
the amusing features of blowing, hoeing
and wedding, and the more so the greater
his familiarity with them at home. He
may be persuaded or compelled to con-
form his acts to represented discipline,
but it may be gravely questioned
whether, as a rule, such compulsion is
conducive to preference for the pursuit
of agriculture as a life occupation. "
And this is proved by the small proper
ton who actually do become farmers.
Prof. HilgarG's conclusions are, in
substance, that education corresponding
to that given in the peasant schools of
Europe, impressing upon the pupil the
rules and practice of agricultural opera
tions by means of constantly repeated
manual exercise and at the same time
giving him merely elementary general
education, proves unsatisfactory and I'M
acceptable in this country. Neither is
there demand for high scientific train
ing in agriculture, apart from the need
of teachers for the agricultural schools
themselves. AS for the colleges which
combine agricultural labor with study,
their influence in improving the methods
of agriculture is slight, except so far as
they have assumed the character of ex-
pertinent stations. "Otherwise they are
in most cases petted Oh the one hand and
condemned as comparatively useless on
the other, in public discussions, in the
newspapers and in the legislature TO
which they must periodically apply for
pecuniary aid to supplement their in
adequate endowments.
The Monaghan Tide.
L. o4