Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-08-05
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

The professors in our various agricultural
and industrial colleges recently held a Couter-
euce at Purdue University, Indiana at which
the important problems in technical educa-
ton were discussed. The most serious uues-
ton of all, however, seemed to be the fuuda-
mental one: How can we get any students
OF agricultural to educsteSn In the admir-
ably equipped Illinois university the sgri.
cultural department has had at times but two
or three students aud the same is true OF
Ohio At Purdue itself there are no over
shadowing literary or professional department
which are believed 10y some critics tn smother
and repress the industrial branches when
all are combined in asingle university And
yet in this college, strictly one OF agriculture
and mechanics, with 200 students on its rolls
only two members Of the sophomore class
and nine freshmen are taking the agriCultur-
al course Wherever students have any lat
itude of choice between Il course including
agriculture horticulture and forestry on one
hand and science, mechanics ana art ON the
| other they largely select the latter. And II
| should he added that in certain Western tn-
| stitutious where the agricultural course does
| make brave show of members, the science
taught is of the most elementary character
and not to be compared with the work done
in Maine, Massachusetts, New Haven, Cor
nell and other Eastern colleges.
But the young men are not alone in their
aversion to the systematic study OF agriCul-
ture. The feeling seems to be shared by
their parents. Farmers send their sons TO
the land grant colleges and express their pre-.
terence for the course that Omts agriculture.
One reason tor this is that many of them have
no faith that any instruction can be given in
a college that will he a direct and special
help to agricultural practice Others consider
the rewards Of agriculture so slender that
they counsel their children to abandon the
farm and enter one of the learned professions
or adopt some more lucrative business. Doubt
less the first of these opinions influences the
young man as strongly as the second.
When he is told that a civil engineer or
master mechanic needs a course of technical
study while such course will avail the
farmer nothing, this means TO him that he
will have less need of brains on the farm
than in other occupations lie shuns the
| farm because he is taught that it offers no fair
field for the activity OF a trained mind as
| well as because 1t offers no opportunities for
| quickly acquired wealth. He avoids the
agricultural course in the college because he
| feels that it will give no vigorous exercise 10
his intellect \ stigma thus rests upOn agri-
| cultural study as well as upon agricultural
practice. In the students view OF the case ii
| takes a lower rank and is less honorable than
other studies
That such ideas prevail to any extent among
young men or older ones is misfortune. \
| large proportion OF our population must
| always be devoted to agriculture, and where
| farmers work their own land ana have an
! equal voice with others in the management
| inferior like the agricultural classes in the old
| world. The prizes of agriculture are not
| glittering, but the failures are few. not only
| is ii safe and honorable calling but in a
| peculiar way il teaches the young lessons of
| thrift, prudence, self.help and self-relance, a
| fact which explains why So large a percent
| age of the men of mark in every walk of life
| passed their childhood on farms 1t is true
that too many farmers are satisfied to labor
| with their hands without giving proper study
| and thought to their work. But out oi
sharper competition must come improved
methods and the farmer skilled to apply
science to practice will be the one whose sue
| cess is assured.
| The sum of the matter, then, Is this The
country relies az last on its farmers. The
farmer of the future must work with inCreas
ing knowledge of his business. The agri
| cultural colleges stand prepared to furnish
| this training The men who need II mos
| fail to appreciate their need, or do not know
| that the colleges can supply it, or positively
distrust and in some cases openly oppose
| them.
| Since public opinion Is not vet ripe 70
technical schools Of agriculture which woult
| rank in thOruugbness with those OF Europe
| subject worth discussing is Chow shal
| public opinion be educated on this point !?
| The Purdue convention urged upon the pro
| fessors to organize farmers institutes AM
| help conduct them, and to distribute bui
| letins giving details OF instructive lines O
| experimental work. But after ali it wa
| nOpeu tnat interest ana sympathy could D
best aroused by the home influence of stu
dents and alumni, and that meanwhile a
much of technical instruction as pOssibl,
should he mingled with other lines OF study
This looks like slow and tedious process
! but 1t could be materially fastened if th
press, and particularly the agricultural press
| would give more attention to the work o
the colleges and commend il accordingly Il
its deserts. The habit is too prevalent o
| sneering at the institutions and the teacher
| in them, because their classes in agriCul
| ture are 50 small, when II IS plain tina
these very sneers help to keep STUDENT
away.