The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-08-29
The Path to Success.
BY PLOWMAN.

The ways to success are few, the
ways to failure many. have tried to
show how much Vermont is losing by
failure to provide facilities for agricul-
tural education, and now desire to
offer some suggestions as to the way
out of failure and loss-the path to sue
cess in agricultural education:
Tristan independent institution
should be established. 1t should have
its own buildings, its own board of trus-
tees, its own teachers, its own funds.
The surest way to ruin school of agri-
culture is to overshadow it by literary
or scientific institution. United to the
university, the chances are ninety-nine
of failure to one of success. indie
pendent of the university, the chances
are ninetv-nine of success to one of
failure. For Vermont to attempt to
build up successful agricultural col
lege without making it independent
would be to throw away the costly les
son of the past twenty years. / can
see no motive for continuing the pres
ent arrangement except economy-mis-
guided, wasteful economy. l believe
that five dollars put into an independ-
ent school would accomplish as much
as twenty-five under the present ar
rangement.
Second-The course of study should
not be too long. A four years course,
with year of preparatory study be-
tween it and the common schoOl-tive
e oil 60
young men. And the many should be
provided for-the majority-rather than
the few. We must take things, too, as
they are, not as we would have them.
However desirable four years of study
may be, many can not spend this
length of time, and such should have
an opportunity to go from the common
school to two or three years course.
Third-The expenses should be mod
crate. Tuition should be free to resi-
dent students. A labor fund should be
provided, so that students could pay
the necessary expenses, or the most of
them, by labor. This would remove a
! great barrier. Vermont needs educated
farmers, and has long enough neglected
making provision for them. Now she
should do her best to secure them.
Fourth-The right men should be put
in charge. Mismanagement has ruined
many an agricultural college. Money is
necessary, but good management is more
necessary. The one great reason why
Michigan has succeeded so we'll in ag-
ricultural education is because wisdom
has guided the affairs of her agricul-
tural college. She has secured as teach
ers some of the best men in the coun-
try, has given manual labor its true
place and has granted the college the
most liberal support. l have an idea
that a professor of agriculture should be
practical farmer-that is, he should
own and carry on farm, as Professor
A. j. Cook does. A professor OF
agriculture ought to be an enthusiastic
farmer and able to make his pupils en-
thusastic farmers. 1t is of little use to
send bright young men from the farms
to the agricultural school and have
them turn out lawyers, doctors and
men of other professions. That is not
what the state needs, and a school OF
agriculture that creates distaste for
farming, while imparting scientific
knowledge, would be a poor Investment
This building up agricultural colleges
to spoil young men for the farm is 9
great evil, largely the result of misman
agement.