The Russellville Democrat., 1893-10-26
ARKANSAS HONORED.
THE RUSSIAN SECTION GIVES A RE- CEPTlON IN HONOR OF PRO-
 LESSOR ]. Il. SHlNN.
IMPRESSIVE CEREMONIES.
Arkansas Has Two Hundred and Fifty Varieties of Apples on Exhibition
 at the Worlds Fair.

had three-line editorial which ran this way:
 "With two hundred and fifty diff ferent varieties of apples displayed, the Arkansas section has a decidedly fruity flavor"
 This is compliment most worth fly bestowed All are pleased with our apples and the display is lead ing one at the fair. 1t is another laurel in our cap, and one that will influence our material prosperity by giving new impetus to grand industry. It will go far towards solving the questions of soil adaptability and of the lines which our school education should take.
 The only criticism upon our fruit is its indistinct classification. The va ieties are not clearly differentiated and they cross in so many ways. This was to be expected. In our effort to conquer the wilderness and to create the industry our energies were necessarily devoted to mass and quantity. Our next step must be scientific one. We must plant to develop species, and labor to obtain purity and clear definition. And here our education is defective. The schools deal too much with wide generalizations. The time has come for our state to become character istic. Nor will 1t be difficult to ac- complish this. All teachers are wrestling with the problems of busy work, methods of inducing true form, color and design. If we shall now harness this ever present ac- tiyity to the special forms of indus try, precipitated by our environ ment we shall at once solve the basic problems of the schools and unravel the unscienti6e tangle of our wonderfully energized Why not make pomol ogy a specialization in our kinder gartens and primariesf Is there not a greater mass of color and form in this than in the so called kinder garten and primary materialsf Will n the interest of pupils be more and valuably maintained in regular consecutive study of the myriad forms of apples than in stick weaving, marble counting and tooth pick architectural Can it invali- date the essence of true teaching to substitute the beautiful, the graceful, the absolute ly true forms of nature for the false, crude and deformed specimens we find in the schoolsf
 Will 1t be said that teaching of pomology regularly, progressively and technically through the gram mar and high school grades IS inn practicableq l think uot Our en- vironment has outlined great in dustry for us, and this in turn de- mands that our education should be conducted to suit the environment. If all our children shall be taught the truth about natural products, adaptability of soils, methods of culture and planting, characterization of fruits, it will fol low that our work will be easier, our products far more valuable, and our prosperity increased. l sincerely trust that the university will take up the practical and scientific sides of this question and lead our citizens to such conservation of our mar vicious emery as shall make it inn possible for misdirection to engen- der waste and loss. It is an honor to have power; bot it is a greater honor to direct it so wisely as that every part of it shall carry a load.
 The schools alone can give us the elements for conservation of force, and it is imperatively necessary that the duty be performed. The func- ton of the free mass school is of an unlimited nature. May all men love it and wisely endeavor to help it meet its functional demands. And the bureau of agriculture needs vitalization. Columns of figures are not apples, not methods of culture, not beauty of form, not delicious flavor, not spe- cialization, not intelligence, not a quid pro quo, not much of anything.
 We need beautifully colored plates of our own fruits; we need scientific truth; we need love and attention. This bureau can give all of this and more. Nor will the people grumble {; nay, when the wsrm hand of real
 help shall come to them from this
 grand bureau they will rise up co masSe and call it blessed.
 Conservatism of force is lesson
 for this bureau to study.
 A RUSSIAN CUSTOM.
 A very impressive custom was per formed at the Russian section yes
 terday at a reception given to Pro-
 lessor Shinn. The able was loaded
 with fruit, teaand wine and around
 it were the Russian commissioners
 and attaches. Professor Krupsky
 presided, and at the proper moment
 he arose and took from sideboard
 long loaf of bread, in the center
 of which had been
 fitted a beautiful colored
 glass upon which was engraved the
 name of Professor Shinn, and in the