The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1899-07-01
Facts For Farmers

MI \. Y. True, ulltCtoI '' 'AP'i
mental stations Of the Department O
Agriculture. was before the iudustria
commission last week in Washington
Mr. True has visited every state ant
territory of the United States besidei
going to Europe to see what has beer
done there fer agriculture
The movement for agricultural edu
cation abroad in some respects ha'
reached its highest development Even
in countries that have been counted a.
unprogressive there Is a woy, ment m
this direction. lu Egypt there is in ag-
ricultural college. and recently the
Sultan of Turkey has called on the
Secretary of Agriculture to suggest a
form Ct such education for his sub.
jects
In the United States there are three
agencies for agricultural education and
research the agricultural schools and
colleges. the agricultural stations and
the Department OF Agriculture.
The last named is really a great expcr-
imeutal station Mr. True SAID he
would confne his remarks to the sys-
tenn Of agricultural education IN this
country and the work Of agricultural
stations He referred to the various
means for the education of farmers :
besides other establishments for such
purposes there is now movement for
nature studies IN rural public school
AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES
The agricultural colleges were organ
lied under what is known as 1.-THE land
grant act OF 1862 " The fact is that at
Amherst, Mass. is the only purely
agricultural college in the United States
though in twenty-seyen states there are
agricultural and mechanical arts insti.
tutions In twenty states these land
grant colleges are the state universities
in which there is department. Of agri-
culture, though these institutions take
in all branches Of instruction that their
means will permit
At the University Of Wisconsin there
is a special dairy school, which has sent
out 800 butter and milk specialists, be-
sides 1900 graduates skilled in bat
ter making on the farm. The graduates
receive more money for their work on
the farm because Of this special train
ing.
In this country at present there are
land grant colleges in all the states and
territories except Alaska, aud IN the
south there are separate colleges of that
kind for colored people There are
sixty flour of these institutions, sixty
one of which have special instruction
in agriculture. These institutions have
incomes from various sources aggregl5.
ing over s.. 600, 900 In the last year
they added to their college
plants to the extent OF 81 500, e
900. These institutions had 2,6ll
teachers, Of which l,722 were in the
agricultural and mechanic arts depart
ments. They have 81, 500 students, 4
whom 1, lSl are in the departments Of
agriculture and machanio arts The
number OF students in these schools is
not a complete index Of the influence
Of these colleges, for they are yearly
sending out body of trained men.
The schools for colored people, the
Hampton School Of Virginia and the
Tuskegee School, the later under Rocker
Washington. are developing agrlcul-
tursl instruction. Then there is a jew
ish school in Pennsylvania, supported
by the Baron Hirsch fund.
INSTRUCTION IN RURAL SCHOOLS.
In his judgment, every year shows
more conclusively that there Is a need
for the development Of secondary
schools for agriculture. There should
be special schools, run economically,
and scattered, so that the students
would have easy access to them. There
should also be a department Of agricul-
ture in the high schools in the rural
districts. The cities are developing
business and manual training depart
mepts. and the same thing should be
done in rural school for agriculture.
There has been rapid increase in the
number Of farmers institutes in the
United States. There were no exact
statistics on this subject, but he had
ascertained that they are now being
held in thirty states, and in the last
year 2, 900 such institutes were held and
attended by about half a million farm.
ers. At first the farmers attending
these institute meetings preferred hear
ing men who were informed on agri.
culture in their own section, bat now
there is a greater and greater demand
for experts, whether they were from
their own neighborhood or not. This
movement had been so far developed
that there was so great a demand on
some of the speakers that they could not
fully respond to the calls made on
them.
PAID LECTURERS FOR FARMERS INsTG-
TUTES.
Mr.. True thought the time had come
for paid teachers for this work, which
is the plan adopted in France. These
paid teachers for the institute could
travel. visit the Department OF Agri-
culture in this city and go elsewhere
whenever they saw an opportunity tc
gather information Of interest to the
farmers. In that way trained corps
of teachers could be established, and
they would do much to instruct the
farmers on advanced methods Of agri'