The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-04-23

Sometimes the country school
house has extensive and well-kept
grounds, but oftener it is in a pas
ture, a cultivated field or a wood
lot. In these instances, although
the Fairgrounds are usually ade-
quate, the opportunities for object
lessons in natural history and in va
rious profitable but incidental lines
of study may not be recognized.
The young farmer cannot be intro
duced to nature too soon, and should
never be Iong separated from her OBJ
ject lessons. Suitable textbooks de-
signed to lead him by easy stages
are still few and not we'll arranged.
We live in an age of specialized
work, and men of education must
usually, if they would become i'm
pressive, confine their inquiries to
n channel. The farmer deals with
soils, plants and animals, with heat
and cOld-in short, with nature in
her varied forms and manifesto
tions. 1t would seem wise, in the
interest of the commonwealth and of
himself, that he should be made
thoroughly acquainted with soils and
their composition, with the life of
plants and animals, and with the va
rious species that may be expected
to flourish in particular localities
and climates.
Yet although the farm keeps the
balance of trade in the nations
favor, furnishes two-thirds of our
exports, contributes to our manufac-
turing supremacy by providing cheap
food for our mechanics, compare
lively little has been done toward ed
ucating the farmer for his work.
To be sure, the United States has
done more for him than any other
country. In 1862, Congress endowed
agricultural colleges to teach the
sciences relating to agriculture. In
1867, experiment stations were pro-
vided for, where research might be
made into the operations of nature.
But considering that Americans
pay more money for public education
than any other people on earth, a
comparatively small proportion of
the sum is devOted to stimulating and
aiding that half of our people who
cultivate the soil. The tendency of
primary education has been to lead
the country youth away from the
farm instead of helping him in the
study of those sciences relating to
production. It would be polite and
patriotic to incorporate into the farm
youths education some knowledge
that shall bear more directly upon
his future life and work.
THE VALUE OF FLOWERS
And first, the ground around the
schoolhouse could be made to speak
out in a language easily ineligible
to the youth whose eyes have been
familiar with nature from the days
of the cradle.
Flowers should abound in the
schOOlhOuse grounds. They are
among the best of educators, for
they develop taste and a love for the
beautiful, and make men sensitive
to the attractive and lovely, in town
or country, in field or forest.
Moreover, the flower of the plant
has an economic use, concerning
which the scholar should be in
formed. Nature designed 1T to in
vite the ~wayfaring insect, and we
can employ it to delight the child in
it's first journey away from home.
Little people, in fair weather, should
not sit long at a time on benches in
school. The lawn should be arranged
for their pleasure, and in any such
arrangement flowers cannot be
omitted. Although their language
Will not be Immediately understood,
the child will, by gradual acquaint-
ance, learn to know and love them.