The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1903-03-13
THE INSTITUTE.
An Interesting Gathering OF
Fruit Growers in Hood River.
(Continuad from last week
(Continued from last week.

lCOntlnued from last week.
The Monday evening session Of the
farmers institute March 2, opened with
cong by male quartet with Miss Anne
Smith at the piano.
Henry T. Williams then read paper
on Ornamental Trees, Shrubs and Plants,
a part OF which was printed in our last
issue, and which SO completely covered
the ground OF his subject as to leave no
room for discussion. Mr.. Williams began
with the largest trees for shade and or
nament and ranged on down through
the complete list Of trees, shrubs and
plants, selecting the choicest, describing
their special features as to symmetry,
beauty or other economic characteristic,
and confininghimselft to those individuals
which in his judgment are best adapted
to this valley. His close acquaintance
with the subject, and varied experience
in many different parts Of our country
and his habitually close observation of
all things horticultural, make this pa
per one of great value to the community
and it is hoped that Mr.. Williams will
put it in pamphlet form, that every
household in the valley may have and
keep a copy for future reference.
Mr.. Williams was followed by Profes-
sor A. B. Cordley, state entomologist,
with short address on the subject OF
Nature Studies in the Public Schools, a
movement which the state agricultural
college has recently taken up, and which,
being directly in its line of work, it is
better adapted to handle than any Of
our other educational institutions. He
said:
Many years ago, many hundreds OF
years ago there occurred the greatest
wrestling match the world has ever
seen. Ant@us challenged all comers to
wrestle with him and the penalty OF de-
feat was death. Hercules taking up the
challenge threw Ant@us repeatedly only
to have him come again to meet him in
full vigor as before. This continued
until Hercules noticed that when his
antagonist came in contact with the
soil he became invigorated again, and
Hercules finally lifted Ant@us into the
air and succeeded in strangling him in
that way. These old stories we know
are true-they are true in the sense that
they teach US the fundamental truths OF
human nature. II is necessary for uB to
come in contact with the soil in more
ways than one, in order that we may be
invigorated, and the closer our contact
the broader and deeper will be our life.
Educators realize that the educational
system as conducted in the past is lack
ing in the practical elements, based as
it is upon the monastic ideas of the
classics. Within recent years educators
ho, folx hn otth nf KInhnF-
garten and agriculture in the public
schools.
All of you, think, are more or less
familiar with the nature studies as car
ried on in New York and some other Of
the Eastern states. Something like two
years ago, little less than two years
ago, the state grange requested the col
lege TO begin issuing nature study leaf
let's after what is known as the Cornell
plan. Weissued few and tried to get
them introduced into the schools but
failed. We secured list Of all the
teachers OF the state so far as we were
able to do so, but did not acquire COM
plete list because many of the county
superintendent did not have full list
OF the teachers in their respective coun-
ties. We reached less than one half Of
the country schools, and | am very
sorry to say that many of the teachers
took little or no interest in the studies
and failed to put them before the pupils
OF their schools. Recently Superintend-
ent Ackerman has become interested in
the movement and advised us OF bet
ter method OF reaching the teachers
lie has furnished US with list of all the
clerks OF the school districts in the state,
and iC is our purpose to send these leaf.
let's to the clerks to hand to the teachers
of their schools. We have already is-
sued notes on two subjects, one on Baby
Plants.
We know there is q great deal of oppo-
sition against crowding new studies into
the school curriculum. | presume the
curriculum is somewhat overcrowded.
We do too many things and do not do
all of them well enough. But if nature
studies are carried on in the way We
wish them to be there will be no crowding,
but the nature studies will be taken up
in connection with other studies. We
expect the work to be spontaneous and
so attractive that the pupil will become
interested in them. We wish to keep
our educational lines abreast Of, or i'll
advance of our contemporaries. Even
now the subjects of horticulture and ag-
riculture in connection with the public
schools are receiving marked atten-
tion in many parts of the world. In
France instruction in the elements oil
agriculture is compulsory, and COM
plete guide is formulated for the use OF
the teacher. In Germany agricultural
education includes training in every
technical part of farmers work. In
Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland,
and even Russia is organized some system
OF agricultural education. Within the
past few years the Canadian province OF
Ontario has inaugurated the teach
ing Of the elements Of agriculture in her
public schools. For or 10 years the
board of agriculture OF Missouri has per-
sistently urged the teaching of element
ary agriculture in the common schools
New York has approached the subject
Of elementary agriculture in Cornell
university's Mature Studies" Many
Of the states intend taking up the work
Oregon should take her position in the
front rank III THIS euuChtiOnal inONeme4lt-
BY some, nature study is considered 3
useless fad. We believe it to be intensely
practical. The agricultural college
stands for the industrial idea in educa-
tion. Therefore we feel particularly in
terested in an educational movement
that promises to be Of special value to
the industrial classes. In the introduc-
ton of nature study into our public
schools we believe we see the germ Of q
movement that is destined to prove OF
great value not only as an educational
factor but as factor in our industrial
life, particularly in rural neighborhoods
We are particularly interested in the
development of 0regon's agricultural
resources. We believe that one of the
best means of aiding in this is to teach
the child on the farm, the coming farm
er, to appreciate and to love farm life
We wish, if possible, to give the child
a new point of view, new enthusiasm
for the farm and for rural life by bring
ing him into closer, more living SYM
pathy with nature, with his surround
n