Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1903-12-30
EDUCATORS
WELCOMED
Interesting Session of New Mexico
Educational Association Held
Lost Evening--Address BY
President Luther Foster.

idea of the professor in charge, and
varying with the management Of the
institution. Then the professor Of agri
culture constituted the whole force
devoted to strictly agricultural work
More recently, this has been divided up
into a number of specialties with a
professor in charge of each division.
In few states. secondary agricul-
tural schools have been provided for
by state legislation. In Wisconsin a
few county agricultural high schools
are in successful operation and the
last legislature made provision for the
establishment of more. Some import
ant secondary schools, such as the Cal
ifornia Polytechnic Institute and the
Harman School in Massachusetts, in
addition to numerous private second
airy schools. have added instruction in
agriculture to their courses. Three
state normal schools in Missouri are
giving instruction in agricultural sub
jects as part of their work in pre-
pairing teachers for the public schools.
went out from these institutions as
teachers who had received the benefit
of this new feature. In Wisconsin the
regular teachers examination now in
cludes a set of questions on agricul-
ture In the states of Michigan, Hi
nois, Nebraska, and Ohio, steps have
been taken to introduce instruction in
elementary agriculture into the public
schools. In New York, Cornell has
been supplying the public school teach
ers with leaflets containing outlines of
nature study, for their use. for num-
bef @oi years. The school Sarden
movement, that is flower and vege-
table gardens established for educa-
tional purposes, has been taken up by
no less than 20 normal schools in diff
ferent parts of the United States, but
more especially in the eastern portion,
to prepare teachers for intelligently
presenting this line of work. | men,
ton these facts to show the trend of
education toward agriculture, and the
very rapid movement in progress to
make IT universal.
Interest in Extending Work.
"The interest in the extension of
this work and in thoroughly equipping
for it, is most strongly emphasized by
the large appropriations the different
state legislatures have been making
in recent years for the equipment and
maintenance of colleges of agriculture
and mechanic arts. The special appro-
priations which the last two legisla-
lures of the several states have made
for these institutions aggregate mil
lions of dollars. Among the more
prominent may be mentioned Kansas,
$25O,OOO; Montana, $215,0OO; Wiscon-
sin, 9$l500o0; Nebraska, 100000;
Pennsylvania, $19O,OO0; Illinois, $780,
900; Iowa, 1897 900. This latter insti.
tuition, which'is my Alma Mater, re-
Gently visited hence, realize more full
ly the advancement it is making. 1t
is now one of the foremost institu-
tions of its sort in the United States.
In the past ten years, it's attendance
has increased from 400 to 1000 stu
dents. 1t has entirely outgrown its
former accommodations and large
appropriations are given to prepare ii
for the new conditions. An engineer
ing building has just been completed
at cost of 100000. A new main
building is in course of construction
for which there is an appropriation Of
$35O,OOO. The legislature. soon to
meet, has been asked for almost
million more.u These seem like large
sums to us who are here struggling fol-
existence. Still our territory Is fully
as liberal as Iowa, in proportion to the
value of it's taxable property, and the
attendance at our own college Of agri
culture and mechanic arts is a larger
per cent of the population OF New
Mexico than 1000 is of the population
of Iowa.
"The liberality of these appropria
tions shows clearly that the colleges
of agriculture and mechanic arts are
in favor with the people and that the
inclination is to equip them in such
manner as to make their instruction
the best possible. Public sentiment
has undergone a change. Less thar
generation aagO, agricultural educa
ton was looked upon by farmers them
selves as impractical, and "book farm
ing" as it was then termed, was ia
booed. A prejudice existed which
arose from a, popular misconception o.
the agricultural courses that has re
quired the valuable results of the in
! stitutions themselves to overcome
These colleges were thought of al
only industrial in their aim and scope
bread and butter institutions. Ever
today practical education, as Otter
discussed, would seem to make none!
Continued on Page Four)