Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1903-09-03
THE GRANGE
Conducted by J. W. DARROW,
Press Correspondent Neao York State
Grange
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
The Need of 1t Beccming Greater and
the Opportunities Better.

Especial Correspondence
The farmers son must get the idea
thoroughly rooted in his brain that the
twentieth century Is to be century OF
education. 1t Is to be the era> of the
trained man. Right alongside of this
idea the farmers son should plant an
other idea, and that is that if agricul-
ture is to keep up with the procession
the agriculturist must be trained
man. The farmer of the future must
be thoroughly educated for his busi-
ness.
The next question is, How shall he
be trained? The means of agricultural
education are so numerous and so
valuable that there is no excuse for
any who do not avail themselves OF
some of these means of training. Let
me mention some of the opportunities
that are offered to farmers sons for
getting an agricultural education.
First is the farm itself. This is the
farmers workshop, and it Is and ever
will be the best place for his education.
It is here that he applies his theories
and works out his experiments. Every
day OF his life he is at school to nature.
He can get his information at first
hand. But it is Il strange fact that two
different men, differently trained, will
gain exceedingly varying degrees of
knowledge from the same farm. This
is simply because one has trained
powers of observation; he knows how
to mine knowledge. The other one is
unframed; he does not know how to
question nature; he cannot understand
natures answers to the questions he
may ask Let me point out those
such training that he can make the
most of his farm as an educator as
well as a money getter.
/ would divide these agencies into
two classes: First, those which are
available to practically every farmer
In the United States and which he can
utilize to the very end of life. Among
these is the agricultural press. Good
farm papers exist in every state, and
the half dozen leading agricultural pa
pers in the country are of the highest
practical value and literary merit. 1t
Is amazing how many farmers there
are who do not take any farm papers
and how many more there are who do
not take good farm paper. The sec
ond means is farmers Institutes. These
exist today In practically every state in
the Union, and their value has been
proved over and over again. They are
growing in influence and usefulness.
And yet they are attended by only a
fraction of the farmers of this country.
But they are a tremendous means of
education for the farmers son. He
will in them gain not only information,
but inspiration. In the third place,
there are home study courses, agricul-
tural books, agricultural experiment
station bulletins. Any young farmer
who wants to study advanced agricul-
ture can find an almost unending sup
ply of good literature under these
heads. There was time when agricul-
tural books were not of great value.
Today there are dozens of first class
agricultural books written by thor
just as useful to the farmer as ply
sicians' books are to the doctor. And,
finally, in this class of agencies come
the farmers organizations, of which
the grange is type. The real work
and purpose of the grange is education.
All of its other purposes are subser
Went to this all embracing object Our
farmers are just beginning to learn
what an educator it is. / am more and
more impressed as the years go by with
the tremendous possibilities of the
grange in educating farmers sons for
their vocation.
But the farmers son must also re-
member that the day has come when
he can and should get quite share of
his training for agriculture in the
schools. They are the second set of
agencies. Every farmers son who is
to follow the vocation of his father
should secure just as much schooling
as he can possibly get. In the first
place he ought to have the privilege
when he is a mere lad of nature study
in the rural school at home. When he
has reached the age of thirteen or four
teen he should have, and in time will
have, the chance to study the elemen-
tary principles of agriculture, also in
his home school. Then, If he cannot
go to college, but wishes to study agri-
culture a little further, he will have at
the county seat of his county an agri-
cultural high school, where he can take
a high school course containing some
high school subjects such as English
and mathematics and, at the same
time, get good, thorough instruction in
science applied to the farm. If he can
not afford the time or money to take
even this agricultural high school
course, he can take advantage of the
many special winter courses that are
offered even now at every agricultural
college in the United States
But the farmers son, if he is wise,
will not content himself with schooling
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