Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1906-11-27
THE MARATHON COUNTY AGRl-
CULTURAL SCHOOL.

WOfk OF In6 Iarm Is IlJtle less nara,
and does not occupy the time of the
farmer and his boys as wholly as dur
ing the fall and summer, little more
thought is being given by parents to
the question of where to send their
boys and girls for an education which
will enable them to become useful
members of society and to enjoy advan-
tages in life, which cannot come to the
uneducated.
Many letters asking for catalogues
and information are being received
daily by the faculty of the Agricultural
school, and it is hoped that through the
medium of the press, many others will
be reached, who have not made such
personal application, but who are seri-
ously considering the future welfare of
their boys and girls.
Many farmers who cherish the hope
of seeing their farms owned and
operated by their sons, when their
period for active service is over, hesi-
tate to send their boys to school where
good general education may be had,
for the reason that no special incentive
is given the boy to continue in the work
of the farm, and consequent risk is
involved of the son seeking some other
avocation.
The Marathon County School of Agri-
culture and Domestic Science is the
first county school organized in this
state primarily for the education of the
farmers children in such a way as to
open up to their view the possibilities
of success and happiness upon the farm.
The school aims to impress upon each
country student the dignity of his
fathers calling by leading him to see
its agricultural population, and that
upon this class is dependent all other
industries-in short, the very life and
prosperity of the nation.
To school of this kind come all the
reports, papers, bulletins, magazines
and books published on the subject of
agriculture, and the boy who enters the
school has access to its library and be-
comes acquainted with the sources from
which he may draw inspiration and
help years after he has left the school
This is one OF the many ways in which
the school helps the boy to help himself
the best thing after all any school
can do.
The broader intelligence gained by
the student will enable him to see that
farming, like all other industries, is
materially affected by changing eco
nomic conditions, and that today, the
general diversified farming of a few
years ago is not always the wisest and
most paying method to be employed in
this age of specialization, and is to a
large extent being supplanted by inten-
sive or special farming, whereby the
farmer becomes specialist, and throws
his major energies into one line of
work, modifying it to suit the varia-
tions of supply and demand.
In its instruction concerning the best
adaptation to special crops, the best
methods of fertilization, a wise system
of crop rotation, the highest ideals in
raising farm animals and in the con
struction of farm buildings, the use of
ensilage, and wise marketing of farm
produce, the school aims to give the
student the general knowledge upon
which even a successful specialization
depends.
The school deals with the modern
problems of the farmer, teaching the
causes of tuberculosis among cattle, its
methods of detection, and its prevent
atives urging under the latter head the
necessity of sanitary barns, and demon
strating the principles of ventilation,
lighting, convenience, warmth, to be
sought after in barr building, in addi-
ton to materials used in construction.
The building of farm silos, the uses Of
cement, the building of country roads,
modern farm machinery, the care aud
breeding Of animals, are further index
to subjects covered in the two years
work.
The question, "Will it pay to send my
boy to the Agricultural school?" is a
natural one for the farmer to ask, and
if he does not value an education except
as it increases his sons earning capac-
ity, it may be well to glance for
of 4 ba nbt
agricultural education.
In addition to habits of industry ac-
quired by his past apprenticeship upon
the farm, the boy goes out from the
school with knowledge of modern
methods aid conditions of farming and
an increased intelligence with which to
cope with new conditions as they arise.
These are the three primary essentials
knowledge, business intelligence and
industry. Thus equipped, it is safe to
predict what the future of any graduate
will be-
The actual wages paid to boys before
coming to the school and after leaving
it show in every case we have on record
a decided increase. The boy, from be-
ing a farm hand, becomes farm super
intendent, a nursery man, dairy man,
OF a specialist in some other line of ag-
ricultural work.
Within the past week a request has
been received to recommend a young
man for superintendent of one of the
best known Guernsey herds in the state.
Requests of this kind are received fire.
quently and the school is able to aid its
graduates in securing lucrative and
responsible positions.
There is a growing demand for trained
men in agricultural lines of industry.
and this demand, such institutions as
the Marathon County School of Agri-
culture are calculated to meet