The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1907-06-20
alumni
CONTINUED from Page Eleven.)

or handling the tool is what defines
Ieducatlon today. The turnip ranks
besides the circle in educational pos
slDllt1es, If only the proper method
Is employed. If, as Hanus states
euucatlon means a training for eff
clency IN action, or as Monroe puts
H. the power Of adjustment to a
changing environment then that
framing which fits for deXterity. for
reSourcefulness, for perseverance,
ana combines with them discipline
and integrity, is the highest educa-
ton attainable.
a Concrete Example: Agriculture.
Let us consider now a phase Of
modern education, agriculture,
/ Education in and for Agriculture
Is recognized today to be feasible
undertaking. 1t is recognized to be
more than this; it is a business ext
gency, fundamental economy.
Agriculture is to the manor born
II is the wellspring Of human life,
Cut OH the food supply of Kanawha
1 county Tor week, and imagine the
Wretched condition of affairs. Sus-
pend the bread supply of Charleston
for day, and what would be the
dlscontent?. The ravenous appetites
OF the mill hands which drove them
lnfurriated to the mill of old Abel
Fletcher were more than a mere hui
man passion that John Halifax had
| 10 Squelch. 1t was the animal ap-
petite sharpened to a feather edge
by need and Whetted by the knowl-
edge that though bread was wanting,
still there was bread to be had. In
us eNtremltles, hunger knows no
law 1t has no code, no self-re-
stralnt. Its sole concern is satisfac-
ton. But the question of food supply
is no new doctrine. Nautilus, CEN
tury ago, established the fact that
While population increased in geo
metrlcal progression, the food sup
ply Jagged in arithmettcal progress
fslon. An adequate food supply, there
lore, is a perennial demand.
Nature is not goddess easily ca
Joled by the crying whims Of man. If
| man wants, he must work. If he
needs, he must work. I'm the
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat
Bread and He who will not work
shall not eat" are truisms as life
long as nature itself.
Ihe value of our agricultural pro-
ducts surpass that Of any other in
dustry. Of greater Importance still
Is the fact that fully one-third of the
working classes in the United States
are engaged in agricultural pursuits.
1t is no longer difficult for one to see
the grandeur of the field Of agricul-
tufe. In 1862 the first Morrill, act
was passed
IN order to promote the liberal
and practical education of the indus
trial classes in the several pursuits
and professions in life"
1t is noteworthy that the Morrill,
act provides for education; not mere
learning, but for an education which
shall be first liberal, then practical:
for one which shall be adequate to
needs Of those who are entering up-
on not alone agriculture and mechan-
les. but upon any pursuit and profess
sion. Morrill, would transform
drudgery into a profession; he would
nDerallZe industry and arts. He
would give liberal education alike
to the farmer and the machinist Just
as to the lawyer or to the minister.
mus, IN the general evolution, the
industries and practical affairs of
lie have been placed alongside the
so-called professions,
Crude was the teaching Of agri-
culture in it's infancy. Those who
mad 1T IN their trust were not agri-
culturists, in the main, but scientists
IN aliled heldS; such as, botany, ZOOl-
OSY, medicine and the like, while q
lew were farmer boys largely train
ed on the farm. The various appur-
tenances of the farm, the fruit trees,
the domestic animals, the field crops,
were not in any shape for pedagogy.
Indeed, to the layman they presented
little promise for education worthy
OF public support. But what have we
now? Today a typical course in
agriculture is quite as comprehen-
SlVe as any other college course. 1t
is we'll classified and is ripening in
system. 1t is recognized as giving
the student mental and manual
framing which fits him to cope with
the educational questions f mo-
ment
The study Of agriculture is full of
promise. Forty years ago the study
or the human mind was still a clum-
sy process.
Today we are studying the intel
lect Of the beast. The Psychology
and Training Of the Horse is the IT,
tie or recent volume by a French
man. Thirty-seven years ago Tenny-
son wrote the story of the Holy Grail
vision Of Sir LaunfaD; four years
ago Edgar wrote the Story Of a
Grain OF Wheat. In 1928 Harvey
gave his immortal contribution to
human anatomy; in 1899 Kennedy
pubI1shed an elaborate thesis on the
morphology Of grass seeds.
When Napoleon in 1900 was over
riding Europe in his zeal to create q
world empire, the Colling brothers in
Northern England were feeding and
breeding localized live stock. When
Great Britain in 1900 was subduing
the lransvaal in Africa, Luther Bur
Dank on his farm villa at Santa
Rosa, California, was creating and
DreedlnS new varieties Of fruits and
COSNS. Whilp Snnin In