The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-01-13

cultural and industrial work will be a
very subordinate part OF an already
over-crowded high school course If
study. These schools organize their
courses of study around literature and
history. The county agricultural
school, which meets the needs OF the
hour, organizes its course of study
around agriculture. The history and
literature in it bears direct relation
to. and is subordinate to agriculture.
Unless this is done we are laying too
little stress on the right education Of
our farmers sons and daughters.
The temporary farmers institutes
are in very small way to the adult
farmer what the permanent agricul-
tural school is to his son. They
were the outgrowth in part Of the pub
lie meetings of agricultural societies
and state boards Of agriculture. and
in part of the extension work OF col
leges and universities The object of
these institutes is TO bring the work
ers in the agricultural sciences and
the practical agriculturists together
occasionally for the discussion OF
questions Of mutual interest.
Through such discussion the farmer
gets the benefit of the informa
ton which the scientist has obtained
in the course of his investigations, and
the scientist learns what the farmers
needs and difficulties are. The re
suits of the practical tests made by the
farmer of the scientists theories are
also brought out Rv such confer
ences both classes of workers have
their opinions and experience broad
ened.
In Wisconsin the county farmers
institute" or corn school OF a county
is carried on largely by the teachers
in the County Agricultural school In
diana needs more agricultural teach
ers and lecturers Read the following
from the Richmond Evening Item Of
Sept. IS. 1909. NO corn school in
Wayne Co. Owing to requests from
over the sixth district the Purdue in
structors selected Greensburg as the
AIRY school next year. Owing to the
demand on the instructors the univer-
sity could not lend assistance to an
independent movement in this county
tWayne) and was advised to wait
year until 1911"
1t is not believed that the State
Agricultural school. nor agricultural
instruction in the rural and elemen-
tary school, nor the Farmers Insti-
tute will fully meet the needs Of our
farmers and particularly their sons
and daughters.
At present the student who leaves
the rural school with the intention of
pursuing an agricultural education is
very apt to be diverted from his
course by the time he has spent four
years in a high school which ignores
agriculture. If he has not been turned
from his course by the completion Of
this high school education, he will
have lost much of his enthusiasm for
the farm and lost part of four years.
in time, in the most susceptible per-
iod of his life, during which agricul-
tural study and experiments should
have received attention.
Let us assume that this student
goes to Purdue university with damp
ened enthusiasm for agriculture.
Once there, it is apt to be quenched
by the impression made by the large
shops. massive machinery, mechanical
equipment and engineering courses. a
case is known where a young man
was shamed out of taking the course
in agriculture by students taking the
engineering courses. A school SO dis
tant from the farmers home must
necessarily be too expensive for most
of the farmers children, especially
after they have reached an age when
their services may be more or less
utilized on the farm. What is needed
is the county agricultural school near
er their homes to which farmers chill
dren may go to finish their education
after they are through with the COM
mon schools. The county agricultural
school is the big link and the missing
link in the chain of agricultural edu-
cation that Indiana is forging.
At the present time the people are
| turning to farm life as never before
We are beginning to realize that, for
independence. comfort. and real en-
| joyment, the farm offers exceptional
opportunities. To excel on the farm.
| must be trained for his work; and it
is to help him acquire this training
that the county schools of agriculture
are founded
Depend upon it, if you would hold
your sons and daughters back from