The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-04-12

hattfactiNe collections Of farm products
and fruits. The reading books con-
tain many pictures and stories of rural
life; a special arithmetic, dealing al
most exclusively With practical farm
problems in Page county, such ~ the
! children and their parents need to
solve every day, has been prepared by
| the county superintendent and is in
| use in the schools. Selected bulletins
/ Of the State and National Depart
ments Of Agriculture. relating to agri
| cultural pursuits and farm problems
OF that county are dispia yed and kept
| within easy reach for reading and ref-
! crencc.
! Tt IS easy to understand how a child
living constantly IN such an atmos-
| phere with such surroundings and
such instruction during these I'M pres
sible years Of his life, would have his
| attention turned TO the farm and agri-
I cultural pursuits. would have his love
| Of them cultivated his desire for them
/ stimulated and would be given
finer conception of the dignity, the lui-
| portance, the profit and the beauty OF
| life on the farm and OF agricultural
pursuits. The creation Of such an at
mosphere and environment is OF
easy attainment III every rural
| school in the South. The dom
inant thought Of the first eight
years of childs school life is more
than apt TO be the dominant thought
in sha apine his IDEAL Of life and his Sc
| lection of 81 vocation.
/ IN addition to the creation OF
/ farm life atmosphere and 4 farm life
! environment, much Of the instruction
| of the school is related to the every
day life of the farm and the everyday
/ work on the farm. In one school We
! found the children making simple
| eAperimen to illustrate the poSocity
of different sorts Of soil, and deduce
| therefrom the best method OF plough
/ ing, these different sorts Of soil tue
| effects OF such ploushing upon mois-
ture and air, in the feeding Of the
/ plants, etc The entire outfit for the
experiment consisted OF three lamp
climneys a handful or two Of sand,
loam and yegcta hie soil, q basin OF
water and some bits OF oloth or rub
Der and cost not more than fifteen
| cents.
/ In another school z boy about four
/ teen years old gave a most interesting
lesson IN corn judging. It was an OBJ
/ ject lesson. III which the boy illus
/ trated all that he said with the corn
/ itself. Of hich there was varied cox
/ lection in the school room " hat the
boy did not know about corn MAS not
worth knowing. It was ifst-hand
! Knowledge that had been directly ap-
piled in raising corn OH the farm and
/ brought into the school room by the
boy and given to the other children.
They were intensely Interested as well
! as instructed ana 50 were the south
ern superintendents. First-han
/ knowledge is always fresh ana inter
! esting The boy knew. and knew that
he knew. He was, therefore. perfect
! " self possessed. but not in the least
! self-conscious The same boy told us
all about how he raised corn FOR as
q member Of a Boys Corn Club. he
had cultivated most successfully an
acre in corn that year He began
his story with the preparation Of the
soil and ended with the gathering OF
the crop. When [ asked him how and
where he had learned much about
corn and its cultivation. he said. II
learned most OF it from my father Oh
the farm. Ills answer rather dis
concerted and embarrassed the teach
ar, bat greatly pleased me, Ter 20 ff'@
Continued from Pae@ one