Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-11-30
One In 800 STUDIES
AGRICULTURE
Hard Work to Direct Boys
This Education.

washington, II. u, NOV. %.-Re-
markalble as it may seem, only one
out of every 500 young people in tie
ever enters an agricultural college to-
complete his education Equally as
strange is the fact that ninety-four
out of every numbered children finish
their education with the district school.
This wonderful state of affairs, when
every effort is being put fortk to eda-
cate the country child, is found to DO
the result after years of careful labor
and painstaking investigation by ex-
perts in the Department of Agricul-
ture.
Not long ago Secretary Wilson set
John Hamilton and J. M. Stedman,
both specialists in farmers institute
work, to the task of finding whether
he government was making any
Roadway in return for the thousands
of dollars THAT it is annually spending
IN the education of the child in the
rural districts. These experts have
just made their report
Nature Study First.
In order to reach the 499 out of
every 500 rural boys and girls who
cannot go to an agricultural college,
and yet in whom some attachment for
an interest in rural life should be in
culcated, there has developed quite
generally a demand for the introduc-
ton into the rural schools of subjects
hat will educate in the direction of
appreciation of rural life and its OPP
Dortunities instead of combining the
teaching, as heretofore, to studies that
ignore the country and direct the
scholars attention to the occupations
of the towns and cities.
The first effort to meet this demand
was made by the town and city
schools through the introduction of
topics which later were all embraced
under the term nature study" After
the value and practicability of this
new feature in education had been
demonstrated by the towns and cities
rural school authorities became inter
ested and few of the more pro-
gressive introduced it into their course
of study.
AS part of the course in education
for children of public school age sys-
tenn of clubs" has been organized in
many sections by rural teachers and
county officials of schools, intended to
interest the pupils in country life and
at the same time to be of service in
preparing them for future work,
whether that work be on the farm or
in some other occupation or profess
sion.
If, as statistics show, the education
of the country child with few excep-
tons, ceases with tie rural schoo.s, it
follows that the great body of young
people of the country are left with
out special training that win give them
practical acquaintance with the bust
ness operations of the farm.
Young Farmers Encouraged.
The subjects that can be success
fully studied in institutes for yeung
people cover a wide range and may
ultimately include the entire field of
rural life. Since the institute is
dealing with boys and girls who for
the most part are without much ex-
perience, and while the subjects treat
ed must be treated in a way to be in
telligible to them, it by no means fol-
lows that because the pupils are not
IF full age the teachings and truths
taught the mmust be correspondence
elementary. On the contrary, since
the several subjects to be treated are
almost wholly economic, involving diff
ficult problems in farm practice and
administration, 1t Is of extreme Inn
portapce that only the very best teach
ers that the institute authorities can
secure shall he provided, in order that
the instruction may be of the most re-
liable and useful character that sci
ence and experience can recommend.
All over the land the government,
with liberal appropriations made by
Congress, is encouraging the young
farmer to a better knowledge of the
soil, of the conditions which will make
his crop grow and those which Will re-
tard 1t, and in a word, the whole
science of farming from a practical
standpoint. The young farmer thue
secures both the theoretical and prac-
teal ends of the undertaking at the
same time.