The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-12-05
o do these things themselves.

sons on Corn" which shows lust
now corn should be grown. Another
bulletin deals with plant production
ana school exercises therefor. In this
me chlidren are taught all about
plants by growing them themselves
according to the dire ctions Another
paper shows how to test farm seeds
at school and at home. BY means of
this a child learns whether the clover
or alfalfa seed his father is using is
pure or whether 1t is mixed with
weeds. He learns to know What good
seed is and how well it pays to plant
II. These school gardens are now be-
ing into the city schools.
A space as big as a haIl bedroom
suIfces to make one. Upon this a
nalf dozen vegetables can be grown
and by rotation Of crops these can
De from time to time. In
some cases vegetables and flowers are
grown upon such a plot.
Ien-Acre School Grounds.
with some Of the schools
are hotbeds and orchards as we'll as
barns for animals and pens for pigs.
The ideal school should have about
ten acres for farms, q and other
WORK IT should have its poultry yard
and its forest plot. The boys &
pete at hon as to the fattening OF
Glgs and also in plowing, CONTRASTING
and in the growing Of Strawberries
and srnS.1 fruits Of various kinds. The
girls nave competitive examinations
IN house decoration and in the pre-
serving of vegetables and fruits.
Many new textbooks are being
made for these schools. Educators
are out courses Of study in
agriculture and home economics of
the various grades. Textbooks are
being written on farm Management
fruit raising, live stock. dairying and
h n ~ q V,o ir ri, h
schools are being supplied with barns,
laboratories and practice shops.
Many Of them are equipped with Ii
braries on farm subjects, and new
books have been written to supply this
demand. In the rural school, books
the Illustrations deal with farm life.
In his arithmetic examples the child
figures on bushels of grain and the
sale Of crops, and in his geography
he follows the wheat and corn raised
on his home farm Gro the oceans
and thus studies his overseas custom
erS.
Uncle Sans Agricultural Colleges.
In addition to the work in connec-
ton with the schools the Government
is doing a great deal through the
agricultural colleges. Nearly all of
these are supported by the States or
the Nation. and they now form one
Of the most powerful Of our educa-
tiona forces.
There are altogether sixty-fve of
these colleges covering every part
of the Union. They own property
which is valued at o han $780,
600, 00o, and their income is something
like size, 0oe, 600 a year. They have
about 1900 students who are TAX
ing agricultural courses alone, and
through their correspondence and
other courses, counting none twice,
they have $4,000 students.
In connection with these colleges a
great deal Of extension work is ear
ried on. BY this I mean through
movable schools and the correspon-
dence courses and in other ways. by
which those who cannot attend col
respondence courses the students
carry on their studies at their farms,
and the work is directed from the
colleges. BY this means q man or
boy in the widest part OF the far
West or the South nay get an educa-
ton in farming or fruit growing.
There are &c. 0 students now study
ing that way, and this number will
be increased to hundreds Of thou
sands in the future.
The various extension schools are
carried on by farm lectures and in
other ways. The movable schools con-
sist Of grown-ups who gather to-
gGtn0r IOF liked pcIlodS dI
places and are taught by xpert fur
nished by the colleges and by the De-
partment of Agriculture. Il is adj
yised thai the classes consist Of not
less than eight nor more than If
teen persons who are over eighteen
years OF age, and who are especially
Interested in the subject OF when
the course treats. The courses deal
with home economics and with all
sorts Of farm OpicS
The Experiment Stations and AgrI-
cultural Education.
And Just here [ want to speak about
the bureau of experiment stations ana
the wonderful work they are doing
along educational lines This branch
Of the Department Of Agriculture is
under the charge OF T. A. G. True,
who has developed it to such a de-
gree that its work now reaches every
mart of the country. 1t is Of enormous
vaiue in it's research work and its ex-
hibitions Of practical agriculture: and
its educational work affects every
-o 49, and child in the United