The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-08-15
KEEPING TO THE FARM
NORTH CAROLINA MAKES HAPPY FARMERS

picked up and studied by e~ducationa
sociologists everywhere; for under
similar power of Inspiration. tn
achievement may be accomplished
anywhere, irrespective of geogra
ply. The Women's Betterment Asso
Citations were the pioneers. Until theI
there was not a single special ia,
district in the county: now there ar
twenty-eight; there were log+cabiI
schOolhouSes. now there are none
schoolhouses did not cost more thar
$500 at the maximum, now they never
cost less than $500, and some time'
several thousand dollars. h bet
terment women of Wake County are
ready to do almost anything for theil
| schools. Each year they excel them
seiyes-making- more money, devils
ing new ways OF securing 1t, and thi:
season they reached h maximum
with a total Of $7,591.33. They havt
signed notes to pledge themselves TO
the improvements they desired
! Their latest clever idea is a club
each member taking up some unique
enterprise for pay, devoting the pro
ceeds to betterment-and then tG
have a merry time with a party
with it's inspiriting exchange of ex-
periences. The assistant county SUI
perintendent thinks the trouble with
rural reformers may be expressed in
dill dIIlulIlOI " HIdhc OH OiCIfBu w
of a daisy" destroying the simple
beauty of the flower native to it's en-
vironment, to replace it by a blossom
Of discomfort.
Birth If the School Farm idea.
One of the problems that troubled
Mr.. Judd was the allure Of the
the needs OF most of it's patrons; the
upper grades of the elementary
schools and the high school served a
very small proportion of the enroll
ment of 1928 publishes than one
fifth of them, in fact. MI. Judd has
expressed the belief that life flows
from the ground upward'-and one
day the thought came to him that
perhaps if he were to start from the
earth itself his aims might be accom-
plished. This was. the beginning of
the school farm, ar institution hat
is growing in favor all over North
Carolina-that has invited the emu
lation of the educators in other
Southern States-and can be adapted
to any part Of the world where
things grow. rural New England, for
example. This idea brought the wo-
men Of the betterment associations
into the fields, They have come with
their hoes to "chop" the cotton fields,
after their men folks" have pre-
ceded them with mules. plows and
harrows. The first school farm pro-
duced a net profit of s128.2S. There
are this summer eighteen school
farms. all of them growing cotton ex-
cept three, and embracing thirty-nine
acres. This is a growth over last
year, when the profits on them eX-
ceeded $500 and s1.190 was earned.
But tie school farms value to the
community is in~adequately expressed
r. I:-
social centre in the county for the
rallying Of its men and women and
older boys and girls. They call these
gatherings working bees and there
are so many willing hands that there
is very little work for each to do.
When the bee is over, there is gem
orally a picnic, or that most ineffable
culinary custom Of this vicinity. the
Chicken barbecue; amusements Of
every variety follow, and always a
talk by the county superintendent or
his assistant. The battle for a special
tax, for school consolidation. or any
sort Of reform is frequently won at
these festivals, when recalcitrant hu-
man nature melts into a happy unity
for INSTRUMENTATION a household
word in joyous Wake county.
The County Farm Life School.
The Legislature of 1911 enacted the
County Farm Life Schoo: Law after a
long and vigorous campaign by the
State Superintendent, aided by all the
organizations Of the farmers of the
State. The idea was suggested to DIR.
JOyner from Wisconsin,, where it has
already become a force in aricultural
development. 1t is the first movement
of the Kind in the South, although
Georgia has established a system of
agricultural high schools. The North
Carolina law requires the initiative of
counties. townships or groups of
townships. When it has been voted
to establish a school, the State steps
in with financial assistance, giving an
appropriation of $4,000 annually. The
bounty authorities must then issue
bonds for $500 to erect suitable
buildings and to acquire twenty-five
acres of high-grade farm land. The