The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1913-11-13
new INTEREST
FARM EDUCATION
IN SOUTH DAKOTA, SAYS w. p.
kIRkWooD IN MINNEAPOLIS
JOURNAL
STATE COLLEGE DOING SPLENDID WORK
Gays the Journal and Is Taking Lead
IN Developing Agricultural Re-
sources of the State

or the Minneapolis Journal. was
member of the party on the specia
dairy and alfalfa train last week. ant
ne gave the State College credit TO,
the agricultural awakening that is evi
dent IN every part Of South Dakota
On the front page of Saturday morn
lngs Journal was a particularly inter
esting article relative to the work be.
ing done by the State College, and VIC
reproduce it in full. Mr.. Kirkwood
said:
Two years ago the South Dakota
state College of Agriculture and Me.
chan1c Arts, of which Robert L. Slagle
is president, had an attendance of
about 800. Last year the number of
students jumped to S51. This year il
Is believed, the total will very CLOSELY
approach 1000.
A surprising gain this, consider.
Ing the crops of the last two or three
years. 1t shows a decidedly lively in.
terest in the problem of scientific
FARMING. And this awakened interest
Is not confined to one part, or to a few
parts' of the state. 1t is general. A
chart recently published shows that
seVen-eighths of the counties Of South
Dakota are represented in the student
body.
Ihe main causes have led to the
sudden development of interest in tho
school. Crop conditions have Simply
forced the people to consider WAYS
and means of better farming. They
nave come to see, in some measure
at least that the farmer, as well as
best methods in order TO achieve the
best results. Then there has been car
ried on for the first time a campaign
of publicity, acquainting the people of
the state with the facilities offered by
the school to train the rising genera
ton in the best methods Of agricul-
ture. In short, the people have felt a
need, and the college has gone to
them and told them how to satisfy it.
"The college is one of three institu-
tons of higher education maintained
by South Dakota. The University of
South Dakota is at Vermillion, and the
South Dakota School of Mines is at
Rapid City in the Black Hills. While
the college includes work in the me-
chanic arts, more and more stress is
being laid upon agriculture, as this
seems to be the wish of the people.
The situation Of the school at
Brookings is an admirable one. The
campus is on a hill one mile from the
business center Of the city, and com.
mands a wide stretch of beautiful
country. Brookings is an exceptional
ly fine little city. 1t takes pride in
good and clean government, and the
whole body of its people is interested
in the students of the school, taking
pride in serving them and aiding in
the achievement of their educationa,
aims.
con the campus are some fourteen
structures, including a new agricul
tural and administration building tt
cost not less than 5000, 900 when com
pleted, besides dairy barns, machin,
sheds and other farm equipment. TIL,
site includes AGO acres, Of which sixt,
acres is used by the experiment sta
ton.
The backbone of the institution i
the agricultural college proper. Their
was once a time when it was felt tina
colleges of agriculture should give wa,
in some measure to merely technica
schools. The sentiment has been a
times that the colleges, after all, trair
ed men away from the farms, mad
professors of them, whereas the thin
needed was to train men for the actua
practice OF farming. But the need G
men trained to teach agriculture ha
become so great that the agriculture
college is receiving more attentio
than ever. The agricultural schoo
for the technical training of youn
men and young women who expect I
go back to the farm, Is, howeve
largely attended and the interest in II
work is increasing.
I'm the college the first two year
work are required. Then there come
a division, according to the specialt
the student wishes to follow, amin,