The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-11-10
INTEREST In FARM
EDUCATION In s. DAKOTA

Brookings, S. D., Nov. 10. Two
years ago the South Dakota State
College Of Agriculture and Mechanic
Arts, Of which Robert L. Slagle is
president, had an attendance Of about
500. Last year the number OF stu
dents jumped to 851. This year.. it is
believed. the total will very closely
approach 1000.
A surprising gain this, considering
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 n 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.
Crop Conditions Help.
Two main causes have led to the
sudden development Of interest In the
school. Crop conditions have simply
forced the people to consider ways
and means Of better farming. They
have come to see, in some at
least, that the farmer, as Well as any
other business man, must use the best
methods in order to achieve the best
results. Then, there has been. carried
on for the first time q campaign of
ENU tlIiISJ -LlS- p60Dle OIL
the state with the facilities offered by
The school to train the rising genera
ton in the best methods of agricul-
ure,, 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 n of three institu-
tions 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
mechanic arts, more and more stress
is being laid upon agriculture, as this
seems to be the wish Of. the people.
Schools Location Ideal.
The situation Of the school at
Bookings 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. Bookings is an exception
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. educational
aims. - Er''
On the campus are some fourteen
structures, including a new agricul-
LuId dlu adAL1h1SlIdtlOu buAIfllS W
cost not less, than 5000, 600 when COM
pleted, besides dairy barns, machine
sheds and other farm equipment. The
site includes AGO acres, of which six
ty acres are used by the experiment.
station. H. ;s A.
College Work Foremost.
The backbone of the institution is
the agricultural college proper. There
was once a time when it was felt that
colleges Of agriculture should give way
in some measure to merely technical
schools. The sentiment has been at
times that the colleges, after all, train
ed men away from the farms, made
professors of them, whereas the thing
needed was to train men for the actual
practice of farming. But the need of
men trained to teach agriculture has
become so great that the agricultural
college Is receiving more attention
than ever. The agricultural school, for
the technical training Of young men
and young women who expect to go
back to the farm, Is, however, largely
attended and the interest in its. work
is increasing.
In the. college the first two years
work was required. Then there comes
IA division, according to the specially
the student wishes to follow, animal
husbandry, dairy husbandry, agron-
omy, horticulture, and so on. In the
school all OF the work lis required, and
far from being wholly technical it in
cludes history and civics, drawing and
music, and much else of a general ma