Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1915-07-21
0NE-YEAR COURSE.
A Graduate Commends the
One-Year Agricultural
Course of Clemson
College.

Seeing in your editorial columns
an article concerning the one-year
agricultural course, as given at
Clemson, / beg TO say the follow
ing concerning this most valuable
course:
/ am writing this thinking that it
may be of some benefit to other
boys and young men who may be
contemplating taking this course.
Its, in my opinion, the best short
course eff the kind given by any in
stitution / know Of. 1t would be
of the greatest advantage to him
through life. I would advise any
one who can, to take the regular
four-year course at Clemson, but if
it is so he cannot take that, by all
means take the one-year course. A
young man can get more real tech
nical knowledge concerning the
fundamental principles of agricul-
ture, both theoretical and practical,
than he can out of two years of the
regular four.year course, for the
first two years of the regular course
is given up mostly to the academic
department and to preparation along
the first principles of agriculture.
In taking the one-year course you
leave ont most of the academic
studies and start at once on agricul-
ralsubjects. The one-year course
is not a substitute for the four-year
course, but is practlcal course laid
out for those who are not able, and
who feel that they have not the
time, to take the regular course.
The purpose of the institution is to
take a young man off of the farm
who is a farmer and make him
better farmer, and to fit him 80 that
he will be of more benefit to him
selfland community at large.
The theoretical training that one
gets sssAis sinstisation 6ts one so
that he will be able to understand
the technical side of the many great
questions as brought out by the
leading farm journals end agricul-
tural books of the present day.
Agriculture is wholly unlike it used
to be back in the nineteenth century
when people farmed for just what
they could get out of the land.
They never thought of trying to
improve or changing their methods
of farming. They would clear a
great field of virgin forest, and
" hen1it was worn out wonld clear
another to be cultivated in the same
hapha2ard way.
Agriculture is science which has
been studied by many of our smart
est men, such as Warren, Fletcher
and Dagger, but there has never
been nor will there ever be the time
when new ideas and new thoughts
will not be originated in the mind
about agriculture and put into use
and found practical, and to good
to the farmers at large.
There is a large field open to all
agricultural students who are inter-
ested in the work to study the soils,
plants and their needs. There has.
never been a man smart enough to
learn all there was to be learned
about agriculture, nor will there
ever be.
The one-year course at Clemson
fits young man so that he will be
able to farm to a much better ad-
vantage, and to be of benefit to his
entire community. 1t fits him so he
will be able to take more interest in
agricultural meetings and to con-
duct general demonstrative work.
A great many boys seem to think
the one-year course is a sham for
boys that have failed in the fresh
man classes to take this course get
certificate and say they have finish.
ed college, but if they try it they
will find it altogether different, they
will have to put in a lot of hard
study and perseverance to get
through. He will also find a great
many boys who have finished some
of the leading high schools and in
stitutions of this state and other
states taking this one-year course.
The president of Clemson said in
his address to the class at our clos
ing exercises that the teachers We
had come in contact with during the
session made this expression that,
we have bad more satisfaction and
pleasure in teaching the one-year
class than any other class in this
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