The Oskaloosa herald., 1917-05-03
THE PRIZE ESSAY
WHICH WON STATE FAIR HON.
oRS FOR MAHASKA COUNTY.

Following is the full text of the
boys essay that won Mahaska county
honors and which will entitle the au-
thor to attend the Iowa State fair with
all expenses paid
"Why Should Agriculture Be Taught
In the Public sehooIs2"
Farming is one of the greatest in
dustries in the world. To be sue
cessful farmer requires many years of
study and experience. In fact the
greater majority of farmers who are
successful have been trained from
their earliest childhood to meet the
business problems as we'll as the
physical tasks that confront every
farmer In the following paragraphs,
will try to set forth the facts why
Agriculture Should be Taught in the
Public Schools" In the school room
are taught the things which will be
of service to us in later life. Certain
ly anything that would make us bet.
ter fitted and create more interest In.
our vocation had best be taught us
while our minds are young and in a
state to be cultivated. Agriculture be-
ing taught in the public school, and
not merely being slipped in once or
twice a week as in many schools of
my acquaintance, would call for teach
ers who had had special training in
this line. They would come from col
lodges where special efforts have been
made to collect facts and statistics
concerning farming from all over the
agricultural regions thus bringing to
the different farming regions the ex.
periments and their different sue
cesses of other localities. Teaching
agriculture in the schools would make
farming much more interesting to the
pupils as good knowledge furnished in
in an interesting does for any OF us.
They would feel that they were more
able to cooperate with the problems
of the agriculturist, and thus create a
greater desire to become farmers.
For that is what our country needs is
more farmers, and better farmers. a
pupil going through the common
grades and then through high school
without any training in agricultural
lines, would naturally be inclined to
thinking of business life instead of
the farm. But with taking agriculture
they would learn to use their other
studies aud talents to the advantage
of farming Many farmers are fail
ure because they do not know how to
use business methods to farm sales,
and farm accounts. A thorough
knowledge of the products Of the farm
how they are produced, and the cost
of production would be a great bene-
fit and assistance to any person in 9TH
er invocations than farming and would
economic the high cost of living to
a certain extent The farm products
and the great part they play in the life,
prosperity and commerce Of the world
call for certain amount Of knowl-
ledge concerning them. Scientific
farming has in large measure been
accepted by large majority of author
tiles to be the ideal and most profit
able method of producing the maxi
mum amount of grain and vegetable
products per acre. Thus it is evident
that a knowledge of this method of
farming to the man or woman who
expect to take up this work. And
that school is the most feasible place
to obtain this knowledge which must
necessarily come from teachers who
have graduated from the best agri-
cultural schools in the country, and
let me say in conclusion, that the boy
or girl who is expecting to be farm
er, who having chance to study agri-
culture from a scientific standpoint,
and from a business standpoint, are
on the road which leads to success.
ARTHUR VERSTEEGH,
New Sharon, Iowa.
Mahaska Co. r. r. No. 2.