AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 391 



with dissociated from the sciences to which they pertain. 20 So far as 

 the two are related, the purposes of science can not be antagonistic to 

 those of agriculture and it is better for the accomplishment of the 

 reform toward vocational education to let the sciences bear their share 

 of the burden of time and responsibility and have the same " charged 

 to their account " while profiting as they will by the inclusion of the 

 latter. 



Should agricultural materials and principles be utilized for the 

 purpose of teaching the sciences, and the student progressively pursue 

 his science be} r ond the ability of agriculture to give any direct benefit, 

 the operation of constantly rejecting the unessential and reconstructing 

 with the (apparently) essential for the purpose of perfecting organiza- 

 tion is a mental operation quite familiar to educators and is observed 

 in daily practise by good teachers in all subjects. It is a characteristic 

 merit of the " scientific method " and the " spiral plan," and is gen- 

 erally recognized as the natural order of mental growth. Thus most of 

 the knowledge acquired in school is but transient in its value — a scaf- 

 folding for the erection of a more perfect structure. 21 It is not the agri- 

 cultural work considered as knowledge so much as the right kind of 

 training in science which its inclusion alone insures that makes it the 

 best means of preparation in science for any collegiate course or for any 

 general educational purpose. 



But the fundamental sciences can not be depended upon to give a 

 complete treatment of the subject of agriculture as it should be treated 

 in the high school. 22 Where manual skills in technical processes are 



20 "In order to develop a subject well, ... it is necessary to establish and 

 maintain a favorable atmosphere for that particular field of mental activity, and 

 this atmosphere is at its best only in the presence of students interested mainly 

 in that subject; that is to say, there is no more favorable place in which the 

 farmer may study chemistry than in company with others, not merely of his own 

 kind, but of those who believe that chemistry is the greatest thing on earth." — 

 Davenport, "Education for Efficiency," p. 103. 



' ' Learning a business really implies learning the science involved in it. 

 ... A grounding in science is of great importance, both because it prepares for 

 this and because rational knowledge has an immense superiority over empirical 

 knowledge." — Spencer, "Education," Chap. I. 



21 ' ' Coarse, crude, rapid work must come before refined, delicate, painstaking 

 work. . . . On the other hand, if we permit the child to take his own gait he 

 will be likely to stop upon some low stage of development. ... To keep him at 

 coarse, crude work continually would be a serious mistake. We must set the 

 pace for him." — O'Shea, "Dynamic Factors in Education," p. 168. 



' ' The most he knows at forty will be learned out of school, and . . . the 

 business of the school is to give him a good start. ' ' — Davenport, ' ' Education 

 for Efficiency," p. 76. 



"All our industries would cease were it not for that information which men 

 begin to acquire as best they may after their education is said to be finished. ' ' 

 — Spencer, "Education," Chap. I. 



22 When I speak of teaching agriculture in our high schools, I mean agricul- 

 ture. I do not mean nature study, nor do I mean that some sort of pedagogical 



