robison] 



TEXT-BOOKS FOR AGRICULTURE 181 



His preface is the best possible exposition of his conception of the 

 question; and one could do little better, if time permitted^ than to quote it 

 in its entiretv. In starting he savs: "The greatest difficulty in teaching 

 agriculture is to tell what agriculture is. To the scientist, agriculture has 

 been largely an application of the teachings of chemistry; to the stockman, 

 it is chiefly the raising of animals; to the horticulturist, it mav be fruit 

 growing, flower growing, or nursery business; and everyone, since the 

 establishment ot the agricultural colleges and experiment stations, is certain 

 that it is a science. The fact is, however, that agriculture is pursued 

 primarily for the gaining of a livelihood, not for the extension of knowledge: 

 It is, therefore, a business, not a science." He emphasizes the fact that in 

 farming "business method is the master, and the teachings of science are the 

 helpmates," though teacher and farmer are apt not to distinguish "between 

 the fundamental and the incidental applications of science, or between 

 principles and facts." They are apt to forget to teach "how to overcome 

 mere obstacles before explaining why the obstacles are obstacles." "How 

 to kill weeds is a mere incident; the great fact is that good farmers are not 

 troubled with weeds. Rather than to know kinds of weeds, the farmer 

 should know how to manage his land. How to know weeds and how to 

 kill them is what he calls practical knowledge, but standing alone, it is really 

 the most unpractical kind of knowledge, for it does not tell him how to pre- 

 vent their recurrence year after year. The learner is apt to begin at the 

 wrong end of his problem." "The farmer too often wants to sew on the 

 buttons before he cuts the cloth." The purpose of agricultural education, 

 according to Professor Bailev, "is to improve the farmer, not the farm." 

 The view often taken is that it is the function of the rural schools to teach 

 the trade. However right and proper it is to establish special schools in 

 counties, or congressional districts, as is being done to teach farming, I think 

 Professor Bailey is right in combatting this idea as applied to the public schools 

 where all must go, with little regard to the age or experience of the pupil. 

 To quote again from his preface: "Business cannot be taught from a book 

 like this, but some of the laws of science as applied to farm management can 

 be taught, and it is convenient to speak of those as the principles of agri- 

 culture." The author would seem to imply here that he conceives of the 

 student's problem to be one of understanding in a purelv intellectual wav, 

 and not bv doing. His treatment of the subject seems to corroborate this 

 impression, as all of the illustrative material is evidently for demonstration 

 alone. He says "a book like this should be used only by persons who know 

 how to observe. The starting point in the teaching of agriculture is 

 nature-study." The book breaks down at this very point. It teaches prin- 



