SOCIAL PHASE OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 353 



THE SOCIAL PHASE OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.* 



By President KENYON L. BUTTERFIELD, 



RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC ARTS. 



I HAVE been asked to speak in behalf of the study of ' Rural Eco- 

 nomics.' This term is, I presume, supposed to cover broadly 

 those subjects which treat of the economic and social questions that 

 concern farming and farmers. The whole range of social science as 

 applied to rural conditions is thus apparently made legitimate territory 

 for discussion. In view of the importance and character of this field 

 of study, it seems wise to approach it if possible through the avenue 

 of its underlying philosophy. Only in this way can the validity of the 

 subject be established and its place in agricultural education be justi- 

 fied. I have, therefore, chosen as a specific title, ' The Social Phase 

 of Agricultural Education.' In the treatment of the topic an endeavor 

 has been made to hold consistently in mind the point of view of the 

 agricultural college. 



It is a principle in social science that the method and scope of any 

 social institution depend upon its function. Therefore the organiza- 

 tion, the methods and the courses of the agricultural college should be 

 made with reference to the function of the college. What is this func- 

 tion ? What is the college designed to accomplish ? What is its social 

 purpose? Why does society need the agricultural college? Answers 

 to these questions are of two kinds, those that explain the contemporary 

 and passing functions of the college, and those that illustrate its per- 

 manent and abiding service to society and particularly to the rural 

 portion of society. The college of yesterday was obliged to train its 

 own teachers and experimenters ; to-day it may add the task of training 

 farm superintendents; to-morrow it may organize an adequate exten- 

 sion department. Courses and methods will change as new contem- 

 porary needs arise. But there remains always the abiding, final service 

 of the agricultural college, its permanent function. This function will 

 he defined in different ways by different men, but I venture to define 

 it as follows : The permanent function of the agricultural college is to 

 serve as a social organ or agency of first importance in helping to solve 

 all phases of the rural problem. We shall not attempt at once to argue 

 this proposition. We must, however, try to answer the question, What 



* Read November 2, at the eighteenth annual convention of the Associa- 

 tion of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations, Des Moines, 

 Iowa. 



vol. lxvtt. — 23. 



