342 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



The committoo also quotod llio syllnhus of ;iii cloinonlary course in 

 a*;ii('iilture prepared hy llie coiiimittee on teaching agricuHurc of 

 the Association of Anieiican Ajjfriciiltiiral ('olle<2:es and Experiment 

 Stations, which Avas published in an article on the l*ro<i:ress of Agri- 

 cultural Education in the report of this OtHce for 11)04, and also as 

 Circular No. GO. 



SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 



Considerable progress has been made (hiring the past year in the 

 definite recognition of instruction in agriculture as a legitinuite part 

 of the public high-school system. One drawback to the introduction 

 of agricultural subjects in these schools has been the lack of provision 

 for giving students taking courses in agriculture civdit for this work 

 for graduation and entrance to college. The council of the State 

 University of Missouri, desiring to promote agricultural education, 

 has taken action to remove this obstacle by allowing a credit of one 

 unit on the entrance requirements for a year's work in agriculture in 

 the high school. 



The regents of education of New York State, who provide uniform 

 examinations for all the high schools of the State, thus establishing 

 a standard for attainment and graduation for these schools, which 

 has been a very important feature in their development, have decided 

 to allow credits in the regular high-school courses for nature study 

 and elementary agriculture, provided the courses in these subjects are 

 so prepared as to show educational values comparable Avith those of 

 the other subjects now recognized in the regents' examinations. 



To meet this requirement the following syllabus has been prepared 

 at the request of the New York State Education Department by rep- 

 resentatives of the College of Agriculture of Cornell University, and 

 it is expected that an outline of laboratory exercises to accompany 

 the topical syllabus will be issued at an early date : 



AGRICULTURE. 



This outline presents an orderly arrangement of work for a three-period course 

 for one year. It should preferably he pursued in the second year of the high 

 school, after the pupil has completed a year's work in biology. The student must 

 also have some knowledge of elementary chemistry ; if this knowledge has not 

 been obtained in the study of biology, one or two weeks should be devoted to it 

 before the specific subjects of the course in agriculture are undertaken. The 

 pupil should have an elementary knowledge of chemical combination and also 

 of the 14 elements chiefly concerned in the composition of soil and the production 

 of plants and animals : (1) Carbon; (2) hydrogen; (3) oxygen; (4) nitrogen; 

 (.5) sulphur; ((!) i)hosphorus ; (7) iron; (S) oaleium ; (H) magnesium; (10) 

 ix)tassium ; (11) sodium; (12) chlorin ; (13) silicon; and (14) aluminum. 



Abundant laboratory work should be provided, at least one period out of the 

 three, every week. 



