354 REPORT OF OFFICE OF KXI'EHIMKNT STATIONS. 



city, and soil tomporaturos, to^otluM' ^vitll (lie considoration of soil 

 j)rc>j)ai'ati<)ii, seed pliinliii^, :iii(I ciiltiiiMl ()|K'riitioiis. The sih'oiuI part 

 (if (he work considers soil fcrtilily as aliVctcd by i'aiiii practices, and 

 is devoted to discussions on soil fertility and its maintenance, methods 

 of controlling' moistnre condition of the soil, cultivation and rotation 

 of cro])s, and the uses and value of farm manure and connnercial 

 fertilizers. 



An interesting;; example of the consolidated school in which agricul- 

 ture is taught is the Farragut School, located near Concord, Tenn. 

 This school was organized by the consolidation of three school dis- 

 tricts and Avas opened in September, 11)04. The school is supixH'ted 

 jointly by the Southern Education Board, which has contributed 

 about $3,500, the State tax levy for the salaries of teachers, and local 

 contributions. The funds thus raised, exclusive of teachers' wages, 

 amount to $8,000, of which $(5,000 was expended for a school building 

 and equipment. The building is 5-1: by 80 feet, two stories high, and 

 contains six well-lighted schoolrooms and a large assembly room. One 

 of the abandoned schoolhouses has been moved to the site of the new 

 building and is used for domestic science and manual training class 

 rooms. 



A small poultry house with incubator and brooder, a two-frame 

 hotbed, and a shed for horses comprise the major portion of the farm 

 equipment. The school has 12^ acres of land, 3 of which are used 

 for horticulture, (> for farm cro])s, and the remaining 3^ acres for 

 campus and farmyard. It is the plan to make this a model rural 

 school, in which agriculture, domestic science, and manual training 

 shall be leading features. There are at present 5 teachers, including 

 the superintendent and the teacher of agriculture, the latter a gradu- 

 ate of the University of Tennessee. The school is under the control 

 of a local board of 9 members. During the first year the attendance 

 Avas considerably greater than the previous joint attendance in the 

 three small schools. This is accounted for by the fact that many boys, 

 for one reason or another, would not attend the district schools. The 

 field-crop work has consisted largely of forage tests and demonstra- 

 tion work on such subjects as seed selection, treatment for snnit, and 

 different methods of fertilization. The hotbed connected with the 

 school not only furnishes materials for instruction, but is a source of 

 income to the school and a convenience to the farmers of the district. 

 A milk tester has recently been purchased, and the pupils are testing 

 milk from cows in different dairy herds near by. The poultry work 

 is attracting much local attention. 



The industrial classes conducted under the auspices of the trustees 

 of the John F. Slater fund in and near Norfolk, Va., in connection 

 with the public schools for negroes, have been quite successful, and are 

 good examples of what may be accomplished by earnest and intelli- 



