State Agricultural Society. 97 



mercy of others — of men who have built up vast fortunes, secured to 

 themselves vast monopolies, made peace and war in spite of you, bur- 

 dened you with taxation — because yonr craft is only handicraft. A wise 

 foresight toward self-preservation will drive you to education, if all 

 other motives fail." 



It is true there has been a great gulf between the abstract and prac- 

 tical sides of agricultural science in past years, but this is being rapidly 

 bridged over in our own country, and I propose to show you how much 

 more extensively in those countries where agriculture is the most suc- 

 cessful and its pursuit most signally honored. 



You are aware that in Prussia the Government requires that every 

 child be educated, assuming it to be the right and duty of the State to 

 protect itself from ignorance as well as crime. She enjoys the enviable 

 reputation of being first among nations in this respect. All Germany, 

 Austria, and of late Russia, are following her example in educating their 

 farmers and mechanics as well as their lawyers, doctors, and clergymen. 

 To insure this they have established special schools, with every appli- 

 ance of land, buildings, and apparatus, taking students from the higher 

 classes of the public schools or otherwise, and training them for their 

 pursuits as superintendents, overseers, or laborers. A description of 

 one of these schools, which has served for a model for the rest of Europe, 

 will suffice for all. 



" The Royal Land and Forest Academy " of Wurtemburg is situated 

 at Hohenheim, a few miles from Stuttgardt. You would find there a 

 large farm adjoining a Government forest of five thousand acres (these 

 practical Germans know the importance of taking care of and cultivating 

 forest trees), of which some twenty acres are divided into one hundred 

 plats used for experimental purposes, kvhereon questions pertaining to 

 soils and their treatment, and methods of treatment of new plants, are 

 tested. A botanical garden covering several acres exhibits all the vari- 

 eties of plants which can be grown in that climate. There is a beet 

 sugar factory, a brewery, a distillery, a starch factory, a vin^ar fac- 

 tory, a malting and fruit growing establishment, a silkworm establish- 

 ment, and machine shops where agricultural implements are manufac- 

 tured—for here the best models for Germany are found. The studies 

 are carried on in connection with actual practice in the field and forest, 

 and embrace the general principles of agriculture, composition and 

 quality of soils, special plant culture, meadow culture, grape, hop, and 

 tobacco culture, fruit culture, vegetable culture, breeding of domestic 

 animals in general, horses, cattle, sheep, and smaller animals; silk cul- 

 ture, bee culture, dairying and practical farm business. Parallel with 

 this practical instruction there is carried along through the course of 

 study, arithmetic and algebra, bookkeeping, a knowledge of the laws 

 and principles of taxation, physics, general and agricultural chemistry, 

 geology, vegetable physiology and zoology, veterinary science, and the 

 study of foreign trees and their uses. 



In the higher departments you will find the sons of the gentry fitting 

 themselves for the general management of estates; ambitious young 

 men of the middle class fitting themselves for stewards; lower down, the 

 sons of peasants, between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, who wish 

 to become familiar with the routine of farm work, and who spend three 

 or four hours in study and the rest in actual labor. 



Any one can have instruction in the special subjects taught. Besides, 



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