COLLEGE EXTENSION WORK IN AGRICULTURE. 95 



COLLEGE EXTENSION WORK IN AGRICULTURE, 



W. J. BEAU 



Forty-seven years ago next May, the first Agricultural College in 

 America, almost in the wilderness, opened its doors to students. The 

 conditions of farmers as a class were far from encouraging; most of 

 them deemed an education of little value. In 1862, Congress granted 

 means soon available for each state to establish an agricultural college. 

 By slow degrees for many years, these schools made little progress. 



■In 1888, the United States granted an annual appropriation to each 

 state with which to conduct experiments in agriculture for the benefit of 

 farmers. 



Over thirty years ago, granges were organized designed to be schools 

 for farmers and their families, most of whom had passed be3ond the 

 age for attending schools. For a long time many farmers persistently 

 maintained that no agricultural college could be organized that would 

 benefit a farmer in his business. The courses of study in such colleges 

 did not attract as many students as seemed desirable. By slow degrees 

 preparations were made and the ''war carried into Africa," in other 

 words, "Mahommet went to the mountain." The farmers were to be 

 reached and aroused. In a small, crude and expensive way, a half dozen 

 or more farmers' institutes per year were held in different portions of 

 our State as well as in many other states. This was the beginning of 

 agricultural college extension, which was designed to help every young 

 man or woman or older person who had any ambition to become more 

 competent to successfully meet the demands of life. 



The bulletins gave the results of experiments and other informa- 

 tion of practical importance that should at once be availal)le for the 

 farmer to adopt in garden, orchard, field, or stable. Through the 

 efforts of the grange, a cabinet officer was appointed to look after 

 the numerous and varied interests of agriculture. By this means, great 

 numbers of investigations were made by the United States l^epartment 

 of Agriculture and given to the agricultural colleges and the farmers 

 free of cost, until at the present time, it is almost impossible to name a 

 subject of direct benefit to the farmer in his business that the United 

 States Department of Agriculture has not undertaken. 



Omitting most of the steps by which farmers have reached their pres- 

 ent improved position in the social and business world, we find the past 

 winter that upwards of 300 institutes have been held in Michigan. More 

 than two-thirds of these institutes were held in the country at grange 

 halls, churches or school houses, where farmers can be reached and 

 awakened, — people who could not be induced to go fifteen miles to the 

 county seat for such purpose. 



On the whole, the attendance and the interest were never surpassed. 

 Forty thousand bulletins each month are sent to as many heads of 

 families. 



A director is employed to spend his time in managing a system of 



