COLLEGE EXTENSION WORK IN AGRICULTURE. 97 



time to correspondence with vonng men in different parts of the State, 

 interesting- them in agriculture and agriculture studies, and in making 

 experiments. 



In southern Illinois, there is an extensive acreage of flat land con- 

 sisting of stiff" clay, almost impervious to water. The land in question 

 has enjoyed an enviable reputation as a wheat region, but it does not 

 produce good crops of corn, such as is desirable in a good rotation of 

 crops. Farmers living in that region said that laying tile in such land 

 would be labor lost, but the Dean of the Agricultural College believed 

 otherwise. He was educated in Michigan Agricultural College, and had 

 the experience of the successful management of his farm in Michigan. 

 In a prominent })lace near the road in southern Illinois, he rented a 

 piece of land, drained one-half of it, and planted all to corn, showing a 

 marked increase in yield of the portion previously drained. Here was 

 an object lesson for the whole region. Farmers began to make observa- 

 tions and ask questions. 



There are about four main lines of effort in the extension work : 

 (1) Inspecting the premises of farmers in certain country neighbor- 

 hoods and giving demonstrations in spraying trees or in the manage- 

 ment of a dairy, and inducing farmers to make experiments with pota- 

 toes, alfalfa, fertilizer, new farm implements and the like; (2) inducing 

 farmers and their wives to organize and then conduct reading courses 

 by correspondence; (3) by correspondence, bulletins and visits, carry- 

 ing the study of nature into the public schools; (4) giving lectures and 

 conducting institutes in various regions of the State. The Agricultural 

 College of Cornell I'niversity has accomplished much in certain lines 

 of extension work on account of having considerable money given them 

 by the State Legislature, and because it was fortunate in having the 

 leadership of Prof. L. H. Bailey, another product of our Agricultural 

 College. 



At Cornell they tried faithfully the experiment of holding itinerant 

 schools in horticulture where the attendance consisted mostly of young 

 fruit growers for about one week. Prominent on the program were 

 named exercises in observing small objects, like leaves or roots, flowers 

 or seeds. Questions were asked. It is true that most persons do not 

 see what they look at and still fewer persons draw correct conclusions 

 from what they see. 



After two years, Professor Bailey reported : "As a result of the 

 holding of many of these schools, I am now of the opinion that they 

 cannot be used as primary factors in University extension. 

 These observation exercises were uniformly well received by both the 

 pupils and the teachers, and to the minds of our instructors this work 

 has awakened more inspiration than any attempt which w^e have yet 

 made to reach the people. In fact, all the instructors whom we had 

 in the field during the present year are fully convinced that the funda- 

 mental method in improving the agricultural status is to begin with 

 genuine and attractive nature-education in rural schools. 



"The great need of this work is teachers fitted for it." 



And later, the}' report in 1898, and hold to the same opinion in 

 1900, that : "The district school cannot teach agriculture any more 

 than it can teach law or engineering or any other profession or trade, 

 but it can interest the child in nature and in rural problems." 

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