1252 New York State Agricultural Society 



I believe it will be the greatest help this country has ever known, 

 because you can ship five pounds ; and when the people find they 

 can ship five pounds they will ask for five hundred, and when they 

 ask they will get it. 



]\rR. Wadswoeth : Is this matter of farm bureaus contained 

 in the report we are about to adopt? 



The President : ISTo ; it is not. 



Mr. Wadswortii : I might say that the subject is treated in 

 the report of the committee on the development of agricultural 

 resources. 



On motion the report of the committee on cooperation was 

 adopted. 



The President : I now desire to present to you, as our presid- 

 ing officer this afternoon, our vice-president, Mr. Gilbert M. 

 Tucker, whose activities as editor of the Country Gentleman have 

 brought him close to us all. We are very glad to have him here 

 this afternoon to preside. 



Mr. Tucker: The subject to be taken up is agricidtural 

 education. When the State Agricultural Society was resuscitated 

 three years ago — and it is only fair to say that its resuscitation 

 is due wholly to the initiative of one single man. Professor, now 

 President Raymond A. Pearson, then Commissioner of Agricul- 

 ture — when he resuscitated the society there was a unanimous 

 concensus of opinion that the one subject to which we ought to de- 

 vote the first convention was the subject of agricultural education. 

 There was at that time, still is, a very wide diiference of opinion 

 and much need of facts as to what is the function of the secondary 

 schools. Should they be arranged to give as much of an education 

 as possible in the time to the boys who never expect to study any 

 more about agriculture ; or should they be regarded as preparatory 

 to Cornell College, simply taking up introductory branches so that 

 the students who enter Cornell may be better prepared and begin 

 at once their education in the higher branches ; or should they 

 teach special things according to the agriculture practiced in the 

 community where they are situated ? Do we need more of them ? 

 There are a lot of these questions. Some of them are still in the 

 air. On some of them we have reached, T think, some conclusions. 



