PROGEESS IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION". 315 



establish adequate courses of instruction in farm management and 

 rural economics and sociology and to institute definite investigations 

 along these lines, it was thought best to undertake at this session of 

 the school a general discussion of the field of teaching and investiga- 

 tion in these lines. The result proved the wisdom of establishing 

 such a. course. It was largely attended and great interest was evoked 

 by the lecturers. 



Dr. Taylor, of the University of Wisconsin, opened the course with 

 a discussion of the scope of agricultural economics and the methods 

 used in studying this subject. Afterwards he presented the economic 

 status of the American farmer and the issue between the farmer and 

 the middleman. 



Dr. Hibbard, of the Iowa coUege, followed with a quite definite 

 treatment of agricultural cooperation and illustrated various phases 

 of the present cooperative movement by reference to the Grange 

 and to cooperative credit companies, grain elevators, and associations 

 of fruit growers and cotton and meat producers. President Butter- 

 field, of the Massachusetts Agricultural CoUege, outlined the field of 

 rural sociology, showed the place of this subject in coUege courses and 

 how such courses may be developed, and urged the importance of 

 country-life investigations and a campaign for rural progress. Prof. 

 Spillman, of the Bureau of Plant Industry, told of the development 

 of investigations in farm management in this department and in the 

 colleges and stations, and pointed out the scope of farm management 

 as a subject of investigation and instruction. 



The rapid progress being made in the outlining of the scope of the 

 general subjects included in this course was definitely brought out 

 through the lectures and discussions. Since the hearers at this 

 course represented institutions in many States it is believed such a 

 presentation of these subjects at the graduate school will do much 

 to aid the more definite establishment of work in these lines in 

 colleges in various parts of the country. This belief is strengthened 

 by the fact that those interested in farm-management investigations 

 and teaching formed an association to be known as the American 

 Farm Management Association, with W. J. Spillman, president; 

 D. H. Otis, vice president, and G, F. Warren, secretary-treasurer. 



Another new and higlily successful feature of this session was a 

 series of conferences on extension work. This work is rapidly develop- 

 ing in our agricultural colleges, but there is as yet little consensus of 

 opinion regarding its field of operation and methods of organization 

 and procedure. It was therefore thought best to have a broad sur- 

 vey of the field from different points of view. By such a presenta- 

 tion of the present status of the movement, together with some dis- 

 cussion of many unsettled problems, it was hoped to pave the way 



