(528 UKI'OKT (>K OFFHK oK KXI'EIUMENT STATIONS. 



inii' scliools ill \\ isconsin and Michi<;!m. iiiid in smmiicr schools or 

 spocial t'oursos conncctt'd with :ii:ricuhiiiai coIIchcs in California, 

 CoiHUH-ticut. Missouri. New ^Ork. Noilh Cai'olina, Tennessee, aiul 

 Vir*;-inia. 



A very iMtrrcstiM*^' woi'k is hcm^' (h)ii(' by Mr. (). .]. Kern, superin- 

 tendent of schools for Winn(>l)ai!fo C'ouiitv, 111. K\er\ ellort is belntr 

 made to secure the general improvement of the schools of this county 

 ])\ increasino" the efficiency of the teachinir force, consolidatinir the 

 weak scliools. improving the school l)uil(litios and Mieir e(iiiipinent, 

 beautifying the school grounds, and securing useful district and travel- 

 ing libraries. But in addition to this the teaching of agriculture is 

 being directly promoted in a num})er of ways. Through meetings 

 and publications the tcnichers and the patrons of the schools are heing 

 shown the usefulness and the practicabilit}' of teacliing agricultural 

 subjects in the rural schools. The illustrated pu])lications entitled 

 "The Countr}^ School and the Country Child" and the '•^^'innebagoes" 

 bring out very clearly the features and progress of this work. The 

 school garden is being made a strong feature of the work at present, 

 and, in 1903, 70 district schools in this countv report that, the}' have 

 grown plants of some kind. In order to interest the farm boy and 

 his parents in this new movement for the ))etterment of the country 

 schools, Superintendent Kern organized a Farmer B03-S' Experiment 

 Club. This was begun February 22, 1902, with a membership of 37 

 bo3\s, and has grown until in November, 1903, it had 405 members. 

 The college of agriculture of the Universit}' of Illinois is cooperating 

 in this work. The work of the club is thus described b}' Superin- 

 tendent Kern: 



The machinery of the organization is very simple. There is no elaborate constitu- 

 tion and by-laws to set forth in high-sounding terms what the boys are on earth for. 

 The county superintendent has a list of the names of the boys, witli the ])ost-office 

 address of each. Superintendent Rankin, of the agricultural college extension work, 

 has a duplicate list, and from each office go circulars, l)ulletins, and literature of 

 various kinds, the main ol)ject being to keep in touch with the boys and to interest 

 them more deeply in the beauty of country life nnd the worth, dignity, and scientific 

 advancement in agriculture. 



After the organization < )f the clult it occurred to me that it would do a great deal 

 of good to have the l)oys and their parents go on an excursion to the agricultural 

 college and experiment station connected with the University of Illinois at T'rbana. 

 Rockford is 214 miles from Urbana, and we secure<l a rate of $2.50 for the round 

 trip. On June 5, 1902, 130 boys and 150 adults — nearly six coaches full — left Rock- 

 ford for Urbana, and on June 1, 1903, a second excursion, numl)ering 20-1 persons, 

 was run to the same place. Only 13 persons of the second excursion were members 

 of the first. The expectation is, if proper arrangements can T)e made, to continue 

 these excursions to the colleges of neighl)oring States. "We lio])c to arrange for an 

 excursion to the 8t. Louis Kx])osition in 1904. 



While at the college of agriculture and experiment stations, the boys were shown 

 the laboratories where the work of testing and improving types of corn, treatment 

 and analysis of soils, propagation of plants, etc., was done. On the experiment farm 



