PRoaRESS IN AORICT^LTURAL EDUCATION. 629 



tin- l)oyis were yhown the ■.nowiiif,' etDps and were tolil how they were ])eing cared 

 fur and what exi)eriniental work was being ihnw. Tlu-y inspected sugar l)eets, oats, 

 corn, soy l)eans, cowpeas, wlieat, and aUalfa. Some runts of the last-named plant 

 were pulle<l np and the l>(')y.s were sli(jwn where the bacteria deposit in the ground 

 the nitrogen whiih they take from the air. 



Tlie live-stock department of tlie farm appealed strongly to the boys. They 

 insi)ected a model dairy barn. At the feeding yard.s they saw a bunch of steers that 

 were being fed a balanced ration that would make it possible for the cattle to bring 

 the top price in the Chicago market. The horticultural department was of more 

 than passing interest. 



To l)e sure, it is too soon to say what tlie effect of these excursions will be. Some 

 of the l)oys had never been on a railroad train. Many more had never been out of 

 the county. We will w ait patiently for time to show results in quickened aspirations, 

 stronger charat'ters in growing boys, and a general uplift in the educational interests 

 of Winnebago County. 



The experimental and observation work of the boys thus far has consisted in test- 

 ing vitality of various seeds, i)lanting corn and noting growth, testing for smut in 

 oats, experimenting with sugar beets, etc. 



In making investigations with reference to smut in oats, each boy was directed to 

 go into four different fields and make three counts in the same field by placing a bar- 

 rel hoop over as many stalks of grain as the hoop might inclose, and then counting 

 and recording results. The percentage of smut was determined by the boys. Some 

 of the work that came under my personal direction showed a percentage of smut 

 from 3 per cent, the lowest, to 23 per cent, the highest. This was practical work in 

 arithmetic. 



Each boy last year was given 2 jxjunds of sugar-beet seed by the experiment 

 station at Urbana. The department wanted to interest the ]>oys and see at the 

 same time whether sugar beets could 1je grown with profit in this dairy region of 

 northern Illinois. Some very fine beets were raised by the boys. They selected 

 specimens and sent them to the experiment station to be analyzed. The remainder 

 were fed to the stock on the farm. 



The boys concluded that, if suflicient lielp could be secured at a reasonable wage, 

 sugar beets could be grown here with i)rofit. One boy kept an exact account of 

 labor, rent of ground, etc. — in short, the first cost of raising his beets. His plat com- 

 Itrised 45 square rods of ground. The total cost of cultivation, harvesting, and rent 

 of ground was $19.75. The number of bushels raised was 183, thus making the cost 

 a trifle over 10 cents per bushel. These beets were tested, the best of those received 

 at the experiment station showing 18 jier cent sugar and 86.7 purity coefficient. 

 This was practical work for the boys, and many of them have notebooks on the 

 present year's work. 



At present, in Illinois the breeding of im[)roved types of corn is attracting the 

 attention of the farmers. Professor Hopkins, of the Illinois College of Agriculture, 

 is able to show results from experiments over a number of years that corn may lie 

 bred to produce a high percentage of oil, thus making it more valuable commercially, 

 or it may be bred to produce a high perci-ntage of protein, making it more valuable 

 for feeding purposes. The Illinois State Farmers' Institute gave to every boy of 

 Winnebago County wdio sent 4 cents in postage 500 grains of this high-bred corn. 

 Nearly 200 Ixjys of the exiieriment club sent for the corn last spring and planted it. 

 Each boy is expected to note all interesting facts about the growth of the corn and 

 make an exhibit of the 10 best ears at the county farmers' in.stitute next January and 

 ent<'r in competition for prizes already offered by the officers of the institute. This 

 is practical work to get them interested in approved types of grains ami in touch 

 with that great educational movement, the farmers' institute. 



