Introduction to the Principles of Roil Fertility 1769 



CORNELL STUDY CLUBS 



Cornell study clubs are local organizations of farmers and their families, 

 aiming to promote the study of Cornell Reading-Course lessons. One of 

 the chief benefits of these clubs is that they furnish an opportunity and 

 an incentive for study. Often a helpful lesson will reach a farm home at 

 a time when the members are too busy to give it attention and it is soon 

 forgotten. If, however, a special time is set aside for the study of Reading- 

 Course lessons at a club, it is likely that much more reading \vill be accom- 

 plished. The secondary purpose of Cornell study clubs is to increase 

 a neighborly feeling in the community and to ofifer an opportunity for an 

 exchange of thought on subjects of common interest. In the meetings of 

 a club the members should find enjoyment in an interchange of ideas and 

 a training for free and orderly self-expression. 



The organization of a Cornell study club can be easily effected even if 

 at first only half a dozen persons desire to form a group. The president 

 and the secretary of the club should be chosen, and the dates and places 

 for meetings decided upon. The meetings should be held frequently 

 enough to maintain an active interest in them; regularly every two weeks 

 during the fall and wdnter is usually considered sufficiently often. If it 

 is not advisable to meet every fortnight in spring and summer, monthly 

 meetings are suggested. Study clubs hold their meetings in churches, 

 grange halls, and at the homes of the members. The meetings should 

 proceed under a definite order of business. 



Each study club should first become fully informed as to the material 

 available in the two Reading-Cotirses. The Reading-Course for the 

 Farm discusses farm practices and important rural problems. The 

 Reading-Course for the Farm Home takes up such household subjects as 

 sanitation, foods, household management, and household furnishing. If 

 the study club is composed of men, the lessons should be related to local 

 agricultural conditions and shotdd deal with operations in progress at the 

 time of year in which they are being discussed. If the club is composed 

 of both men and women, the lessons in the two courses may be alternated, 

 or two separate groups may be formed, holding part of the program in 

 common. If the club is composed of women, a niunber of valuable sug- 

 gestions will be found in Reading-Coiu-se Lesson for the Farm Home, 

 No. 13, Cornell Study Clubs. The clubs are most successful when the 

 programs are plarmed carefully several weeks in advance and leaders are 

 selected to be responsible for the success of each meeting. The super- 

 visors of the Reading-Courses will be pleased to suggest reference books 

 and bulletins to leaders who desire additional material for study. Read- 

 ing-Course lessons should be distributed to the members of the clubs at 



