Rural School Leaflet • 1401 



3. That we expected them to be absolutely honorable in carrying out 

 the niles of the contest and in doing the work without help. 



4. That they had better not enter the contests unless they could be 

 good losers ; that it was better to be game about not securing a prize than 

 to be conceited about winning one. 



5. That we expected them to do the work carefiilly and to learn all they 

 could al)out potato growing or bread making. 



I talked with the teachers about intelligent direction of the work and 

 about keeping up the interest of the pupils as long as school was in session, 

 and urged them to take up the topic of potato growing in connection 

 with the work in elementary agriculture. 



Twenty-four boys and sixteen girls enrolled. Of these on exhibit day 

 the next October, twenty boys and sixteen girls entered exhibits. One 

 of the missing boys was unfortunate enough to have his potatoes all eaten 

 up by the hens; another had m.oved from the township. During the 

 summ.er the father of one of the contestants sold his farni located six or 

 seven miles back on the hills and moved into the village. When the sale 

 was made he reserved the land on which the boy's potatoes were planted, 

 and his son, about twelve years old, went back and forth all those m.iles 

 to give his potatoes necessary care and to dig them in the fall. It is need- 

 less to say that he had the right kind of a father. As I had known how 

 manfully the boy had worked, I could not help hoping secretly that he 

 w^ould win a prize. When the prizes were announced on exhibit day, and 

 his name was not among the winners, I watched the boy's face. If there 

 was disappointment in his heart, he gave no sign. I was glad when 

 a public-spirited man gave fifty cents to every contestant who had com- 

 pleted his work, but had not won a prize. 



Through the kindness of the State College of Agriculture, two judges 

 were sent to us, which added greatly to the enthusiasm and interest of the 

 grangers. On exhibit day there were about two hundred and fifty persons 

 in attendance despite the fact that the morning was ver}^ rainy, and that 

 the great majority present had to drive through deep mud. After the 

 dinner we had a brief program at the close of which both judges from 

 Ithaca made remarks and the prizes were awarded. Two of the smallest 

 boys who had entered the contest, so small that I had felt doubtful the 

 spring before about encouraging them to attempt the work, won the 

 potato prizes. Most of the potatoes exhibited were very good specimens, 

 and many of the boys went home contented because they had sold their 

 product at a good price to persons who wanted them for seed. The 

 grangers seemed pleased with the results and began to talk that day about 

 what we could do the following year. 



In the spring of 19 14 there was no difficulty in getting the Turin grange 



