141 2 Rural School Leaflet 



under the jurisdiction of the Marilla Grange, William Foster of District 

 No. I, Elma, was awarded first prize. The grand prize, special, was 

 awarded to Edward Jerge, District No. 6, Marilla. 



There were present at the exercises, Mr. W. L. Markham and Miss 

 Katherine H. Mills, of the Erie County Farm Bureau, and Miss Claribel 

 Nye and Mr. Edward M. Tuttle, of Cornell University. Mr. Tuttle will 

 be glad, I am sure, to testify to the general enthusiasm of those present. 

 We were considerably handicapped by the inclement weather. 



Under the direction of Miss Katherine Mills of the farm bureau, 

 two bread-making contests have been held in Districts No. 2 and No. 8, 

 Aurora. One of the girls in the contest held at South Wales (District 

 No. 8, Aurora) was awarded a prize of $15 to defray her expenses while 

 in attendance at Farmers' Week, Ithaca, this month. The bread baked 

 by the South Wales girls was exhibited in connection with the potato 

 exhibit held at East Aurora on the thirtieth of October. 



Sincerely yours, 



W. E. PIERCE, 



Superintendent of Third District, Erie County 



SCHOOL FAIRS 



May Firman 



(Superintendent of Fourth District, Otsego County) 



Wishing to increase the interest of parents and of the general public 

 in the schools, and at the same time to stimulate in the minds of the 

 pupils a love of nature and an interest in their home work, I decided last 

 year to hold a school fair in each of the four towns in my stipervisory 

 district. 



During the summer vacation of from two to four months, var^dng in 

 length in the different districts, the boys and girls usually spend their 

 time in an aimless sort of way; the time often hangs heaxdly on their 

 hands. Even when pupils spend the greater part of the vacation period 

 in work, on the farm or elsewhere, the work is done in a way that develops 

 little or no thought or interest in the thing that is being done. 



Of the animal life and the plant life that abotmd in the open country, 

 of the farm sciences of cultivation and animal husbandry, of the home 

 sciences of sewing and cooking, pupils learn next to nothing during the 

 vacation. Consequently they return to school in the fall with little, if 

 any, more m_ental power, and with even less information than they pos- 

 sessed when the vacation began. 



As a means of remedying this condition, I determined to have contest 

 exhibits at our fairs, which would require advance preparation, and would 



