FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 221 



ridiculed for his 's-\viug-swaugs,' but the penduhim clock is tiic result of his ex- 

 periments. It is to persons deej^ly versed in the principles of things that we owe 

 our great inventions. Lav/yer Tull, returning to England after travel for liis 

 health invents the seed drill, and when its introducer into the United States 

 Avished to simplify it he applied to the president of Yale college whose mathe- 

 matical genius sufficed for the task. Eev. Patrick Bell invented the mower, 

 Wnitney, a college graduate the cotton gin, and so on through a large part of 

 the catalogue of inventions. But it is no part of my purpose to vindicate the 

 practical nature of science. "To a sound mind," says Emerson, ^'the most 

 abstract truth is the most practical." 



SCIENCE IX THE COURSE OF STUDY. 



What should the schools* do? Some are disposed to say, Give us practical 

 manual training first, then, if time admits, go deeper. But the general opin- 

 ion of educators is, give us the underlying principles thoroughly, and skill will 

 add itself to knowledge with great rapidity. The accomplished mariner, engin- 

 eer, builder, know the principles of their business. Difficulties that are insur- 

 mountable to the man of mere practice, give way readily to the man who joins 

 a knowledge of principles to his practical skill. Burke pointed out, in his 

 delineation of the character of Lord Grenville, the helplessness of a man of 

 mere office training, in the perplexing circumstances where no precedents exist 

 for him to follow. 



You will find, then, in the catalogues of almost all schools of engineering, 

 mining, and the like, full courses in the sciences on which the art? depend, and 

 an introduction into the French and German, in which languages a large propor- 

 tion of our best scientific works are Avritten. 



"All the polytechnic schools in Germany are rapidly approaching the univers- 

 ity type. The teaching of the principles, and not the application, is becoming 

 more and more the main object.''* Prof. Hilgard, formerly of the Michigan, 

 now of California University, speaking of agricultural schools, says, the 

 '^ model farm system on the old plan is rapidly giving way everywhere before 

 that system which, while affording abundant oj^portunity to the student to 

 become an expert in all kinds of agricultural operations, directs his attention 

 chiefly to the principles upon which a successful practice must be based, and 

 which are applicable everywhere and always." — Address on Progressive Agri- 

 culture, p. 30. The Carlsruhe Agricultural School, one of the most prosperous 

 and useful in Eui'ope, has among its regulations, posted in large type, the 

 announcement, ''This school is concerned Avith the cultivation of the mind of 

 the student; not with learning the technical operations of agriculture." f 



Liebig says, " I have found, in all those attending my laboratory who intended 

 to pursue a technical course of study, a general predisposition to devote them- 

 selves to some branch of applied chemistry. It is only with feelings of fear and 

 trepidation that they consent to follow my advice, and give up the time they 

 thus Avaste on mere drudgery to making themselves acquainted Avith the meth- 

 ods by Avhicli pure scientific problems are soluble, and by Avhich alone they can 

 be solved. There are many of my pupils uoav at the head of many departments 

 of manufacturing industry, who, having had no previous acquaintance Avitli the 

 processes, Avcre in half ah hour perfectly au fait Avith all the details of the man- 



*Xature, A'ol. 2, p. 42, 1870 (leader). 

 t Nature, A'ol. 1, p. iTG. 



