258 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



visor of agriculture, sampling soils in the various fields surround- 

 ing the school. As a rule, most of the boys in these agricultural 

 schools, ask the supervisor of agriculture to come to their home 

 farms lor the purpose of examining the soils on their farms. In 

 many cases, soil maps of the farms are made. 



This is a class in a small, but very up-to-date and progressive 

 agricultural high school or agricultural department in a high school 

 in Lancaster county. Even Lancaster county, with all its knowl- 

 edge of agricultural conditions, with all its agricultural wealth, 

 has found that it pays to take up this form of education. Here 

 is a picture of that same school in Lancaster county. Two boys 

 have been carrying on some experiments with soils and are making 

 their weight measurements. Poultry raising is usually taught in 

 the first year of the course, although a fixed course, or suggestive 

 course has been offered for the agricultural schools of the State, 

 yet the agricultural course is flexible enough to meet conditions 

 in all sections of the State. Here is a class in one of the south- 

 western counties of the State, engaged in killing and dressing 

 chickens for the market. That particular type of work is usually 

 preceded by a study of it and the study of the various methods 

 of killing and preparing chickens for the market. That is followed 

 by a demonstration on the part of the teachers and the students 

 themselves. 



Here they are using the French killing knife and dry-picking 

 the chickens. This is a poultry exhibit at Waterford, in Erie 

 county. It was a small high school and a small department when 

 it started out, but proved to be one of the most successful in the 

 State. The boys made all the coops in which the fowls were ex- 

 hibited with the exception of one. This is a study of corn, an- 

 other crop which is very important. The boys are taught how 

 to select a good ear of corn. They are also taught the various 

 ways of carrying on the germination test. This represents a teacher 

 of agriculture with his two boys, looking over the results of a 

 germination test, and there they have used what is known as the 

 rag-doll tester. You are all familiar M-ith that. I shall not go 

 into details at all. The slides show those of you who are engaged 

 in the agricultural work of the State merely some idea of the 

 methods employed in these schools for carrying on this work. This 

 is a corn and potato exhibit. These Avere the prize winners in 

 Jefferson county last fall. Each one of these boys won a free trip 

 for their work in raising these potatoes and corn. This class is 

 out hunting for borers. As I told you a few minutes ago, the work 

 is partly done in the class room and some of it is done in the 

 agricultural laboratory and much of it is done out in the field. 

 The work is usually so arranged that the class spends half a day 

 under the supervision of the agricultural instructor so that it is 

 necessary in the best interests of this work for that class to go right 

 out into the wood-lot for the purpose of studying forestry. The 

 class can do so and it is not necessary for them to get back in 

 thirty- minutes or thirty-five minutes for an algebra or Latin lesson. 

 Their academic work comes in the morning. 



Every boy ought to be taught how to take care of tools and how 

 to handle tools. This is taken care of in our agricultural schools. 

 This is a view in one of the schools started the first year in what 



