I905-] DISCUSSION. 231 



First. I think we may ask what are we going to do about 

 it? I was out at St. Louis this summer and spent a Httle time 

 in looking over the educational exhibit. I found two or three 

 things there which were new to me. I spent a Httle time in 

 looking at the Missouri exhibit in that department, and in 

 connection with that I had submitted to me a little pamphlet 

 showing how the children of Missouri at the State Agricultural 

 College are taught about the grasses which grow in that state. 

 I also noticed an exhibit made by one of the normal schools 

 of Massachusetts, where the children in the training class were 

 encouraged to keep poultry. Photographs were shown of 

 poultry coops, and considerable information given in regard 

 to the value of such a course. One thing in particular was that 

 this spirit or pride of ownership, which has been referred to 

 this morning, was secured and developed in that way. 



Now, what are we going to do about it? I say our Agri- 

 cultural College and our normal schools, especially the Normal 

 School at Willimantic, can combine and get out a course of 

 study which could be issued by the State Board of Education 

 and thus bring the matter to the attention of our schools. I 

 think we could not do a better thing to advance this line of 

 study than this. 



In that visit that I paid to the educational exhibit at St. 

 Louis I was greatly interested in what was stated to me and 

 in what I saw there of the schools of Indiana. In that state 

 they are bringing the boys and girls from the sparsely settled 

 surrounding farming districts into one center and teaching 

 them in one central school building, with perhaps fifteen rooms. 

 In that way they provide a good graded school. In such a 

 building as that special facilities can be provided for first-class 

 instruction, whereas in many of our little country schools, 

 where there are but six or eight scholars, you cannot get 

 teachers for the money that is paid in those districts who know 

 these things. In this central school building high school work 

 was done, and they could have scientific teachers, and were 



