244 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



McLean spoke as if, possibly, we were loading another burden 

 onto the teachers, but after thinking the matter over I think 

 that most of them are capable of teaching a good deal that we 

 want now, especially in simple studies of plant and animal life. 



As my wife was a nature-lover, my boys and girls have been 

 taught the name of every tree in the fields and woods, I sup- 

 pose. My youngest child can teach me the names and the 

 natures of, I presume, twenty trees that I do not know any- 

 thing about. 



I am heartily in favor of doing what we can to extend the 

 study of nature in our public schools, but I doubt whether we 

 will accomplish anything by taking action as a board, anything 

 further than its being the mere expression of our opinion. 



Mr. Stimson. Mr. President, perhaps I ought not to have 

 anything to say at such a long meeting as we have had this 

 afternoon, but I have been exceedingly interested in this discus- 

 sion, and as I have listened to it for the last fifteen or twenty 

 minutes I have felt that I ought to explain, perhaps, what we 

 are doing at the college on this subject. 



Now, this whole thing of teaching agriculture in the public 

 schools has come down, as I look at it, to a question of feasi- 

 bility and of ways and means ; namely, have we in Connecticut 

 any influence or means from which we can expect some new 

 life, enthusiasm, and interest on this subject to go out into our 

 public schools, something which will direct the work of the 

 public schools in this direction, and something which will put 

 life into the instruction, into the teaching, and rouse enthusiasm 

 and interest in the work? I believe we have. I will tell vou 

 what we have done. Three years ago we raised the question 

 with ourselves at the college as to what we could do in the rural 

 communities to get the boys and girls from the rural communi- 

 ties into our college in order to profit from the educational 

 courses which we offer. How could we raise an interest in this 

 very matter that we have been talking about? Should we 

 attempt to teach the children that came to us to love agriculture 



