I 



55 



And so it happens thnt in a sense the college is the " head center " of all, 

 leachin.!; out t]irou.:,'li tlie experinioiit station to the adult fnriuers, and reaching 

 out through the high, normal, and connnon schools to the next generation of 

 fanners and farmers' \vi\es. 



There is yet another way in which the college relates itself to the institute. 

 Every man that the college sends out to the farm to j'Ut in i)ractice the facts 

 iind theories which he has learned at the college. iKvonies an iniportant factor 

 in creating sentiment that favors agricultural education, and, therefore, farm- 

 ers' institutes. And in such important work, it makes little differinice whether, 

 us a student, he took the "short course" or the long course. If the college is a 

 good one a single term will conviiK-e liic student of its advantages and make 

 Lim foi-ever a friend and supporter of all that pertains to scientific soil culture. 

 Hence, as it seems to me. those colleges that by iueans of "short courses" and 

 long ones, by means of l)road courses and narrow ones, by means of deep courses 

 and shallow ones ( vhen it is a necessary dioice between that which is narrow 

 and superficial on tlie one hand and notiiing on the other hand), those colleges 

 that bring the greatest numl'ter of ])eoi)le in toudi with scientific methods are' 

 doing most to promote a sentiment that will continuously and cheerfully provide 

 eiiuipment for more extended agricidtural ed-ication all alo:is the line, from 

 the kindergarten to the university. 



I have spoken thus far oidy of what I believe slioidd be the attitude and 

 influence (mainly indirect) of the college upon the institute. 



But what should the institute do for the college and for agricultural educa- 

 tion in genei-al? A transaction or a relation to lie in the highest degree satis- 

 factory nnist be mutually advantageous 



All the institutions herein referred to exist for the general good. Their 

 purpose is the discovery, dissenunation, and practical application of truth. 

 The institute nmst do its share. 



(1) It must help to create a desire for bettor methods in agriculture and 

 for higher agricultural education. 



(2) It must help to strengthen the sentiment already exising in favor of 

 generous sn]ii)ort of every institutioii lierein nametl. 



(3) It must encourage the introduction of elementary agricultural and 

 domestic science into all the schools. It nuist especially insist upon their 

 introduction into the high and normal schools, for in no other way can such 

 teaching l)ecome general in the conmion or district schools, and in no other 

 way can the connecting link be jmt in place that will bring the people into 

 close and vital touch with the ;igricullni al college. 



(4) The institute must at this stage of tlie work invite the young people 

 and their teachers to its sessions. It must help to convince them that educa- 

 tion is for use ; that the higher life is the useful life ; that the highest life 

 is the most useful life ; that the first purpose in education is to enable one 

 " to earn his own living by the exercise of trained powers ; " that there is 

 no vocation in which mental training and equipment will be more advantageous 

 than in farming; that this vocation will give ample opportunity for the 

 exercise of all the intellectual power one jiossesses ; that its rewards are 

 inferior to none ; that its duties are no more burdensome than those of other 

 occupations; that the chances for success are greater by far than in most 

 occupations, and that nothing can be more honorable than, " i)y the help of 

 (Jod, to cut a straight i)ath to one's own living through the sunshine and the 

 rain and the sprouting grain," and that few things are more dishonorable than 

 the attempt, by the help of the devil, to cut a crooked path to one's own living 

 through the fortunes of other people. 



