426 TiiiRTY-FiRST Annual Report 



agriculture and mechanic arts" established under the provisions of 

 the earlier act. In 1907 another Act of Congress provided additional 

 funds for "the more complete endowment and maintenance of 

 agricultural colleges now established." This amendment contained 

 a new item authorizing the colleges to "use a portion of this money 

 for providing courses for the special preparation of instructors fo'" 

 teaching the elements of agriculture and the mechanic arts." 



THE NEW IDEA 



Tlic new idea came as an afterthought. At this late date any 

 one might say that the first need was to prepare teachers. But 

 the colleges did prepare teachers, even before they had well learned 

 the art of teaching the students who flocked to the classrooms and 

 laboratories of the institutions of learning dedicated to the pro- 

 motion of the "liberal and practical education of the industrial 

 classes" in the various pursuits and professions. The work of 

 systematically preparing instructors to teach the elements of agri- 

 culture in common and high schools has only fairly begun. The 

 Arizona College of Agriculture gave the first systematic courses 

 for this purpose during the college year just ended. Rut it has 

 begun the work with the experience of other colleges as a guide , 

 and there is good reason to believe that within a few years it will 

 be able to prepare enough teachers to supply at least the high 

 schools of the Stale with instructors in vocational agriculture. 



THE RESEARCH IDEA 



Before the colleges of agriculture had seriously thought ')t 

 their special opportunity and duty to train men to teach agricul- 

 ture, they became conscious of the fact that their own instruction 

 was based on a very inadequate foundation of definite agricultural 

 knowledge. It Avas realized that fundamental research should have 

 preceded the organization of a system o^ agricultural colleges. 

 Congress met the situation by passing the Act of March 2, 1887 

 '*('the Hatch Act), establishing "agricultural experiment stations 

 in connection with the agricultural colleges of the several states, 

 and appropriating $15,000 a year for the support of each." Nine- 

 teen years later this act was supplemented by another (the Adams 

 Act) appropriating an equal amount. Under these acts the Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station, which forms an organic part of the 

 University of Arizona College of Agriculture, was organized and 

 continues to do its investigational work. 



The Legislature of Arizona has liberally supplemented the 

 appropriations made by Congress, and the result has been that the 



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