Farmers' Week in Agricultural College. 



125 



On every hand we have people giving advice as to how to keep the 

 youth on the farm. These people appreciate that the man who is tilling 

 the soil today must soon give up his work, and that he must be followed 

 by a young and well trained man. Recognizing all this, our people 

 in Indiana are making an attempt to reach the young boy and girl in the 

 school and to so direct their attention that they will consider farm work 

 and farm life the best there is. 



Recently there has been much talk in Indiana of securing a law 

 which would cause agriculture to be taught in all the schools of the 

 state. Because of the fact that it is impossible to secure any number 

 of teachers who have any knowledge of the methods of teaching agri- 

 culture, and for the further reason that this subject cannot be taught 

 in a satisfactory way without the teachers and pupils having the proper 

 spirit and attitude, this plan has not met with much favor. With the 

 thought of interesting the boy and girl and at the same time the county 





Boys' and Girls' Club, Salem, Indiana. 



superintendent and school teachers, Purdue University has inaugurated 

 the Young People 's Contests. The boy is encouraged to grow a plot of 

 corn while the girls bake bread, make butter and sew. During the 

 season the institution furnishes to these young people literature which 

 relates directly to the work they are doing. These young people study 

 the subjects that they may be better qualified to do the work they are 

 engaged in, while the teachers and parents read and study the litera- 



