Rural School Leaflet 97 1 



FOREWORD 



The Editors 



This leaflet has been prepared to meet a special demand. During the 

 summer of 1912 a number of district superintendents conducted agri- 

 cultural contests ; many more gave the matter much thought with a view- 

 to taking up the work another year, and the College of Agriculture received 

 numerous requests for help in organizing and conducting such contests, 

 as well as for subject-matter to be used by the contestants. 



After carefully considering the matter, both in regard to what has been 

 done and what may be done in future, we have arrived at several con- 

 clusions which it may be well to present at this time: 



1. It appears to be highly desirable that there be a somewhat uniform 

 system of agricultural contests in the State as a whole. Should the local 

 contests prove successful they will undoubtedly lead to contests covering 

 a wider territory; and if there is to be any possibility of various local 

 units competing in a central contest, they must of necessity be funda- 

 mentally similar in character. 



2. The district superintendent is the logical leader of these contests, 

 and the supervisory district the natural territorial unit New York State 

 is particularly fortunate in its school organization. The supervisory 

 district should prove large enough to afford a good contest and not too 

 large to be under the general direction of one man. Moreover, in all but 

 three of the rural counties of the State there is more than one supervisory 

 district, and this makes possible a contest among the districts of a county. 

 District contests will lead to county contests, which will ultimately lead 

 to a state-wide contest. 



3. In working out a county contest, or even a district contest including 

 the county seat, there is no more powerful agent of cooperation than the 



