Farmers' Week in Agricultural College. 311 



A short time since one of the best county superintendents of the 

 State of Missouri spent an evening with a well-to-do farmer. During 

 the visit, the farmer's conversation was concerning his cattle and hogs 

 and the number of acres of land in his possession. The insinuation was 

 clearly understood that teaching was a work of no consequence, that the 

 great body of teachers were, in a measure, failures; that unless a man 

 had accumulated property his life was not w^orth while. I am sure that 

 a great many would censure our farmer friend, but I, for one, do not 

 What is the trouble ? Simply this : he did not have that training during 

 the formative years of his boyhood that caused him to appreciate good- 

 ness and beauty, and to enjoy pleasure in things that are not wholly 

 material. Teachers should understand, that, with all of their teaching 

 of science and mathematics and history and literature, unless they do 

 something to lift the pupil to a higher spiritual plane, their work in a 

 large measure is a failure. 



In the proper study of home economics, the drudgery, the daily 

 toil and moil incident to so much of home life, will be lifted to a higher 

 plain — the work will be educationalized, and instead of hard work it 

 will become intelligent labor. 



A few months ago I visited the John Swaney School of Putnam 

 county, Illinois, said to be one of the finest country schools in America. 

 One of the departments that interested me most was domestic science. 

 I will not take time to tell about the course of study outlined, nor the 

 things that were being done. I spent the night in the home of one of 

 the best farmers of that community. 'I asked the farmer's wife what 

 was the feeling of the ladies of that section toward the introduction of 

 domestic science in that school. Her reply was that it led girls to take 

 a greater interest in home work than ever before, and to see that things 

 were neatly and properly and punctually done. If nothing had been 

 gained in the way of real, substantial knowledge, the habits formed, the 

 inspiration imparted by the teacher would more than justify the intro- 

 duction and maintenance of the course. Ladies of this convention, 

 please bear this in mind as you strive for the enlargement of this work. 

 The result may not be so evident, may not be in a concrete form, but 

 the inspiration imparted and the spiritual help rendered cannot be 

 understood nor measured by earthly rules and definitions. 



