PROGRESS IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 271 



in educational gatherings and in newspapers and magazines, and by 

 the number of text-books, bulletins, and other helps for teachers 

 pu})lished recently. 



The laws of over thirty States now permit or re(pure the teaching 

 of agriculture in the pu})lic schools. Among the States which require 

 the teaching of agriculture in all elementary schools are Alabama, 

 Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississip])i, North Carolina, 

 South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Ohio reports that 

 elementary agriculture is taught in approximately 500 township 

 schools, and this su})ject is regularly taught in rural schools numbering 

 about 4,500 in Wisconsin, 3,000 in Missouri, .300 in North Dakota, 

 and a considerable number of schools in Alabama, Oeorgia, Illinois, 

 Indiana, Indian Territory, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New 

 Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, 

 South Dakota, Virginia, and Washington. 



Permissive or mandatory legislation concerning the teaching of 

 agriculture in the public schools is commonly accompanied with 

 provisions making agriculture one of the subjects on which teachers 

 may or must be examined. In Nebraska, for example, candidates for 

 first and second grade county certificates must pass an examination 

 in the elements of agriculture. In Wisconsin, since 1901, teachers 

 have been required to pass an examination in elementary agriculture 

 in order to secure any grade of teachers' certificate. In New Hamp- 

 shire teachers in secondary schools are required to have training in 

 agriculture. In Virginia teachers securing first-grade certificates 

 must pass an examination on either physical geography, elementary 

 physics, or elementary agriculture. In Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, 

 Missouri, North Carolina, and South Dakota all teachers must pass 

 examination on this subject. In New York the new syllabus for 

 elementary schools contains nature study and agriculture and teachers 

 in training classes are required to cover all subjects in the syllabus. 

 In Ohio the Teachers' Reading Circle requires the study of one text- 

 book on elementary agriculture each year. 



The work of the agriculture colleges in providing normal training 

 in elementary agriculture has been referred to (p. 254). The colleges 

 in Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, New York, Mississippi, and Rhode Island also 

 have so-called extension departments which are seeking to come into 

 close touch with teachers as well as with country boys and girls, and 

 thus promote the wider diffusion of agricultural education. These 

 colleges are also using their influence to turn students in their regular 

 courses to the career of teaching. The agricultural high schools, 

 whether attached to the agricultural colleges or independent of them, 

 are also training teachers. Some of the normal schools in Alabama, 

 Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, California, Louisiana, Maine, Massa- 

 chusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, 



