PROGRESS IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 319 



the one at Manassas, Va., which began work in the subjects provided 

 for in the act of the legishiture in the fall of 1908. On Xovember 14, 

 1908, this school, with appropriate ceremonies, laid the corner stone 

 for a new agricultural high-school building, which has since been 

 completed and occupied (PI. XIV, fig. 1). 



Eight other schools introduced courses in agriculture during the 

 year and received the benefits of the legislative appropriation. These 

 schools were located respectively at Appomattox, Burkeville, Chester, 

 Cortland, Elk Creek, Hampton, Lebanon, and Middletown. 



AGRICULTURE IN NORMAL SCHOOLS. 



The normal schools all over the country are responding as rapidly 

 as their resources will permit to the demands made upon them for 

 teachers having some knowledge of the principles of agriculture. As 

 indicated in previous reports several of the States have made definite 

 provisions for the teaching of agriculture in normal schools. Among 

 the more recent legislative acts bearing on this phase of the educa- 

 tional movement is that of the legislature of Texas, which at its last 

 session appropriated $2,000 a year for two years to each of its state 

 normal schools, which are located respectively at Huntsville, Denton, 

 and San Marcos, for the purpose of installing, equipping, and main- 

 taining departments of agriculture, manual training, and domestic 

 science, in which subjects instruction shall begin not later than the 

 autumn of 1909. The act also made provision for the introduction of 

 teachers' courses in elementary agriculture in the summer sessions of 

 these three normal schools — the College of Industrial Arts for Girls, 

 at Denton, and in summer sessions at the Agricultural and Mechanical 

 College and the State University. For the support of this work 

 $3,000 annually was appropriated to be divided equally among the 

 six institutions. 



The normal and industrial schools for girls at Rock Hill, S. C. ; 

 Milledgeville, Ga.; Montevallo, Ala.; Columbus, Miss.; and Denton, 

 Tex., are among the institutions which now have definite departments 

 of agriculture and provide courses of instruction in this subject for 

 the young women who attend their classes. 



The normal schools of Illinois during the past year have come into 

 closer touch with the interests of their farming constituency by hold- 

 intr a number of farmers' institutes at the schools. An association of 

 country teachers was formed at a meeting held at the INIacomb Normal 

 School (PL XIV, fig. 2), July 22-23, to be known as the Country 

 Teachers' Association of Illinois, and having as its main purpose to 

 increase the usefulness of the country school by improving its physical 

 and social environment and enriching its course of study in such a 

 manner as will bring the child into sympathetic and vital relationship 

 with his enviromnent, by country school extension work through the 



