EDITORIAL.. 605 



providing in the act for the enlargement of the Federal grants to 

 these institutions, known as the Nelson Amendment, that a portion 

 of this money may be used for the training of teachers. Many of 

 the students in our colleges of agTiculture have special aptitude for 

 teaching or investigation. These should by all means be encouraged 

 to follow careers along these lines. 



The number and variety of positions open to the agricultural 

 graduate who will prepare to teach or investigate is now very large, 

 and such positions are attractive both from the opportunity they 

 l^resent and from a financial standpoint also. For five j^ears the 

 agricultural education service of this Office has been keeping account 

 of the first salaries received by agricultural college graduates who 

 have been aj^pointed to such jDOsitions, and has compiled some inter- 

 esting figures regarding them. In 1907 the average salary of ninety- 

 two such graduates was $928; in 1908 the average for seventy-nine 

 graduates was $915 ; in 1909, for ninety-three graduates, $955 ; in 

 1910, for ninety-five graduates, $1,017 ; and in 1911, for one hundred 

 and thirty-four graduates, $987. The lowest salary among the 1911 

 graduates was $500 and the highest $1,600. 



Considering the fact that fifteen or twenty years ago the agricul- 

 tural college graduate could not hope to get over $1,000 in his first 

 position, and that the great majority had to begin on $500 or $600, 

 it is not surprising that in view of the larger salaries of today and 

 of the general upward trend in agriculture, the agricultural courses 

 in the land-grant colleges are enrolling more students and that more 

 of the graduates of these courses are taking up agricultural pursuits. 



