592 EXPEKIMENT STATION RECOED. 



a report by the British delegate to the general assembly on the proceedings 

 of the permanent committee and of the general assembly in 190S, and a series 

 of 9 appendixes which treat, respectively, of the regulations framed by a royal 

 commission appointed by the Italian Government; the report as to the pro- 

 posals of the permanent committee with regard to the organization and work 

 of the institute, by L. Dop, delegate for France ; the report as to the proposals 

 of the permanent committee with regard to the salaries and conditions of retire- 

 ment of the members of the staff of the Institute, and as to its budget, by 

 T. Miiller, delegate for Germany; the statutes of the International Agricultural 

 Institute ; the list of the delegates at the meetings of the permanent committee 

 held at Kome from May 29 to June 6, 1908; the list of the delegates to the 

 general assembly held at Rome from November 27 to December 1, 1908; mem- 

 oranda handed in by David Lubin, delegate of the United States; a letter ad- 

 dressed by John McGuirk, of the Liverpool Corn Trade Association, Ltd., to 

 Mr. Lubin ; and some observations on gathering, summarizing, and disseminat- 

 ing information on the staples of agriculture, by J. H. Hubback. 



International Institute of Agriculture, D. C. Lee (Atncr. Elevator and 

 Grain Trade, ,iS (IDUO), No. 2, p. 77, pu- !)■ — This article calls attention to the 

 important economic and social functions of the institute. Among these are the 

 correcti(»n of the abuses which arise from the speculation in staple crops by 

 fui'uishing x-eliable data on the condition and yield of crops in the world to 

 those engaged in the trade and manufacture of agricultural products. 



AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 



Agricultural education in Wisconsin, J. B. Borden (Ann. Rpt. Wi.<i. Bd. 

 A(jr.. I DOS. pp. 3S2-3!>i)). — This paper points out very clearly the general tend- 

 ency of school text-book makers to deal only with the materials of urban 

 subject-matter. The author states that " practically all of the books used by 

 country pupils have been prepared and written by men who have had in mind 

 the needs of city children." Arithmetic, though commonly held in high esti- 

 mation by country pupils and their parents, is one of the worst offenders in 

 this regard ; and the opportunities of connecting the study of geography and 

 English with the interests of a rural environment have been greatly neglected. 



The author groups the causes of the influx of young people from the country 

 to the town under three heads, viz, the lack of social opportunities, the un- 

 profitableness of farm industries, and the long hours of labor; but he believes 

 the effects of these influences have all been exaggerated in the public mind and 

 that " tlie time has come when the assertion that the farm holds no remunera- 

 tion, nothing but work, and no social advantages, should be disputed." He 

 asserts that a careful comparison will show the actual advantages to lie with 

 the advanced rural community, and believes that the work of the schools 

 should lay emphasis upon these facts. The paper closes with an account of 

 the helpful work of the county agricultural schools of Wisconsin and a plea 

 that similar work should be inaugurated in the country training schools, the 

 high schools generally, and the state normal schools. The author holds that 

 the influence of the state university should be exerted more strongly in the 

 direction of giving agriculture a definite place in the curricula of all the 

 public schools. 



Educational values (III), B. O. Aylesworth (Jour. Ed. [Boston], 10 (1909), 

 No. 5. pp. 119, 120). — The author suggests a fifth year of vocational study, to 

 be added to the ordinary high-school course, especially for the benefit of stu- 

 dents who must use the high school as a " finishing " school for their life 

 work. 



