EDITORIAL. 1103 



of stiulonts. Ill a broader way he iir<>e(l all teachers, Avhether in 

 school or college, to consider the fundamental importance of agricul- 

 ture as providing for the general -welfare of the people. 



Director L. 11. Bailey, as chairman of the committee on graduate 

 study, spoke on the character of graduate study in agriculture and 

 the degrees to be given for agricultural courses. He attributed the 

 late development of graduate study to the fact that until recently 

 agricultural knowledge has not been well organized, and there have 

 been no recognized standards for postgraduate work as there have 

 been for undergraduate work. 



In his opinion, graduate Avork is the normal and natural work of 

 a university as distinguished from a college, and needs to be definitely 

 recognized as such and to be organized. It should tend to systematize 

 all educational effort and to establish relationships between the differ- 

 ent phases of educational work. 



In regard to the character of postgraduate work, he placed the 

 first emphasis on its content. It should be personal work and must 

 be pursued largely alojie with the minimum of the ordinary teacher's 

 helps. It should be really postgraduate in its character and not 

 merely additional undergraduate work, as is often the case. It is 

 now becoming necessary to select the men who are worthy to under- 

 take it, as not every man who has the technical or formal bacca- 

 laureate requirements has a postgraduate mind. jNIost men would 

 better jiot ask for a masterate, and only now and then may one apply 

 for a doctorate. 



He went on to say that in the agricultural colleges it is necessary 

 to make the postgraduate work dynamic. One may study so long as 

 to get out of touch with the activities of life, and a result of our 

 general educational systems is to make the student passive. We do 

 not train for leadership. kStudents do not seem to have the power to 

 apply themselves to the problems of life when they go home. In the 

 colleges of agriculture Ave are trying to change all this, and it is quite 

 as necessary to carry this spirit through the postgraduate as through 

 the undergraduate work. 



With reference to the specific degrees to be conferred, the s[)eaker 

 reaffirmed his belief that simi)lification is needed, and that it is unwise 

 to make separate degrees for agriculture, preferring the earning of 

 the Avell established degrees already recognized by the fellowship of 

 educated men. The only degrees in course in his opinion should be 

 the Ph. I)., M. S., and li S. (or M. A. and B. A.) 



Dean True, of the graduate school, gave a brief history of the enter- 

 prise, and summarized some of the causes which are operating to 

 increase the desirability of graduate study in agriculture. He called 

 attention to the large increase in both National and State funds for 

 agricultural education, research, and inspection since the previous 



