CONVENTION OF AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES. 551 



should be awaki'iied and directed toward the careful exauiinatiou of the three funda- 

 mentals of agriculture — soil, jilants, and animals. . . . 



"The intimate relation of the scientific princi])les and facts taught in the labora- 

 tories to the ^yo^k on the farm ought always to be kept clearly in mind." 



Tbc courses giveu at the 31icbigau Agricultural College were out- 

 liued and discussed. 



I. P. Roberts, of iSTew York, iu discussing tbe exodus from tlio farm, 

 showed that improvements in productive facilities had resulted iu over- 

 production, and had thus forced many to seek more remunerative lines 

 of industry. ]Many young men, also, have left the farm because they 

 found more attractive occupations elsewhere. 



"There are now many who occupy the land who must of necessity leave it, since 

 neither by nature nor by training are they adajjted to their vocation, and the sooner 

 they leave their uuiirolitable occupation and enter into something that is more 

 remunerative, and the sooner trained and cultivated farmers own and till the land, 

 the Letter it will be for all concerned. 



" In order to discover the boj's who are naturally fitted for rural affairs and train 

 them for their life work, more ' sifting ' must be done at an early period of their lives. 

 This naturally begins in the rural school districts. . . . 



"To nourish a healthy sentiment for rural li^ some of the mysteries of rural life 

 must be known. By teaching the elementary sciences as applied to agriculture in 

 the secondary schools throughout the country pupils may be ' sifted ' much earlier 

 than at jjresent. . . . 



'' If somehow we could get clear of the grasping, sordid, money-getting spirit 

 which is so prevalent in all America and learn to prize highly leisure, wisdom, and 

 knowledge, the problem of low" prices, overproduction, and exodus from a healthy 

 rural life would be measurably solved." 



E. Davenport, of Illinois, maintained that the point is not how many, 

 but who, are leaving the farms. In many instances farmers who have 

 acquired a competence move to the towns and cities to educate their 

 children under the mistaken idea that they there necessarily get better 

 training for future usefulness than iu the country district schools. 

 The opening up of vast areas to agriculture and the improvements of 

 farm machinery have driven many into other pursuits. The odium 

 which the city population has attempted to cast on agricultural pur- 

 suits has had an influence in the same direction. One result of the 

 exodus from the farm has been an increase of tenant farming, which 

 has worked great injury to farming in general. The agricultural col- 

 leges may exert a powerful influence in correcting these evils. 



SECTION ON AciKICULTURE AND CHEMISTRY. 



In the section on agriculture aiul chemistry, H. A. Huston, of Indiana, 

 read a paper on " Chemistry for technical and practical students." 

 The ability to read English understandingly and a working knowledge 

 of the principles of physics were stated to be fundamental. Three 

 means of instruction are at the command of the teacher — books, the 

 laboratory, and the lecture. It appears to be the tendency to give too 

 URich prominence to the lecture. For the elementary student it should 

 be confined to demonstration of fundamental facts, supi^lementing the 

 text-book and the student's own experiments in the laboratory. The 



