EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. XIV. Junk, 1903. No. lu. 



During" the past few years there has been a rapid growth of interest 

 in questions relating to courses in agriculture of secondary grade. 

 This has been due to several causes operating at the same time. The 

 faculties and equipment of the agricultural colleges have been \'er3^ 

 materiall}" strengthened, the number and variet}^ of their courses in 

 agriculture have been greatl}' increased, and they are engaging much 

 more largely in various forms of university-extension work thi-ough 

 tiie farmers' institutes, correspondence courses, etc., thus attracting a 

 larger number of students. But this development of the agi'icultural 

 colleges has only served to bring out more clearly the fact that under 

 the best conditions, if they are to maintain their standing as colleges, 

 they can meet the educational requii'ements of only asnrall fraction of 

 the youth on our farms. If any considerable body of the farm l)oys 

 and girls are to receive definite instruction in the principles of agri- 

 culture, it must be in schools of lower grade than the colU'ges. 



In the elementary schools no considerable amount of agricultural 

 instruction can ever be included. Without doubt their courses of 

 study can be much improved so as to inculcate a love of nature and 

 country life and to impart many facts and a few principles which will 

 be of direct and lasting benefit to the young people who will go out 

 from them to spend their lives on farms, but in schools of this low 

 grade it will never be possible to teach the sciences related to agricul- 

 ture or to give any systematic instruction in the theory and practice 

 of agriculture. For these reasons the friends of agricultural educa- 

 tion are now turning their attention more and more to the problems 

 relating to secondary courses in agriculture. The agencies for 

 instruction of this grade are of several diflerent kinds, as follows: 



(1) High schools connected with agricultural colleges; (2) separate 

 agricultural high schools endowed by the State; (3) agricultural schools 

 for negroes in the Southern States; (4) private agricultural schools; 

 (5) agricultural courses in normal schools; and (»>) agricultural courses 

 in public high schools. 



1. The first agricultural high school to be established in connection 

 with an agricultural college was the school of agriculture of the Uni- 



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