90 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
I want to come immediately to some things that concern you. In ord';- 
to have agriculture in public schools we must solve three problems. The 
public must want the subject taught; that is, there must be a campaign of 
interest. We must have a set of teachers prepared to teach the subject. 
We must have a body of subject matter prepared for them to teach. Pub- 
lic sentiment is growing very rapidly, but I believe it is your duty to 
help increase it. I understand there are a great many men here who are 
officials in the farmers' institutes, and here is a field for your efforts. I 
don't know how the preparation of a body of teachers is going to be 
brought about. One man believes we ought to have district high schools; 
another thinks we ought to appropriate money for the denominational 
schools; others believe we ought to have a summer school at Ames. I 
am sure, however, that in addition to all these, and in connection with 
them, we need a correspondence school of agriculture, for we will never 
reach all the teachers in any other way. Do you know that there were 
last year 28,000 people of the state of Iowa attending by mail colleges 
in other states? Why should we not have a correspondence school right 
here, where not only the teachers, but the thoughtful, active farmer, may 
be directed in his work while he goes on with it? The teacher and the 
farmer can't get away, and we ought to help them to get in line with 
this movement. 
I don't know exactly what the report of this new commission on the 
school laws is going to be, or what it will be after the Legislature gets 
through with it; but I believe the next Legislature should do something 
furthering this proposition of a more sensible and rational education of 
the boys and girls who live in the rural communities. 
I want to pay my respects to the farmers' institute and to commend it 
and the people here who have been working in it for all the good things 
that have been done; but I believe it is just in its infancy, and I want 
to commend to you men the importance of taking up this subject in your 
programs. Get your county superintendents interested, and help by 
these means to make the farmers' institute what it is going to be: a ten- 
fold more efficient means than it has been in the past, even. 
Question: What are the educational requirements for a farmer's 
boy to enter Ames ? 
Prof. Storm : I am not authorized to speak for the faculty upon 
that; and while I am to be a member of the committee on college 
entrance requirements for the new year, I have not yet served with 
that committee. I think the general requiremnts for entrance to 
Ames (I say this with some reservation) are about the equivalent 
of the first two years of an ordinary high school. That is for enter- 
ing the academy, which is just below the freshman class. 
The President: The next on our program is an address by 
Geo. C. White of Nevada, Iowa, on The Farmer in the Legislature. 
