11 Nov.. 1918 1 American Agriculture.. 665 



Agricultural Education. 



The people of tlie United States regard educational efficiency as an 

 essential safeguard to democracy, and hold the view that an efficient 

 system of agricultural education is an absolute necessity for national 

 progress. The Federal Government and State Governments spend 

 enormous sums on agricultural education because it is recognised that 

 the money spent is returned many times over in increased prosperity. 

 They are a businesslike and practical people, and have the reputation 

 of requiring a dollar's worth for every dollar expended. The national 

 bill for agricultural education in the United States, for investigation 

 and agricultural extension work, exceeded £12,000,000. Canada is alsov 

 devoting large sums to agricultural education. The Dominion Govern- 

 ment expends a million pounds a year on a Federal Department of 

 Agriculture, and under the Agricultural Instruction Act a sum of 

 £225,000 a year is provided towards defraying the cost of agricultural 

 education in the Provinces. Development is the central thought in 

 educational activity, and the development of American agriculture tO' 

 its highest possible limit, both as a business and as a mode of life, is 

 the purpose for which the agricultural institutions were founded and 

 supported by the people. 



It has been said that the added wealth of the State of Wisconsin each 

 year, as a result of the Agricultural Experiment Station work, is many 

 times the whole appropriation made by Wisconsin for agricultural 

 education. Of the seven tests widely used in dairying, six originated 

 at the Wisconsin Station. The Babcock Fat Test, invented in 1890 by 

 Dr. Babcock, furnished a simple means of paying for milk on the basis 

 of quality and detecting fraud. The greatest service of the Babcock 

 Fat Test is that it makes possible the improvement of dairy cows by 

 eliminating the unprofitable animals, and gives a scientifically accurate 

 foundation for dairying. In addition to the Babcock Test, the Wisconsin 

 Curd Test, the Sediment, Moisture, and Acid Tests are in general use. 

 The work of the Wisconsin Dairy School has enabled Wisconsin to gain 

 first rank among the States in the production of butter and cheese. Since 

 the dairy school was established, the value of the Wisconsin dairy pro- 

 ducts has increased from 4,250,000 to 16,000,000 pounds a year. More- 

 over, the su'bstitution of improved pedigree seed of oats, maize, and 

 barley, evolved at the experiment station, in place of scrub varieties, 

 has added millions a year to the cereal yields of Wisconsin. Wisconsin, 

 which is two-thirds of the size of Victoria, now produces 100,000,000 

 bushels of oats, 70,000,000 bushels of maize, and 23,000,000 bushels of 

 barley, besides being the leading dairy State of the Union. Each experi- 

 ment station receives an annual appropriation of £6,000 from the 

 Federal Government, and this is supplemented by State expenditures to 

 the extent of £10,000 a year. 



The most significant development in agricultural education during 

 recent years is the growth of the extension of publicity work. The 

 experiment stations and colleges during the past twenty-five years have 

 accumulated a mass of exact agricultural information which, if it could 

 be applied in practice on farms of the country, would immeasurably 

 increast^ the agricultural output. Consequently an organization has been 

 created for reaching the last farm and the last farmer. One form of 



