New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 25 
in producing a common sentiment. It has been a bond of union, 
but in many ways it has failed to unite the people for the reason 
that there was lack of intelligence in the work, and the local spirit 
often prevailed, to such a degree, that its influence was much less 
than we should desire. The colleges of Agriculture and Mechanic 
Arts at once put emphasis upon their common work. ‘The passing 
of teachers from north to south and from south to north was much 
easier and more frequent than in the experience of other forms of 
education. The first revival in the south after the war was the 
revival of the industries with which these colleges were associated. 
The fact that they were engaged in solving the same problems 
and in developing after full conference a new type of education 
led to a close fellowship from the start. No other educational body 
at this date is so heartily united in its work as the Association of 
American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations. This 
unity has been a potent factor in developing a genuinely national 
spirit. It is to be observed also that the great increase in the 
number of students in our colleges since the war has been most 
marked in the direction of technical, industrial and professional 
education, especially that looking toward the professional training 
of teachers. These Colleges of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts 
were sometimes separate institutions and often associated with the 
State universities of the west. They represent to this day the 
greatest and most important body of technical instruction in 
America. They are a part of the State and of the Nation, and 
are really national colleges located within the states for national 
development. The first effect of these colleges was to bind together 
certain educational forces representing the entire country. The 
commercial development of the country and the increasing import- 
ance of agricultural pursuits have made their students in great 
demand. As a patriotic measure these colleges have been most 
effective in bringing about a common interest among our industrial 
classes in the development and prosperity of the entire country. 
When these colleges were put into operation it was under cor.- 
siderable embarrassment. There was no body of teachers prepared 
to do the work before these new enterprises. It became necessary 
to prepare men and women who were in full sympathy with the 
purposes in view. This fact, together with the commercial demand 
for the graduates, soon revealed a large field of usefulness. The 
several states were awake to the importance of the new form of 
education and supplemented the grants of the Federal government 
