No. 6. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 319 



tion of his income which he should invest in advertising in new equip- 

 ment or in enlarging his business, the farmer, no less, should know his 

 financial status, and the farmers' wife should realize her responsi- 

 bility since the expenditures for the home are largely under her direc- 

 tion. As has been said before, much of this may be introduced with 

 the usual arithmetic and book-keeping taught in most schools. It is 

 not a new subject, but a practical application of an accented branch 

 of common education. 



So much can be done, then, by the progressive teacher whose desire 

 is not so much to follow well-worn educational paths, as to adapt her 

 instruction to the needs of ju'esent day life. This, however, is not 

 enough. As we have seen, some definite technical work is needed for 

 the future home-maker, and the problem of introducing the subject 

 into rural schools becomes difficult. It seems to require special 

 teachers and special equipment, impossibilities in communities where 

 school taxes scarcely provide for the present inadequate facilities. 



This condition of affairs emphasizes the need of consolidated rural 

 schools. Why is it that Pennsylvania is so far behind other states in 

 this matter? We look in vain through the pages of the report on Con- 

 solidated Rural Schools issued by the office of Experiment Stations 

 and the Bureau of Statistics, for any mention of Pennsylvania. On 

 the contrary, the shabby, isolated school buildings which we all know 

 are a disgrace to this, one of the richest states of the Union. Better 

 buildings, better school grounds, more adequately paid teachers, and 

 then we shall have wider courses of study and a rising generation of 

 more efficiently trained citizens. Concentration of capital, whether 

 in trusts, or in school management brings higher returns, and in the 

 case of schools, the general public receives the benefit of these re- 

 turns — it may not be out of place to quote from the report already 

 referred to : — "The fusion of a number of small districts into a larger 

 administrative unit furnishes a stable and extensive basis for financ- 

 ing the school and thereby makes for higher efficiency. An incentive 

 is given to make permanent improvements to beautify the school 

 grounds, secure modern sanitation, and provide ample school room 

 equipment. Studies can be introduced which require specially 

 trained teachers, such as agriculture, home economics, manual train- 

 ing, music, advantages almost unattainable in small district schools. 

 These centrally located country-life schools, too, form convenient 

 social centers for communities ; local interests and activities affiliate 

 with the schools, so that public use is frequently made of their com- 

 modious class rooms or auditoriums." 



Pennsylvania should follow the example of her neighbor, Ohio, and 

 of many western and southern states in this respect, but until she 

 does, we must find a way of meeting existing conditions. The prob- 

 lem has been solved in Maryland and elsewhere by means of a special 

 teacher of Home Economics, hired jointly by the several schools of 

 one township or of adjoining townships. With a convenient travel- 

 ing equipment she is able to go about spending one day, or part of a 

 day, each week in a school. The equipment may include a denatured 

 alcohol stove, if possible one supplied with a portable oven, a home- 

 made fireless cooker, a small supply of cooking utensils; sauce-pans, 

 measuring cups, mixing bowls, spoons, knives, baking pans, and other 

 most necessary articles. This can be packed in a trunk or box and 



