330 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



agriculture, and the various other methods which have been adopted 

 for the dissemination of agricultural information are doing a splendid 

 work and will result in great improvement in farm life, yet the 

 problem is only partially solved through these means. Thorough 

 mental training is required for the successful pursuit of farming as 

 an industry just as well as in any other walk of life. There is no 

 occupation in which more problems are arising every day which must 

 be solved upon the spot, and ui)on the correct solution of which de- 

 pends success or failure, than in farm life. 



There is no country which has a more highly developed agriculture 

 than Denmark, and centered all over that country, within easy reach 

 of the farm boy, is the rural high school. The boys who go to these 

 schools are given not short courses in agriculture, but general train- 

 ing courses; work which is designed to develop their reasoning 

 powers. These boys go back to the farms, better able to continue 

 their work successfully, not because they have learned a mass of 

 facts, which sometimes apply and sometime^! do not, but because they 

 have learned to think and to reason, and in thus learning they are 

 better able to solve the problems of the farm than they were before. 



The strenuous demanff which has been made for purely informa- 

 tional courses has forced somewhat the hands of our agricultural 

 colleges, and yet the real leaders in agriculture are going to be found 

 among the best trained men who have taken the longest and most 

 thorough courses offered in college training. Just what should be the 

 relationship of our public school system to agriculture is a much 

 debated question at the present time. There are some enthusiasts 

 who would have the immediate introduction of agriculture in all the 

 public schools; who would have the teachers without any special 

 training or preparation begin givng instruction in agriculture. This 

 in my opinion would be a great mistake. To properly teach any sub- 

 ject requires a pretty definite knowledge of that subject on the part 

 of the teacher. This knowledge of agriculture is not possessed at 

 the present time by any considerable number of teachers in our public 

 schools, and it cannot be acquired upon short notice- I believe the 

 time is not far distant when agriculture will be made a part of the 

 instruction in all of our public schools, city as well as country, but 

 the work will be given by teachers who have been especially trained 

 in agriculture science. This work will not be given because of vo- 

 cational value, but because agriculture possesses peculiar value as 

 a training subject. It is just as important that agriculture should be 

 taught in our city schools as in our country schools. It is important 

 that the consumer shall know something of the conditions under 

 which farm products are produced. Many of our city people do not 

 know what good milk is when they get it, neither do they know how to 

 care for this milk until it is consumed. More knowledge on the part 

 of the city people with reference to the difficulties in the production 

 of the food products would create a broader sympathy and a more 

 general interest in farming conditions and would result in great 

 benefit to the farmer. This work in agriculture should be given 

 in the higher grades and opportunities should be given to those who 

 wish to specialize along agricultural lines, to take advanced work in 

 that subject. 



