l68 ILLINOIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



schools — there is danger of losing sight of certain fundamentals 

 in education. Ought the boy or girl to be educated for a certain 

 predetermined groove in society? Are we not in danger of doing 

 this very thing, and is this not an effective method of perpetuating 

 class distinctions ? Is not such a course contrary to the well-being 

 of a democratic form of government? These are things to be 

 thought of seriously. 



THE RELATION OF PURE SCIENCE TO APPLIED 



SCIENCE IN THE AGRICULTURAL HIGH SCHOOL 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 



J. T. Johnson. 



During the year 19 lo there were more than 630 secondary 

 schools offering instruction in agriculture. Of this number there 

 were more than 80 agricultural high schools, and 29 public high 

 schools which received state aid. The committee thought it to 

 be advisable to limit the investigation to those schools which are 

 distinctively of the high school type. 



This report endeavors to consider the following questions: 

 What is the organization of the courses of science in the agri- 

 cultural high school ? What pure science, if any, is given? What 

 is the position of pure science in the courses in agriculture? If no 

 pure science is given in distinct courses, how is the necessary 

 foundation of pure science given? 



Whatever may be the distinction between pure science and 

 applied science, the pure sciences referred to in this discussion are 

 assumed to be botany, zoology, physics, chemistry, physiology, 

 hygiene, physiography, biology, and bacteriology. 



To secure data as recent and reliable as possible, letters were 

 sent to each of the Superintendents of Public Instruction, and to 

 each of the agricultural high schools reported to the Bureau of 

 Education, Washington, D. C. At present replies have been re- 

 ceived from thirty-six States, and one each from Hawaii and 

 Porto Rico, making thirty-eight replies from officers of public 

 instruction. Similarly, letters have been received from forty- 

 seven high schools of the agricultural type. 



The following questionaire was sent to the agricultural high 

 schools : 



