be of great value. Every school which has a plot of land available, or which can secure the use of as 

 much as a few vacant city lots and can command the needed funds, should arrange to grow a number 

 of the crops that are of principal local importance. It is true that the operations of preparing the land, 

 planting the seed, and cultivating and harvesting the crops will be commonplace to those students in 

 the class who have had farm experience, but the work may be so planned as to demonstrate principles 

 of great importance. In such case the lessons will be of much interest and value to farm boys as well 

 as to those who have had no farm experience. 



Project work in agriculture. Although great stress is laid on concrete class and laboratory in- 

 struction in field, shop, and classroom, this is not sufficient. In order that a boy may really fix his 

 knowledge of poultry husbandry, it is necessary for him to engage in the poultry business. In order 

 that he may bring together all of his knowledge of agronomy, it is necessary for him to grow a crop in 

 accordance with what he has learned about crop production. It is the verification and application of 

 the knowledge gained in classroom and laboratory that is the real measure of the value of instruction 

 in any subject. In agriculture the supervised project gives full opportunity to apply the knowledge 

 gained and at the same time to acquire actual farm experience. Project work in secondary-school 

 agriculture is that part of the work of the course performed at home or on the school farm, and is a 

 fixed requirement for each pupil in all schools receiving Federal aid under the Smith-Hughes Act. 

 Common essentials of project work. 1 The common essentials of all project work are : 

 i. The project must be selected by the student with the advice and consent of the teacher and 

 parent. The parent must sign a written statement to the effect that he will (i) provide all the equip- 

 ment necessary for the project, (2) allow the student sufficient time to do the work, (3) allow the student 

 the net proceeds of the project. 



2. The project must cover a more or less extended period of time, enough to do the work well. 



3. It must be part of the instruction in agriculture as taught in the school of which the pupil is 

 a member. 



4. It must be a problem worth while and more or less new to the pupil. 



5. Some competent person, preferably the teacher of agriculture, must supervise the work. 



6. Detailed records of time, method, cost, and income must be kept. 



7. The amount of school credit for any project should be determined on the basis of hours necessary 

 to do the work well. If school time is used, two hours on the farm should count as one hour in the school. 



8. A full report of the work in writing must be submitted to the teacher and kept as a permanent 

 record in the school. 



Kinds of projects. Projects may be classified as crop projects, animal-husbandry projects, farm- 

 management projects, etc. They may also be classified as productive projects, demonstration projects, 

 improvement projects, etc., as determined by the aim or purpose. A further classification into indi- 

 vidual and group projects is possible. Growing a five-acre plot of corn on the home farm is an individual 

 project. Growing a large vegetable garden on the school farm is a group project. 



Acknowledgment is made by the authors to Dr. Otis W. Caldwell of Teachers College, Columbia 

 University, for valuable assistance in determining the plan and scope of the work, and to Charles L. 

 Quear, of the Kansas State Agricultural College, for invaluable help in the detailed preparation of the 

 exercises and projects and in the methods of illustrating them. Credit is given Professor J. O. Morgan, 

 of the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College, for preparing the exercises on cotton ; and to Dean 

 E. C. Johnson, of the Kansas State Agricultural College, for the exercises on plant diseases; to Pro- 

 fessor George A. Dean, of the Kansas State Agricultural College, for the exercises on insects and bees ; 

 and to Professor Fred H. Merrill for the exercises on orcharding. HENRY TACKSON WATERS 



JOSEPH DOLIVER ELLIFF 



1 Adapted from Bulletin 364, United States Department of Agriculture. 



[in] 



