THE NEW EARTH 



the war was over that the wisdom of the act 

 became apparent. Then came the actual be- 

 ginning of agricultural education in America. 



About one-half of the agricultural colleges 

 are independent of other education in the 

 state, while the rest articulate with the state 

 universities. Some of the agricultural colleges, 

 or schools of agriculture as they are called, 

 lead up to a longer agricultural course in the 

 university proper, ending in a formal degree, 

 though the schools are broad and comprehen- 

 sive enough to afford a complete practical 

 agricultural education. 



I think the most serious mistake made in 

 the earlier administration of some of these 

 colleges was the effort to teach more than was 

 necessary. The aim was not too high, but it 

 was too broad. In a day like this, when such 

 tremendous forces are at work in educational 

 life, it is manifestly impossible for a student to 

 master all. Some one has shown that it would 

 take at least seventy years of the closest study 

 successfully to take all the courses in a single 

 modern university of the broadest type. Per- 

 force a man must specialize to a degree, 

 though not to the degree that eliminates sym- 



338 



