UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION 15 



It contains a very complete historical account of school gardens 

 and has been extensively quoted in the school-garden literature 

 of this country. Of the reviews of work in our own country 

 two are noteworthy. One written at the beginning of the move- 

 ment for instruction in elementary agriculture is made up chiefly 

 of reprints of leaflets from Purdue and Cornell universities (24). 

 The other, appearing in 1907, gives an account of the present 

 status of agricultural education throughout the world (25). 



The first Morrill Act of 1862, the second Morrill Act of 1890, 

 and the Nelson Act of 1907 providing for government aid to 

 agricultural and mechanical colleges are administered by the 

 Department of the Interior (21, p. 31). 



The annual payments under the acts of 1890 and 1907 are made on certifi- 

 cations of the Secretary of the Interior, which are based upon the proper ex- 

 penditure of preceding appropriations. All of these reports required to be 

 made by the act are collected and passed upon by the Commissioner of Educa- 

 tion, upon whose recommendation is based the action of the secretary 

 (ax, p. 32). 



While the duties of the Commissioner of Education in his 

 relation to land-grant colleges consist chiefly in gathering sta- 

 tistics and making reports to the Secretary of the Interior he 

 has opportunities for making suggestions and recommendations 

 of importance to agricultural education. For example, in his 

 letter of April 17, 1907, to the presidents and boards of control 

 of state colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts he calls atten- 

 tion to a provision of . the act of 1907 "providing for courses for 

 special preparation of instructors for teaching the elements of 

 agriculture and mechanic arts" and adds, "With the increasing 

 number of secondary schools of agriculture and of industrial 

 and trade schools, there will arise a considerable demand for 

 specially prepared teachers to give instruction in special branches 

 of study" (26, p. 870). In his report of 1908 to the Secretary 

 of the Interior he gives an account of the action of several insti- 

 tutions taking advantage of this provision (27, pp. 740, 741). 



On July i, 1909, the Bureau appointed a specialist in land- 

 grant college statistics who is expected also to pay attention to 



