CHAPTER V 



AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES, INCLUDING EXTENSION WORK, 



DEPARTMENTS OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION, AND 



SUMMER SCHOOLS FOR TEACHERS 



Of the many agencies now promoting agricultural education 

 in elementary and secondary schools the most important are the 

 state agricultural colleges, for they are the "only teaching insti- 

 tutions that are in possession, at first hand, of the essential facts 

 of rational agriculture." Until recently they have been too busy 

 perfecting their own organization, and too greatly occupied in 

 developing and promoting the scientific aspects of agriculture to 

 give much attention to outside educational matters. It is difficult 

 to determine just when the agricultural colleges began to take an 

 active interest in the public schools. Dean L. H. Bailey says: 



More than any other institutions they stand for democracy and native- 

 ness of education, for their purpose is nothing less than to reach the last 

 man on the last farm by means of the very things by which that man lives 

 (36, p. 40). 



This idea of bringing the college to the people found its first 

 expression in various sorts of extension work dealing with the 

 farmers directly. Now this work is well organized and is doing 

 great service. Through farmers' institutes, farmers' conventions, 

 fanners' excursions to the college, instruction trains, demonstra- 

 tion farms, and other means, the man on the farm is having the 

 college brought to him. These efforts of the colleges are now 

 appreciated ; so much in fact, that it is often difficult for a college 

 to meet the demands for this kind of outside instruction. But 

 the farmer has not always had this friendly attitude. He was 

 slow to recognize the value of what he called "book farming." 

 Perhaps it was in these early days of agricultural extension that 

 some of those in charge thought it worth while to give some 

 attention to the coming generation of farmers, to the children in 

 the public schools. 



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