STATE AND OTHER TEACHERS' ASSOCIATIONS 65 



Education Association (85, p. 47). As there was no meeting 

 of this Association in 1906, the application was deferred until 

 the Los Angeles meeting of 1907, when on July 8, Mr. Crosby 

 presented the following: 



In view of the widespread and active interest in the improvement of rural 

 schools and in the development and extension of instruction in agriculture and 

 the allied subjects of nature-study and school gardening in the colleges and 

 public schools of the country, and in view of the fact that there is no national 

 organization of teachers for discussion of rational methods of instruction in 

 these subjects, the undersigned active members of the National Education 

 Association respectfully request permission to form a Department of Rural 

 and Agricultural Education co-ordinate with the other regularly constituted 

 departments of this Association (followed by signatures of twenty-eight active 

 members). 



This petition was received and authority was granted to 

 form such a department (82, pp. 44-45). The department was 

 organized at the Los Angeles meeting, but owing to some irregu- 

 larity in the proceedings it was not officially recognized. The 

 official organization of the department took place at Washington, 

 D.C., February 27, 1908, during the 1908 meeting of the De- 

 partment of Superintendence (83, p. 136). 



Four regular meetings of the Department of Rural and Agri- 

 cultural Education have been held (in 1908, 1909, 1910, and 

 1911). As they are fully reported in the Proceedings of the 

 Association no further reference need be made here, except 

 to state that they were well attended and much (interest was shown 

 in the discussions. 



It will be seen from the foregoing account that the National 

 Education Association has been and is an important factor in 

 agricultural education, first in the way of propaganda, by bring- 

 ing the subject prominently before the teachers of the entire 

 country, and second by real constructive work through its com- 

 mittees and its Department of Rural and Agricultural Education. 



Through the published Proceedings of the Association the 

 development of the movement for agricultural education can be 

 followed as in no other educational literature excepting that of 



