PEEFACE ix 



publications. In the case of the more expensive publications 

 the pupil's representative in Congress or his senator may se- 

 cure them free. The publications of his own state agricul- 

 tural experiment station will also be most useful, and those 

 of other states may often be obtained. All available pamphlets 

 of the kind should, of course, be in the school library. It is 

 often possible to secure enough duplicates of the more impor- 

 tant publications to allow one for each member of the class. 

 The pupils should also be supplied with the catalogues of 

 reliable seedsmen and growers of nursery stock. These may 

 usually be had upon request, and the writing of a letter for 

 this purpose may well be made a part of the class work. 



At the time the work in agronomy is begun the weather 

 is not likely to be favorable for work in the open, but there 

 are, fortunately, many matters of theory and fact that may 

 be discussed in the classroom before the season for gardening 

 begins, and some of the experiments may also be performed. 

 The book has been arranged, as far as practicable, to follow 

 the progress of the seasons, but in the early weeks of the 

 course the theoretical may overshadow the practical, and mat- 

 ters may be discussed that will not be taken up in a practical 

 way until much later. By looking ahead and selecting those 

 exercises that may be performed as well at one time as at 

 another, the student will be enabled to approach the real 

 work of the course with considerable theoretical knowledge 

 that can be tested later by practice. 



One cannot deal intelligently with plants without knowing 

 their names and relationships, and it is recommended that the 

 identification of plants by the use of a good manual of botany 

 be made part of the course. For this work the strictly tech- 

 nical manuals are better than the more popular volumes, since 

 they not only give the names but teach exactness, increase the 

 vocabulary, and familiarize the pupil with the use of scientific 

 keys. The small preliminary instruction needed for the use of 



