October 



SCIEXTIFIC AGRICULTUR1-: 



65 



ill the tuberculosis (.-ampaign of a few years 

 ago, and by popular exhibits at our Na- 

 tioual ilxhibition and other places of pub- 

 lic resort. Tliese efforts, liowever, whilst 

 they have undoubtedly accomplished much 

 uood, are only spasmodic and at best in- 

 fluence only a small fraction of the gen- 

 eral public. 



How then shall the public be reached.' 

 In the opinion of tiie writer the best, if 

 not the only metliod to attain this end is 

 to have a little elementary bacteriology 

 t aught in our public and high schools. 



About ten years ago the Ontario De- 

 partment of Education decided to give 

 those public and high school teachers who 

 wished it, more particularly those from 

 rural districts, a summer school course in 

 elementary agriculture so that the subject 

 might be taught in the rural schools. Every 

 summer since then we have had at the Ont- 

 ario Agricultural College, Guelpli, several 

 hundred of such teachers taking two years 

 summer school courses. In each of the conr- 

 ses some bacteriology is given — to the ele- 

 mentary or public school teachers about ten 

 lectures and demonstrations and to the in- 

 termediate or high school science teachers 

 a laboratory course. To all tliese students, 

 oil arrival, the subject of bacteriology is ab- 

 solutely new but the interest they evince 

 in the work as it progresses is a source of 

 gratification to the instructors, and from 

 the nature of the questions asked and re- 

 marks made it becomes evident that in the 

 future these students will be more part- 

 icular with regard to hygienic measures, as 

 in the handling of milk and in the cleans- 

 ing and sterilization of milk containers ; in 

 the canning of fruits and vegetables they 

 will work not by haphazard and rule of 

 thumb but with greater confidence from 

 understanding the underlying principles 

 concerning the nature and control of molds, 

 yeasts and bacteria; in association with 

 cases of infectious diseases they will be 

 more ready to fall in with the directions 

 of the sanitary inspector or M. 0. H., and 

 so curtail the danger of spreading disease 

 in the community. 



Three years ago the Ontario Department 

 of Education decided that the School In- 

 spectors should take the Summer School 

 Course in Agriculture, so that they might 



be conversant with tliis new phase of work 

 in the rural schools. 



When the first batch of sixty inspectors 

 came in for their bacteriology they expres- 

 sed some surprise that the subject should 

 be required, as they had not received it 

 even in tiieir university science course. 

 Before the first period was over, however, 

 all the members of the class seemed to real- 

 ize the importance of the truths propound- 

 ed and their application to daily life, and 

 were keenly eager to get all the time and 

 attention that we could give them during 

 the re.st of the course. At the end of the 

 last period they were asked to submit at 

 their leisure a brief note expressing their 

 views as to whether or not some elementary 

 bacteriology should be taught in our pub- 

 lic and high schools and the reasons for 

 their views. Every member of the class 

 complied Avith the request and an examina- 

 tion of their papers showed they were most 

 enthusiastic in their support of the move- 

 ment and unanimously of the opinion that 

 the subject should be on the curriculum. 



In the early months of the present year 

 tlie staff of the 0. A. C. was requested by 

 the Ontario Department of Education to 

 revise the science course in agriculture for 

 high schools. In this revision it was de- 

 cided to introduce some bacteriology, the 

 subject to be taken in the Lower School the 

 first year, under the headings : 



Bacteria : AVliat they are and where they 

 occur. 

 - . Relation to — 



Foods : Experiments to show pasteuriza- 

 tion and sterilization of milk and of canned 

 foods. 



Water Pollution : Spread of such infec- 

 tious diseases as typhoid fever; purifica- 

 tion of water by boiling ; use of chloride of 

 lime as a disinfecting agent. 



Infectious Diseases as tuberculosis, ty- 

 ])lioid fever, diphtheria; discussion of the 

 au'ents of transmissian. as house flies, 

 drinking cups, etc. 



The course as here outlined may not be 

 as complete as is desirable, our original 

 suggestions on the matter having been 

 somewhat reduced Ih the final revision by 

 the general committee appointed for the 

 task. But it is a beginning, though it ap- 

 l)lies only to the limited number of stu- 

 dents in high schools who elect agriculture 



