114 ADVENTURES IN IDEALISM 



soil, incubation and dairy-work. These lectures we 

 want to make so attractive that our American neigh- 

 bors will become interested in them, too. I am plan- 

 ning to show with the magic lantern pictures that are 

 both useful and interesting specimens to illustrate 

 the construction of a leaf, the circulation of food in 

 an animal's body, the nature of fungi, and of insects 

 attacking our plants." 



He put both of these plans for the theoretical and 

 practical instruction of the farmers into action, and 

 the Saturday afternoon lectures proved so beneficial 

 that it was decided to build a large barn on Farm No. 

 60, the upper story of which was to be used as a lecture 

 room. But while in course of construction the plan of 

 the upper hall was changed, and built so as to make 

 it available for school purposes. This was the first 

 home of the Baron de Hirsch Agricultural School. 



During the preparatory period of the school (March 

 to October, 1894) forty-two pupils were registered. 

 The Woodbine farmers sent their sons, and so did 

 Alliance, Carmel, Rosenheim the neighboring South 

 Jersey colonies and Jewish farmers all over the coun- 

 try. The first students could not receive a systematic 

 course of lectures, as the school was not yet fully 

 organized, but they were given practical instruction in 

 the planting, grafting and care of fruit trees and in 

 the growing of garden truck and field crops. Mean- 

 while the Model Farm did much to advance the knowl- 

 edge of the farmers in general, to whom the country, 

 soil and climate conditions were unknown when they 



