PREFACE 



THE little volume herewith submitted for the use 

 of the school children of the Southwest is the outcome 

 of many years' study of the problems of rural school 

 agriculture. Agriculture, as a school subject, is new, 

 and no guiding standards have yet been generally recog- 

 nized which limit the method or scope of such a text. 

 A careful review of the many texts that have been 

 published during the last ten years shows a wide range 

 of opinion as to the function of such texts. Some are 

 mere handbooks, dealing with the practical work of 

 agriculture; others are only a series of short chapters 

 on botany, chemistry, physics, zoology, meteorology, 

 etc., without reference to applications. 



Our own ideas are that the primary object of a text 

 on agriculture, intended for the common schools, is to 

 satisfy the natural interest of all children about the 

 whys of common farm conditions. This is the first step 

 in developing an intelligent theory which will guide 

 practice. 



While the idea of teaching agriculture is very old, 

 it is only in recent years that it has come to be a large 

 factor in the system of general education. A word of 

 introduction, therefore, may not be out of place. 



A number of agricultural colleges and special schools 

 for agricultural instruction were established between 

 1840 and 1860. Some were privately endowed, others 

 supported out of public revenues. In 1862, a bill, known 

 as the "Morrill Bill," passed the National Congress, 



(vii) 



O f\ HH r\ r"H 



