INTRODUCTION 7 



poor crops, of unprofitable animals, of loss in marketing, 

 of political inefficiency, of undeveloped social enjoy- 

 ments, and of unlovely country homes, that its annual 

 cost will more than be made up every quarter of a year. 

 America can no more afford to do without an efficient 

 system of education, adapted to those who are to manage 

 its farms and its farm homes, which will bring to the 

 farmers the full benefit of modern knowledge, facilities 

 and organization, than it could afford to discard modern 

 railways. 



Institutions devoted to education for country life. 

 In 1862, during the Civil war, the Congress of the 

 United States took two important steps to organize 

 technical education in agriculture. The first provided 

 for institutions to build up a body of scientific knowledge 

 of agriculture; to serve both as a general fund of in- 

 formation to all who farm and as the substance of 

 instruction in agriculture in schools. The second provided 

 for a system of schools especially devoted to country 

 life. Along with the latter, provisions were also made 

 for education in mechanic arts, the combined work being 

 provided for in a State college of agriculture and the 

 mechanic arts in each State ; and education in home 

 economics has grown up in these institutions along with 

 education in the productive industries. 



The scientific institutions which have grown out of 

 the first of these acts of Congress are the United States 

 Department of Agriculture and about fifty State agricul- 

 tural experiment stations. The State stations were not 

 organized till later, but they are a part of the same 

 movement, and part of their support is annually appro- 

 priated by Congress. These institutions employ thou- 

 sands of men engaged in research in all phases of agricul- 

 ture. Many of the states have appropriated money for 

 branch stations, and the United States Department of 

 Agriculture also has established outposts for research 



