292 The Farmer's Business Handbook 



XXin. AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 



As to the development of education in agri- 

 culture, the only statistics to be found are in 

 the annual reports of the Commissioner of Edu- 

 cation. In those reports, ever since 1894, the 

 figures have been given separately for the college 

 students of agriculture in the Land Grant Colleges 

 of the United States. They are as follows: 



Academic Year 



1894 - 1895 

 1895-1896 

 1896-1897 

 1897-1898 

 1898-1899 

 1899-1900 



Collegiate students of 



Agriculture in Laud 



Grant Colleges 



2,712 

 2,881 

 3.053 

 3,190 

 4,390 

 5,035 



In addition to the above, not less than two hun- 

 dred thousand students are being taught, at their 

 homes, in subjects related to agriculture. Some 

 of these pupils are school children from twelve 

 to eighteen years of age, but many of them are 

 farmers, mostly young men, and their wives. 

 Without doubt, these correspondence courses are 

 of great value and will result, in the end, in aug- 

 menting the number of students in the colleges 

 of agriculture. The recent nature -study move- 

 ment is also certain to produce a healthy interest 

 in the agricultural courses now offered by every 

 state in the Union, 



