Some Typical High Schools Teaching Agriculture 47 



exercises, according to directions for pruning in the Farmers' 

 Bulletin on this topic, after which the trees were thrown away. 

 The exercises followed the program sent out by School Com- 

 missioner Jones. Although no class work has been done on 

 spraying trees or treating seeds, one boy has informed himself 

 on the subject and has done considerable of it. Samples of 

 fertilizers were obtained from the local agents of seedmen. 

 Some of these were in neat cases of cloth-covered paste-board. 

 The formulas were studied by the class, although no chemistry 

 was given in the school outside of demonstrations before the 

 class in physiology. 



The school arranged a series of public lectures on agricultural 

 and nature-study subjects by professors of the State University 

 and others. This school then held the trophy offered by the 

 College of Agriculture of the State University for the best 

 exhibit of seed corn. This trophy is offered to students under 

 eighteen years of age in high schools teaching agriculture. The 

 names of all winners are engraved on the cup. 



West Milton (Ohio) High School 



While West Milton, in Miami County, differs little in popu- 

 lation from the two villages already mentioned, its high school 

 enrollment was considerably larger, being 80, of whom 40 were 

 from farm homes, and almost all from homes where gardens 

 are made. The high-school instruction was carried on by three 

 teachers, agriculture being taught by the superintendent, who 

 was himself reared on a farm and now owns one. His aim 

 has been to make the course a sort of general introductory 

 science course. The compound microscopes and stereopticon are 

 used in this course as well as in the botany, which is closely 

 linked with it. Many specimens were brought into class to 

 illustrate scale, blight, and other fruit-tree diseases to which 

 the instructor has given considerable attention, but no spraying 

 was tried. Visits were also made to stock farms. The attitude 

 of the community is well shown by the fact that 52 of the 53 

 first and second year students selected agriculture in place of 

 English history, which it was supposed the girls would choose. 



