84 Agricultural Instruction in the Public High Schools 



In physics the pupils studied specific heat as appHed to soils, the 

 color of soils, etc. Some of the students' compositions on corn 

 epitomized their work in the field, laboratory, and reference work 

 in connection with botany. The larger part of the essays did 

 not deal with the structure of the stem and flower, as might be 

 supposed, but with questions concerning the preparation and 

 cultivation of the soil, treatment of the growing and matured 

 crop, marketing, and corn products. The class made use of a 

 commercial corn tester, valued at $11.50. It uses earth in trays 

 covered by a series of metal cross strips dividing the area into 

 one and one-half inch squares, 210 in number. The two trays 

 give a capacity of 420 ears. A wire rack goes with it, in which 

 can be placed the ears from which the kernels are taken. The 

 rack has figures across the top and letters down the side corre- 

 sponding to a similar notation on the tester. The tester was 

 lent by ]\Ir. Vincent, the president of the board, a young business 

 man who is a graduate of the Iowa State College of Agriculture 

 and is much in sympathy with agricultural instruction. 



Mr. Vincent has also presented eight acres for experimental 

 purposes. The school board is financing this work for the benefit 

 of the community and not for the immediate use of the school, 

 though the pupils will observe the work. The work is under 

 the direction of Dr. C. G. Hopkins, of the University of Illinois, 

 as is the experiment field of the John Swaney School. Super- 

 intendent Vaughn has immediate charge of the work. The board 

 expected to devote three acres to raising fine seed corn from $5 

 stock. They hoped to sell this at a price sufificient to defray 

 the expense of conducting the plats. Oats and clover were in one 

 plat, and a new strain of Montana oats was being tried in an- 

 other. Four series, each with eight one-tenth-acre plats, were 

 being started with the different crops of a four-year rotation — 

 corn, oats, wheat, and clover. Four plats in each series were 

 being handled according to the grain farming system, and four 

 according to the live-stock farming system. The four plats of 

 each sub-series will receive different treatment. Accurate records 

 will be kept by the superintendent, and the pupils of the grades 

 will get material from the experiment farm for many " real " 

 problems in arithmetic, calculating yields, percentages, profits, 

 and the like. 



