122 Agricultural Instruction in the Public High Schools 



tion to the voters before issuing bonds or contracting any in- 

 debtedness. The only school so far established under the pro- 

 visions of this act of 1907/ is the one at Menomonie, started 

 the next year. It is across the river from Marinette, Wis., 

 where is located a county agricultural school which opened in 

 the year of this legislation. 



The notable experiment in secondary agricultural education 

 started by Wisconsin resulted from the report and recommenda- 

 tions of the state superintendent. L. D. Harvey, to the legisla- 

 ture of 1901 after an extended investigation. The result was 

 the authorization of the two schools that started the following 

 year, one at Menomonie, Dunn County, and the other at Wau- 

 sau, Marathon County. Each school is controlled by a county 

 board of three members and is under the general supervision 

 of the state superintendent, who " with the advice of the dean 

 of the college of agriculture of the State University shall pre- 

 scribe the courses of study to be pursued and determine the 

 qualifications required of the teachers employed in such schools." 

 The original provision was that the state should bear one-half 

 of the annual instructional expense of each school, provided 

 that not more than $2,500 should be so paid. In 1903 the law 

 was amended so that two-thirds of the annual cost of main- 

 tenance of each school should be paid out of the state treasury, 

 \vith the maximum limit placed at $4,000, and provided that 

 any deficit should be paid by the county. That the counties 

 themselves do not pursue a niggardly policy, is evident from 

 the annual statements, which show that they not only provide 

 their full share of v$2,ooo but often several hundred more each 

 year. The establishment of the school at Winneconne, W'inne- 

 bago County, two months after the Marinette county school, 

 filled up the number authorized by the legislature in 1903. In 

 1907 the maximum number was increased to eight. ^ This addi- 

 tional allowance will soon be exhausted as LaCrosse County has 

 already established a school at Onalaska, while Brown and 

 Langlade counties have voted to establish similar schools. \'il- 



' Act No. 35, April 3, 1907, [Michigan] public laws. 

 'Wisconsin, Laws of 1901, chap. 188, sec. 10; Laws of 1903, chap, 

 143, (sec. 5531, Statutes); Laws of 1907, chap. 540, July 10. 



