696 



ing and domestic science. But in some of the early libraries sent 

 out to farm neighborhoods in Wisconsin, and probably in other 

 States, there was not a single book dealing with agricultural topics. 

 The reason was that the managers of the work believed the books 

 must be entertaining and attractive, and this opinion was founded 

 on experience. Now, however, in several States it is made a point 

 to send at least one book on agriculture with every library, and many 

 traveling libraries are made up entirely of works on farming, horti- 

 culture, and home making and keeping. 



Government Publications. The educational advantages of 

 government publications (as shown in the "Abridged Agricultural 

 Kecords" and otherwise) may be set forth as follows: The farmer 

 learns from them: (1) What the Department of Agriculture at 

 Washington knows from its vast stores of information about the 

 special crop under consideration; (2) what the state agricultural 

 experiment stations have demonstrated to be the most advantageous 

 methods; (3) what the best farmers have tested and proved to be 

 the most successful practices upon the farms; and (4) the knowl- 

 edge obtained by the traveling agents of demonstration work, who 

 visit and have personal knowledge of the localities in the State in 

 which they are stationed. (F. B. 422.) 



Short and Special Courses. The agricultural colleges have 

 sought to meet the demand for more elementary and practical edu- 

 cation in agriculture by establishing short courses. These may 

 either cover agriculture in general or be confined to some special 

 line, as dairying. The courses offered by the University of Wis- 

 consin may serve to illustrate this feature of the American system 

 for agricultural education. The short course in agriculture, it is 

 stated, is designed to meet the wants of young farmers who desire 

 practical, helpful instruction in agriculture before taking up their 

 chosen vocation. This course covers two terms of twelve weeks, 

 each, beginning the first of January each year. It includes lectures 

 on feeds and feeding, breeds of live stock, agricultural chemistry, 

 agricultural physics and meteorology, plant life, veterinary science, 

 dairying, farm bookkeeping, horticulture, agricultural economics, 

 and bacteriology. Laboratory practice is given in dairying, physics, 

 plant life, stock judging, and horticulture, and practical work in 

 carpentry and blacksmitning. The dairy course occupies one term 

 and includes theoretical and practical instruction in the science and 

 practice of dairying and dairy farming. It is definitely planned to 

 meet the needs of persons intending to operate creameries and cheese 

 factories, and has been very successful in training men competent 

 for work of this kind. The students engage in milk testing, op- 

 erate separators and butter extractors, and attend to the ripening of 

 the cream, churning and packing butter, and all the operations of a 

 creamery and cheese factory. ( Y. B. 1897.) 



Home Reading Courses. Various plans for extending the in- 

 fluence of the agricultural colleges among the farmers by what is 

 known as university extension work have been tried during the 

 past five or six years. One of the most interesting of these move- 



