carpenters, cabinet makers, or toy makers commonly do, but that 

 which successful farmers perform in the pursuit of their vocation. 

 Facts have been given in this study that show what kinds of repair 

 work and construction work are most frequently done with the ma- 

 terials commonly used for the purpose by farmers. 



Furniture making by hand is practically obselete today and 

 does not function generally as a part of industrial education. Much 

 less can it be sanctioned as vocational agricultural education. 



Toy making has value as general education and as prepara- 

 tion for the vocation of toy making but cannot be considered ade- 

 quate preparation for the kind of work adult farmers do. 



In order to determine what kinds of repair and construction 

 work should be given prospective farmers it will be necessary to 

 analyze it on the basis of: Is it the kind of work that successful 

 farmers perform in that type of farming, in that particular region, 

 or are there good reasons for believing that it is a thing that farm- 

 ers of the region should do? 



Materials That Should Be Used. An analysis of the kinds of 

 work done by farmers as revealed in this study shows that the bulk 

 of repair and construction work is done in wood, but it also shows 

 the desirability of using in addition such materials as concrete, 

 iron and steel. Instead of limiting the work during the first year 

 (or during longer periods of time as is sometimes the case in the 

 schools) to work in w T ood, it would seem to be much better to give 

 whatever work needs to be done irrespective of the materials in- 

 volved. For example : if a class in poultry wishes to build a poultry 

 house, why not teach the class how to put in a concrete foundation? 

 Or if a boy is making a wagon jack, why not have him do the iron 

 work on it as soon as it needs to be done instead of having him 

 wait until next year or later when forge practice is scheduled for 

 him? 



Size of Work Undertaken. Raising an acre of potatoes or keep- 

 ing several hogs or cows is better preparation for general farming 

 than growing a bed of dahlias and raising a few kittens or pups. 

 Similarly, doing the man-sized repair and construction work in- 

 volved in farming practice is better preparation for the latter vo- 

 cation than making nothing but small objects. The skills develop- 

 ed are not identical, and the related knowledge attained is not the 



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