196 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc 



sent to Professor James, who has written, I think, the finest 

 text-book that I know of. But a text-book isn't enough. 

 You must have a teacher. I would rather have one teacher, 

 filled with the knowledge and able to impart it, than all the 

 text-books in the world. But we need a text-book to help 

 the teacher, and this is the best one. We bought a hun- 

 dred or two, and distributed them among all the teachers. 

 And so we have been working and pushing the thing along 

 in this way. Then we had the Legislature pass a law pro- 

 viding for two county agricultural schools, which should be, 

 in a sense, you might say, miniature agricultural colleges ; 

 and the first two counties that appropriated money to estab- 

 lish those agricultural schools to be put on the State list, 

 and the State supports the schools after they are established. 

 Well now, it will require about $20,000 to establish such a 

 school, with the building and the necessary land. The 

 counties have done it, and the county of Marinette, way up 

 in the woods, was the first. I went before our own county 

 board and pleaded with them, and they halted and hesitated 

 until these two counties had stepped in and filled the 

 breach, so we will have to wait until another year. I think 

 at the next meeting of the Legislature they will enlarge the 

 number, and will make appropriation for four another year, 

 and six the next, and then ten ; and by and by begin to 

 turn this agricultural teaching towards the people, — not 

 turn the people towards the school. We can't get the 

 farmers to the agricultural college. We have about 400 

 boys going to the through course ; and, do you know, we 

 can't get the farmers to send their boys to take the four 

 years' course in the agricultural college. But we can get 

 them to take the through course. They go to the school 

 and have about three months of study, and then they arc 

 taken through the State, a whole lot of boys, and there are 

 medals offered, — I offer a " Hoard's Dairyman " medal for 

 the boy who is the finest judge of dairy cattle, and another 

 man offers a medal for the boy who is the best judge of 

 sheep, and another of swine, and so on until there is a host 

 of medals, — and the boys go out and visit the different 

 herds in the State, and the railroads take them, — the rail- 



