40 THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [5:2- fbb., iqo 9 



nature-study for the teachers in the annual County Institute. 

 About 30 per cent report that such instruction has been given. 



2. College extension work. The extension work of the 

 Experiment Station and Agricultural College has had much to 

 do with moulding public sentiment in favor of agricultural 

 education. Corn, soil, fruit, and dairy trains run over the dif- 

 ferent lines of railway in the State have shown people that 

 agriculture is a teachable subject and about which there are 

 many simple and useful facts not commonly known. 



3. Boys' and Girls' Clubs. The organization of the school 

 boys and girls into clubs for the raising of farm products for 

 competitive exhibition has stimulated the boys and girls 

 themselves to want to know more about agriculture. Fully 

 50 per cent of the counties have such clubs. In most counties 

 the organization takes the form of a club for the raising of corn ; 

 but in many wheat, oats, potatoes, poultry, bread, and butter 

 are produced as well as corn. 



4. Farmers' Institutes. More powerful than any of the 

 preceding has been the influence of the farmers' institutes. 

 The superintendent of farmers' institutes, Professor W. C. 

 Latta, has for many years realized the advisability of giving 

 this subject a place in the list of topics discussed at farmers 

 meetings. The annual meeting of county chairmen and state 

 speakers has had this topic in one form or another before it for 

 several years and various resolutions have been passed showing 

 the attitude of these leaders on the subject. In the institute 

 season of 1906-07 practically every one of the main institutes 

 discussed agricultural education, and many of the supplemen- 

 tary institutes also had the subject on their programs. 



5. Popular Demand. Perhaps more potent than any other 

 has been the influence of public -opinion. It would be rather 

 difficult to say whether public opinion is the result of the work- 

 ing of the factors already mentioned, or whether they are the 

 outcome of the public demand. It seems to the writer that 

 with the exception of No. 4, the latter case is true. Farmers 

 read of the progress made in other lines of industry by reason 

 of special training and they desire the same thing for themselves. 

 If manual training and instiuction in the arts is good for the 

 city boy, a similar training in things rural is equally good for 

 the country boy. In reply to the question : Do patrons want 

 instruction in agriculture given? superintendents have al- 

 most invariably answered in the affirmative. 



