„ov1 AGRICULTURE IX ELEMEXTARY SCHOOLS 219 



by groups. In graded schools, where each class has its own 

 teacher, there is ordinarily a class bed, cultivated by the class as a 

 whole, and individual beds; in other schools, both methods are 

 used. Sometimes pupils who are specially interested in the work 

 are allowed the privilege of growing crops for profit. Last year, 

 for instance, two boys raised cabbage on a plot of the school, one- 

 twentieth of an acre in area ; they worked diligently, hauled 

 manure for their crop, cultivated it with care and under direction 

 of their teacher. They harvested the crop early and peddled it in 

 town, receiving in cash from their sales over $38. That is on the 

 basis of $760 per acre gross; and. needless to say, this is well above 

 what our gardeners ordinarily make out of cabbages. It is 

 interesting to know that, as a result of the work done in the 

 school-garden by these two boys and others, the farmers of that 

 community have since organized a truck-growers' association; 

 and. today. I estimate that there is ten times as much land planted 

 I ibage in that locality as there was two years ago. 



The instruction given in agriculture in the seventh grade fol- 

 lows Burkett, Stevens and Hill's text-book. Here, too, the 

 school-garden enters into the work. In this connection, it may 

 be of interest to refer to a new work begun this year in some of our 

 parishes. This consists in the operation of a demonstration farm 

 in connection with the school and the teaching of agriculture. 

 Thus far these farms are found only in connection with some of 

 the larger rural schools, where many of the boys are large and 

 capable of doing the work required by the enterprise. This 

 movement is running parallel with the new agricultural high 

 school work of the state. In such schools, the course is being 

 broadened and made vocational. We believe there is a place in 

 our school styem for such schools, where the multitude of coun- 

 trv boys can learn something of the scientific side of agriculture 

 before they are everlastingly consigned to the farm; for, few of 

 our farmers' boys ever reach the high school, whether agricultural 

 or literary. 



The boys agricultural clubs were first organized in Louisiana 

 two years ago. Now there are 2 500 members, and in 19 10, we will 

 have 10,000 boys in the work, to help drive better methods of 

 farming into our farmers while the boys themselves get the best 

 sort of training. At the State Fair at Shreveport, 1909, the boys' 

 clubs had the largest and best exhibit of corn ever shown in 

 Louisiana. Space will not allow me to discuss the value of these 

 clubs to our school work in agriculture. 



