88 NATURE STUDY REVIEW f8:3— Mar., 1912 



equate account can be given. However, there are a few things 

 that are perfectly obvious. One is that no attempt should be 

 made to introduce agriculture as a separate subject without first 

 having made adequate provision in the way of equipment. A 

 short-handed or a short-sighted policy with reference to this mat- 

 ter would likely defeat the very ends for which the advocates of 

 the subject have been arguing. No mere dabbling in the field 

 will suffice. The proper library equipment and laboratory facil- 

 ities are imperative if agriculture is to be dignified as a subject. 



There should be no beginning until the beginning can be 

 made satisfactorily. Some think that we should introduce the 

 work gradually, a little this year and a little more next year. 

 This is a good administrative principle, provided the conditions 

 in the high school, such as the number of students desiring it, and 

 the finances of the community demand it, and provided it is not 

 disguised under some assumed name. It is this latter attitude 

 that superintendents sometimes foolishly think wise. They de- 

 light in dropping the disguise after so much of the people's money 

 has been surreptitiously invested, that it would be difficult to re- 

 tract. Of course, it is just as vicious to attempt a large beginning 

 with a lot of unnecessary apparatus. In every case the beginning 

 should be adjusted to local needs, a sufficient amount of proper 

 equipment should be purchased, and the materials of the subject 

 should not be obscured under a fictitious representation. 



Another condition that handicaps the secondary schools 

 and militates against efficiency in instruction in agriculture, is 

 that of securing competent, well-trained teachers. On account 

 of the newness of agricultural colleges but few people have been 

 trained, and many of these have become teachers in other col- 

 leges or have gone out to try their hands at practical scientific 

 farming. As a result, the high school administrator has few or 

 none to select from. Until this condition is remedied we cannot 

 expect instruction in agriculture to spread rapidly nor can we 

 expect the secondary teachers of it to be in high repute with the 

 teachers of the other sciences. 



A third condition is found in the attitude of the high school 

 teaching force to the new subject. There is a lack of interest 

 and enthusiasm for it on the part of many of the older teachers. 

 This, however, is not strange. No new subject has ever been 

 welcomed by them. They usually bestow their greatest affection 

 upon the oldest subjects. Nevertheless their indifference, although 

 at times it constitutes a valuable check upon radical schemes and 

 the imposition of fads, makes it difficult for agriculture to se- 



