DAVIS] INSTRUCTION IN AGRICULTURE 5 



ley, oats, vetches, peas, cotton, sweet potatoes, sugar cane, and 

 tobacco; farm animals, including horses, hogs, sheep, and in- 

 cluding also stock judging and rations; dairying, including Bab- 

 cock test, care of milk, and rations; soils, including drainage, 

 dry farming, irrigation, and texture ; insect enemies ; poultry ; 

 horticulture, including budding, grafting, spraying, and pruning; 

 gardening, including school gardens, plot experiments, and grow- 

 ing contests ; weeds ; seed testing, including selection, germina- 

 tion tests, and purity tests ; birds ; plant studies, including a va- 

 riety of phases; flowers; plant propagation; farm management, 

 referring especially to farm accounts ; fertilizers ; farm machin- 

 ery ; roads ; bee-keeping ; weather ; farm buildings ; plant breed- 

 ing; marketing. Most of the topics suggested were confined to 

 the first half of the list. The great agricultural interests — field 

 crops, especially corn and wheat, farm animals, dairying, and 

 soils were mentioned far more frequently than any other topics. 

 The answers clearly indicate that the phases of agriculture meet- 

 ing with the greatest success in teaching were closely correlated 

 with dominant local farm interests. A few quotations will illus- 

 trate the character of the work done by teachers reporting: 



"All truck plants, fruit and nuts that are grown in this region only. 

 Farm animals, some insects and soils." 



"This is a forest region and we have given the intensive study to 

 timber production: (1) nuts, (2) enemies, (3) nurseries, (4) methods 

 of reforestration, (5) age of trees, (6) harvest, (7) ranger method, (8) 

 fire fighting." 



"Corn testing, selection for seed, storing seed. Milk, the Babcock 

 test, care of milk. Weeds common to the vicinity, names of seeds, how 

 to destroy. Poultry, right kind of poultry houses, care of chickens, 

 marketing. Soil, principally in relation to drainage and maintaining 

 fertility." 



"The topics I have found most successful are (1) study of corn 

 from time seed is chosen to the finished products made from corn. Corn 

 happens to be the main product of this part of the country. It might be 

 some other product elsewhere. (2) Animal husbandry. (3) Rotation of 

 crops, treatment of soils. In the lower grades- garden, flowers and birds." 



"Have not done much except in animal study except the study of 

 the general purpose animal (horse). Been most successful along the 

 line of soil study, plant food, legumes, regulation of soil moisture, for- 

 estry and landscape." 



"We are going to try poultry raising because the children derive 

 a financial benefit from it quicker than any other line." 



"The subject of cotton, corn, peas, vetches, and clover are of the 

 most benefit to this section." 



"This is a horticultural region. Soil, pruning of trees and bushes as 

 Avell as planting them. Budding, grafting and spraying. 



"Each child has his own plot for vegetable and flower growing. 



