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lizers, and the use of the Bordeaux mixture for the prevention 

 of potato blight. 



Besides these economic results, an increased interest in and 

 appreciation of the school have been developed among the 

 people. It has been possible to introduce in such rural schools 

 other practical projects in dressmaking and cooking, in which 

 undertakings the girls of the upper grammar grades have 

 shown efficiency and ability. In these and other ways help- 

 ful relations have been established between the school, and the 

 arts of the farm and home. In the schools where such exer- 

 cises have been introduced with success, it has been found that 

 the boys acquire added interest in school work along all lines. 

 The direct use made of penmanship, arithmetic, composition, 

 bookkeeping, drawing and manual training has resulted in an 

 improved quality of work in those branches. 



The Value of Elementary Agriculture. 



Instruction in elementary agriculture in the upper grammar 

 grades has a direct value in itself, because it contributes to the 

 prosperity of the farming community by aiding in the intro- 

 duction of improved methods. 



Teachers, by means of such courses, have been able to in- 

 crease the interest among their pupils in the work and the 

 activities of the farm. One may hope that, through such influ- 

 ences, boys may be induced to remain in the country districts ; 

 but sufficient data are not as yet at hand to demonstrate that 

 elementary agriculture in the schools accomplishes such a result. 

 It will be agreed that it is highly desirable to make use of all 

 possible means to check the present excessive tendency toward 

 the city. 



The work in agriculture in a rural school opens up a way for 

 helpful co-operation between the school on the one hand, and 

 the home and the farm on the other. One of the best oppor- 

 tunities for applying the teaching of the school is when a boy 

 secures a plot of land in the home garden or farm, and cultivates 

 it according to the best methods. Such an undertaking should 

 be carried out as a business enterprise, an account kept of re- 

 ceipts and expenditures, and a statement made at the close of 

 the season which shall show the balance of profit or loss. 



