100 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Professor Van Dorman says: "Education is training, is 

 securing a Icnowleclge of fundamental facts, of the why and 

 liow witli which one comes in daily contact; is training the 

 mind to think, the eye to see, the hand to do accurately and 

 quickly and the mind to grasp easily. Such training is as 

 thorough as that which comes from a stud}^ of Hebrew, Latin, 

 Greek, mythology, ancient history or other subjects which 

 have little bearing on the e^^ery-day life of the educated 

 farmer, directly or indirectly." 



President Gibbs of the New Hampshire Agricultural Col- 

 lege declares that : " Life has become so complex, and com- 

 petition so sharp, that one must choose ; there is not time 

 for all, and the studies of the first twenty-two years should 

 develop deft fingers as well as trained intellects. I do not 

 wish to be misunderstood. I believe in evervthino^ that 

 educates, every college and every school ; but I do not 

 believe the old system of collegiate education is adequate at 

 the present time." 



Here is the key-note of the future ; yet your classical 

 institutions are crowded, while your agricultural and mechan- 

 ical college receives indifferent attention, to the injury of the 

 industry. 



If the authorities quoted are correct, a revolution must be 

 worked in public thought, and the true worth as well as 

 necessity for industrial education presented in such form 

 as to attract the ^^oung man of to-morrow. Xo outlook of 

 the future can neglect this intricate phase of the question. 

 Our land grant colleges are equipped for thorough work. 

 New EntJ-land aoriculture suffers because this work does not 

 claim attention from the masses. What, then, is to be 

 done ? 



I believe the solution rests largely M'ith those now on the 

 farms or directing; the aoricultural thought of the hour. 

 Popularize your agriculture bv proving its worth. Dignify 

 your agriculture by more pride in the farm. Modernize 

 methods and practices by machinery. Demonstmte the finan- 

 cial results by business-like accounts. Attract the young 

 by your own enthusiasm. If this cannot be done, if these 

 results are impossible, then it is a crime to longer maintain 



