No. 4.] AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 373 



The idea in establishing this garden, as outlined in the 

 act above referred to, was the " promoting the arts and agri- 

 culture of this State, by collecting, cultivating and ascertain- 

 ing the uses of all the various kinds of grasses, of the various 

 plants which are provided for medicinal uses, of the plants 

 destined to support the life of man, and of the plants that 

 conduce to promote the arts necessary for his comfort and 

 convenience, and by investigating the history of those in- 

 sects which are destructive to plants, and the means of })re- 

 venting their ravages." 



Agriculture in the Public Schools. 

 For some years the opinion had prevailed that the time 

 had come, or was soon to come, when instruction in agri- 

 culture should become a part of the work of the public 

 schools of the Commonwealth. In line with this opinion, 

 at the annual meeting of the State Board of Agriculture, 

 Jan. 5, 18(30, Mr. Richard S. Fay offered the following 

 resolution, which was adopted : — 



Resolved, As the opinion of this Board, that a system of 

 agricultural education should he adopted and form a part of 

 the educational system of the State. 



Following the adoption of this resolution, the Board chose 

 by ballot Messrs. Richard S. Fay, Simon Brown and Mar- 

 shall P. Wilder a committee to prepare a plan for carrying 

 it into effect, and to report to the Board for further action. 

 The committee reported on February 1 following, and their 

 report was accepted.^ 



This report was quite length}^ and it is thought not best 

 to (juote it in full. The committee proposed two things, 

 however, which should be noted : — 



1st. The ingrafting upon our common school education the 

 study of the elementary principles of geology, of agricultural 

 chemistry, of physiology, and of botany. 



2nd. An agricultural school, with a farm attaclied to it, in 

 each county, to be devoted exclusively to agricultural instruc- 

 tion, uniting science with correct practice. 



' Agriculture of Massachusetts, 1859 (Part I.), pp. 130-138. 



