114 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



tional help for the future of agriculture is to be found, in 

 addition to that atlorded by the full agricultural college 

 course, I am coniident that there is such help readily avail- 

 able in several promising directions. A numl)er of States 

 are providing short courses' of instruction, during the winter 

 months, open to any farmer, young or old, without examina- 

 tion as to previous preparation and without exacting any 

 standard of proficiency. Some use is made of books and 

 periodicals, mostly by way of reference, but the instruction 

 is mainly given in the form of plain, practical and sugges- 

 tive lectures, treating directly of the principles and practice 

 of intelligent farming, and accompanied with some elementary 

 laboratory work in agricultural chemistry, botany, horticult- 

 ure, etc. In at least one State, Minnesota, such courses 

 have been made to extend progressively through three suc- 

 cessive years. In several cases there have been established 

 special courses in the principles of cattle feeding, dairy 

 courses and courses for teaching creamerymen the science 

 underlying their business. The instruction on practical 

 topics is given, as a rule, by men wdio have themselves had 

 successful practical experience in the subjects which they 

 teach. The results of this kind of training have been, with- 

 out exception, so far as I have ever heard, surprisingly grati- 

 fying. I have yet to meet the first one of these teachers 

 who does not express his interest and surprise at the eager- 

 ness and success with which minds comparatively untrained 

 to habits of study grasp and retain the essentials of their 

 teaching. And^ on the other hand, I have known instances 

 in which employers felt themselves repaid, in a single year, 

 for incurring the expense of sending a man to attend one of 

 these special courses. This branch of educational work is 

 comparatively recent, but there is abundant reason for believ- 

 ing that, with an increase of experience in conducting it 

 and a better understanding of its possibilities on the part 

 of the farming community, it will contribute very directly 

 and powerfully to increase the profitableness of agriculture. 

 In Pennsylvania a system of instruction is well under way, 

 which aims to interest farmers and their families in systematic 

 courses of home reading. The several courses are carefully 

 outlined and a series of the best available books recom- 



