S4-95 



PREFACE 



THE character of agriculture as a fundamental science, as 

 well as the fact that it is the primary interest of a vast majority 

 of the citizens of our country, makes it the most favorable 

 vocational subject for general adoption in secondary schools. 

 There are in present use many elementary treatises on this 

 subject, the use of which has created a strong demand for a 

 more advanced course in agriculture. Just what such a course 

 should include and how the work should be presented are 

 questions that will be answered by many authors in many 

 different ways in the next few years. 



Since agriculture involves the elementary principles of so 

 many sciences, and since its study interprets so much of the 

 student's environment, making it full of meaning, we believe 

 that the subject should be studied in the first years of the 

 secondary course. It presents an interesting introduction to 

 all the natural sciences and directs the mind of the student 

 inquiringly toward the further study of the problems of these 

 involved sciences. It answers in the very beginning the proper 

 question of the boy, " Of what use is the study of chemistry, 

 of botany, and of zoology ? " 



The time has come to undertake the study of agriculture 

 seriously, and not merely as a means to glorify country life 

 and to arouse enthusiasm for the possibilities of farm endeavor. 

 Students should feel that certain definite principles should be 

 mastered and their application understood. Yet this subject 

 should not be made so ultra scientific that these students shall 



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