54- 



extent. Dairy and poultry produce last year sold for $4,800, pota- 

 toes $1,260, berries and apples for $300. There are certain factors 

 that enter here which reduce the return. 



1. Much, or most, of the produce is sold to other county institu- 

 tions. These buy at a cost lower than the market price. E. g., the 

 county Home for Dependent Children buys milk, which is certified 

 and would ordinarily sell at 8c, for 5]/2c; the school dormitory pays 

 5c for this milk. 



2. The work is not done on a large scale. 



3. Much of the time on the field and in the dairy is spent on work 

 that the ordinary farm does not have, i. e., demonstration to pupils. 



On the other hand there are certain advantages that other farms do 

 not have: 



1 . Constant expert advice and service always at hand and in charge. 



2. Free student labor. 



3. Large equipment, and opportunity and facilities for trying out 

 advanced methods and processes. 



In the preceding discussion there have been indicated possible meth- 

 ods of increasing the farm productiveness. 



1. A larger amount of truck gardening, fruit farming, etc. 



2. Credit farm with the market price of produce sold to other de- 

 partments and institutions. 



3. Extend the idea of "learn to do by doing". 



4. Make fuller use of the expert advice, service, and of equipment 

 and facilities at hand. 



On the first suggestion there can be little question. A truck farm 

 efficiently conducted ought to pay. 



The -second suggestion does not mean that the county institutions 

 should pay more for the milk and supplies they get from the school. 

 It simply means that in figuring returns such supplies should be figured 

 by the school at the price which the institutions would have had to pay 

 elsewhere. These accounts, should, of course, be kept separate from 

 the actual cash and transfer accounts. An extra column would take 

 care of them. The advantage of thfs method would lie in helping to 

 give the actual cost for each institution concerned. It would show to 

 what extent one institution was in reality helping to support another. 

 Such information would be of value in making up budgets. 



Learning to do by doing is coming more and more to be an ac- 

 cepted method of teaching. It is taking the place of demonstration in 

 many fields of study. It is generally called practical field or project 

 work. Agriculture seems especially fitted for this method. Directed 

 work in place of demonstration is a field for experimentation which will 

 have an educational value aside from that given to the pupils first con- 



