216 [Assembly 



portunities for practical education. It seemed impossible to adopt 

 the principles of contemporaneous instruction, so far as regarded the 

 union of the theory, economy and practice of farming. 



The suggestion at last arose, that in districts where farms were of 

 moderate size and the farmers generally of superior character, pur- 

 suing a mixed husbandry, they might be united in an association, 

 under proper regulations, to receive and become practical instructors, 

 each to a few young men, in the practical duties and economy of 

 the farm, who collectively might be able to sustain a school in the 

 sciences relatino; thereto. 



'to 



This sufr^estion was carried out last March, in the establishment 

 of the " Orange County Scientific and Practical Agricultural Insti- 

 tute," and is more fully illustrated in the following extracts from 

 their announcement: — 



" We, the undersigned, pi esent to the favorable consideration of 

 the public a short detail of the plan of this Institute, recently orga- 

 nized by a number of exemplary farmers residing in the same neigh- 

 borhood, some explanation of which is embodied in the following 

 extract from the written agreement: — 



*' ' I, James Darrach, of the town of Montgomery, county of Or- 

 ange, and State of New- York, farmer, do hereby covenant and agree 

 to give to the pupils all necessary scientific instruction in practical 

 agriculture, by lectures, instructions and examinations, in such way 

 as will most conduce to advance them in thorough knowledge of all 

 the theoretic part of the business. And we, whose names are here- 

 unto subscribed, agree, with said James Darrach, that we, and each 

 of us, will receive into our families the number of pupils mentioned 

 opposite our names, and instruct them to the full extent of our pow- 

 er in all the practical branches of agriculture and the manual opera- 

 tions of the same, and also watch over their morals and habits, in 

 the same manner that we would our own children for their permanent 

 good.' 



" The character of this plan presents highly important claims to 

 the favorable consideration of parents and pupils. 



" The difficulty in any course of practical agricultural education^ 

 in institutions where the teachers and scholars occupy and are con- 

 fined to a single farm, is that nearly the whole practical economy of 

 the farm, in the house and in the fields, must necessarily be omitted j 



