GENERAL INTRODUCTION 



This series of agricultural texts is based on the theory that 

 the successful farmer should know the physical and biological 

 forces with which he has to contend ; that he should understand 

 the laws under which these forces operate ; and that he should 

 acquire some skill in directing them. He should ultimately 

 become able to adjust and correlate these forces so as to bring 

 them all under the orderly operation of economic law. In con- 

 formity with the above theory this series has been made to cover 

 the following fundamental divisions : 



The science and art of producing agricultural plants. 



The production, care, and management of farm animals. 



The establishment and conservation of soil fertility, with the 

 chemistry of the same in relation to plant and animal production. 



The proper balance and combination of these three aspects 

 of agricultural production, in the business management of the 

 farm. 



What Vocational Agriculture Demands. — Vocational train- 

 ing in agriculture should differ from trade instruction in 

 one most important regard : trade training develops skilled 

 workers for the various branches of an industry; it neither 

 develops, nor aims to develop, factory managers. It usually 

 deals with parts of the construction, less frequently with the 

 finished product, and more rarely still with the management 

 of the manufacturing plant. Vocational agriculture, on the 

 other hand, must train for the operation of the whole plant, as 

 the farm is a unit in itselfj^ The trained farmer must be skilled, 

 not only in the arts of his varied industry, but also in the scien- 



s 



