October, 1912 
SCHOOL-TAUGHT FARMERS IN 
GERMANY 
CCORDING to an interesting report 
submitted to the United States 
Bureau of Manufactures at Washington by 
Vice-Consul-General De Witt C. Pool, Jr., 
stationed at Berlin, an excellent educational 
system has been instituted and developed 
in Germany to meet the needs of German 
agricultural workers. The Prussian scheme 
has, as its foundation, four agricultural 
“high schools,” which, in a general way 
correspond to the technical schools of the 
German universities. These four schools 
had, in the Summer term of 1911, an ag- 
gregate of 1,552 pupils, and nearly two 
thousand during the Winter term, many of 
them being women. 
“In addition to the agricultural ‘high 
schools,’ says Mr. Pool, “there are five 
other high schools devoted to teaching 
veterinary science. 
“The Agricultural High School in Berlin, 
founded in 1870, contains a department for 
agriculture, one for geodosy, one for irriga- 
tion and draining, and one for agricultural- 
technical processes, such as distilling, brew- 
ing, sugar manufacturing, etc. Its teaching 
staff embraces twenty or more professors 
and a somewhat larger number of assistant 
masters and instructors. 
“Agricultural institutes exist in the class- 
ical universities of Breslau, Gottingen, 
Halle, Konigsberg, Leipsic, Jena and Gies- 
sen. Like the special agricultural high 
schools just described, their purpose is to 
afford a scientific training for the heads of 
large agricultural undertakirgs, whether 
owners, tenants or managers. 
“Below the agricultural high schools and 
the agricultural institutes of certain of the 
universities come the intermediate agricul- 
tural schools, which, however, are not 
necessarily simply a step to the collegiate 
training just described, but in most cases, 
it would appear, are an end in themselves. 
They are called “Landwirtschaftsschulen,” 
or agricultural schools, as distinguished 
from the “Hochschulen,” or high schools. 
Their character is that of what is known in 
the general or unspecialized educational 
system as the “Realschulen,’ or burger 
school, the curriculum of which corresponds 
in a general way to that which an American 
youth would pass through in completing a 
“modern” or “modern classical” course in 
one of our high schools. To the subjects of 
the “Realschulen” the agricultural school 
adds rural economy, to which some four or 
six hours are devoted weekly, and gives to 
natural science an important position with 
eight to ten hours weekly. This necessarily 
restricts the teaching of general cultural 
subjects, such as languages, history, etc. 
Experimental fields, fruit and vegetable 
gardens are often attached to these schools. 
“According to the latest Statistical Year- 
book, at the close of 1908 there were eigh- 
teen agricultural schools in Prussia alone. 
The total attendance in that year was 3,940, 
and the several teaching staffs comprised 
220 individuals. During the previous year 
the Prussian Government had contributed 
$114,835 to their support, and local Govern- 
ments, private organizations, etc., $50,499. 
“Alongside the agricultural schools stand 
the ‘Ackerbauschulen,’ or farming schools, 
concerning which an authoritative writer 
Says: 
“The pupils, of the age of 15 and 20, are 
mostly sons of farm owners or tenants. 
They (the schools) are established partly 
by individual practical agriculturalists, partly 
by agricultural societies, partly by endow- 
ments. All, however, are under State con- 
trol, and nearly all of them receive sub- 
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