FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
187 
many thinkers. The question is dis¬ 
cussed from many points of view, by per¬ 
sons of divers professions,—-the scientist, 
the editor, the professors of our colleges, 
both literary colleges, and scientific 
schools ; the political economist, and the 
layman. 
The fact that the discussion is univer¬ 
sal among thinkers, shows its importance. 
No one at this day will deny the value 
of education; no one would dare suggest 
the abolishment of the common schools. 
The question is therefore, What is the 
purpose of public education? The reply 
would certainly be, to improve the man; 
to make of him an active, useful member 
of society; to teach him the principles of 
the calling he is to pursue ; to broaden his 
conception of the laws underlying his 
chosen profession; to give him the benefit 
of knowledge accumulated from the ex¬ 
perience of others, without the care, toil, 
research and time necessary to be given 
in the personal experimenting, and study 
of the subject, in gaining the information 
as to the facts, laws, and reasons underlv- 
ing the work he is to perform; inciden¬ 
tally to improve his reasoning powers, 
broaden his mind, and develop his intel¬ 
lect. 
The common school has greatly broad¬ 
ened its scope, in the last three decades,— 
much useless matter has been eliminated, 
and better methods adopted. 
The science of teaching has been recog¬ 
nized, teachers are trained. Pedagogy is 
now recognized as a science, and taught 
as such. To become a teacher one must 
study the science and art of teaching. 
Most of us can remember when the 
teacher in the common schools, was gen¬ 
erally an untrained workman, knowing 
little of the teacher’s profession, having 
more or less knowledge of the “Three 
R’s” and little if any capacity, or inclina¬ 
tion, to impart what little he did know. 
The demand for training, or education, 
has grown wonderfully in the past thirty 
years—particularly for training along 
special lines. In all walks of life the spe¬ 
cialist is now recognized,—in law, medi¬ 
cine, the sciences, teaching, agriculture, 
chemistry, physics; in none is the special¬ 
ist more evident than in the teacher’s 
profession. 
Agriculture, “the oldest art, the young¬ 
est science,” occupies by far the greater 
number of our people, while the trades, 
and other productive occupations; man¬ 
ufacture and transportation, the next 
larger part of the population of this and 
other countries. The proper fitting, or 
training, of this vast majority of our cit¬ 
izens, for their future occupations, be¬ 
comes a question of the utmost import¬ 
ance to the State. 
In a recent address delivered in this 
city, by an eminent authority, Dr. An¬ 
drew Sledd, President of the Florida 
University, he said: 
“For some years the public schools of 
the United States have not been fully 
meeting their obligation to the general 
public. According to the census of 1900, 
of the 29,000,000 persons over 10 years 
of age engaged in gainful occupations, 
10,400,000 were following agricultural 
pursuits, or 35.7 per cent; 24.4 per cent, 
were employed in manufacturing and kin¬ 
dred labor, domestic and personal occu¬ 
pations claimed 19.2 per cent., trade 16.4 
per cent, and the professions only 4.3 
per cent. In Florida the percentage of 
farmers is even greater, or 44 per cent., 
and of men engaged in the professions, 
smaller, or 3.5 per cent. 
“A public school system, established for 
the greater good of the greatest number, 
would, if free from prejudice and from 
traditional influences, base its educational 
