THE AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL 
By Dr. Davin SNEDDEN, Com- 
MISSIONER OF EDUCATION 
Because of the general interest in 
the Essex County Agicultural School, 
we are pleased to put before our read- 
ers, a series of four articles, by the 
Commissioner of Education, on the 
aims, scope and methods of work in 
schools designed primarily to fit boys 
to be succesful farmers. (Editor.) 
Il. Practical Programs for Agricul- 
tural Schools. 
If we assume, as we should, that 
the primary aims of the agricultural 
school must be determined by the re- 
quirement of preparing boys from 14 
to 18 years of age for the profitable 
pursuit of agriculture, then certain 
conclusions as to the desirable scope 
and methods of such schools must fol- 
low. 
Such schools must not be weak imi- 
tations of agricultural colleges, giv- 
ing large portions of their time to 
laboratory and textbook work which 
bear only remotely on the pursuit of 
practical farming. Neither should 
they set up standards, either in ad- 
mission requirements or courses which 
will exclude pupils, who in spite 
perhaps, of inadequate general educa- 
tion are nevertheless capable of being 
made successful farmers. 
Some experimental work the agri- 
cultural schools should do in the way 
of finding the best ways for the prac- 
tice of the various phases of agricul- 
ture in the community in which the 
school is located. But such experimen- 
tal work should be incidental to its 
primary purposes of teaching boys 
practical agriculture according to ac- 
cepted principles and methods. Only 
a limited amount and variety of ex- 
perimental work can, at best, be 
carried on by the teachers and with 
the equipment of such a school. Agri- 
cultural colleges and experimental sta- 
tions, aided by well-trained experts 
and abundant resources can best carry 
on experimental work of the char- 
acter demanded by the stage of agri- 
cultural development now reached. 
These agricultural schools might 
also, as an incidental part of its re- 
‘sponsibilities, give attention to  so- 
called “demonstration” work—that 
is, attempts to show what can be done 
in a given neighborhood with crops 
not before cultivated, with land hith- 
erto neglected, or with implements 
and methods of cultivation, the prac- 
tical worth of which have not yet 
been apparent to, the people of the 
locality. But there are obvious limits 
to the extent to which such “demon- 
stration” work can be carried on in 
schools with small teaching force and 
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limited resources, and in which the 
large majority of pupils are begin- 
ners in the study of agriculture. 
It is probable that in some agricul- 
tural schools courses will be organized 
for girls. Many persons believe that 
there are’some diversions of agricul- 
ture and small live stock husbandry 
which will offer suitable occupations 
for women. We have little experience 
as yet in support of this view, but it 
is important,that girls be given an op- 
portunity in agricultural schools to 
prove whether any phases of agricul- 
ture offers them profitable vocations. 
But it is clear that profitable house- 
hold arts courses for country girls can 
be maintained in agricultural schools. 
Such courses should be thoroughly 
practical and scientific and should 
aim to produce efficiency in the home 
no less than the agricultural courses 
should aim to produce efficiency on 
the farm. 
After being well established, some 
agricultural schools will become cen- 
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ters for short course instruction for 
working farmers in seasons’ when 
farm work is slack. ‘The agricultural 
college will often find it expedient 
and desirable to carry on experiment 
station or demonstration work near 
the school.- Exhibits of modern ma- 
chinery and other aids to agriculture 
will doubtless often be held there. 
The farmers of the neighborhood will 
probably bring their best products to 
the school at times, as they take them 
to fairs, for exhibition purposes. 
But all of these useful functions 
must be regarded as secondary to the 
primary purposes of the school, which 
is, in a business-like fashion to pre- 
pare boys to succeed in farming and 
to like that os a career. 
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Ife 
