s 
 
 531 
 
 N71 Nolan 
 
 The teach, of 
 "agriculture. ' 
 
 University of California 
 
 At Los Angeles 
 The Library 
 
 Form L I 
 
 551 
 NTI
 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below 
 
 MAY 30 1928 
 JUN 1 192 j, 
 
 f/lAY 29 1931 
 
 2 1933 

 
 THE TEACHING 
 OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 BY 
 
 ARETAS W. NOLAN 
 
 Assistant Professor of Agricultural Extension, University 
 
 of Illinois, and State Supervisor of 
 
 Agricultural Education 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 
 EUGENE DAVENPORT 
 
 Dean of the College of Agriculture and Director 
 
 of the Agricultural Experiment Station 
 
 University of Illinois 
 
 BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 
 
 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
 
 (Cfce fiitoerjsiDc prestf Cambridge 
 
 94784
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY ARKTAS W. NOLAN 
 ALL KIGHTS RESERVED 
 
 lEOr it)erfift)t PrtSfi 
 
 CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 
 U. S. A
 
 s 
 
 53 \ 
 
 'I 
 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 ALL well-established subjects of instruction in the 
 public schools are more or less standardized and uni- 
 form throughout the country. The fields of science, 
 mathematics, English, and history have been carefully 
 outlined. Instruction in vocational subjects is not so 
 well defined, and it may take many more years to 
 determine the proper subject-matter and methods in 
 order to secure desired vocational results from such 
 instruction. 
 
 Agriculture has been taught in the public schools for 
 a sufficient number of years to warrant the following 
 conclusions : 
 
 (a) That agriculture as a subject of study contrib- 
 utes to certain great values and controls of life; 
 (6) That agriculture applies directly to concrete 
 problems of everyday life, whose solution has 
 educational values; and 
 
 (c) That the study of agriculture liberalizes the ed- 
 ucation of the student as well as trains him di- 
 rectly in the vocation of farming, resulting in 
 improved farm practice. 
 
 Agriculture is one of the major vocations and basic 
 industries. There is a fund of agricultural knowledge 
 which has grown out of the experience of farmers and
 
 iv PREFACE 
 
 of the educational work of the land-grant colleges for 
 the past fifty years, and this agricultural knowledge 
 has been and can be taught. Our problem is to or- 
 ganize that part of agricultural science and practice 
 which is teachable in the public schools, and to estab- 
 lish such principles and methods as will guide in the 
 proper teaching of the subject. Agriculture in the pub- 
 lic schools should have a decided vocational aim. It 
 should give the student a degree of accurate knowl- 
 edge and skill and familiarity with the best modern 
 farm practices. Agricultural education should guar- 
 antee that the future farmers be educated country 
 gentlemen who work with their hands, and gather 
 about them the best things which civilization affords. 
 Within these pages are recommendations concern- 
 ing the aim, the scope of work, the principles, materials, 
 and methods to be used in teaching agriculture in ele- 
 mentary and secondary schools. 
 
 ARETAS W. NOLAN. 
 
 URBANA, ILLINOIS, 
 January, 1918.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 INTRODUCTION. By Eugene Davenport . vii 
 
 I. SOME REASONS FOB TEACHING AGRICULTURE . 1 
 
 II. NATURE-STUDY PRECEDING AGRICULTURE . . 12 
 
 HI. ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND BOYS' AND GIRLS' 
 
 CLUB WORK 21 
 
 IV. HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE SI 
 
 V. SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES IN TEACHING 
 
 AGRICULTURE 09 
 
 VI. THE TEACHER OF AGRICULTURE . . . . 162 
 
 VII. TEACHING VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE . . . 166 
 APPENDIX 
 
 Suggestions for a farm, home, and community 
 survey 167 
 
 Suggested course in nature study first six 
 grades 179 
 
 Suggested course in elements of agriculture 
 seventh and eighth grades 204 
 
 Suggestions for laboratory equipment . . . 224 
 Suggestions for agricultural laboratory . . 227 
 
 The Smith-Hughes Law and Vocational Agri- 
 culture in secondary schools 228 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY i 
 
 OUTLINE . . . v 
 
 INDEX
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 THAT the teaching of agriculture should be at- 
 tempted at all was until recently quite commonly 
 regarded as one of the fads that would speedily perish 
 in the wreckage of its own failures. Instead, it has 
 lived, and to-day it constitutes a basis for the recasting 
 of many of our convictions, not only as to the materials 
 and methods, but also as to the ideals and purposes, of 
 education. 
 
 Whether the chief purpose in any individual in- 
 stance is the education of farmers, or whether it is the 
 utilization of the materials and methods of farming for 
 the purpose of a general education, the living force, if 
 there be any, in agricultural materials lies in the two 
 facts: first, that agriculture is a part of nature; and 
 second, that by these agricultural materials we make 
 use of natural facts and forces for the definite end of 
 sustaining life. 
 
 It has been but inevitable that some mistakes 
 should be made in our earlier attempts to teach this 
 complicated and difficult subject. We have often been 
 quite uncertain as to whether we were teaching a sci- 
 ence or an art, or whether after all our principal pur- 
 pose was not, perhaps without our knowing it, to edu- 
 cate men. If the former were our purpose, we were 
 very strenuous about materials, and if the latter
 
 viii INTRODUCTION 
 
 assumed greater prominence in our minds, we empha- 
 sized methods. 
 
 We have often forgotten that even in so far as agri- 
 culture is a science, it is not an exact science like math- 
 ematics. Much bad teaching has been done, no doubt, 
 simply because of a determination to compel the stu- 
 dent to get his lessons and to maintain grades indica- 
 tive of a creditable academic standard. Have these 
 grades or credits been too easily earned? Then the 
 course has been stiffened by adding a mass of " mem- 
 ory work " not very different in purpose or character 
 from the " busy work " of the lower grades. It must be 
 definitely understood that no student in any branch 
 of a natural science will ever make the grades that are 
 sometimes found in mathematics, for example, where 
 a mark of perfection is clearly possible. 
 
 But academic standing is not the true measure of 
 success, either in the teaching or in the study of agri- 
 culture. That measure is found in the performance of 
 those who actually go to the land, live there, and suc- 
 ceed; for, after all, the fundamental purpose of our 
 great system of agricultural education is to insure a 
 better agriculture and to make a country life as nearly 
 perfect as possible. 
 
 The object of agricultural education is not even to 
 arrest the tide that flows cityward and turn it back to 
 the land, although that is one of the results; but the 
 great purpose is to fit for country life those who have 
 cast, or who are about to cast, their lots with the farm,
 
 INTRODUCTION ix 
 
 emphasizing the fact that when proper attention is 
 bestowed upon this great calling, it will find of itself its 
 proper place in affairs American, and that that place 
 will be both high and serviceable. 
 
 Any man who writes a good book upon any phase of 
 this great subject of agricultural education performs a 
 distinct service to his day and generation. It is too 
 much to expect that any book will be faultless, espe- 
 cially in these pioneer stages of a new science, but 
 Professor Nolan has labored long and faithfully to put 
 out an honest piece of work. I am sure it will be read 
 with both pleasure and profit by his many friends 
 and the many seekers after truth in this new and rich 
 domain. 
 
 EUGENE DAVENPOBT. 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.
 
 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 SOME REASONS FOR TEACHING AGRICULTURE 
 
 Aims for individual students. Since agriculture has 
 been admitted as a subject of study in the public 
 schools, we are asking the question, What shall be the 
 aims and what are the intrinsic values of such a course 
 of instruction? What shall be the aim of agricultural 
 education for the individual student, and what contri- 
 butions should such education make to a democratic 
 society? We hear a great deal about pre- vocational 
 agriculture, non-technical or general agriculture, prac- 
 tical or vocational agriculture, but there seems to be no 
 clear-cut line of division between these so-called fields 
 of agriculture. There may be a justification for the 
 terms " general " and " vocational " agriculture when 
 we mean to include in the former all such general and 
 interesting information about plants, animals, and 
 other materials and processes of agriculture as his- 
 tories, values, relationships, and principles of the in- 
 dustry and business; and when under vocational agri- 
 culture we mean the knowledge and skill necessary 
 for successful farming. In both general and vocational
 
 2 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 agriculture there must be educational values for the 
 individual, such as all science is able to give. The 
 specific aims of vocational agricultural education for 
 the individual student are, (1) to give the pupil who 
 intends to become a farmer preparation for wholesome 
 and successful farming and country life; (2) to give 
 the skill and knowledge necessary to the control of 
 plant and animal production, to the end of economic 
 profit; and (3) to articulate such education with other 
 education so as to produce an educated country gen- 
 tleman who works with his hands and gathers about 
 him all the best things which civilization affords. 
 
 Social aims in view of modern demands. Any sub- 
 ject that contributes in any constructive way toward 
 the great fundamental needs, values, and controls of 
 the human race deserves to be taught to the people 
 and to the children of the people. Such a subject ag- 
 riculture has come to be, and it should be taught in 
 school and out of school, in season and out of season, 
 to the hosts who are coming to. learn. 
 
 Sane modern demands would have our natural re- 
 sources conserved, rural life vocations made more effi- 
 cient, the health of the country folks conserved and 
 improved, a greater appreciation of all art, a perma- 
 nent and persistent moral growth, a closer and more 
 efficient rural organization, and a more liberal educa- 
 tion among the whole rural population. 
 
 To these modern demands of public-spirited think- 
 ers and leaders, agriculture, in its threefold aspects
 
 REASONS FOR TEACHING AGRICULTURE 3 
 
 as an industry, a business, and a life, comes with 
 large contributions to meet each demand. 
 
 Conservation of natural resources. It is perfectly 
 clear that through scientific agriculture most of our 
 natural resources can be conserved. To improve and 
 make permanent the fertility of the soil, to maintain 
 and to increase crop and animal production, to im- 
 prove the breeding of plants and animals, to combat 
 and control insects and diseases among crops and ani- 
 mals, to conserve and plant the forests, to utilize 
 wisely the mineral resources, these are all questions 
 of scientific and technical agriculture, and the teach- 
 ing of agriculture must result in the wise use and con- 
 servation of these natural resources. It is not a ques- 
 tion of the conservation of the soil, for example, on 
 the farm of Mr. Brown, for his own good alone; it is 
 a public question, and concerns the public welfare. 
 Enough surveys have been made to show that we are 
 safe in generalizing on this point, that our natural 
 resources are not being conserved properly, and that 
 scientific agriculture makes for conservation. 
 
 Inefficiency in rural vocations. We need no further 
 proof than common observation and government sta- 
 tistics to generalize again and say that rural life voca- 
 tions are not as efficient as they should be. When the 
 corn crop averages only about twenty-five bushels 
 per acre, and the wheat crop about fifteen bushels; 
 when the annual income per acre averages only about 
 twelve dollars; when insects destroy our crops to the
 
 4 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 extent of millions annually; when the live-stock pro- 
 duction decreases about eight per cent every decade; 
 when farm machinery is left to deteriorate under the 
 open sky; when roads are impassable in prosperous 
 country districts for several months each year; and 
 when there occurs great rural exodus of young folks 
 each year, there must be some inefficiency some- 
 where. The fault is not placed, nor the whole remedy 
 suggested, but it must be clear that scientific agricul- 
 ture will give greater efficiency to these vocational 
 interests and contribute much to their improvement. 
 Health in rural life. Surveys by several state boards 
 of health in various sections of the country have shown 
 that the health of the country people is not so well 
 conserved or looked after as that of the city people. 
 There are more cases of tuberculosis, typhoid fever, 
 and other infectious diseases in the country per capita 
 than in the city. With the fresh air, pure water, whole- 
 some food, etc., of which country folks boast, this 
 ought not to be. The demand is, therefore, made upon 
 educational institutions, subjects of study, and modes 
 of life that this condition be improved. It goes with- 
 out saying that the very nature of the farmer's voca- 
 tion, as he works in the sunshine and air, with every 
 opportunity for living in almost perfect obedience to 
 the laws of life making for health, ought to be a fac- 
 tor for better rural health. A more general study of 
 scientific agriculture in all that it involves, will create 
 a better attitude toward science, will give more defi-
 
 REASONS FOB TEACHING AGRICULTURE 5 
 
 nite knowledge as to the better ways of living, and will 
 make direct contributions toward the improvement 
 of sanitary and health conditions of the home and 
 community life. 
 
 A greater appreciation of art. Rural life is entitled 
 to the two great sources of permanent happiness, the 
 creation and appreciation of the fine arts. To be able 
 to produce and to appreciate any one form of art, will 
 lead to a greater appreciation of all other aits, and 
 thus open an avenue to larger joys in living. The 
 new-old art of landscape gardening has in it all the 
 essentials of a fine art. It may be the adequate ex- 
 pression of a genuine emotion, using the finest mate- 
 rials in all creation, the grass, shrubs, flowers, and 
 trees. The teaching of agriculture brings large contri- 
 butions to this fine art. It should result in more 
 beautiful countrysides, towns, and cities, and its influ- 
 ence should extend to a greater appreciation of all art. 
 When scientific agriculture results in a greater econ- 
 omy of time, allowing more leisure and a saving of 
 labor, then men and women will have more heart and 
 ability to produce and appreciate not only the land- 
 scape art, but other fine arts, such as music, painting, 
 architecture, and literature. 
 
 Moral growth. The conservation of all things of 
 real worth, whether material or spiritual is possible 
 only when the moral standards of men are high and 
 progressive. There can be no permanent agriculture, 
 no preservation of health, no genuine art, no social
 
 6 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 integrity without such moral standards as those ex- 
 pressed and implied in the Golden Rule and the two 
 great commandments. Before going too far afield 
 with this preachment, let us ask what contributions 
 the teaching of agriculture can make to this demand 
 for moral growth. If the teaching of agriculture re- 
 sults in no other motive than that for personal aggran- 
 dizement, then all is in vain so far as moral worth is 
 concerned. But if there results through the teaching 
 of agriculture a spirit of service for the common 'good, 
 an ideal for instance of permanent soil fertility, im- 
 proved plants and animals, preserved forests, better 
 roads and rural institutions for the benefit not only 
 of the present generation, but for the future genera- 
 tions, then there has been inculcated into the minds 
 and hearts of the people, the essence of moral growth, 
 and a practical means of service. No small factor con- 
 tributing to the moral training of boys and girls is the 
 work of caring for plants and animals and the asso- 
 ciations with life and its realities in the open country. 
 Rural organization. Some enthusiastic rural-life 
 workers go so far as to say that better organization of 
 rural life and forces is the greatest demand of our 
 times. Be that as it may, it is a well-known fact that 
 agriculture and rural life are notoriously unorganized 
 as compared with other interests and industries. 
 There are three good reasons why this is true; the 
 great number of farmers, their isolation, and their 
 extreme individualism. Because there are these diflS-
 
 j 
 
 REASONS FOR TEACHING AGRICULTURE 7 
 
 culties is no reason why there should not be better 
 organization. They who cannot work together, or 
 will not work together, are the natural prey of those 
 who can, and for the reason of mere self-defense, rural 
 organization is essential. It is furthermore a biological 
 principle that the greater the organization and co- 
 operation of the parts of a body, the higher the form 
 of life represented in that body. If rural life would 
 grow in all its parts and relations, it must therefore 
 be organized and cooperative. Now the teaching of 
 agriculture leads directly to rural organization. It 
 organizes boys' and girls' clubs, it teaches cooperation 
 in buying and selling, in combating insects and dis- 
 eases, in building roads, in consolidating schools, and 
 in general agricultural and rural-life improvement. 
 
 Liberal education. The education of the people 
 collectively and individually may be thought of as 
 technical or vocational, and liberal or cultural. Agri- 
 culture is the vocation of most of the people in the 
 country, and all that is included in the science and 
 art of agriculture would certainly be technical edu- 
 cation of practical value to the country people. In 
 addition to this education, country folks should have 
 a liberal education in such fields of learning as are 
 usually covered in an accredited public high school. 
 English, for example, would be a subject in the lib- 
 eral education of the farmer, and a technical subject 
 for the professional writer or speaker. On the other 
 hand, agriculture would be a subject of liberal edu-
 
 8 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 cation for the professional writer, and at the same 
 time a technical subject for the farmer. A wide ex- 
 tension of the teaching of agriculture in the public 
 schools would liberalize the education of men in all 
 vocations as well as give technical training to the 
 farmer. Furthermore, to give scientific, technical edu- 
 cation along the line of any vocation leads the student 
 to liberalize and broaden his general education in 
 other lines. The teaching of agriculture, therefore, 
 both gives technical training to the farmer and leads 
 to a liberalizing of his education, and contributes to 
 the general education of all men in all vocations. To 
 be concrete, accurate information about plant food 
 elements and the conservation of soil fertility should 
 be of general educational value to men in any walk 
 of life; such information made practical is technical 
 knowledge for the farmer, and in the study and appli- 
 cation of this knowledge, the farmer is led into the 
 field of botany, chemistry, economics, etc., where his 
 education is broadened and liberalized. As his suc- 
 cess in scientific agriculture leads to greater prosperity, 
 books, travel, schooling, etc., bring the farmer's life 
 into larger and more liberal fields of education. 
 
 According to the statements of many educators, 
 the teaching of agriculture requires the services of a 
 teacher better trained academically, and better trained 
 in psychology, pedagogy, and methods, than does the 
 teaching of any of the subjects now included in the 
 school curriculum. " The teaching of agriculture em-
 
 REASONS FOR TEACHING AGRICULTURE 9 
 
 braces the whole of a teacher's art. It is a pervasive 
 and exacting subject. It embodies the most impor- 
 tant aspects of character building; for in teaching 
 pupils scientifically to plant, cultivate, and harvest 
 farm crops, and to care for farm animals, we are train- 
 ing them in some of the most valuable lessons of life. 
 Industry is not only explained and commended, but 
 it is realized. It has been amply demonstrated that 
 those persons who have had special training along the 
 lines of agriculture are able not only to make this sub- 
 ject a vital one in the schoolroom, but in the com- 
 munity as well. Tax payers and parents have come 
 to feel that our schools must offer instruction in the 
 real activities of life." 
 
 What Dr. Coulter says of the value of science in 
 education applies to agriculture. " If the proper in- 
 tellectual result of the humanities is appreciation, 
 whose processes demand self -injection, the proper and 
 distinctive result of the sciences is a formula, to obtain 
 which there must be rigid self -elimination. The stand- 
 ard of science is absolute, founded upon eternal truth. 
 Two such distinct mental attitudes as self-injection 
 and self-elimination must receive attention in educa- 
 tion, which cannot be complete without both." 
 
 Rural problems. The foregoing paragraphs have 
 merely attempted briefly to state some of the sanest 
 demands of modern education, and to say rather arbi- 
 trarily without elaborate proof that the teaching of 
 agriculture will contribute in large measure to the
 
 10 ;THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 adequate supplying of these needs. We may organ- 
 ize these demands as rural problems and state them 
 in another way and come to the same conclusion that 
 the teaching of agriculture will help materially in 
 solving the rural problems. 
 
 We may suggest three main groups of rural prob- 
 lems, to which the teaching of agriculture must turn. 
 
 a. The problems of farm improvement. How can we 
 improve the soil? How can we have better breeds 
 of plants and animals? How can we have better 
 systems of farm management? How can we bet- 
 ter protect against the ravages of plant and ani- 
 mal diseases and pests? These are all questions 
 of increased productivity and constitute one 
 
 T group of rural problems. But from the stand- 
 point of the consumer as well as from the farmer, 
 we have not yet solved the farm problem when 
 we have increased productivity. We find a sec- 
 ond group of rural problems, namely: 
 
 b. The problems of marketing and exchange. How 
 can the farmer get money to carry on his business 
 to advantage? How can he best buy his supplies? 
 How can he best sell his products? Here are 
 matters of highest importance, and problems of 
 a knotty character. There arises in connection 
 with the development of agriculture a third 
 group of problems: 
 
 c. The problems of community life. This group com- 
 prises such questions as the efficiency of rural
 
 REASONS FOR TEACHING AGRICULTURE 11 
 
 government; the influence of the rural home; 
 the improvement of the rural school; the lead- 
 ership of the rural church; the attainment of 
 adequate social and recreative facilities; the 
 maintenance of a high standard of morals; the 
 beautifying of homesteads and roadsides. 
 These are practical working groups of rural prob- 
 lems, stated here in order to show a line of approach, 
 or a point of view in teaching agriculture. It must be 
 fairly evident at the outset that efficient teaching of 
 agriculture must and will help solve the problems of 
 farm improvement, of marketing, and of community 
 life, especially when we consider agriculture as an in- 
 dustry, as a business, and as a life, and teach it in this 
 threefold aspect.
 
 n 
 
 NATURE-STUDY PRECEDING AGRICULTURE 
 
 Nature-study principles. Since agricultural mate- 
 rial and agricultural life deal constantly with the 
 things and processes of nature, an intelligent under- 
 standing of, and sympathy with, these things and 
 processes would seem necessary in order that men and 
 women be able to adjust themselves best to the envi- 
 ronment in which they " live, move, and have their 
 being." Nature-study proposes to give boys and girls 
 in the earlier grades of the public schools this acquain- 
 tance with, and interest in, the natural world which 
 will furnish a basis for further study of the pure and 
 applied sciences to those who continue in school, and 
 for those who drop out of school, and this will be by 
 far the larger number, an intelligent interest in nature 
 which will contribute to their success and happiness 
 in whatever walk of life they may follow. 
 
 When we think of nature-study in a sane way, there 
 can be no objection to it, either from the ultra-prac- 
 tical farmer or the most theoretical pedagogue. Be- 
 fore the seventh grade of the public school, agricul- 
 ture should probably not be taught as a vocational or 
 technical subject. Nature-study should here be the 
 content and spirit of the work. Nature-study should
 
 NATURE-STUDY PRECEDING AGRICULTURE 13 
 
 be pre-vocational to agriculture. It will underlie and 
 prepare for future work in agriculture whether taken 
 up in school or as a life vocation. We may not always 
 be sure it is best to introduce subjects, merely be- 
 cause practical grown-up men think that the subjects 
 are useful. Farming is one thing, and teaching agri- 
 culture in the public schools is another. What ap- 
 peals to the man may not appeal to the child at all. 
 The agriculture in the lower grades should be nature- 
 study. The principles to guide in the selection of 
 materials, and in the teaching of nature-study in the 
 grades of the public schools, may be stated as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 a. The definition Nature-study is a direct ob- 
 servation study of the common things and proc- 
 esses of nature, from the standpoint of our human 
 interest in nature as it touches our daily life 
 directly. 
 
 b. Nature-study should be differentiated from 
 technical science, both in subject-matter and 
 method. It may contribute to a further study of 
 the sciences, but it should not be technical sci- 
 ence, even though reduced to words of one syl- 
 lable. 
 
 c. The aims: (1) To give general acquaintance 
 with, and interest in, the common things and 
 processes of nature. (2) To give training in accu- 
 rate observation as a means of gaining knowledge 
 direct from nature. (3) To give pupils useful
 
 14 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 knowledge concerning natural objects and proc- 
 esses as they directly affect human life interests. 
 
 d. The method of all nature-study should be obser- 
 vational. The teacher and pupils must here 
 escape from textbooks and four walls. Nature- 
 study and agriculture are live subjects and they 
 are out of doors: Pupils must see real things 
 and think for themselves. 
 
 e. The materials to be studied must be the most 
 common and the most interesting from the stand- 
 point of everyday life. 
 
 /. Nature-study must be for the child and not for 
 the adult. We must recognize the principles of 
 child study in all nature-study work. Primary 
 | grade pupils ask, " What is it? " Intermediate 
 pupils ask, " How? " Upper grade pupils ask, 
 " Why? " in the presence of nature phenomena, 
 and the school, through nature-study should an- 
 swer these questions for the child. 
 Nature-study for primary grades grades one 
 and two. In the first years of the school there is sure 
 to be much unorganized nature-study. The purpose 
 in these grades should be to give general acquaintance 
 with, and to arouse interest in, the common things 
 and processes of nature. The children of these grades 
 ask, " What is it? " in the presence of nature. Birds, 
 trees, insects, flowers, wild animals, and pets, should 
 be the general topics. Select the nearest at hand and 
 most interesting nature material. A detail study
 
 NATURE-STUDY PRECEDING AGRICULTURE 15 
 
 should not be attempted. It is better to return again 
 and again to the same interesting things of nature, 
 than to try to " finish " in a stated tune. The sequence 
 of the seasons should be a large factor in the selection 
 of nature-study material. During the autumn months 
 work may be done with animal pets, animals that 
 work for us; learn the names and the simple life his- 
 tory of a few common insects; a few trees, ten or 
 twelve, should be recognized and called by name, fruit 
 trees and nut trees especially; arouse interest in arbor 
 day and tree-planting; observe leaf coloration; note 
 seed dispersal among weeds and wild plants; learn the 
 names of a few common birds, and arouse interest 
 in their winter migration; nature-study myths and 
 stories may be used by a judicious teacher. During 
 the winter months, some physical nature-study may 
 be given; observe the compass and the thermometer 
 and learn how to read them; observe clouds and learn 
 to distinguish rain clouds from other kinds; make 
 simple daily weather charts; teach relation of sun, 
 moon, etc., to directions; have window boxes and 
 pots with growing plants; teach the care of plants 
 and animals in winter; note signs of approaching 
 spring, the arrival of early birds, the opening of early 
 buds, etc. Simple lessons in hygiene may be put on an 
 observation basis and be made good nature-study. For 
 the spring months, note early spring activities in 
 nature; begin in a simple way a bird calendar; learn 
 to recognize by song and sight ten or a dozen com-
 
 16 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 mon birds; note the opening of the flower and leaf- 
 buds in the trees; learn to know the common spring 
 flowers, avoid formal dissections, learn their names 
 and where they grow; children of these grades may 
 have school gardens, working in groups; field trips 
 to study brook-life, pond-life, field and forest should 
 be made whenever possible. Have all excursions well 
 planned, and keep the attention of the children con- 
 stantly to the natural things and processes about them. 
 Nature-study in third and fourth grades. Since 
 these grades of the public school usually take up oral 
 and home geography, and since this work should be 
 placed largely on an observation basis, and deal with 
 the common things and processes of nature, the na- 
 ture-study work of these grades and the home-geog- 
 raphy may be combined as one course. The general 
 topics usually outlined for home geography will make 
 good nature-study material, and the work outlined 
 for the preceding grades will give good preparation 
 for this phase of nature-study. It must be remem- 
 bered that children of these grades not only ask, 
 " What is it? " in the presence of nature, but " How? " 
 introduces many of their questions, and then- study 
 and observations must answer these questions. Au- 
 tumn activities of farm and home will furnish good 
 subject-matter for the beginning of the nature work 
 in these grades. Location of country homes and roads; 
 maps of school grounds and home grounds should 
 be made; interpretation of maps of local regions; les-
 
 NATURE-STUDY PRECEDING AGRICULTURE 17 
 
 sons on hills, valleys, streams, prairies, etc. ; methods 
 of communication and travel; food stuffs bought and 
 sold in the community; harvesting, marketing, stor- 
 ing, and preserving of food for man and farm animals 
 in autumn; observation lessons upon the principal 
 farm crops and animals of the community; not a tech- 
 nical study, but merely such interesting information 
 as will arouse interest in farm life and affairs; learn 
 about the wild animals of the State, our friends and 
 foes among them. During the winter months, the 
 pupils may study and observe the materials used in 
 building our houses, lumber, stone, brick, clay, etc.; 
 observe effects of weathering on these materials; have 
 pupils confer with workmen who will gladly give in- 
 formation about building material; study water, how 
 we get water, how plants get water, effects of water on 
 land forms, formation of ice, snow, etc.; observation 
 of common types of soil, grow plants in pots of rich 
 soil and poor soil; study hygienic and sanitary con- 
 ditions of the school and home surroundings; study 
 evergreen trees and their especial adaptation to win- 
 ter conditions, learn names of more trees; in studying 
 the various industries taken up in the elementary 
 geographies fishing, lumbering, mining, manufac- 
 turing, farming, etc., use the materials of the indus- 
 tries, as far as possible for nature-study work. For 
 the spring work of these grades, garden work is well 
 adapted. Each pupil should have his own plot of 
 ground, either at school or at home. Pupils should
 
 18 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 note the home markets for local and foreign sup- 
 plies and learn where the products go and come, 
 from the markets; note time required for germination 
 of seeds; identify weeds as they appear in yard and 
 garden; study flowers, wild plants, shrubs, and trees 
 in connection with beautifying the home and school 
 grounds; review constantly the pupils' acquaintance 
 with common trees, wild flowers, birds, insects, grains, 
 and grasses of the community. All these topics should 
 be unified and organized about the home life and in- 
 terests of the community. 
 
 Nature-study in the fifth grade. (May be alter- 
 nated with sixth-grade work, and both grades com- 
 bined each year.) Since so large a number of the school 
 population drops out about the fifth and sixth grades, 
 it becomes very important that the nature-study 
 work of these grades should give to the future citizens 
 correct and helpful information along biological and 
 physical lines, enabling them to adjust themselves 
 more sympathetically and intelligently to then* en- 
 vironments. It would seem best therefore in these 
 grades to have some rather intensive work along the 
 larger and more important groups of nature mate- 
 rial touching human interests. Economic considera- 
 tions appeal to children, but these should not be over- 
 emphasized. In this and later grades the children in 
 addition to asking "What" and "How," are ask- 
 ing " Why." They want to know the reasons for nat- 
 ural things and processes. Children should keep good
 
 NATURE-STUDY PRECEDING AGRICULTURE 19 
 
 notebooks, prepare pictures, charts, calendars, etc. 
 It should not be the aim in these grades to attempt 
 technical science, but to arouse a permanent and in- 
 telligent interest in the common things and processes 
 of nature, so that the boy or girl may become a citi- 
 zen, able and willing to enter a vocation and to do 
 effective economic work for his community, because 
 of a better understanding of natural things, laws, and 
 processes. 
 
 It will not be in place here to outline a course of 
 study in detail for this grade. Suffice it to say that 
 trees and insects should furnish the large topics for 
 the autumn work; domestic and wild animals, sail, 
 rock studies, and simple astronomical observations, for 
 the winter months; and garden work, bird studies, 
 field and orchard observations, the work for the spring 
 season. In this grade credit for home work in garden 
 projects may be allowed. The pupils of this grade 
 will usually be able to assimilate about as much in- 
 formation along the line of the large topics mentioned 
 above as the teacher of these grades can give. If the 
 work be put on an observation basis, related to prac- 
 tical interests, and carried on out of doors and with 
 nature material as far as is possible, there is little dan- 
 ger of its becoming too technical or advanced for this 
 grade, and the interest and information acquired will 
 be of permanent worth to the boys and girls. 
 
 Nature-study in the sixth grade. (May be alter- 
 nated with the fifth-grade work, and both grades
 
 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTUKE 
 
 combined each year.) In the sixth grade we may be- 
 gin a correlation of physical nature-study with geog- 
 raphy and arithmetic. At least two periods a week 
 may profitably be given to special topics in physical 
 nature-study, such as light, heat, sound, and elec- 
 tricity, keeping always in mind the nature-study 
 viewpoint, , and avoiding science abstractions. The 
 work in both the fifth and sixth grades should gradu- 
 ally point the way to the sciences and vocations 
 which it has served to develop and introduce. 
 
 The large topics for general study throughout the 
 year should be water, its properties and relationships; 
 elementary studies of air and its relation to life; sim- 
 ple tools and mechanical principles; heat, what it does 
 and how produced; light, sources and applications in 
 common processes of life; sound, principles applied to 
 common utilities; simple studies in electricity, and its 
 common uses; simple chemistry of cleaning and sani- 
 tation; elementary life relations of plants and animals 
 to the various physical processes and phenomena 
 studied. 
 
 The nature-study work of the fifth and sixth grades 
 should be a sort of general science training, enabling 
 the pupils to find intelligent and sympathetic adjust- 
 ment to their natural environment. This is necessary 
 whether as a preparation for adult living without 
 further academic training, or for a prerequisite to 
 further scientific study.
 
 Ill 
 
 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND BOYS' AND 
 GIRLS' CLUB WORK 
 
 Some suggestions as to content of courses, and 
 methods. It is an easy step and a proper one from 
 the nature-study work of the lower grades of the 
 schools to elementary agriculture. " Agriculture in 
 the grades is something more than nature-study. It 
 is nature-study plus utility. It is nature-study with 
 an economic significance." l Below the seventh grade 
 agriculture as a vocational subject should not be 
 taught, with the possible exception of the club work 
 when carried on in the fifth and sixth grades as de- 
 scribed later. In the seventh and eighth grades it 
 should be taught as intensively and extensively as 
 the capabilities of the pupils and the training of the 
 teacher will make possible. The emphasis should be 
 placed upon the vocational phases of the subject. It 
 should be assumed as a point of view that here, hi these 
 grades, the pupils are having their last chance to study 
 agriculture in a systematic way in school; therefore, 
 the major topics of agriculture must be taught as 
 thoroughly and as practically as possible. It should be 
 furthermore assumed that the students are studying 
 1 From Davenport's Education for Efficiency.
 
 22 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 agriculture to prepare for the vocation of farming, and 
 hence the practical vocational features should receive 
 the emphasis. In the face of these assumptions, if the 
 pupils should continue the study of agriculture beyond 
 these grades, or go into other vocations than agricul- 
 ture, the point of view above taken will not in the 
 least handicap their progress. If, on the other hand, 
 the assumption prove true, the direct vocational train- 
 ing will be of inestimable value to the student. 
 
 Two methods of procedure are used in teaching 
 elementary agriculture in the grammar grades. 
 
 The textbook method. Basing the work as far as 
 possible upon the seasonal sequence of actual farm 
 operations and interests, this method follows some 
 good textbook in the study of the principles and 
 practices of the major phases of agriculture, such as 
 agronomy, animal husbandry, the farm physical plant, 
 farm business, and horticulture, supplementing the 
 work in proper order and proportion with laboratory, 
 field, and home practical exercises. In most cases it 
 has been found best to give this work to the combined 
 seventh and eighth grades, divided so as to provide 
 two years of work and given in alternate years. Under 
 this plan the first year's work is given to the plant 
 industry, and the second year's work to animal hus- 
 bandry. When the seasonal sequence can be followed, 
 illustrative material is easily obtained, the interest of 
 the pupil is at once awakened, and cooperation with 
 the farm activities is natural and inevitable.
 
 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 23 
 
 Some of the larger topics in the study of the plant 
 industries for one year of the alternation, are: 
 
 1. How plants live and grow. 
 
 2. The wheat crop. 
 
 3. The corn crop. 
 
 4. Other cereal grains. 
 
 5. Legumes. 
 
 6. Weeds and grasses. 
 
 7. The farm orchard. 
 
 8. Elementary soil studies. 
 
 9. Implements in crop production. 
 
 10. The farm woodlot. 
 
 11. Plant propagation. 
 
 12. The vegetable garden. 
 
 13. Beautifying home grounds. 
 
 14. Marketing farm crops. 
 
 15. Crop rotation. 
 
 16. Systems of grain farming. s 
 
 Some of the larger topics in the study of animal hus- 
 bandry for one year of the alternation, are: 
 
 1. The live-stock business. 
 
 2. Importance of farm animals to man. 
 
 3. Swine. 
 
 4. Beef cattle. 
 
 5. Sheep. 
 
 6. Dairy cattle. 
 
 7. Horses. 
 
 8. Poultry.
 
 24 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 More detailed outlines of these courses are given in 
 the Appendix. 
 
 An elementary textbook, with plenty of reading 
 matter giving full discussion of principles and prac- 
 tices of well-known and established agricultural in- 
 formation, should be in the hands of each pupil. Sim- 
 ple laboratory exercises and demonstrations, having 
 a direct bearing on agricultural practices should oc- 
 cupy at least two fifths of the class work time. A great 
 part of these exercises may well be field trips taken 
 by the entire class, or home work, related to the sub- 
 ject under discussion, done by the individual student 
 on the home farm under definite direction. A very 
 good method, and at the same time one wholly prac- 
 ticable, would be to give two or three formal class- 
 room textbook recitations per week and require two 
 or three definitely assigned pieces of home work, of 
 an agricultural nature, per week. Form blanks, upon 
 which the parents could vouch for the work done each 
 week or month, would facilitate this method of cred- 
 iting home work in agriculture. Unfortunately, no 
 text has been prepared, or lists of home work sched- 
 uled, to fit into such a plan. Textbook work, wherein 
 correct scientific principles of agriculture are learned, 
 as well as laboratory and actual farm practice, is both 
 a practical and necessary part of successful agricul- 
 tural training in any grade of school instruction. 
 
 Home project work described in more detail under 
 the high-school courses, may be a large feature of
 
 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 25 
 
 the methods used in the seventh and eighth grade 
 agriculture, supplementing the text and laboratory 
 work. The homes and farms of the open country fur- 
 nish the best laboratories for school instruction that 
 can be provided for any school. 
 
 It must be clear to the reader that this work in 
 elementary agriculture can best be given in the con- 
 solidated rural schools, where better-trained teachers 
 are usually found, where supervision is provided, and 
 where more time is allowed for the subject than is 
 possible in the one-room country school. Good work 
 in elementary agriculture, however, can be done hi 
 the one-room country schools, and in the seventh and 
 eighth grades of the city schools, and the handicaps 
 of each of these classes of schools should not prevent 
 them from undertaking instruction in the elements 
 of agriculture. 
 
 The home project club method. Basing the work 
 upon home projects, this method organizes the activi- 
 ties and studies around the subject-matter of these 
 projects carried on by the boys and girls as members 
 of groups, generally known as boys' and girls' clubs. 
 These agricultural clubs are associations of boys and 
 girls for the purpose of growing or producing the most 
 and best of a specified product on a certain area of 
 ground, under definite rules which all agree to follow. 
 These clubs at first emphasized the competitive fea- 
 tures of their work, but more and more they are get- 
 ting away from wrong standards too often set up by
 
 26 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 large awards, to the ideal of good work well done, with 
 the products successfully disposed of, as a sufficient 
 reward for the work. The work of the girls in these 
 clubs usually centers about garment-making, canning, 
 gardening, and poultry-raising. 
 
 Mr. O. H. Benson, National Club Leader, states 
 the definition as follows: " Club work is an organized 
 system of extension teaching for young people through 
 demonstrations in the field and home. It contem- 
 plates the organization of young people into groups 
 called clubs, for the purpose of definite work under 
 carefully prepared projects, and with adequate local 
 leadership." " Eventually these clubs, which are now 
 widespread, will probably be incorporated into some 
 more permanent form of educational organization; 
 but they are performing a useful function as at present 
 constituted, and they seem to be an important link 
 in the evolution of a more efficient system. The clubs 
 are being closely affiliated with the work of the pub- 
 lic schools and are beginning to be regarded as a de- 
 finite part of the educational system." 1 
 
 Club work may well begin in the fifth and sixth 
 grades of the school and continue as the basis for 
 agricultural instruction throughout the seventh and 
 eighth grades, and even into the first years of the high 
 school. 
 
 The purposes of boys' and girls' agricultural club 
 work as set forth by J. H. Greene, Illinois State 
 Leader, are: 
 
 1 From Lcakes's Means and Methods of Agricultural Education.
 
 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 87 
 
 1. To teach practical vocational agriculture. 
 
 2. To help boys and girls to become producers and 
 thereby lessen the high cost of living. 
 
 3. To teach business methods and thrift by pro- 
 moting the selling of products and the canning 
 of the surplus. 
 
 4. To stimulate community spirit in boys and girls 
 through the organization of neighborhood or 
 school clubs. 
 
 5. To capitalize and turn to good account the gang 
 spirit naturally inherent in boys, by directing 
 their vacation activities along social as well as 
 economic lines. 
 
 6. To provide a plan whereby the public school 
 system and the various religious and civic or- 
 ganizations can together give direction to young 
 people along the lines indicated by providing: 
 (1) capable leadership and (2) suitable awards. 
 
 In the study and practice which contribute to vocational 
 efficiency we may distinguish three aspects, each involving 
 distinct pedagogical characteristics and special problems 
 of administration. To train the horticulturist, for example, 
 it is necessary to give him a variety of practical experiences 
 in working with soil and plants, and with the problems of 
 marketing. In addition, he may and should study those 
 phases of botany, physics, chemistry, entomology, bac- 
 teriology, meteorology, economics, etc., which contribute 
 useful technical information and principles. A further field 
 of possible study is found in the history of horticulture, and 
 the practice of that craft in other parts of the world, the 
 evolution of plant life, etc. The first group of studies and
 
 28 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 practices may be called the concrete, specific, or practical; 
 the second group, the technical; and the third, the general 
 vocational studies. 1 
 
 Boys' and girls' club work affords excellent oppor- 
 tunity for the practical aspects of a system of voca- 
 tional education, involving these three pedagogical 
 divisions. 
 
 Dr. Snedden further states in his Problems of Sec- 
 ondary Education that the keynote of the newer edu- 
 cation in these fields is to be found in the development 
 of f acilities for obtaining the practical experience un- 
 der conditions as nearly approximating those of the 
 actual vocation as can be obtained. 
 
 In the field of agricultural education this seems 
 especially desirable, although in most of our schools 
 the practical work is little more than an " imitation " 
 of the real thing, because of administrative difficul- 
 ties connected with the organization of definite units 
 of practice in some phase of the actual vocation. The 
 only practice that will prove to be worth while edu- 
 cationally and vocationally is that which requires the 
 student to organize, on an economic basis, certain 
 agricultural activities which he will carry through to 
 the final fruition. The growing of an acre of corn, 
 the cultivation and management of a home vegetable 
 garden, the care and handling of poultry, the raising 
 of pigs, etc., are agricultural projects commonly car- 
 ried on by boys' and girls' clubs, and these projects, 
 1 From Snedden's The Problem of Vocational Education.
 
 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 29 
 
 properly directed by the public schools, offer excel- 
 lent opportunities to furnish practical work and the 
 vocational training for the grammar grades which is 
 most satisfactory both to the schools and to the homes. 
 More will be said in this connection under the dis- 
 cussion of home projects for the high-school agricul- 
 tural work. 
 
 It may be well to go into further detail on the sec- 
 ond method, since it is coming into greater favor 
 among agricultural education leaders. Under the 
 plan, the boys and girls who are to take agriculture 
 are organized into clubs, and assigned to definite 
 home projects. Among the projects usually carried on 
 by the clubs are corn-growing, pig-raising, poultry- 
 raising, gardening, dairying, potato-growing, tomato- 
 growing, garment-making, and a number of others 
 depending upon local conditions and interests. All 
 the members of the class take the same one or two 
 projects for the year and for a second year the class 
 may take new projects or continue the old ones as 
 seems advisable and practical. 
 
 The following general outline of a home project in 
 corn-growing indicates the method of using this work 
 as a basis for the work in elementary agriculture: 
 
 1. Plans for club organization for cooperative work 
 in buying, selling, exhibiting, and social activ- 
 ities. 
 
 2. Calendar of monthly operations giving details 
 for all field and indoor work, notebook, and
 
 30 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 record work, reading and study for each month 
 of the year. 
 
 3. Study of the technical subject-matter on corn 
 production from the selection of the seed to the 
 harvesting and storing of the crop. These stud- 
 ies should parallel in so far as possible the home 
 practical work, and include all closely related 
 topics. 
 
 4. Laboratory exercises, correlated with the proj- 
 ect work in seasonal sequence. 
 
 Similar plans for many home projects may be 
 worked out as a basis for the elementary agriculture 
 of these grades.
 
 IV 
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 
 
 Some curriculum problems. The first questions al- 
 ways arising with the introduction of agriculture into 
 the high school are, (a) What are the purposes of the 
 course? (6) How much time shall be given to it? (c) 
 How shall the work be fitted into a unified science 
 course ? and (d) How shall the subject-matter be 
 organized and presented? The writer is fully aware 
 that the final word has not been said in reply to any 
 of these questions, nor does he presume to say it in 
 these pages, but the teacher of agriculture must have 
 a working theory and a clear, definite program for 
 himself in order to accomplish satisfactory results. It 
 is to set forth some guiding principles in the teaching 
 of high-school agriculture that the following answers 
 are set down to the foregoing questions. 
 
 The principal aim of high-school agriculture should 
 be vocational to contribute to the practical edu- 
 cation of the farmer. Teaching the subject with this 
 aim and by the methods necessary, need not lessen 
 the value of the subject as a factor in the liberal edu- 
 cation of the student, should he decide not to enter 
 the vocation of farming. The high schools located 
 near the great masses of the farming population may
 
 32 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 serve in this capacity much better than the colleges, 
 and being better equipped in every way than the 
 elementary schools, they may plan to do vocational 
 work of greater value than is possible in the elemen- 
 tary schools. 
 
 How much time should be given to agriculture in 
 the high school? It will depend to a large extent upon 
 the training of the teacher, the location of the school, 
 and the general interest of the community. There is 
 a strong opposition growing up among the men at 
 work in high-school agriculture against the one-year 
 general course, and a tendency to put in two or more 
 years of agriculture, devoting single semesters to spe- 
 cial phases of the work, such as agronomy, live stock, 
 horticulture, etc. Even when only one year at a time 
 can be given to agriculture, secondary-school men are 
 preferring to give one year to plant industry and one 
 year to animal husbandry, in alternating years, rather 
 than to give the one-year general course with its ency- 
 clopaedia hodge-podge of everything pertaining to agri- 
 culture from corn to the celestial spheres. There might 
 not be the objection to the one-year course as a gen- 
 eral study, providing that types of the larger topics 
 were taken up and studied thoroughly, rather than 
 an attempt to cover every important phase of the 
 major divisions of agriculture. Agricultural education 
 leaders are recommending the four-year course in 
 agriculture for all high schools prepared to emphasize 
 vocational training in their curriculum.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 83 
 
 Teachers of agriculture cannot say how or where 
 other courses of the high-school curriculum should 
 be given, but they may claim at least one fourth of 
 the student's time in school for this subject. It is 
 very desirable that the work in agriculture be in- 
 cluded in some way in a unified science course which 
 our science teachers are trying to work out for the 
 high schools. A year of general science may well pre- 
 cede any high-school course in agriculture. Botany 
 should precede or parallel farm crops; zoology, ani- 
 mal husbandry; chemistry, soil fertility; and physics, 
 farm mechanics. Perhaps in some such order as given 
 above, the years' courses will be given best. A com- 
 mon and successful program of studies offers for the 
 first year, Agronomy, including farm crops and the 
 elements of soil physics and soil fertility for the first 
 semester, and General Horticulture for the second 
 semester; for the second year, Animal Husbandry, 
 including dairying and poultry; for the third year, 
 The Farmstead, including farm mechanics, engineering 
 and management; and for the fourth year, semester 
 units in Horticulture, Improvement of Plants and Ani- 
 mals, or other special phases of agriculture as best 
 suited to the community and school needs. 
 
 We are hearing a great deal these days about uni- 
 form courses in agriculture, reorganization of secon- 
 dary courses in agriculture, national systems of agri- 
 cultural education, etc., but so long as agricultural 
 conditions and interests of widely separated regions
 
 34 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 differ, so long will all attempts to make uniform or 
 national systems of agricultural education fail. In 
 the organization of subject-matter for the courses in 
 secondary school agriculture, teachers will continue 
 to be guided by local and State interests and by the 
 textbooks adopted for the courses. The following 
 units are quite generally accepted, and fairly good 
 texts are available in each for high-school use. One 
 unit is a year's work. 
 
 Junior and senior high-school agriculture. The 
 tendency to the organization of the public schools on 
 the so-called " six and six plan," raises the question 
 of agricultural education in the junior and senior high 
 schools. Consistent with the suggestions made in 
 former paragraphs on the content of courses for the 
 seventh and eighth grades in elementary agriculture, 
 the following outline for junior high-school agriculture 
 is submitted: 
 
 First year. 
 
 a. Introduction to agriculture, based on Davenport's 
 plan, published by Rand McNally Company. 
 
 6. Home projects: Poultry and Gardening. 
 Second year. 
 
 a. Introduction to agriculture, continued. 
 
 6. Home projects: Corn and Pig projects. 
 Third year. 
 
 a. General science. 
 
 b. Home projects: Selected according to local needs 
 and former projects done by pupils.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 35 
 
 Suggestions for senior high-school courses follow: 
 
 1. Agronomy: 
 
 a. Farm Crops ^ unit 
 
 6. Soils | unit 
 
 2. Animal Husbandry: 
 
 a. General Studies Types and Breeds % unit 
 
 b. Dairying 5 unit 
 
 c. Poultry ^ unit 
 
 d. Feeds and Feeding \ unit 
 
 3. The Farm Physical Plant: 
 
 a. Farm Mechanics \ unit 
 
 b. Farm Management unit 
 
 4. Horticulture: 
 
 a. General Course \ unit 
 
 6. Vegetable Gardening 5 unit 
 
 c. Landscape Gardening % unit 
 
 d. Pomology 5 unit 
 
 5. Improvement of Plants and Annuals ^ unit 
 
 6. Rural Life and Affairs \ unit 
 
 Agronomy in the high school. Agronomy is a divi- 
 sion of agriculture treating of the factors in crop pro- 
 duction and the economic production of the various 
 farm crops. It makes an excellent first-year subject 
 hi an agriculture course, because it touches so many 
 phases of agriculture, and lays a good foundation as 
 an introductory branch. The growing of crops is the 
 basis of all agriculture. We plough, fertilize, and cul- 
 tivate the soil in order to grow crops. We depend 
 upon farm crops for the production of live-stock. We 
 manufacture and use implements in order to produce 
 and harvest farm crops. We fight to control insects
 
 36 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 and plant diseases in order to save the crops. We de- 
 pend upon crops for the supply of human food, cloth- 
 ing, and a large part of our shelter. We buy and sell 
 farm crops as a commodity in many branches of busi- 
 ness. 
 
 It would seem, therefore, that agronomy, dealing 
 with the production of farm crops, should precede and 
 introduce other phases of agriculture in the high 
 school. This subject may be introduced under vari- 
 ous names, such as Agronomy, Farm Crops, Intro- 
 ductory Agriculture, etc., but it should always be 
 vocational, not an agricultural " kink " to botany, 
 chemistry, or general science. These subjects should 
 be given as pure sciences, and the various phases of 
 agriculture, as applied sciences. In the study of the 
 pure sciences in the high school, illustrations of prin- 
 ciples should be made, and applications of laws seen, 
 from all vocations and human interests, not from 
 agriculture alone. 
 
 Agronomy properly taught includes applications of 
 botany, chemistry, physics, zoology, geology, etc., 
 and leads to practical economic crop production. It 
 motivates the study of these sciences and has prac- 
 tical value hi itself. The teacher of agronomy may 
 well go afield at times, into any of these pure sciences, 
 in order to make sure that his pupils are learning the 
 vocational agronomy that will " stick " and serve 
 them in practical production. It is not necessary, 
 however desirable it may be, that the high-school
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 37 
 
 student have had these pure sciences in order to learn 
 the agronomy that will make him a successful pro- 
 ducer of crops, and if he becomes that, he is more 
 likely to follow up later with a study of the related 
 sciences, than he is to follow his pure science with prac- 
 tical, vocational agriculture. 
 
 As an introductory course in agriculture, agron- 
 omy affords opportunity for the study, (l) of plant 
 propagation and the principles of plant growth; (2) of 
 economic farm crops; (3) of soils and plant foods; (4) 
 of farm machinery used in connection with crop pro- 
 duction; (5) of insects and plant diseases affecting the 
 crops studied; (6) of elementary work in breeding; and 
 (7) of crop rotation and problems of farm manage- 
 ment and other farm business. Many of the phases of 
 agriculture necessarily included in the study of agron- 
 omy are taken up later as special courses, and the 
 introductory study here made furnishes a basis for 
 future work. , . 
 
 A study of agronomy in the high school should lead 
 to an understanding of the processes of plant growth, 
 of the factors in crop production, together with an 
 appreciation of the scientific basis underlying them, 
 some knowledge of a few special crops, a fair amount 
 of deftness in laboratory work and other practical 
 exercises, ready and accurate observations, and the 
 formation of right ideas of agriculture and country 
 life., 
 
 94784
 
 38 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 Lesson Plan 
 Introducing a Course in Elementary Agriculture 
 
 I. Title: Plants How They Feed and Grow. 
 II. Aim: To show relative importance of plants in agricul- 
 ture and to give some elementary knowledge of plant 
 growth. 
 
 HI. Materials (charts and textbook illustrations). 
 IV. Subject-matter and method: 
 
 1. Introduction. 
 
 a. Words to arouse interest in general subject 
 of agriculture, importance of the vocation 
 to society, and the opportunities for the 
 individual. 
 
 b. Plant life the center of agricultural study 
 and practice. 
 
 2. Presentation. 
 
 a. From seed-time to harvest many interest- 
 ing changes take place to produce the in- 
 crease. 
 
 6. From whence the increase and what are 
 the factors determining the amount of the 
 harvest. 
 
 t c. How the farmer may influence these fac- 
 tors. 
 
 d. The life cycle of a typical economic 
 plant. 
 
 (1) Begin with seed a storehouse. 
 
 (2) Essentials and processes in germina- 
 tion. 
 
 (3) Chemical composition of plants. 
 
 {Water 80 per cent 
 Organic matter 19 per cent 
 Ash 1 per cent
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 39 
 
 (4) Elements of plant food, and where 
 the plant obtains them. 
 
 (5) How the plant gets the various ele- 
 ments. 
 
 (6) Nature and extent of roots. How 
 root-hairs function. 
 
 (7) Work of soil water in this process. 
 
 (8) How organic matter is made in plants. 
 
 (9) Where the mineral elements go. , 
 
 (10) Reproductive process. 
 
 (11) Maturing of the plant. 
 
 (12) Where the life cycle ends. 
 
 ; 8. Summary Review questions and problems. 
 
 COURSE IN AGRONOMY 
 (One semester One half unit First or second year) 
 
 Farm Crops 
 
 I. Factors in crop production. 
 
 1. Introductory cultivated plants. 
 
 2. Seed. 
 
 8. Soils How they are formed. 
 
 4. Soils The mineral constituents. 
 
 5. Soils The organic constituents. 
 
 6. Moisture. 
 
 7. Drainage Removal of excess. 
 
 8. Conservation and increase of moisture. 
 
 9. Heat and light. 
 
 10. Elements needed by plants. 
 
 11. Nitrogen. 
 
 12. Phosphorus and potassium. 
 
 13. Soil improvement. 
 
 14. Tillage. 
 
 15. Aeration and bacteria. 
 
 16. Control of diseases, insects, and weeds.
 
 40 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 II. Crops and their economic production. 
 1. Grains. 
 
 A. Wheat. 
 
 a. Brief history. 
 
 6. Why so long and generally grown. 
 
 C. Cultivation. 
 
 < 
 
 (1) Soil preparation. 
 
 (2) Seeding method, amount, treat- 
 ment, etc. 
 
 (2) Harvesting, storing, and market- 
 ing shrinkage. 
 (4) Place in the rotation. 
 
 d. Brief study of main varieties. 
 
 Blue Stem, Fife, Macaroni, Fultz, 
 Ruby, Pearl's Prolific, Michigan, 
 Amber, etc. 
 
 e. Improvement of wheat, seed selection, 
 preparation of ground, etc. f * 
 
 /. Botanical relations why a grass? 
 
 g. Uses. Products. 
 
 h. Grading and scoring wheat. 
 
 i. Enemies of wheat. 
 
 B. Corn. 
 
 a. Brief history. 
 
 6. Botanical relations why a grass? 
 
 c. Why so generally grown. Place in rota- 
 tion. Feeding value. 
 
 d. Selecting and testing seed. 
 
 e. Cultivation. 
 
 (1) Soil preparation plant foods 
 necessary. 
 
 (2) Planting. 
 
 (3) Cultivating. 
 
 (4) Harvesting. 
 
 /. The silo and its use in corn culture. 
 g. Care of seed corn.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 41 
 
 k. Uses of corn corn products. 
 i. Study of a few types. 
 j. Methods of corn improvement seed 
 selection and care, ear to row plots, etc. 
 k. Judging and scoring corn. 
 C. Oats, barley, rye, and other cereals. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 A. Wheat and oats. 
 
 1. Botanical study of the wheat head 
 spike, spikelet, glumes, palea, flowers, etc. 
 
 2. Study of a grain of wheat. (See texts for 
 outlines.) 
 
 3. Study of whole wheat plant, root-sys- 
 tem, stooling habit, leaves, stem, etc. ^ 
 
 4. Purity of wheat. 
 
 5. Scoring samples of wheat. 
 
 6. Judging oats. 
 
 7. Treating seed oats for smut. 
 
 8. Testing varieties of wheat for yields on 
 farm plots. 
 
 9. Experiments on effect of size of seed. \ 
 
 B. Corn. 
 
 1. Selecting seed corn in the field. 
 
 2. Studies of the whole corn plant. (See 
 texts for outlines.) 
 
 3. Outline studies of corn kernels. (See 
 texts and bulletins for outlines.) Dissec- 
 tion and study of parts of the kernel. 
 
 4. Outline descriptions of ears of corn. 
 
 5. Judging and scoring corn. 
 
 6. Methods of storing and caring for seed 
 corn. 
 
 7. Testing seed corn for germination. 
 
 8. Testing varieties for yield on farm plots. 
 
 9. Organizations of local corn clubs.
 
 42 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 2. Potatoes. 
 
 a. History, value, and extent of the crop. 
 
 b. Adaptability of the State in the way of soil 
 and climate. 
 
 c. Cultivation. 
 
 (1) Ploughing depth; spring or fall. 
 
 (2) Selection of seed varieties. 
 
 (3) Planting depth, distance apart, size 
 of pieces, etc. Treatment for disease. 
 
 (4) After cultivation ridging vs. shallow. 
 
 (5) Harvesting, storing, and marketing. 
 
 (6) Place in crop-rotation system. 
 
 (7) Potato pests and their control. 
 
 (a) Insects Colorado beetle and 
 
 blister beetle. 
 (6) Diseases scab, wart, and leaf 
 
 blight. 
 
 d. Botanical relations. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Treating seed potatoes with formalin for 
 scab. 
 
 2. Laboratory studies of potato tubers. (See 
 texts for outlines.) Descriptions of tubers as 
 to characteristic points. 
 
 8. Experimental plot planting to test yields from 
 
 various methods of seeding and cultivation. 
 4. Judging and scoring potatoes. 
 
 3. Meadows and pastures. 
 
 A. Legumes. 
 
 a. Identification of alfalfa, red clover, 
 white clover, alsike clover, cow peas, 
 soy beans, vetch, etc. 
 
 b. Botanical relationships, characteristics, 
 etc.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 43 
 
 C. Cultivation. 
 
 (1) Preparation of soil. 
 
 (2) Seeding nurse crops inocula- 
 tion. 
 
 (3) When to cut for hay and seed 
 curing and caring for. 
 
 d. Feeding values. 
 
 e. Effect on soil conditions addition of 
 humus, nitrification, nitrogen fixation* 
 etc. 
 
 B. Grasses. 
 
 a. Identification and description of tim- 
 othy, blue grass, orchard grass, red top, 
 brome, fescue, millet, etc. 
 
 b. Study of botanical relationships and 
 general basis of classification of grasses. 
 
 C. Uses of grasses for grain, hay, and pas- 
 ture. 
 
 d. Mixing of legumes and grasses in mea- 
 dows and pastures. 
 
 6. Permanent pastures how to main- 
 1 tain. keeping weeds cut discing, 
 re-seeding and top-dressing old mea- 
 dows and pastures. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Laboratory studies of whole legume plants. 
 
 Note following: Leaves, arrangement, 
 shape, size, amount; leaflets, number, pal- 
 mate, pinnate, smooth, or hair; stem, round, 
 square, hairy or smooth, stoloniferous or not; 
 branching; flowers, place, form, color, size; 
 seed, kind, number, size, shape, number in 
 each pod, etc.; roots, form, size, number, 
 length; note nodules.
 
 44 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 2. Testing seeds for purity and for per cent of 
 germination. 
 
 3. Collection of grasses, labeled and preserved 
 in herbarium. 
 
 4. Laying out and sowing alfalfa plots. 
 4. Enemies of farm crops. 
 
 a. Weeds. 
 
 (1) How harmful. ' 
 
 (2) How disseminated and propagated. 
 
 (3) Classes annual, biennial and peren- 
 , nial. 
 
 . (4) Identification of the common weeds of 
 the region. 
 
 (5) Collection and identification of seeds of 
 these weeds. 
 
 (6) General methods of eradication. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Collecting and labeling weeds and their 
 1 seeds. Keep weed seeds in small vials 
 
 and hang weed collections on a wire in 
 school room. 
 
 2. Examining clover and alfalfa seeds for 
 weed seeds. 
 
 3. Make descriptive sheets of weeds as fol- 
 lows: height, stem, leaf, seed, flower, 
 root, habit of growth, and methods of 
 eradication. 
 
 4. Make field trips to collect and to note 
 the above points. 
 
 5. Send for Economic Seed Collection. 
 $1.50, Edgar Brown, Seed Laboratory, 
 Washington, D.C. 
 
 6. Insects. 
 
 (1) Damages done to farm crops by insects; 
 ^ any benefits.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 45 
 
 (2) Life history of a few common field in- 
 sects. Chinch bug, cut-worm, grub, 
 Hessian fly, etc. 
 
 (3) Classify as to methods of injuring. 
 
 (4) Methods of controlling. 
 
 (a) Destroy breeding places. 
 (6) Cultural methods. 
 
 (c) Spraying. j 
 
 (d) Special devices. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 . 1. Make field trips to see work of injuri- 
 ous insects. Note the nature of the 
 injury and how the insect causes it. 
 Make collections on all trips. 
 
 2. Observations of life history. Each stu- 
 dent should make a simple insect breed- 
 ing cage with sand box and lamp chim- 
 ney, and work out the life history of 
 some insect. 
 
 8. Make laboratory study of the anatomy 
 of the grasshopper as type of chewing 
 insects, and of the squash bug, as type 
 of sucking insects. 
 
 4. Make individual collections of insects. 
 Use cyanide bottle for killing and a 
 cigar box for holding the collection. 
 C. Plant diseases. 
 
 (1) Bacterial diseases. 
 
 (2) Fungous diseases. 
 
 (a) Smuts of wheat, oats, and corn. 
 (6) Rusts and wilts, of oats, wheat, 
 
 clover, and flax, 
 (c) Rots, mildews, scabs, etc. 
 
 (3) Nature of these diseases. 
 
 (4) Methods of controlling.
 
 46 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Make a laboratory study of wheat, oats, or 
 corn smut. Where did the smut attack the 
 plant? How is the smut propagated? Exam- 
 ine spores with compound microscope. Draw. 
 
 2. Treat wheat or oats for smut with formalin. 
 
 3. Make collection of as many plant diseases as 
 possible. 
 
 5. Harvesting farm crops. 
 
 a. Make tables of actual neighborhood yields of 
 standard farm crops. 
 
 b. Make tables of prices of farm crops for the 
 past five years. 
 
 c. Report upon methods of harvesting various 
 
 farm crops. 
 
 Animal husbandry in the high school. Animal hus- 
 bandry is usually given in the high school as a gen- 
 eral course including a study of types and breeds and 
 the care and management of domestic animals. The 
 course may well be given in the second year of a three- 
 or four-year course in agriculture. When the high- 
 school course in animal husbandry extends through- 
 out the year, the first semester is usually a general 
 course in live-stock study, and the second semester 
 a special course in dairying, poultry, feeds and feed- 
 ing, or other special phases of animal husbandry. In 
 some instances the general course and the special 
 course run parallel on alternating days throughout 
 the year. The emphasis laid upon any phase of ani- 
 mal husbandry will vary considerably in different
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 47 
 
 localities, depending upon the live-stock interests of 
 the community. 
 
 Various outlines for secondary courses in animal 
 husbandry have been printed and issued by many 
 State colleges of agriculture, State departments of 
 education, and by high-school instructors. Valuable 
 suggestions may be obtained from most of them, but 
 in by far the greater number of cases the teacher of 
 agriculture in the secondary school adopts a textbook, 
 and the sequence and material taken up in the book 
 furnish the outline as well as the principal subject- 
 matter for the course. Such textbooks as Plumb's 
 Beginnings in Animal Husbandry, Harper's Animal 
 Husbandry for Schools, and others, are worth more 
 as guides to the teacher than all the outlines pub- 
 lished. A good teacher will supplement the text by 
 lectures and assigned readings in bulletins and agri- 
 cultural reference books. 
 
 Probably the greatest needed supplementary help 
 in teaching animal husbandry in high schools are 
 laboratory manuals giving practical exercises in gen- 
 eral live-stock study. The instructor may make up his 
 own list of laboratory and practical exercises by ref- 
 erence to various texts, State courses, bulletins, and 
 circulars of the States, and the United States Depart- 
 ment of Agriculture. 
 
 Much of the material equipment for the animal 
 husbandry work will be found on the farms of the 
 community. Score cards, lantern slides, charts, and
 
 48 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 models of farm animals are valuable equipments to 
 be supplied for this work. In many cases it may be 
 practical for the school to own some live-stock for 
 demonstration purposes. The agricultural library 
 should be supplied with up-to-date books on live- 
 stock, and the school should receive one or more of 
 the best live-stock periodicals for use by the students. 
 ' The animal-husbandry work of the high school lends 
 itself easily to home projects, boys' and girls' club 
 work, and other extension features described later un- 
 der these phases of agricultural teaching. 
 f A suggestive outline for a year of animal husban- 
 dry in high school, including lists of practical field 
 and laboratory exercises follows: 
 
 COURSE IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 
 (One semester One half unit First or second year) 
 
 Domestic Animals and their Products General course 
 
 , I. Live-stock on the farm (one week). 
 
 1. Values of live-stock on the farm. 
 
 2. Advantages of live-stock farming. 
 
 8. Disadvantages of live-stock farming. 
 
 4. Number and value of horses, cattle, sheep, and 
 swine in the United States. 
 
 5. Making use of well-known principles of heredity 
 in selecting and keeping farm animals. 
 
 II. The horse (four weeks). 
 
 1. The horse an indispensable farm animal. 
 
 2. The development of the modern horse. 
 
 3. Types and breeds of horses. Some horse history. 
 Brief history of famous horses.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 
 
 49 
 
 4. External anatomy of the horse. 
 
 5. Judging horses. 
 
 6. Brief study of a few pedigrees. ' 
 
 7. General principles of horse feeding, using only 
 common terms. 
 
 8. Management and care of horses. 
 
 a. Care of mare and foal. 
 
 b. Stabling of horses. 
 
 c. Common diseases of horses. * 
 
 d. Points in good horsemanship. 
 
 e. Proper manners of the road. 
 
 Practical Exercises ' 
 
 1. Student records, keeping " tab " of the character- 
 istics of individual animals on the home farm, as 
 to performance, pedigree, etc. 
 
 2. Report on experience or observations in horse in- 
 telligence. 
 
 3. Reports of home horses. 
 
 Breed 
 
 Color 
 
 Weight 
 
 Height 
 
 Condition 
 
 Number 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. Lesson pointing out names of external parts of a 
 horse. 
 
 5. Use of score cards. Comparative judging. 
 
 6. Sketch diagram of horse, writing in names of 
 parts. 
 
 7. Draw plans for horse barns. 
 
 8. Practical work in harnessing and handling horses. 
 
 9. Observe some horse diseases and their treatment 
 if possible. (Ask the cooperation of a local vet- 
 erinarian in some of this work.)
 
 BO THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 HI. Feeds and feeding (two weeks). 
 
 1. Use of feeds eaten by animals. 
 
 2. Classification of feeds according to bulk, method 
 of harvesting, and composition. 
 
 3. Function of the different food materials pro- 
 tein, carbohydrates, and fat; also water and ash. 
 
 4. Digestibility of feeds; methods of determining. 
 
 5. Food requirements of animals balancing ra- 
 tions. 
 
 6. Balancing rations for horses of different ages, us- 
 ing various combinations of feeds. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Determining weight of one quart of com, oats, 
 ' bran, etc. 
 
 2. Determine size of a forkful of hay that will aver- 
 age five pounds. 
 
 3. Report on methods of feeding horses at home. 
 Work out nutritive ratio of these rations used at 
 home. 
 
 4. Suggestions as to ways of improving home ra- 
 tions. 
 
 IV. .Cattle (four weeks). 
 
 1. Cattle and their wild relatives. History of present 
 domestic cattle. 
 
 2. Types and breeds of cattle, beef and dairy, breed 
 characteristics.. 
 
 3. Points in judging beef cattle. 
 
 4. Market classes and grades of beef cattle. See mar- 
 ket reports. 
 
 5. Feeding beef cattle some good rations as 
 worked out by our experiment stations and suc- 
 cessful feeders. Aim in feeding as compared 
 with that in feeding dairy cattle. Silage and its 
 uses.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 61 
 
 6. Management of beef cattle. 
 
 a. Care of breeding herd. 
 
 b. Care of calves. 
 
 c. Housing of beef cattle. 
 
 d. The pure-bred cattle business. 
 
 7. Different cuts of meat; their location in the car- 
 cass and value for food. 
 
 8. Breeds of dairy cattle. 
 
 9. Points in judging dairy cattle. 
 
 10. Feeding dairy cattle. Good rations. 
 
 11. Management of dairy cattle. 
 
 a. Care of herd. 
 
 b. Testing milk. 
 
 c. Care and handling of calves. 
 
 12. Dairy products, care and production of. Com- 
 position of milk. 
 
 13. Some common cattle diseases. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 1. Reports on home beef cattle. 
 
 Breeds 
 
 Number 
 
 Average Weight 
 
 Market Value 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. Explanation before chart or animal of points in 
 judging beef cattle, drill in naming external 
 parts. 
 
 8. Judging exercises. 
 
 4. Reports on market quotations from daily papers 
 of classes and market grades. 
 
 5. Visit to farms where cattle are kept. 
 
 6. Estimate the cost and profit of buying a carload 
 of cattle at Chicago, feeding 130 days and ship- 
 ping back.
 
 52 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 7. Report on home dairy cattle. 
 
 Breeds 
 
 Number 
 
 Average Daily 
 Milk Yield 
 
 Per Cent of 
 Butter-Fat 
 
 Selling 
 Value 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. Observational study of points in judging a dairy 
 cow. 
 
 9. Sketching diagram of a cow and writing in the 
 drawing the name of parts in the external ana- 
 tomy. 
 
 10. The use of score card. 
 
 11. Keeping daily milk records of home cows. 
 
 r Name of Cow 
 
 Morning 
 Pounds 
 
 Evening 
 Pounds 
 
 Total 
 
 
 
 
 
 12. Use of Babcock test. Testing of individual cows. 
 
 13. Determining nutritive ratio and balanced ration 
 for beef and dairy cattle. 
 
 14. Reports on home methods of cattle feeding. 
 
 15. Making up feeding standards. 
 
 16. Each student prepare written report, giving de- 
 tailed history of one breed of cattle. 
 
 17. Visit to local creamery. 
 V. Sheep (two weeks). 
 
 1. Some sheep history. 
 
 2. Sheep as farm animals. Market classes and grades. 
 (See market reports in daily papers.) 
 
 3. Extent and value of the sheep industry. 
 
 4. Types and breeds of sheep. 
 
 5. Points in judging sheep. 
 
 6. Feeding of Western sheep for the markets.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 
 
 7. Care and feeding of sheep. Care of breeding flock. 
 Feeds for breeding ewes. 
 
 8. Care of lambs. Production of early lambs. 
 
 9. Shelter for sheep. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Tabulate statistical studies from the Yearbook 
 of the Department of Agriculture, of the sheep 
 and wool industries, comparing our State with the 
 leading States in the industry. 
 
 2. Report from the daily news, the market quota- 
 tions on sheep, Iambs, and wool. 
 
 3. Make written reports from reference studies on 
 the wild relatives of sheep. 
 
 4. Report on the home or a neighbor's flock. 
 
 Breeds 
 
 Number of Sheep 
 
 Distinguishing 
 Characteristics 
 
 Average Annual 
 Income 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. Study of external parts of a sheep's body, and use 
 of the score card in a few judging exercises. 
 
 6. Reports on some sheep habits. 
 
 7. Some practical problems, such as: Buy a car of 
 Western feeders at Chicago. Feed them for one 
 hundred days according to good standards of feed- 
 ing. Figure profit at current prices. 
 
 8. Visit farms where sheep are being sheared. 
 VI. Swine (two weeks). 
 
 1. Some swine history. 
 
 2. Market types and breeds of swine. 
 
 3. Points in judging swine. 
 
 4. Feeding and management of swine. Some good 
 rations for swine. Housing and caring for swine. 
 Treatment of cholera.
 
 4 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 5. Study of hog markets from stock papers. 
 
 6. Cuts of pork and methods of butchering. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Reports on wild relatives of swine.' 
 
 2. Tabulation of home reports. 
 
 Breeds 
 
 Number 
 
 Characteristics 
 
 Average 
 Weight 
 
 Value 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. Daily market quotations and sales. 
 
 4 Home methods of feeding and managing swine. 
 Valuation of home herds. 
 
 5 Practical feeding and weight records made upon 
 a home animal by students. 
 
 6. Problem: Buy five sows, two weeks before far- 
 rowing. Fatten both pigs and sows after weaning 
 pigs. Compute expected profit, giving all details 
 of cost and selling prices. 
 
 7. Visit local slaughter-houses. 
 VII. Poultry (two weeks). 
 
 1 Types and breeds of poultry. How to ^improve 
 and fix desirable strains. 
 
 2. Points of excellence in various breeds. 
 
 3. Care and feeding of poultry. 
 
 a. Laying hens. 
 
 b. Fattening stock. 
 
 c. Chicks. 
 
 4. Housing of poultry. 
 
 5. Hatching and rearing. 
 
 a. Incubators and breeders. 
 6. Hens. 
 
 6. Poultry raising as a business in this State.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICTJLTUEE 55 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Laboratory studies of the feather and the egg. 
 
 2. Home reports on poultry: 
 
 Breeds 
 
 Number of Fowls 
 
 Characteristics 
 
 Profitableness 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. Keeping of feeding and egg records of given flocks 
 at home for a given time. Determining the layers 
 by use of trap nests. 
 
 4. Plans of poultry houses and pens drawn. 
 
 6. Practical use of incubators at home or school. 
 
 6. Comparative studies of types with specimen in 
 hand. 
 
 7. If possible, keep half-dozen or more hens at school 
 building and run experiment in feeding and egg 
 production according to good authorities. 
 
 Lesson Plan 
 
 Title: Some Values of Good Live-Stock on the Farm. 
 Aim : To give some knowledge and appreciation of the values 
 of good live-stock on the farm. 
 
 (Classroom recitation, using questions, statements, and 
 discussions inductively to develop the aim as stated above.) 
 Subject-matter and method: 
 I. Introduction. 
 
 " Every boy with good red blood in his veins loves 
 to associate with farm animals." The farmer boy 
 has a chance to see, know, and enjoy the life in the 
 country. " How many have enjoyed the compan- 
 ionship of a farm animal? " (Almost all.) Besides 
 this value which every country boy appreciates, we 
 must learn other values of farm animals to the 
 farmer and his farm.
 
 56 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 II. Presentation. 
 
 A. Through questions and leading statements, the 
 following facts brought out by the students, with- 
 out being told: 
 
 Farm ft.nimfl.1a, 
 
 1. Provide food and clothing. 
 
 2. Help to maintain soil fertility through 
 the return of manure to the land. 
 
 3. Utilize much of the waste material on the 
 farm. 
 
 4. Perform necessary farm labor. 
 
 5. Make possible farmhand labor all the year 
 round. 
 
 B. If all these values result from farm annuals, does 
 it make any difference whether the animals are 
 pure-bred or " scrubs " as to the extent of the 
 values we have stated? 
 
 1. The story of " Gold and Gilt." (See Eli- 
 nois Extension Circular No. 1.) 
 
 2. The story of the difference between the two 
 cows is given as an example of a general 
 truth for all farm animals, that good farm 
 animals are more profitable than " scrubs." 
 
 3. How can the farmer profit by this example? 
 III. Conclusions. 
 
 Summarize statement of facts and principles learned. 
 
 Horticulture in the high school. The high-school 
 course in horticulture should consist of at least one 
 hah* unit and be given preferably during the second 
 semester of the first year of the agricultural course. 
 When general science is given the first year of the 
 high-school course, the agricultural work may well 
 follow during the sophomore year, offering agronomy
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 57 
 
 the first semester and horticulture the second semes- 
 ter, thus giving the year to the plant industries. 
 
 It will be an exceptional community that could not 
 profit by a semester's study of horticulture. The prop- 
 agation of plants, the planting and care of fruit trees, 
 the raising of a vegetable garden, the beautifying of 
 home grounds, are phases of horticulture that are 
 practical, and usually needed in all sections of the 
 country, in urban as well as rural communities. If 
 the community is one especially well adapted to hor- 
 ticultural pursuit, a second semester may be given to 
 a study of special phases of horticulture such as vege- 
 table gardening, landscape gardening, small fruits, 
 tree fruits, forestry, etc. This one hah* unit should be 
 offered among the elective courses in the senior year. 
 
 Horticultural subjects lend themselves to school 
 work as well if not better than most phases of agricul- 
 ture. Like agronomy, horticulture is a good intro- 
 ductory course, since it deals with many phases of 
 agricultural science. There is plant propagation, fruit- 
 growing, vegetable gardening, floriculture, landscape 
 gardening, viticulture, forestry, entomology, plant 
 pathology, soil problems, marketing problems, etc., 
 all included in "a general course in horticulture, and 
 this, together with a semester's work in agronomy, 
 recommended for the first year of agriculture, con- 
 stitutes a unit of plant industry making an excellent 
 first year's work in agriculture for the high school. 
 
 A half unit of horticulture, beginning in the second
 
 58 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 semester, may follow the seasonal sequence of spring 
 operations, and make a very interesting and practical 
 general course. A few days given to the study of farm 
 forestry in February, followed by tree fruits, prun- 
 ing and spraying, plant propagation, vegetable and 
 landscape gardening, during March, April, and May, 
 will outline the work in general horticulture in good 
 seasonal sequence. 
 
 The materials included in the horticultural course 
 will vary in different sections, but in the main the 
 larger topics mentioned above would be included. In 
 any case the number and kinds of fruits, vegetables, 
 or other horticultural plants will be selected with ref- 
 erence to the local needs and the time at the school's 
 disposal. The greater emphasis in most schools teach- 
 ing horticulture will be placed upon fruit-growing 
 and vegetable gardening. These courses can be taught 
 effectively in the high school. 
 
 There is a splendid opportunity for varied, useful, 
 and interesting laboratory and field work in connec- 
 tion with a course in horticulture. Probably one half 
 of the class time should be given to laboratory and 
 field work. Many phases of horticulture admit of the 
 home project method of practical work. Planting a 
 catalpa grove, setting out a young orchard, rejuvenat- 
 ing an old orchard, beautifying home grounds, grow- 
 ing strawberries, growing a garden, growing flowers, 
 or any single vegetable or fruit on a large scale, are 
 examples of horticultural projects that may be car-
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 59 
 
 ried on at the home grounds. The use of the school 
 grounds has been discussed in another chapter, in 
 which suggestions for horticultural work are given. 
 
 Field trips to nurseries to inspect stock, to orchards 
 to note pruning, spraying, and cultivation methods, 
 to vineyards, to packing-houses, to public markets, 
 and to canning-factories should be made whenever 
 possible. All excursions should be well planned, and 
 definite requirements made for each individual as to 
 observations, note-taking, and collections. 
 
 Equipment for work in horticulture should, if pos- 
 sible, include a greenhouse. There should be flats, 
 flower pots, soil sieves, and other needed tools such 
 as grafting and budding knives, pruning knives and 
 saws, illustrative material used in spraying, a barrel 
 spray pump mounted on wheels, fruit packs, garden 
 tools, etc.; in fact the equipment for horticulture in 
 school should be practically the same as that for the 
 business in a successful way on the farm. 
 
 The agricultural library should contain all the avail- 
 able circulars and bulletins from the United States 
 Department and from the State College of Agricul- 
 ture. Good horticultural journals and books should 
 also be provided for the students' reference. 
 
 Horticulture offers an excellent field for community 
 extension service. Illustrated lectures, public demon- 
 strations of pruning and spraying, fruit and vege- 
 table exhibits, arbor and horticultural day at school, 
 and boys' and girls' club work are some activities in
 
 60 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 which horticulture may serve in community exten- 
 sion work. 
 
 The following course of study including practical 
 exercises suggested outlines a half unit of work in gen- 
 eral horticulture. 
 
 COURSE IN GENERAL HORTICULTURE 
 (One semester One half unit First or second year) 
 
 Forest, Orchard, and Garden 
 
 I. The Forest a farm crop. 
 
 1. Principles of general forestry. 
 
 a. Life history of trees, with studies of struc- 
 ture, nutrition and growth. 
 
 b. Influences which affect tree growth, such as 
 temperature, moisture, soil, light, other trees, 
 etc. 
 
 c. Studies of the principal tree species of the 
 community. (See table in Practical Exer- 
 cises.) 
 
 d. The forest as a tree society, the struggle for 
 existence, and its effect upon development of 
 trees. 
 
 e. Enemies of forest fires, insects, diseases, 
 bad lumbering, etc. 
 
 /. Influence of forests on climate, water supply. 
 
 stream flow, and soil. 
 g. The United States Forest Service and its 
 
 work. 
 
 2. The farm woodlot. 
 
 a. The relation and importance of the woodlot 
 to the farm. 
 
 b. Origin, condition, and extent of farm wood- 
 lots.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 
 
 61 
 
 c. Trees as farm crops comparison with 
 other agricultural crops. 
 
 d. Methods of measuring the wood crops, both 
 in standing timber and in logs. 
 
 e. Woodlot management; how and when to cut 
 
 trees; what trees to remove and what to 
 leave; methods of improving the woodlot; 
 market lumber; tree planting on the farm; 
 protecting the farm woodlot. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Reports of acreage in woodlots on home farms. 
 
 2. Observational studies of trees. 
 
 Name of 
 Tree 
 
 Size and 
 Form 
 
 Location 
 
 Condition 
 of Tree 
 
 How I Know 
 the Tree 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. Practical studies of given woodlots, made in the 
 forest, using the following outline: 
 
 o. Census Table showing names of species, 
 I diameters and number of trees. 
 6. Species predominating. 
 
 c. Age of forest and type of trees. 
 
 d. Density and condition of the stand. 
 
 e. Protection given. 
 /. Market facilities. 
 
 g. General forest condition, nature of canopy, 
 
 wood mass and floor. 
 h. Suggestions for improvement. 
 
 4. Excursion to make forest measurements. 
 
 Lay off given areas and estimate board feet of 
 standing timber, by standard log rules. 
 
 5. Excursion to make and study woodlot improve-
 
 62 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 ments. Mark trees to be removed, cleanings to 
 make, etc. 
 
 6. Planting of forest nurseries on the school grounds. 
 II. The orchard. 
 
 1. Locating and laying out the orchard. 
 
 2. Preparation of the ground. 
 
 3. Selection of nursery stock. 
 
 4. Planting the orchard. 
 
 a. Preparation of trees for planting. 
 6. Setting the trees. 
 c. Care of young trees. 
 6. Pruning. 
 
 a. Purposes and principles of pruning. 
 6. Pruning young and old trees. 
 c. Pruning shrubs and shade trees. 
 
 6. Grafting. 
 
 a. Purposes and principles of grafting. 
 
 b. Root and crown grafting. 
 
 c. Top-working fruit trees. 
 
 d. Budding young fruit trees. 
 
 7. Spraying. 
 
 a. Common insects and diseases. 
 6. Spraying materials. 
 
 c. Making spray mixtures. 
 
 d. Spraying for codling moth and other chew- 
 ing insects, and for leaf diseases. 
 
 e. Spraying for San Jose Scale and other suck- 
 ing insects. 
 
 8. Cultivating orchards. Renovating old orchards. 
 
 9. Picking, marketing, and storing fruit. 
 10. Variety studies, judging, etc. 
 
 Practiced Exercises 
 
 1. Laying out an orchard on an acre plot. 
 
 2. Examination of nursery stock; pruning roots, and 
 forming tops of young trees.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 63 
 
 3. Planting fruit trees starting a school nursery 
 of apple and peach trees. 
 
 4. Pruning practice on old apple trees. 
 
 5. Practice in various methods of grafting. 
 
 6. Spraying demonstrations. 
 
 7. Scoring plates of apples by use of standard score 
 cards. 
 
 8. Practice in packing apples. 
 HI. The garden. 
 
 1. Locating, planning, and laying out the garden. 
 
 2. Preparation of garden land. 
 
 3. Selection of varieties and planting. 
 
 4. Transplanting and thinning. 
 
 5. Forcing garden vegetables. 
 
 6. Climate, soil, and cultural requirements of stan- 
 dard garden vegetables. 
 
 7. Combating weeds and garden pests. 
 
 8. Small fruits in the garden. 
 
 9. Growing flowers and ornamental plants. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Plotting on paper plans for home and school gar- 
 dens. 
 
 2. Laying out and planting a school garden. 
 
 3. Making a hotbed or cold frame and planting it. 
 
 4. Special problems or verifications to be worked out 
 by each student or group of students in home gar- 
 den or at school. 
 
 a. Variety tests. 
 
 b. Tomato culture various systems. 
 
 c. Methods in potato culture. 
 
 d. Spraying tests on potatoes, tomatoes, 
 melons, etc. 
 
 e. Results of various fertilizers. 
 /. Hill and level culture tests.
 
 64 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 g. Deep and shallow planting tests. 
 h. Deep and shallow cultivation tests. 
 i. Yielding results. 
 
 5. Preparation of tables, showing cultural require- 
 ments of vegetables. 
 
 Vegetables 
 
 Soil Requirements 
 
 Season Re- 
 quirements 
 
 Care Re- 
 quirements 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. Keeping of a garden diary, recording work done, 
 observations made, and results obtained in garden 
 practice from day to day. 
 
 Special elective courses in agriculture for one half 
 unit credit for junior or senior year. Following the 
 courses in plant industry, which includes agronomy 
 and horticulture, and the courses in animal hus- 
 bandry, the two major groups of agricultural 
 studies making up two units of high school work, 
 there may be offered several elective courses of one 
 half unit weight in the junior and senior years. Such 
 courses would include Soils, The Farm Physical Plant 
 or Farm Engineering, Farm Management, Improve- 
 ment of Plants and Animals, Poultry Husbandry, 
 Dairy Husbandry, Vegetable Gardening, and other 
 special phases of plant industry or animal husbandry 
 which the needs of the local communities may demand, 
 and the school is able to offer. 
 
 A study made by Mr. S. H. Dadisman, of the Cali- 
 fornia State College of Agriculture in 1917, shows that
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 65 
 
 farm mechanics is an unsettled course, and that many 
 changes and much shifting of places in the curricu- 
 lum are seen in connection with this subject among 
 the schools of the country. It seems to be finding a 
 settled place in the third and fourth year. Farm man- 
 agement is strictly a fourth-year subject. The newer 
 courses are providing a hah* unit of special soil work 
 in the third and fourth years. Mr. Dadisman reports 
 that animal husbandry is popular as a second-year 
 study in the Western States, while in the Middle and 
 Eastern States it is found commonly in the fourth 
 year. 
 
 The Committee on Agriculture for the National 
 Education Association has recommended that such 
 courses as Farm Mechanics, Rural Engineering, Farm 
 Management, and special courses in plant and animal 
 studies be offered in the third and fourth years of 
 agricultural courses. The following outlines of special 
 courses will suggest the nature of the work included 
 under half -unit credits for Soils, Farm Physical Plant, 
 Farm Management, and Improvement of Plants and 
 Animals, Poultry Husbandry, Dairy Husbandry, and 
 Vegetable Gardening. In all cases a good text should 
 be in the hands of the pupils, and the work as outlined 
 by the text supplemented by bulletins, reference read- 
 ing, field trips, and laboratory work as good teachers 
 will be able to do.
 
 6 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 SOILS 
 (One semester One half unit Third or fourth year) 
 
 Soils and Crop Production 
 I. Soils. 
 
 1. Soil physics. 
 
 a. Nature, composition, origin, and function of 
 
 soils. 
 6. Texture, structure, etc. 
 
 c. Classes according to size of particle and com- 
 position; sand, clay, loam, silt, peat, etc. 
 
 d. Capillarity, solution and osmosis in relation 
 to soils and plants. 
 
 e. Soil water. 
 
 (1) Function of soil water. 
 
 (2) Three forms of soil water. 
 
 (3) Control of soil water. 
 
 (a) Increasing water content by 
 decreasing percolation and evap- 
 oration by increasing capacity. 
 
 (&) Decreasing soil water drain- 
 age effects of drainage. 
 
 (c) Irrigation and dry fanning. 
 /. Soil air. 
 
 (1) Function of oxygen, hydrogen and car- 
 bon. 
 
 (2) Movements of soil air. 
 
 (3) Control of soil air tillage, drainage, 
 etc. 
 
 g. Soil temperature. 
 
 (1) Effects of soil heat upon germination, 
 growth, soil organisms, etc. 
 
 (2) Things affecting soil heat color, slope, 
 water content, aeration, humus content. 
 
 (3) Effects of freezing and thawing.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 67 
 
 h. Active organic matter in soil. (Sometimes 
 called humus.) 
 
 (1) Function of organic matter effect on 
 water content, inorganic foods, soil 
 organisms, texture, etc. 
 
 (2) Control of organic content crop 
 residue, manures, crop rotation. 
 
 . Cultivation of soil. 
 
 (1) Function of cultivation 
 
 effect on physical condition, wet and 
 
 dry. 
 
 effect on moisture, air and heat, 
 effect on soil organisms, 
 effect on plant foods and growth, 
 effect on weeds and other pests. 
 
 (2) Tools of cultivation. 
 j. Soil organisms. 
 
 (1) Function of soil bacteria. 
 
 (2) Conditions affecting growth. 
 
 (3) Nitrification and dentrification. 
 k. Effects of lime on soils. 
 
 2. Soil fertility. 
 
 a. Elements of plant food necessary to plant 
 
 growth. 
 6. Relative amounts of these for crop growth. 
 
 c. Relative amounts in normal soils. 
 
 d. Plant foods likely to become deficient. 
 
 e. Ways in which plant food is lost to the soil 
 cropping, erosion, and leaching. 
 
 /. Sources of elements likely to become deficient. 
 
 (1) Crop residues. 
 
 (2) Barn yard manures. 
 
 (3) Legumes. 
 
 (4) Humus and its relation to soil fertil- 
 \ ity.
 
 68 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 (5) Commercial fertility. 
 
 (a) Nitrogen 
 
 vegetable legumes, air nitro- 
 gen. 
 
 animal dried blood, tankage. 
 
 mineral Chili saltpeter, am- 
 monia sulphate. 
 (6) Phosphorus 
 
 animal raw bone, steam bone. 
 
 mineral rock phosphate, acid 
 
 phosphate, phosphatic slag, 
 (c) Potassium 
 
 German mines, Kainit. 
 
 Potassium sulphate and chlo- 
 ride. 
 
 Wood ashes. 
 
 (6) Cost of these elements. How to use in 
 a system of permanent soil fertility. 
 
 (7) Complete fertilizers. 
 
 (a) Composition. 
 
 (6) Advisability of use in general 
 
 farming, 
 (c) Advisability of use in intensive 
 
 farming. 
 G/) Home mixing of fertilizers. 
 
 3. Soil management. 
 
 a. Crop rotation. 
 
 (1) In respect to physical effects. 
 
 (2) In respect to plant food, farm labor, 
 weeds, insects, plant diseases, etc. 
 
 6. Use of limestone, phosphorus, legumes, drain- 
 age, etc., in systems of permanent soil fer- 
 tility. 
 
 4. National Soil Fertility League its plans and 
 purposes.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 69 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Field trip to study formation of soils by weather- 
 ing, by plant action, by animals, etc. 
 
 2. Dig up and observe character and depth of surface 
 soil, sub-surface and sub-soil. 
 
 3. Physical examination of soils. Pulverize sand, 
 loam, and clay; sift in sieve, and examine with 
 lenses, noting size of particles, color, grittiness, and 
 composition. Tabulate comparisons. 
 
 4. Taking soil samples with soil auger, of surface 
 soil, sub-surface and sub-soil, cover in air-tight 
 fruit cans and take to the laboratory for further 
 study. 
 
 5. Determination of hygroscopic water. Use air-dry 
 samples obtained above. ,. 
 
 6. Determination of capillary water hi soils taken 
 above. (See texts.) 
 
 7. Determination of volume, weight, and apparent 
 specific gravity of soils. 
 
 8. Capillary rise of water demonstrations. 
 
 9. Verify powers of different soils to hold water. 
 
 10. Determination of the rate of percolation of water 
 through soils. 
 
 11. Effect of organic matter on retention of water. 
 
 12. Effect of cultivation and mulching on evaporation 
 from soils. 
 
 13. Effects of lime on physical conditions of soils 
 demonstrated. 
 
 14. Gross determination of the per cent of water, or- 
 ganic matter, and mineral matter in samples of 
 soils. 
 
 15. Observation study of as many of the ten ele- 
 ments of plant food as possible. 
 
 16. Preparation of plant food solutions to be used 
 in pot cultures.
 
 70 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 17. Pot cultures of pure sand and plant food solu- 
 tions. 
 
 18. Pot cultures of soils of the community to study 
 limiting plant food elements. 
 
 19. Testing soils for acid conditions, with litmus paper. 
 
 20. Soil drainage demonstrations. 
 
 21. Outdoor plot experiments with various fertilizers 
 and methods of soil management. 
 
 II. Crop production. 
 
 1. Review methods of seeding of the various farm 
 crops. 
 
 a. Seed selection. 
 
 6. Seed bed preparation. 
 
 c. Amount of seed and depth of planting. 
 
 2. Cultivation and tillage. 
 
 a. Breaking the ground for crops. 
 6. Purposes of tillage. * 
 
 c. Shallow vs. deep cultivation. 
 
 d. The maintenance of the soil mulch. 
 8. Growth of plants. 
 
 a. Factors influencing the growth of plants. 
 
 b. Trace the life history of a corn plant. 
 
 ;. c. Rate of growth, determined by nature of 
 plant, environment, quality of seed, etc. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Germinate in pots or window boxes, wheat, oats, 
 corn, potatoes, etc., in order to have material for 
 root and whole plant studies. 
 
 2. Field trip to study growing crops report pos- 
 sible causes of success or failure in the growth of 
 crops observed. 
 
 8. Select specimen of growing corn and make daily 
 [ records of rate of growth and tabulate results. 
 4. Encourage each student to grow some field crop 
 of his own during the summer.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 71 
 
 THE FARM PHYSICAL PLANT 
 (One semester One half unit) 
 
 Farm Mechanics 
 
 I. Cement construction. 
 
 1. Principles of construction in making blocks, fence 
 posts, walks, tanks, floors, small bridges, silos; re- 
 inforcement in concrete structures. 
 
 2. Growing use of cement in farm mechanics. 
 II. Drainage. 
 
 1. Location of tiles and sewer drains. 
 
 2. Leveling for drains, digging the ditch and finish- 
 ing the bottom. 
 
 3. Laying tile and sewer pipe. 
 
 4. Various systems of field drainage, and cost of 
 drainage. 
 
 5. Nature of infectious diseases, with special refer- 
 ence to those carried by water; source and supply 
 of pure water on the farm. 
 
 6. Sanitary drainage and house water supply. 
 IH. Farm machinery. 
 
 1. General care of farm machinery. 
 
 a. Cost of shedding as compared to waste due 
 
 to weathering. 
 6. Oiling, cleaning, and sheltering machinery. 
 
 2. Detail study of the plough. 
 
 a. Laws of machinery as applied to the plough. 
 
 b. Name parts and give function of each. 
 
 c. Take down and set up a plough. 
 
 d. Adjustment of plough for deep or shallow 
 ploughing, and for wide or narrow furrow. 
 
 e. How to handle the plough to regulate width 
 and depth of furrows. 
 
 /. Various types of ploughs. 
 g. Some plough history.
 
 72 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 S. The mower and self-binder their proper care 
 and operation. 
 
 4. List and describe various cultivating tools. 
 
 5. List and describe various harvesting tools. 
 
 6. The small gasoline engine principles of its con- 
 struction, and its various applications in farm 
 mechanics. 
 
 IV. The farmstead. 
 
 1. Comparative studies in designs for farm buildings, 
 
 especially houses and barns. 
 
 , 2. Equipment of houses and barns with heat, light, 
 motor power, water pressure, ventilating devices, 
 and other machinery. 
 
 3. Some simple principles of woodwork in farm re- 
 pairs. 
 
 4. Surveying, mapping, and describing farm fields 
 and home grounds. 
 
 Practiced Exercises 
 
 1. Making of trial cement blocks with different pro- 
 portions of sand. Practice in cement walk con- 
 struction. 
 
 , 2. Practical exercises in surveying for tile ditches and 
 in laying tile. 
 
 3. Taking down and setting up different farm ma- 
 chinery. 
 
 4. Forge work in easy repairing, sharpening plough 
 shares, sickles, etc., and in welding. 
 
 5. Practice in simple carpenter work needed on the 
 farm. 
 
 6. Determining cost of sheds for farm implements of 
 the homes of the students. 
 
 7. Estimation of cost of farm machinery necessary 
 to run a one-man farm successfully. 
 
 8. Drawing of house and barn designs.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 73 
 
 9. Making surveys and maps of farms. 
 
 10. Reports by students on special studies. 
 
 11. Practical work in rope tying and splicing. 
 
 12. Designing, plumbing, lighting, and heating a coun- 
 try home. 
 
 FARM MANAGEMENT 
 (One semester One half unit) 
 
 L The choice of a farm. 
 
 1. Location as determined by capital and personal 
 qualifications. 
 
 2. Size of farm, determined 
 
 a. By type of farming to be done. 
 
 b. By capital available. 
 
 c. Average size farms. 
 
 3. Shape and location of fields. 
 
 a. With reference to farm buildings. 
 
 6. With reference to fencing. 
 
 c. Most convenient arrangements. 
 
 4. Topography as aff eeting drainage, erosion, cul- 
 tivation and frosts. 
 
 5. Soils. 
 
 a. Physical conditions. 
 
 b. Natural fertility. 
 
 c. Waste and arable land. 
 
 6. Neighborhood. 
 
 a. Social, educational, moral, and religious sta- 
 tus of the people. 
 
 b. Kind and conditions of farming done. 
 
 7. Improvements, buildings, roads, trees, grounds, 
 etc. 
 
 8. Market facilities and demands. 
 IE. Farm labor. 
 
 1. How much to hire, where to secure, and how to 
 manage.
 
 74 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 2. How much money should the owner expect to 
 make? Comparison with other occupations. 
 
 3. Influence of farm machinery and urban oppor- 
 tunities on farm labor. 
 
 4. Methods of rental cash and share. A just pro- 
 portion for each. 
 
 HI. Farm equipment. 
 
 1. Expenditure for buildings, machinery, etc., in 
 proportion to size of the farm. 
 
 2. Amount and kinds of live-stock in proportion to 
 size of farm. 
 
 IV. Systems of farming. 
 
 1. Systems of crop rotation. Farm lay-out. 
 
 2. Live-stock farming. 
 8. Grain farming. 
 
 4. Fruit and truck fanning. 
 
 5. General farming. 
 
 6. Maintenance of systems of permanent soil fertility. 
 
 7. Principles of marketing in successful business. 
 V. Farm records and crops. 
 
 1. Farm bookkeeping. 
 
 a. Kinds and accounts to keep. 
 
 b. Methods of keeping accounts. 
 
 2. Special records. 
 
 a. Special farm accounts. 
 
 b. Crop records of special fields. 
 
 c. Comparison of cost of production with gross 
 returns in growing given field crops or ani- 
 mals. 
 
 d. Records in crop rotation in a system of per- 
 manent soil fertility. 
 
 8. Insurance, taxes, etc. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Use of the Cornell score card in judging and scor- 
 ing the farms of the locality.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 75 
 
 2. Keep accounts with chickens, pigs, cows, gardens, 
 or some field crops, and determine the profit and 
 loss. 
 
 3. Enter a set of farm accounts for a whole farm, for 
 at least a part of the year and balance the books. 
 
 4. Business forms: Make out an order for goods, a 
 contract with a hired man, a lease, a note, a check, 
 a receipt, etc. 
 
 5. Make out farm assessment sheets and determine 
 the taxes to be paid at the local rate. 
 
 6. Keep an account of a crop rotation series in a sys- 
 tem of permanent agriculture. 
 
 7. List the leading principles to follow in the prep- 
 aration of fruit, vegetables, farm crops and ani- 
 mals for the best markets. 
 
 PLANT AND ANIMAL IMPROVEMENT 
 (One semester One half unit) 
 
 I. Origin of domesticated animals. 
 
 1. The horse. 
 
 2. The cow. 
 
 3. The sheep. 
 
 4. The swine. 
 
 5. Poultry. 
 
 II. Variation hi plants and animals. 
 
 1. Laws of variation. 
 
 2. Importance of variation in plant and animal im- 
 provement. 
 
 3. Improvement by selection. 
 
 4. Natural selection. 
 
 5. " Sports " or mutations. 
 HI. Heredity. 
 
 1. Laws of heredity. 
 
 2. Problems of heredity. 
 
 3. Mendel's Law and its application.
 
 76 ' THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 IV. Reproduction in plants and animals. 
 
 1. Essentials in reproduction. 1 
 
 2. Reproductive organs of plants. 
 
 8. Sexual and asexual reproduction. 
 4. Artificial crossing. 
 
 V. Breeding. 
 
 1. In-breeding and cross-breeding. 
 
 9. Asa. method of improving plants and animals. 
 
 a. Increasing variation. 
 6. Selection of desirable forms. 
 c. Testing power of selected individuals to re- 
 produce desirable characteristics. 
 VI. Improving farm crops. 
 
 1. Plant breeding vs. animal breeding. 
 
 2. Crops that have been improved sugar beet, 
 corn, cotton, etc. 
 
 3. Improvement by cross fertilization. 
 
 4. Improvement by selecting the best for breeding 
 purposes. 
 
 Practiced Exercises 
 
 s l. Observation studies of variations in plants, 
 a number of elm leaves, corn stalks or other plants 
 of the same species for each student. Note that 
 no two plants or leaves are exactly alike. 
 2. Field trip to weed patch, forest, or thicket to study 
 struggle for existence and its effect on variation. 
 
 1 By the right approach the instructor can very briefly give the student an excel- 
 lent knowledge of the reproductive process in plants and animals, and incidentally 
 impart a fund of extremely valuable information. The following is about the most 
 successful outline of procedure: 
 
 Begin with the ovum, the female cell among animals, a common example of which 
 is the egg on the open market; show that the essential part of this ovum is its nu- 
 cleus, which is in most cases microscopic; state that this nucleus will, under proper 
 conditions, develop into a new individual of the same species; sometimes it is a 
 question merely of surrounding conditions, but generally it requires the advent and 
 union with a new nucleus from the male side before development takes place. 
 
 The mechanism for bringing these two nuclei together varies widely; among 
 plants, gravity, winds and insects are the common agencies, while in animals special* 
 ized organ* are required.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 77 
 
 8. Make microscopical studies of pollen grains and 
 egg cell if possible. 
 
 4. Make seed selections from seed lots, giving rea- 
 sons for the choice. 
 
 5. Practice in-breeding and cross breeding of corn, 
 pop corn, naturally and artificially, and note re- 
 
 suits. . 
 
 6. Detassel a given row of corn and compare its yield 
 with the tasseled row. 
 
 7. Make collection of freaks in plant growth. 
 
 8. Let each student carry on some crop improve- 
 ment project for the summer, such as an ear-to- 
 row test of corn, hill-row test of potatoes, or some 
 other plant. 
 
 POULTRY HUSBANDRY 
 (One semester One half unit) 
 
 I. Poultry-raising. 
 
 1. As a business. 
 
 2. As one feature of general farming. 
 
 3. As a school study. 
 
 II. Members of the poultry group. 
 
 III. Types and breeds of poultry. 
 
 1. Meat types, characteristics, and breeds. 
 
 2. Egg types, characteristics, and breeds. 
 8. Broiler types. 
 
 4. Roaster and soft roaster. 
 
 6. General purpose types, breeds, farm poultry. 
 
 IV. Selection of the breeding stock. 
 
 1. Selecting fowls for egg production, influence of 
 age, vigor, etc. 
 
 2. Selecting fowls for meat production. 
 
 . V. The anatomy of the fowl name of external and in 
 terual parts.
 
 78 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 VI. Feeding poultry; young chickens; fattening chickens; 
 and laying hens, especially for winter egg production. 
 
 1. The hard grains. 
 
 2. The ground grains. 
 
 3. Mixture of mashes. 
 
 4. Animal feed. 
 
 5. Green feed. 
 
 6. Grits, shells, etc. 
 
 7. Watering. 
 VII. Poultry houses. 
 
 1. Location. 
 
 2. Construction, various types of houses. 
 
 8. Interior arrangement. 
 
 4. Equipment. 
 
 5. Essentials of a good house. 
 VIII. Egg production factors. 
 
 1. Good stock. 
 
 2. Properly fed. 
 
 3. Suitable buildings. 
 
 4. Exercise. 
 
 5. Sympathetic care of interest. 
 
 , IX. Incubation natural and artificial. ' 
 
 1. Selection of eggs. 
 
 2. Setting the hens. 
 
 3. Development of artificial incubation, various 
 methods. 
 
 4. Modern types of machines. 
 
 5. Factors in artificial incubation temperature, 
 ventilation, moisture, manipulation of eggs, etc. 
 
 X. Development of the embryo chick. 
 XI. Brooding natural and artificial. 
 
 1. Coops, brooders, and essential factors in man- 
 agement. 
 
 2. Summer vs. winter brooding. 
 
 XH. Feeding, management, and general care of young and 
 growing chicks.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 79 
 
 XIII. Fattening and killing methods and devices. 
 
 XIV. Marketing poultry and eggs. 
 
 XV. Diseases, prevention and treatment. 
 XVI. Study of ducks, geese, and turkeys, as time permits. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Observing and naming the parts of a fowl. 
 
 2. Identifying types, breeds, and varieties. 
 
 3. Study of differences due to age, sex, and vigor; 
 the pelvic bone test. 
 
 4. Selecting eggs for hatching, testing and grading 
 eggs for market. 
 
 5. Preserving eggs. 
 
 6. Identification of feeds. Mixing feeds. 
 
 7. Drawing plans for poultry houses. 
 
 8. Construction of coops, feed hoppers, trap nests* 
 etc. 
 
 9. Caponizing demonstration. 
 
 10. Killing and picking. 
 
 11. Making and using material for killing lice. 
 
 12. Setting an incubator. 
 
 13. Trips to poultry farms. 
 
 14. Reports upon local poultry production. 
 
 15. Home project raising poultry. 
 
 DAIRY HUSBANDRY 
 (One semester One half unit) 
 
 I. Importance of the dairy industry. 
 
 1. Dairy products as foods. 
 
 2. Relation to soil fertility. 
 
 3. Relation to farm labor problems. ' 
 II. Dairy breeds. 
 
 1. Origin, history and characteristics of each. 
 
 2. The dairy type. 
 
 3. Holstein-Friesian.
 
 80 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTUBE 
 
 4. Ayrshire. 
 
 5. Guernsey. 
 
 6. Jersey. 
 
 7. Red polls. 
 
 8. Brown swiss. 
 
 9. Dutch belted. 
 
 10. Shorthorn; 
 
 11. Milch goats. 
 
 12. Starting a dairy herd. 
 HI. Judging dairy cattle. 
 
 ;IV. Care and management of dairy cows. 
 
 1. Cow-testing associations. 
 
 2. Problems in management of a herd. 
 S. Dairy barns. 
 
 4. Common diseases of cattle. 
 V. Feeding dairy cattle. 
 
 1. Winter and summer feeding. 
 
 2. Some good rations. 
 
 3. Silage and legume hays. 
 
 4. Calf-raising. 
 VI. Milk production. 
 
 1. Food value of milk. . 
 
 2. Essentials in clean milk production. 
 8. Production and distribution of milk. 
 4. Pasteurized and certified milk. 
 
 VII. Farm dairying. 
 
 1. The milk-house. 
 
 2. Testing milk. 
 
 8. Cream separation. 
 
 4. Butter-making. 
 
 5. Cheese-making. 
 
 6. Cleanliness in farm dairying. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Survey of dairy cattle in the district. 
 
 2. Naming and locating external parts of a dairy cow.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 81 
 
 3. Comparative judging. 
 
 4. Scoring dairy cows. 
 
 5. Testing individual cows with Babcock test and 
 scales for a given time. 
 
 6. Balancing rations and determining feeding stand- 
 ards for dairy cows. 
 
 7. Inspection trips to dairy farms. 
 
 8. Reports on local dairy barns. 
 
 9. Visits to local creameries. 
 10. Making the tuberculin test. 
 
 VEGETABLE GARDENING 
 (One semester One half unit) 
 
 I. Types of vegetable gardening. ^ 
 II. Factors in the location of the garden. 
 HI. Garden seed, clean, pure, strong in vitality. 
 IV. Garden soil and the plant food. 
 
 1. Manures. 
 
 2. Composts. 
 
 3. Commercial fertilizers. 
 
 4. Quantities and time of application of manures 
 and fertilizers. 
 
 V. Controlling moisture and temperature in garden soil. 
 VI. Hotbeds and cold-frames. 
 VIE. Preparation of garden soil for planting. 
 Vlil. Planting the seeds, depth, distances, amount, etc. 
 IX. Cultivation of garden vegetables. 
 X. Control of insect pests and fungous diseases that 
 
 affect garden vegetables. 
 XI. Cool season crops. ' 
 
 1. Spring salads. 
 
 2. Leaf lettuce. 
 
 3. Spinach. 
 
 4. Radishes. 
 
 5. Turnips.
 
 82 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 6. Peas. 
 
 7. Onions from sets. 
 
 XII. Transplanted crops, methods of transplanting. 
 
 1. Head lettuce. 
 
 2. Cabbage. 
 
 8. Cauliflower. 
 
 4. Brussels sprouts. 
 
 5. Tomatoes. 
 
 6. Eggplant. 
 
 7. Sweet potatoes. 
 
 8. Celery. 
 
 Xm. Systems of intensive cropping. 
 XIX. Harvesting and marketing vegetables. 
 XX. Canning and storing vegetables for winter use. 
 
 Practical Exercises 
 
 1. Drawing plans for vegetable gardens. 
 
 2. Making flats, mixing soil for flats, and planting 
 seeds of head lettuce, cabbage, celery, and^to- 
 matoes. 
 
 3. Making hotbeds and cold-frames. 
 
 4. Planting hotbed. 
 
 6. Transplanting from flats and hotbeds to the 
 gardens. 
 
 6. Laying out and planting various crops of the 
 garden. 
 
 7. Written reports on characteristics and cultural 
 requirements of standard garden vegetable. 
 
 8. Preparing vegetables for the market. 
 
 9. Trips to observe vegetable gardens and markets. 
 10. Canning vegetables. '
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 83 
 
 ONE-YEAR HIGH-SCHOOL GENERAL COURSE IN 
 AGRICULTURE 
 
 I. Agronomy Field Crops and Soil. (10-12 weeks.) 
 A. Special topics for study 
 
 1. How plants grow. 
 
 a. Plants, the basis of all agriculture. 
 
 b. Life-history of higher plants. 
 
 c. The biological processes in the growth, 
 nutrition, and reproduction of plants. 
 An elementary study of the life proc- 
 esses of plants. 
 
 2. Factors of crop production. 
 
 a. Seeds. 
 
 b. Soil. 
 
 c. Plant food. 
 
 d. Moisture. 
 
 e. Warmth. 
 /. Air. 
 
 g. Tillage. 
 rf. Some economic crops. 
 
 o. Classification of crops. 
 
 6. Importance of good seed. 
 
 c. Principles of planting seed. 
 4. Wheat. 
 
 a. Facts of general interest about this 
 great cereal: origin, geographical 
 range, varieties, grades, uses, etc. 
 
 6. Factors in wheat production : place in 
 the rotation, soil requirements, fertili- 
 zing the ground, seed-bed preparation, 
 good seed, methods in planting, insect 
 and fungous control, harvesting, etc. 
 6. Oats. 
 
 a. Economic importance of the crop. 
 
 b. Varieties and adaptations.
 
 84 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 c. Place in the rotation. 
 
 d. Soil needs, seed-bed preparation, time 
 and methods of sowing. 
 
 e. Treatment for smut. 
 
 /. Harvesting and threshing. 
 
 6. Corn. 
 
 a. Facts of general interest about this 
 great crop : origin, geographical range, 
 kinds of corn, uses, etc. 
 
 6. Factors in corn production; place in the 
 rotation, preparation of soil, fertil- 
 izers, seed-bed, selecting and storing 
 seed corn, seed testing, corn judging, 
 planting, cultivating, insect control, 
 harvesting, silage, etc. 
 
 c. Learn the proper methods in every 
 step of successful corn growing. 
 
 7. Clover. 
 
 o. Production and disposition of legumes, 
 
 the great problem of agriculture. 
 6. Kinds and descriptions of true clovers. 
 
 c. Soil preparation, seeding, place in the 
 rotation of red clover. 
 
 d. Manurial value; hay value. 
 
 e. Growing clover seed. 
 8. Alfalfa. 
 
 a. Interesting facts about the plant; ori- 
 . gin, history, distribution, and varie- 
 ties. 
 
 6. Values of alfalfa: a money crop, 
 beneficial as a soil builder, high feeding 
 value for all live-stock. 
 
 C. Essentials in the production of alfalfa: 
 soil preparation, liming, good seed, 
 inoculation, time and rate of sowing, 
 winter killing.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 85 
 
 d. Harvesting, curing, number of cuttings, 
 
 discuring after cutting, etc. 
 9. Meadows and Pastures. 
 
 a. Importance of the grasses. 
 
 b. Standard forage crops. 
 
 c. Hay crops. 
 
 d. Seeding for meadows and pastures. 
 
 e. Renewing old meadows and pastures. 
 10. Elementary soil studies. 
 
 a. The greatest factor in crop production. 
 6. Origin and formation of soils, agencies 
 of soil formation. 
 
 c. Soil mulches. 
 
 d. Organic matter in the soil. 
 
 e. Types of soil. 
 
 /. Problems in soil fertility. 
 
 g. Elements of plant food, sources and 
 
 amounts. 
 
 h. Use of manures, lime, and fertilizers. 
 i. The Illinois system of permanent soil 
 
 fertility. 
 
 B. Some suggestions for laboratory and home-pro- 
 ject work in agronomy 
 
 1. Wheat. 
 
 a. Studies of the whole wheat plant. 
 
 b. Observation study of wheat heads and 
 kernels. 
 
 c. Grading seed wheat. Use of the fan- 
 ning mill. 
 
 d. Treating seed wheat for stinking smut. 
 
 e. Examination for Hessian fly. 
 
 /. Observation of stooling habits of wheat. 
 g. Estimating the stand and per cent of 
 winter killing. 
 
 2. Oats. 
 
 a. Study of the whole oat plant.
 
 86 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 6. A study of the mature head of oats. 
 
 c. Examination of seed oats. 
 
 d. Treating oats for smut. 
 
 3. Corn. 
 
 a. Study of the whole corn plant. 
 
 b. Determining stand of corn in the field. 
 
 c. Study of a good corn ear. 
 
 d. Study of the corn kernel. 
 
 e. Selecting seed corn in the field. 
 
 /. Preliminary studies of corn ears for 
 
 corn judging. 
 
 g. Storing racks for seed corn. 
 h. Corn judging practice. 
 i. Testing seed corn. 
 j. Grading seed for the planter. 
 
 4. Clover. 
 
 a. Field or laboratory study of the red 
 clover plant. 
 
 b. Estimating the clover seed crop. Ex- 
 amination of clover heads for the midge 
 and caterpillar. 
 
 c. Examining and testing clover seed for 
 purity and germination. 
 
 d. Make collection of many kinds of le- 
 gume seeds. 
 
 5. Alfalfa. 
 
 a. Field study of the alfalfa plant. 
 
 b. Growing a small plot of alfalfa. 
 
 c. Examining and testing alfalfa seed for 
 purity and germination. 
 
 d. Inoculating alfalfa seed by the glue 
 method. 
 
 6. Meadows and pastures. 
 
 a. Identification studies of grasses and 
 legumes. Make a list of forage crops 
 in the community. .
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 87 
 
 b. Critical studies, observing meadows 
 and pastures. 
 
 c. Make a collection of different hays. 
 Learn to recognize and describe good 
 hay. 
 
 7. Soils. 
 
 a. Field trips to observe soil formation 
 and types of soil. 
 
 b. Practice in use of State soil reports. 
 
 c. Simple exercises in soil physics such 
 as, determination of volumes, weight, 
 capillary rise of water, water hold ca- 
 pacity, effects of soil mulch, effects of 
 organic matter, lime, etc. 
 
 d. Observation of the elements and com- 
 pounds containing essential plant foods. 
 
 e. Pot cultures of the soil types of the 
 community. 
 
 /. Testing soil for acidity. 
 g. Outdoor plots (if summer labor is avail- 
 able.) 
 
 (See various manuals on Farm Crops 
 and Soils.) 
 
 II. Animal husbandry. (1O-12 weeks.) 
 A. Special topics for study. 
 
 1. Live-stock farming. 
 
 a. Importance of farm animals in agricul- 
 ture. 
 6. Pure-breds, grades and scrubs. 
 
 2. The farm horse. 
 
 a. Interesting facts of horse history. 
 6. Types and breeds of horses. 
 
 c. Grading-up horses. 
 
 d. Judging horses. 
 
 e. Feeding and care of horses.
 
 88 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 /. Points in good horsemanship. 
 g. Common diseases of the horse. 
 8. The dairy cow. 
 
 a. The dairy industry. 
 
 b. Study major dairy breeds, their origin 
 and extent. 
 
 c. General characteristics of dairy cattle. 
 
 d. Judging the dairy cow. 
 
 e. Dairy products with special attention 
 to production and handling of milk. 
 
 /. Study comparative values of individ- 
 ual cows. Learn of some record cows 
 and their production. 
 
 g. Calves: care and management. 
 
 h. Feeding dairy cattle, feeding standards, 
 
 balanced rations, etc. 
 4. Swine. 
 
 a. Facts of general interest, some pig his- 
 tory, importance of the swine indus- 
 try, etc. 
 
 b. Types and breeds of swine, learn names 
 and characteristics, points of excellen- 
 cies, origin, extent, etc., of each. 
 
 e. Selecting the stock in beginning the 
 business a good sow, a good boar. 
 
 d. Feeding and management of swine, 
 feeding standards, supplements to 
 corn, pastures, etc. 
 
 e. Hog houses. 
 
 /. Points in the care of the brood sow. 
 g. Care of little pigs. 
 h. Some hog diseases. 
 i. Marketing swine. 
 ' 5. Poultry. 
 
 a. The poultry industry, scope and op- 
 portunity.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 89 
 
 b. The hen as a machine for production. 
 
 c. Types, breeds, and variety character- 
 istics, origin, history, and joints of ex- 
 cellence of a few important breeds. 
 
 d. Selecting the layers, age, vigor, etc. 
 
 e. Housing poultry. Details of construc- 
 tion, interior arrangement, and equip- 
 ment of poultry houses. 
 
 /. Feeding poultry. Fundamentals of 
 feeding. Different feeds and their uses. 
 Influence of age, breed, season, pur- 
 pose, environment, etc., on feeding 
 methods. 
 
 g. Marketing poultry and eggs. 
 
 h. Incubation natural and artificial. 
 
 t. Diseases, sanitation, and general care. 
 Note: In a one-year general course 
 it is not necessary or advisable to study 
 all phases of each subject. In Animal 
 Husbandry, beef, cattle and sheep have 
 been omitted in this course. Local in- 
 terests may justify emphasis on these 
 topics however. 
 
 B. Some suggestions for laboratory and home-pro- 
 ject work in animal husbandry. 
 
 1. The horse. 
 
 a. Reports of home types and breeds of 
 horses. 
 
 b. Study of external parts of the horse. 
 
 c. Comparative judging. 
 
 d. Harnessing a horse. 
 
 e. Reports from experiences with horses. 
 /. Determination of feed rations. - 
 
 g. Determining age of horse. 
 
 2. The dairy cow. 
 
 a. Reports upon home dairy cattle.
 
 90 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 6. Observation study of a dairy cow, learn- 
 ing dairy type, names of parts, etc. 
 
 c. Scoring dairy cattle. 
 
 d. Determining balanced rations for dairy 
 cows. 
 
 e. Making daily milk records for a given 
 period. 
 
 /. Using the Babcock test. 
 g. Reports on calf-raising methods. 
 S. Swine. 
 
 a. Reports on swine at the home farm. 
 
 b. Study and keep " tab ' ' on market prices. 
 
 c. Inspection trip. 
 
 d. Comparative judging. 
 
 e. Diagraming hog houses. 
 
 /. Making concrete hog wallows.' 
 g. Making feed troughs. 
 4. Poultry. 
 
 a. Inspection trips to poultry flocks. \ 
 6. Identification of types and breeds. , x 
 
 c. Exercise in naming parts of the bird. , 
 
 d. Judging fowls. 
 
 e. Determining age, sex, vigor, and pelvic 
 bone test. 
 
 /. Laboratory study identifying feeds. 
 g. Building trap nests, feed hoppers, etc. 
 h. Laboratory study of eggs. Testing and 
 
 grading eggs. 
 
 i. Caponizing demonstration. 
 ]. Setting a hen, and an incubator. 
 
 (See various texts and manuals for 
 
 details of laboratory work.) . 
 HL Farm business and life. (2-4 weeks.) 
 ,A. Special topics for study. 
 
 1. The business of farming. 
 
 a. The farmer as a business man.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 91 
 
 b. The farmer's labor income. 
 
 c. The farm boy and the farming busi- 
 ness. 
 
 d. Some problems in farm management. 
 
 e. Marketing farm products. 
 /. Farm records and accounts. 
 
 ,2. Country-life organizations. 
 
 a. Agriculture an unorganized industry. 
 6. Organization and progress. 
 
 c. The Grange. 
 
 d. Farmers' Institutes. 
 
 e. Country Life Clubs. 
 
 /. Boys' and Girls' Clubs. 
 
 g. Agricultural Improvement Associa- 
 tions. 
 
 k. Other farmers' organizations. 
 
 i. Some activities of farmers' organiza- 
 tions. 
 1. Rural-life progress. 
 
 a. Rural institutions. 
 
 b. The farm. 
 
 c. The farm home. 
 
 d. The country school. 
 
 e. The roads. 
 
 /. Political and social life. 
 g. The country church. 
 B. Suggestions for laboratory and home-project work. 
 
 1. Determining farm labor incomes. 
 
 2. Records of crop rotations. 
 
 3. Making farm inventories. 
 
 4. Practice with common business forms, such 
 as checks, lease contracts, business letters, 
 notes, etc. 
 
 5. Formation of Agricultural Club. 
 
 6. Reports on important farmers' organizations. 
 
 7. Listing rural-life conditions and needs.
 
 92 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 IV. Horticulture. (10-12 weeks.) 
 A. Special topics for study. 
 
 1. Interesting facts about horticulture. 
 
 a. Branches of the subject. 
 
 b. Importance in agriculture and life. 
 
 c. Men, nationally and locally connected 
 with horticultural development. 
 
 d. Great fruit growing sections of the 
 United States. 
 
 2. Propagation of plants. 
 
 a. Seeds. 
 
 b. Cuttings. 
 
 e. Divisions. 
 
 d. Layering. 
 
 e. Grafting. . 
 /. Budding, etc. 
 
 g. General principles to be taken up con- 
 cretely in connection with the plants 
 studied later. 
 
 3. Farm forestry. 
 
 a. Tree studies individual trees. 
 
 b. Tree societies, the forest, 
 e. Forest conditions. 
 
 d. The wood supply. 
 
 e. Forest influences. 
 
 /. The forests of the United States. 
 
 g. The farmer's woodlot, planting, care, 
 
 and use. 
 h. Nut crops. 
 i. Trees in the landscape. 
 
 4. The farm orchard. 
 
 a. Fruit growing on the farm. 
 
 b. The apple orchard from the beginning 
 to bearing; selecting the trees; varie- 
 ties; the nursery stock; the orchard site; 
 laying out the orchard; planting the
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTUKE 93 
 
 trees; pruning young trees; winter pro- 
 tection; cultivating the orchard; spray- 
 ing, etc. 
 
 c. Rejuvenating old orchards; pruning; 
 spraying; fertilizing the soil; cultivat- 
 ing; top- working. 
 
 d. Types of fruit. 
 
 e. Common orchard pests. 
 /. Packing and storing fruit. 
 
 S. The vegetable garden. 
 
 a. Factors in locating the home garden. 
 6. Preparation of garden soil. 
 
 c. The seed bed. 
 
 d. Fertilizing the garden. 
 
 e. Laying out the garden. 
 /. Getting the seed. 
 
 g. Early and late season plants. 
 
 h. Planting tables. 
 ; i. Seed sowing. 
 
 j. Transplanting. 
 
 k. Thinning. 
 
 I. Cultivation. Garden tools. 
 
 m. Serious garden insect pests and dis- 
 eases; methods of control. 
 
 n. Preparing garden products for the mar- 
 ket. 
 
 o. Storing and canning garden products. 
 0. The country beautiful. 
 
 a. Landscape gardening, the fine art for 
 the country. 
 
 6. Beautifying home and school grounds, 
 elementary principles of arrangement 
 and planting. 
 
 c. Screening unsightly objects. 
 
 d. Care of the trees.
 
 94 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 e. Making pictures in the landscape. 
 /. Materials to use in planting. 
 B. Some suggestions for laboratory and home-project 
 work in horticulture. 
 1. Farm forestry. 
 
 a. Identifying common trees. 
 6. Study and reports on tree characteris- 
 tics. 
 
 c. Observation of forest conditions. 
 
 d. Determining board measure of trees. 
 
 e. Collection of wood samples. 
 
 /. Map studies of forest areas in the 
 
 United States. 
 g. Planting forest nursery. 
 h. Setting a catalpa grove. 
 i. Observation study of nuts. 
 . The farm orchard. 
 
 a. Reports on home orchards. 
 
 b. Inspection of nursery stock. 
 
 c. Laying out a farm orchard. 
 
 d. Planting fruit trees. 
 
 e. Pruning young trees. 
 
 /. Pruning old apple trees. 
 g. Spraying demonstration. 
 h. Laboratory studies of orchard insects 
 
 and fungous diseases. 
 i. Exercises in grafting. 
 j. Observation studies of types of fruit. 
 k. Judging apples and other fruit. 
 I. Survey of orchards of the community. 
 m. Practice in packing apples. 
 n. Canning and drying fruit. 
 3. The vegetable garden. 
 
 a. Making garden plans. 
 
 6. Laying out and planting the garden. 
 
 c. Making hotbeds and cold-frames.
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 95 
 
 d. Tabulating cultural requirements for 
 vegetables. 
 
 e. Outline studies for each vegetable. 
 /. Canning and drying vegetables. 
 
 4. Beautifying home and school grounds. 
 
 a. Mapping home and school grounds. 
 
 b. Critical study of pictures of landscapes. 
 
 c. Practical planting of trees, shrubs, 
 bulbs, flower seeds, etc. 
 
 V. Home projects. 
 
 In addition to the textbook, field, and laboratory 
 work outlined for the one-year general course in agri- 
 culture, each student should choose one home project, 
 and carry it through to some satisfactory point of con- 
 clusion. The essentials of a home project, are: (l) A 
 definite, detailed plan for work at home, covering a 
 more or less extended period of tune; (2) it should be a 
 part of the instruction in school in agriculture; (3) par- 
 ents, pupils, and teacher should agree upon the plan; 
 I (4) the home work should have competent supervision; 
 (5) records and reports of the work must be kept and 
 submitted to the teacher. Many of the home projects 
 done in agriculture may be begun in the fall and others 
 are best undertaken during the second hah* of the school 
 year. The home project is credited in various ways. An 
 additional five or ten per cent may be added to the 
 pupil's grade in agriculture, his grade may be withheld 
 until the project is satisfactorily completed, or from 
 one fourth to one half unit may be added to the stu- 
 dent's school record. 
 
 The following home projects are recommended: 
 
 1. Equipping a farm boy's office. 
 
 2. Poultry-raising. 
 
 8. Keeping dairy cows. 
 
 4. Raising pigs. 
 
 5. Growing a plot of corn.
 
 06 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 6. Making insect studies. 
 
 7. Growing alfalfa. 
 
 8. Soil fertility demonstrations. 
 
 9. Vegetable gardening. 
 10. Tomato-raising. 
 
 j 11. Potato-raising. 
 
 12. Growing cucumbers. 
 
 13. Sweet-corn culture. 
 
 14. Growing strawberries. 
 
 15. Growing sweet-peas. 
 
 16. Beautifying home grounds. 
 
 17. Care of fruit trees. 
 
 18. Setting out a young orchard. 
 
 19. Planting a catalpa grove. 
 
 20. Growing sudan grass. 
 
 21. Growing soy beans. 
 
 22. Making a concrete walk. 
 
 23. Making a farm gate. 
 
 24. Farm, home, and community survey. 
 
 REFERENCES 
 Textbooks General Agriculture 
 
 Essentials of Agriculture. Waters. 
 Agriculture. Benson and Betts. 
 A Year in Agriculture. Nolan. 
 Productive Farming. Davis. 
 Agriculture. Call and Kent. 
 Elementary Agriculture. Grim. 
 Elements of Agriculture. Warren. 
 
 Anthology of Agriculture 
 
 G. Stanley Hall, in his famous work on Adolescence, states 
 that all branches of study relating to nature are approached 
 best through sentiment, and that sentiment comes before 
 utility. He believes that the reason why many branches of
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 97 
 
 science in the high school are not popular with the students 
 is because they are taught in too formal and technical man- 
 ner, and that in textbooks and methods of teaching, we ig- 
 nore natural interests, which according to Dr. Hall lie in the 
 field of myth, poetry, hero-worship, and religious sentiment. 
 Here is opened a field for investigation. If Dr. Hall is right, 
 then in our agricultural teaching in the high school we should 
 make much of poetry, hero-worship, religious ideals, and the 
 anthology of agriculture. Our standard texts have not em- 
 phasized these things, and our agricultural teachers pretty 
 generally hold to the technical, practical, and vocational 
 lines, and are so advised by their agricultural supervisors 
 and leaders. 
 
 It might be well for some of our high-school teachers of 
 agriculture to try out some work in the anthology of agri- 
 culture as a supplement to the technical subject-matter 
 given. Very little organization of this material is available, 
 but students and teachers might work out a collection to- 
 gether, and thus ascertain among small groups the response 
 to this phase of agricultural interest. 
 
 Our literature abounds in real literary gems of agricul- 
 tural reference, but these have not been brought together 
 to any considerable extent. Among the more common re- 
 ferences containing good material of this kind, are: 
 
 Bartlett. Familiar Quotations. 
 
 Pliny. Natural History. 
 
 Pope. Essay on Man and other essays. 
 
 Abercrombie. Folk-Lore and Garden Craft of Shakespeare. 
 
 Roe. Success with Small Fruits, containing abundant 
 quotations from literature. 
 
 The Geneva Experiment Station, New York, has pub- 
 lished volumes on each of the leading fruits of New York. 
 In the introduction of each volume are liberal quotations 
 from classic literature. 
 
 Among horticultural writers whose literary tastes lead
 
 98 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 them to onthological quotations may be mentioned: Adlum, 
 Bailey, Barry, Downing, Hovey, Hussmann, and Longworth. 
 Students of secondary agriculture should have definitely 
 assigned readings and reports from among the foregoing 
 references, and from such books as The Holy Earth, Bailey; 
 The Landscape Beautiful, Waugh; Adventures in Content- 
 ment, Grayson; New Lives for Old and One Way Out, Carle- 
 ton; Joe, the Book Farmer, Harris; The Challenge of the 
 Country, Fiske; Farm Poems, Riley; Farm Ballads, Carle ton.
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES IN TEACHING 
 AGRICULTURE 
 
 A fundamental principle. Whatever the text, 
 method of teaching, order of sequence, or content of 
 subject-matter may be, out of a course of agricultural 
 instruction should result as an asset to the student: 
 first, clear and sure knowledge of the practical things 
 to know and to do in order, here and now, to main- 
 tain the best standards of crop and animal production 
 known, and to make such improvements as are needed 
 to reach these standards; second, good business judg- 
 ment in matters of buying and selling on the markets 
 of the world; and, third, social consciousness of civic 
 relations as a good citizen. 
 
 The science of agriculture and farm practice. Upon 
 the introduction of agriculture into the high school 
 one often hears from school boards and principals: 
 " Now we must get some land and equipment right 
 away." The idea is to make the course practical, and 
 the opinion seems to prevail that if the school could 
 acquire land and elaborate equipment, then the prob- 
 lem of practical work is solved. There are two weak- 
 nesses to this proposition: first, the failure to realize 
 that the science of agriculture, and the sciences con- 
 tributing to it, may be as practical to the successful
 
 100 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 vocation of agriculture as farm practice; and, second, 
 that as our schools are now organized it is not possible 
 to get any real farm practice from the use of school 
 land. 
 
 When we think of science as organized knowledge 
 or information upon any subject, and realize that 
 before there can be any scientific farm practice, the 
 farmer must get the science or information, then we 
 can see that a genuinely practical part of agricultural 
 study would be to get the facts and principles of the 
 science, and this can be done through books, lectures, 
 and laboratory work. Of course, the ideal method 
 of agricultural instruction would be to have the school 
 out on the farm in the open country, where the stu- 
 dents could get real farm practice hi an economical 
 way, in addition to the science they could learn from 
 the books and from the practice. Even here the stu- 
 dent could not get the " real thing "; for, as one 
 farmer puts it, " He is not up against the hillside 
 with a mule and a plough, and Betsy and the babies 
 to provide for." 
 
 Until our schools are willing to break with tradi- 
 tions, and employ an instructor of agriculture for 
 twelve months of the year, procure enough land for 
 profitable production, and provide manual labor at 
 the disposal of the agricultural department through- 
 out the year, our agricultural instruction in the high 
 schools should confine itself to a study of the scien- 
 tific principles of agricultural practice and such other
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 101 
 
 sciences as may contribute to a better understand- 
 ing of these principles, worked out through textbooks, 
 bulletins, laboratory exercises, and such contribu- 
 tions to them as the instructor may be able to give, 
 and find opportunity for farm practice work by 
 carrying on, in cooperation with the home farm, home 
 project work. 
 
 Some principles of scientific agriculture. In order 
 to be concrete in this discussion, it may be well to 
 mention some principles of scientific agriculture which 
 may be taught in various phases of the subject, prin- 
 ciples of science which are eminently practical, be- 
 cause they underlie all successful farm practice, and 
 must be understood whether taught in the classroom 
 or in the field. 
 
 First, note some of the facts relating to permanent 
 soil fertility. Plants must be fed; their food comes 
 from the air and soil; about ninety-eight per cent of 
 the plant food is carbon, coming from the air; nitro- 
 gen is most often a limiting plant-food element, and 
 in farm practice it is most economically supplied from 
 the free nitrogen of the air by being pre-worked by 
 lower forms of plant life known as bacteria, living 
 parasitically upon the roots of legumes; phosphorus 
 is often a limiting plant-food element and is economi- 
 cally supplied by liberal applications of fine-ground 
 raw rock phosphate incorporated into the soil with 
 organic matter; lime corrects soil acidity, improves 
 the physical condition of soil, adds a plant food, and
 
 102 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 aids in rendering available other mineral foods. These 
 and other facts are practical and teachable, and it 
 does not require expensive equipment or farm prac- 
 tice to get them. It goes without saying, however, 
 that successful farm practice, involving the principles 
 of permanent soil fertility, will fix the knowledge as 
 no other method can do. 
 
 Second, the principles and facts concerning the 
 life-histories of beneficial and injurious insects, and 
 the stages of fungous diseases well known, may be 
 taught and learned in the high school through labora- 
 tory, field trips, and texts, the student thereby gain- 
 ing practical knowledge for farm practice; learning 
 the life-history of the chinch bug and how to combat 
 it with the oil-line, and good cultural methods; learn- 
 ing how to treat oats for smut and to practice the 
 method in the laboratory; these are all very practical, 
 nor does the teaching require farm practice to give 
 them worth. 
 
 Third, before there can be improved farm prac- 
 tice in breeding up and growing a productive strain 
 of corn, cattle, or chickens, and making them more 
 resistant to disease and other adverse conditions, 
 principles and methods of plant and animal breeding 
 must first be taught and learned; the learning and the 
 teaching of these principles are as practical a part 
 of agricultural education as then* application in farm 
 practice. 
 
 In all this discussion it must not be understood that
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 103 
 
 the writer does not appreciate the value of practical 
 farm work as a method of teaching; on the contrary, 
 the reader should understand that farm practice in 
 the application of the principles of scientific agricul- 
 ture is the ideal method of vocational agricultural 
 education. The point to be emphasized is that the 
 scientific principles and facts, whether they be learned 
 from books, lectures, laboratories, or farm practice, 
 are an essential part of vocational agriculture and 
 are just as practical as the farm practice. They must 
 be learned first or in connection with the practice. 
 
 The use of textbooks. Since the teaching of any 
 subject should be a systematic business and proceed 
 by some plan in a more or less organized way, text- 
 books have been found to be necessary in order to 
 assure this systematic procedure. This principle holds 
 for the teaching of agriculture. In most cases the 
 textbook becomes the course of study; hence, the 
 importance of good texts in the teaching of agricul- 
 ture. A good text in agriculture should give ample 
 space to the discussion of principles and practices of 
 the phase of the subject under consideration. It is 
 better to give the information which the student 
 should have, in the pages of the text, than to be con- 
 stantly giving references to which the student sel- 
 dom goes. A good text will be fully illustrated with 
 attractive pictures that supplement the subject-mat- 
 ter. Laboratory and field work will be properly pro- 
 vided for, with definite and explicit directions, to
 
 104 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 demonstrate, afford practice in, verify, or discover 
 principles to be taught. A good text will be scientifi- 
 cally accurate, clearly and forcibly written, and pre- 
 sent, especially for the elementary and secondary 
 schools, stock information well established, proved 
 facts, and successful practices. 
 
 The lecture method. The lecture method in agri- 
 cultural teaching is extensively used, especially in 
 the case of subjects for which there has been no suit- 
 able textbook. This method is generally used in col- 
 leges, and this fact may account for its extensive use 
 in secondary schools. It happens too often that the 
 secondary teacher gives to his students the same 
 material he received in college, in much the same 
 manner that it was given to him. Lecturing before 
 the class may be a good training for the teacher, but 
 it is not so valuable for the students. The more the 
 students put into a recitation the more they get out 
 of it. There is no teaching until somebody learns. 
 There is less likelihood that a boy or girl will learn 
 through the lecture method than through other 
 methods requiring greater activity on the part of the 
 student. The teacher's task is an easy one, when he 
 only talks on a subject he knows. He may have to 
 use methods calling for greater activities among 
 pupils, and more labor on his part, if any real teach- 
 ing and learning are done. 
 
 It will be necessary for the teacher to supplement 
 reports and recitations of the students, and to take
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 105 
 
 part in the discussions, but he should not use too much 
 of the time. The gift of silence is of rare worth to a 
 teacher. The lecture method in agricultural teaching, 
 even in secondary schools, however, may be profit- 
 ably used to vary the type of recitation, and to give 
 the pupils some preparation for that method of in- 
 struction should they ever attend college. At some 
 point in the study of each large topic, a more or less 
 formal talk or lecture may well be given. An outline 
 of the talk should be placed before the pupils, and 
 this outline, together with brief notes which students 
 should take, will furnish material from which the 
 students should " write up " the lecture in perma- 
 nent notebooks provided for this purpose. When the 
 lecture method is thus sparingly employed, it pro- 
 vides variety to the recitation, opportunity to sum- 
 marize and review subject-matter, drill in note-tak- 
 ing, and a concrete, definite form of assignment in 
 notebook work which is satisfactory in results both 
 to the instructor and students. 
 
 Reports and class recitations by students. The 
 more general the participation of the students in class 
 recitation the better it will be for the students. If 
 classes are small and the students are fairly mature, 
 informal discussions of assigned readings, practical 
 exercises, field trips, and home projects are successful 
 methods in classwork. When classes are large and 
 the students of first- or second-year standing, it is 
 often necessary to use more formal methods. It may
 
 106 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 be necessary in these classes to draw out discussion 
 with questions at first and gradually develop the 
 topic method. 
 
 The teacher may supplement the recitations from 
 textbooks and other general class assignments by 
 having students report upon special topics. Perhaps 
 a bulletin of general interest to the class is assigned 
 to a student who has special interest in the subject. 
 A subject may be assigned that involves a study of a 
 number of references, or the report may cover a special 
 project or problem worked out at home or in the lab- 
 oratory, or a visit of agricultural interest. This method 
 should be used to develop weak students, rather than 
 to exercise the most able ones. Too much of the class's 
 time should not, however, be taken up with lengthy 
 special reports by individual students. 
 
 Good class recitation methods used in teaching 
 other subjects and the general rules of discipline in the 
 school should prevail in the teaching of agriculture. 
 
 Use of illustrative material. If agriculture is to be 
 given a permanent place in the curriculum, it must 
 be something more than a study of books. Illustra- 
 tive material, laboratory exercises, and home projects 
 must be utilized. Instruction must proceed from these 
 known concrete material things of the farm to the 
 unknown, abstract principles of agricultural science. 
 Visualization of the lessons, made possible through 
 the use of illustrative materials, is essential in arous- 
 ing and maintaining interest, as well as in fixing valu- 
 able information in the mind.
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 107 
 
 Abundant use should be made of the blackboard 
 in placing before students outlines of lessons, impor- 
 tant points to be remembered, facts involving figures 
 and data, expressed in graphic ways. Charts, pic- 
 tures, and maps serve well as illustrative material. 
 Stereopticons should be used wherever and whenever 
 available. Much agricultural material, such as plants, 
 insects, seeds, animals, etc., may be brought into the 
 classroom. Permanent collections of plants, insects, 
 rocks, soils, seeds, etc., in the form of an agricultural 
 museum, are often the source of much helpful illus- 
 trative material for classroom work. 1 
 
 Many phases of agriculture are studied most profit- 
 ably out-of-doors. Growing crops, animals in barns 
 or pasture, orchards and gardens, farm machinery in 
 operation, all these are best studied by field trips. 
 These trips must, however, be planned and supervised 
 with a definite aim in view, if they are to have educa- 
 tional value. 
 
 Laboratory methods. Agriculture has taken many 
 of its methods from the teachings of other sciences; 
 hence, it has utilized the laboratory method more or 
 less from the beginning. It has used in many cases 
 much the same materials and apparatus as those used 
 
 1 For directions concerning the collection and mounting of this 
 material see Collection and Preservation of Plant Material for Use 
 in the Study of Agriculture, United States Department of Agricul- 
 ture, Farmers' Bulletin 586 (1914), and Collection -and Preservation 
 of Insects and Other Material for Use in the Study of Agriculture, 
 United States Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin 606 
 (1914).
 
 108 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 "in other sciences, or has copied in the high schools the 
 exercises used in the agricultural colleges. As a result 
 much of the laboratory work in agriculture lacks def- 
 inite aim and application, having therefore but little 
 educational or vocational value. For the sake of having 
 laboratory work, which is thought by many to be in- 
 dispensable to agriculture in order to give educational 
 value to the course, many cheap and foreign exercises 
 are often dragged in, many good exercises properly 
 belonging to other sciences are borrowed under the 
 name of agriculture, all of which have little benefit 
 from the standpoint of vocational training in agricul- 
 ture. It is possible to have such laboratory work as will 
 teach practical aspects of agriculture and yet have 
 all the educational value desired by the more con- 
 servative of school men. 
 
 The laboratories for agriculture need not be elabo- 
 rately and expensively equipped. The great out-of- 
 doors in the open country, with the farms, forests, 
 fields, orchards, gardens, crops, live-stock, houses, and 
 barns, affords the greatest laboratory equipment of any 
 science in any school on earth. In addition to these 
 only a few well-selected articles, in addition to what 
 can be improvised, need be added. (See Appendix.) 
 
 For convenience in discussing laboratory work, the 
 exercises may be classified as follows: Experiments, 
 Verifications, Demonstrations, and Practicums. 1 
 
 1 From Agricultural Education Monthly, United States Depart- 
 ment of Agriculture, States Relation Service.
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 109 
 
 a. Experiments. Those exercises which aim to dis- 
 cover truth new to the student are classed as experi- 
 ments. Agriculture as a science is dependent upon 
 men of research, who through their investigations are 
 discovering new knowledge, much of which may be ap- 
 plied to the art of farming. Much of this knowledge is 
 now available in books and bulletins, so that students 
 do not need to seek it from primary sources. While 
 it is not the function of the high school to discover new 
 truths nor even to train scientists, secondary agricul- 
 tural students should become familiar with methods of 
 research, especially the methods used in the agricul- 
 tural experiment stations, which have such an impor- 
 tant relation to the teaching of agriculture in this 
 country. 
 
 Exercises may be planned to impress upon the 
 students the following essentials of an experiment: 
 (1) A clear comprehension of the object of an experi- 
 ment; (2) an open-minded attitude as to probable 
 results; (3) control of all factors except the one tested; 
 and (4) accuracy and a knowledge of probable causes 
 of errors. Experiments may be performed in the labo- 
 ratory or upon the farm. For example, a student may 
 test the effect of different mulching material on the 
 conservation of moisture with pots or cans of soils in 
 the laboratory. The scales may be used and quanti- 
 tative results secured. If it is desired to learn the 
 effects of different mulches on the growing crop, the 
 experiment may be performed with a crop on the
 
 110 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 school or home farm. In either case the student has 
 no definite knowledge of what the result will be. It 
 is not to be expected that experiments will form a 
 large part of the laboratory work. Those given as 
 exercises should come after skill has been developed 
 through verifications as suggested below. 
 
 b. Verifications. In this class are included those 
 exercises which aim to verify or confirm facts or 
 principles known to the student. Most of the so-called 
 experiments outlined for secondary students really 
 come under this class of exercises. Such exercises are 
 valuable in satisfying the student that statements of 
 facts and principles or laws are true; in making more 
 vivid impressions; and in developing skill in research 
 methods. A student may read in a bulletin or text 
 that nitrogen has a certain effect on plants under 
 certain conditions. In testing out the effect in the 
 laboratory or in the field he not only becomes assured 
 of its truth, but he also has the fact impressed in a 
 manner never to be forgotten. If the exercise has been 
 planned and supervised as it should have been, he will 
 have acquired some skill and developed some inter- 
 est in and appreciation of the work of investigators. 
 The high school should afford an opportunity for young 
 men to find themselves. The laboratory exercises 
 should be conducted in such a manner that those 
 who have a natural leaning toward research may have 
 their interest stimulated rather than checked. 
 
 c. Demonstrations. These include those exercises
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES ill 
 
 in which the teacher or some member of the class 
 uses materials and apparatus in teaching the class 
 principles already known to the demonstrator. In 
 case an exercise is too difficult for the students, or 
 equipment is not available for each student, it may be 
 conducted by the teacher, or some one who has had 
 special preparation, for the benefit of the class. In this 
 there is an application of the inductive method of 
 teaching. Abstract laws and principles are approached 
 through manipulation of materials familiar to the 
 student. Each step should be clearly understood by 
 the student so that when the demonstration is com- 
 pleted proper conclusions may be drawn. These exer- 
 cises have the same effect and value as verifications 
 except that the student does not get the practice 
 and the interest associated with doing the thing himself. 
 There is often economy of time as well as materials 
 in a demonstration, as everything should be in readi- 
 ness before the exercise begins. 
 
 Demonstrations may be made for the purpose of 
 showing students how a practicum is to be carried out. 
 The teacher may prune or spray a tree or judge farm 
 animals before the class in order that they may have 
 a better idea of how they are to do the work. Another 
 type of demonstration will be considered under home 
 projects. 
 
 d. Practicums. Those exercises in which the chief 
 aim is the acquiring of skill and in which the knowl- 
 edge of the student is applied are termed " practi-
 
 112 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 cums." In applying the vocational aim in agricul- 
 tural education practice becomes of the utmost im- 
 portance. The student cannot become successful as 
 a farmer unless he becomes skillful in applying the 
 knowledge he has gained. In the teaching of agricul- 
 ture it is often assumed that the student is capable of 
 more farm practice than he really knows. In order 
 to be satisfied that the student knows the art as well 
 as the science in connection with the different branches 
 of agriculture covered by the course, certain require- 
 ments may be made which involve skill in practice. 
 If these requirements are not met by previous train- 
 ing of the student or by school practicums the work 
 should be done at home. For example, every student 
 should know how to plough and to harness and handle 
 a two-, three-, or four-horse team according to the 
 practice of the community. 
 
 f Special attention should be given to practice in con- 
 nection with the chief crops of the section. In corn- 
 growing sections, for instance, emphasis should be 
 placed on skill in such practices as selecting and testing 
 seed, husking and stringing the ears. Students of 
 animal husbandry and dairying should develop skill 
 in judging animals as an aid to selection; in milking a 
 cow in a skillful and sanitary way; in running a sepa- 
 rator and cleaning it properly; and in teaching a calf 
 to drink. They should know how to mix rations suit- 
 able to the requirements of economic production. In 
 poultry husbandry, the student may be, required to
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 113 
 
 run an incubator and brooder, or at least to set a hen 
 in a'proper manner and to test eggs skillfully. In horti- 
 culture, students should become proficient in such 
 practice as simple budding and grafting, making of 
 cuttings, planting of trees, pruning, mixing and apply- 
 ing sprays, and the packing of fruits and vegetables. 
 
 Whoever is to direct the practicums must be skill- 
 ful and thorough in every detail. If the teacher does 
 not feel competent to direct the work in a line of agri- 
 culture important in the community, he should call for 
 the services of an expert, wherever possible. He should 
 realize that the formation of right habits is very im- 
 portant with the adolescent who is getting a start 
 toward a vocation. Under the direction of a good 
 teacher, this work becomes more than an application 
 of knowledge and drill toward skill; it becomes a 
 medium through which the student may express the 
 best that is in him. 
 
 Laboratory and field work should be a definite part 
 of each course, and definite time provided for it. The 
 proportion of the time devoted to this work will depend 
 upon the course to some extent. Such courses as 
 dairying and farm mechanics may be mostly practi- 
 cal work while other courses may be taught principally 
 in the classroom. As a rule, when a subject is given five 
 days a week, two of these are devoted to laboratory 
 and field work, the periods for such work being double 
 the length of the class recitation. It is preferable to 
 have the practical work come at the end of the day,
 
 114 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 as some exercises may run overtime. If the students 
 do not have to attend a class after the practical work, 
 they will not have to change clothes again or be con- 
 cerned about their personal appearance. All exercises 
 should be planned ahead, so that materials and equip- 
 ment may be provided and in working order and all 
 necessary arrangements made for work in the field. Stu- 
 dents should be notified of the nature of the work to be 
 done, so that they may dress suitably for the work they 
 are to do. Most of the practice at school should be 
 given as class practicums, i.e., the students doing the 
 work as a class. The home work should be largely indi- 
 vidual. It may be a problem as to how to secure the 
 best results with required home work. At some schools 
 special credit is given for home practicums and home 
 projects. The contest idea may be used to advantage 
 with students of high-school age. A day may be set 
 apart for agricultural exhibits and contests covering 
 such work as judging farm animals and farm products, 
 rope work, fruit packing, stringing of corn ears, etc. 
 Many of the home practicums will become features 
 of the home projects where the project plan is in 
 operation. 
 
 Teaching farm craft. Among the educational 
 changes which may grow out of the present world war 
 is the attempt to teach farm craft in its most practi- 
 cal aspect to the boys of the secondary schools. The 
 United States Boys' Working Reserve is an organiza- 
 tion effected, under the statutory power of the Na-
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 115 
 
 tional Department of Labor, to enroll, from patriotic 
 motives, boys from sixteen to twenty inclusive, for 
 productive service on the farms. The appeal of this 
 organization is strong, especially to city boys. It 
 often seems necessary, in order to get the more com- 
 monplace tasks achieved, that they must be recog- 
 nized, dignified, and credited by some institutional or 
 organized body. The United States Boys' Working Re- 
 serve is such an organization, and proposes, through 
 honorable recognition and suitable rewards for serv- 
 ice, to enlist boys in the work of food production and 
 conservation by helping farmers in such labor as may 
 be called farm craft. Large numbers of boys are en- 
 listing for this service. Several educational problems 
 and opportunities for the high schools arise at this 
 point. 
 
 1. What constitutes the essential features of work 
 in ordinary good farm practice, skilled and un- 
 skilled farm craft? 
 
 2. How is this farm craft material to be organized 
 into teachable form adapted to school conditions? 
 
 8. With what success will high-school teachers pre- 
 sent this work, and the boys get it? 
 4. As measured by the work of the boys who have 
 come from such school courses, are we justified 
 in attempting to teach farm craft? 
 In Illinois these problems are being attacked. The 
 writer sent a questionnaire to one hundred successful 
 farmers of the State to ascertain what they considered
 
 116 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 the essential farm-craft work in good farm practice, 
 and to learn what they thought of the value of under- 
 taking to teach this work in the high school. Opinions 
 on these matters were also sought from as many ex- 
 perts in the agricultural college. There was a general 
 agreement that the following topics should be included 
 under farm craft: grooming the horses; hitching and 
 unhitching horses; driving and handling horses; feed- 
 ing and care of horses; milking the cows; feeding the 
 pigs; handling machinery in ploughing, seeding, cul- 
 tivating, and harvesting; mending harness; splicing 
 ropes; tying knots; repairing fences and gates; using 
 properly and caring for hand-tools and machinery; 
 hoeing, weeding, etc., in garden and field; feeding 
 all farm animals; and doing the chores. 
 
 This list, as may be seen, includes many subdivi- 
 sions requiring various degrees of skilled and unskilled 
 labor. With but few exceptions the farmers and college 
 men believed that the high school could help to prepare 
 boys for greater usefulness along these practical farm- 
 craft lines. There was a consensus of opinion that 
 specially prepared circulars, giving information, illus- 
 trations, graphic instructions and definite farm-craft 
 practice while in school, placed in the hands of a 
 teacher, utilizing the resources of the community as 
 far as possible, would be the best methods of instruc- 
 tion to use. Accordingly the Illinois Division of the 
 United States Boys' Working Reserve requested the 
 State College of Agriculture to prepare such a series
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 117 
 
 of farm-craft circulars, and the State Council of De- 
 fense secured the cooperation of the high schools of 
 the State to undertake this instruction. In order to en- 
 courage and facilitate this work, all school authorities 
 in charge of high schools were urged to adopt rules and 
 formulate plans by which boys shall not only receive 
 instruction in what has been called the language of the 
 farm, but that no boy should forfeit any credit or 
 receive any handicap in his school because of absence 
 from his classes during his sojourn upon the farm. 
 
 Circulars were prepared by the faculty of the College 
 of Agriculture on the following topics: 
 
 1. When the City Boy Goes to the Farm. 
 
 2. Doing the Chores. 
 
 3. Grooming the Horse. 
 
 4. Hitching and Unhitching the Horse. 
 
 5. Driving the Horse. 
 
 6. Feeding the Farm Work Horse. 
 
 7. Handling the Plough, Disc, and Harrow. 
 
 8. Seeding and Making the Seed Bed. 
 
 9. Destroying the Weeds. 
 
 10. Making Hay. 
 
 11. Shocking Grain. 
 
 12. Raising Potatoes. 
 
 13. Using Hand-Tools. 
 
 14. Mending Harness, Splicing Rope, Tying Knots, etc. 
 
 15. Making the Farm Garden. 
 
 16. Milking the Cows. 
 
 17. Feeding and Caring for the Pigs. 
 
 18. Caring for Sheep in Summer. 
 
 19. Summer Care of Cattle. 
 
 20. Poultry Work.
 
 118 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 21. Keeping up Fences and Gates. 
 
 22. Work in the Orchard. 
 
 23. Rainy-Day Work. 
 
 24. The " Why " of Proper Steps in Handling Soil. 
 
 25. Learning the Vocabulary of the Farm. 
 
 In the preparation of these courses each author has 
 aimed to give the minimum of technical agricultural 
 science necessary to furnish a motive and an intelligent 
 background for the work, and a maximum of practical 
 directions, of " What and How to Do " the manual 
 work of the farm. 
 
 Suggestions are made in each case for the specific 
 school exercises which are feasible, in order to give the 
 boys real practice in lines related to farm craft. 
 
 It becomes evident at once that there are many dif- 
 ficulties in the way in teaching farm-craft work in the 
 school. Our teachers are not usually fanners and farm- 
 ing is not done at school. If, however, the teachers 
 have had farm experience and are willing to undertake 
 this instruction, and if the proper facts and directions 
 for the practical work are organized and presented, 
 furthermore, if teachers will take the boys to farms, 
 livery barns, implement stores, and encourage them 
 to take every opportunity to practice farm work, even 
 on a small scale, then such a course as here proposed 
 will be at least a " bit " of help to the boy as he goes 
 to the farm to perform his service in the work of food 
 production and conservation. 
 
 The farm craft course may be supplemented by a
 
 general reading course from bulletins, circulars, the 
 best farm papers, and agricultural books, or a more sys- 
 tematic general course from textbooks may be given, 
 but all this reading work should not be over-empha- 
 sized, nor take up too much of the boys' time. At 
 least three fourths of the students' time in such a farm- 
 craft course should be spent in actual practice in farm 
 operations or with farm materials. The Illinois Farm- 
 Craft Course has not been in operation for a sufficient 
 length of time to formulate any conclusions as to the 
 success it will have in the schools, or with what suc- 
 cess it will train the boys for increased usefulness in 
 actual farm work. The signs of the times are promis- 
 ing, and there seems little doubt but that a farm- 
 craft course has a useful place in the agricultural 
 curriculum of the high schools. 
 
 Home projects in secondary-school agriculture. In 
 several States, particularly those giving State aid for 
 vocational work in secondary schools, a distinction is 
 made between agriculture ordinarily taught in the 
 high school and vocational agriculture. If the faith 
 of the people in agricultural education is to be main- 
 tained, there should be only vocational agriculture in 
 the high school. For those who may later follow agri- 
 culture as a life-work, the high-school course should be 
 a direct preparation for that work. Even though it be 
 given a vocational emphasis for those who will not take 
 up agricultural pursuits, the course will contribute 
 to the liberal education of these students in somewhat
 
 120 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 the same way that English will contribute to the gen- 
 eral education of those who make agriculture their vo- 
 cation. 
 
 As our schools are now equipped and organized, it is 
 extremely difficult, to say the least, to make agriculture 
 vocational to the extent of giving farm practice with 
 plants and animals on real land and under practical 
 farm-management conditions. To be sure, it is true 
 that to teach the sciences which underlie and control 
 successful farm practice is good, practical vocational 
 work; yet neither the principles nor the science of agri- 
 culture become the real possession of the student until 
 he has worked them out in successful farm practice. 
 
 Until we can have a school farm for the high school 
 and so organize the course of study that students of 
 agriculture may get real practice in farm production 
 and management under all-year instruction, the home- 
 project feature of school agriculture is the best sub- 
 stitute for practical instruction which can be given. 
 Under this plan the instructor in agriculture outlines 
 certain definite agricultural projects to be carried on 
 at the homes of the students, as a part of the course in 
 agriculture. 
 
 Massachusetts was the first State to give State aid 
 to vocational agriculture based upon the home-project 
 plan. In 1911 the State Legislature made State funds 
 available for the establishment of agricultural depart- 
 ments in secondary schools. The agricultural instruc- 
 tor, whose salary is paid partly by the State and partly
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 121 
 
 by the local community, must be a specially qualified 
 teacher who devotes his entire attention to agriculture. 
 Such teachers are employed for the entire year, and 
 the summer months are spent in supervising the home 
 projects of students. The classwork is centered around 
 the home project which is required of each agricultural 
 student. Since the home-project plan was introduced 
 into Massachusetts, the States of New York, Pennsyl- 
 vania, New Jersey, and Indiana have based school 
 agriculture largely upon the home-project plan. 
 
 The project as a basis for methods of instruction. 
 According to Dr. W. W. Charters, of the University of 
 Illinois, a project is a reflective act carried on in its 
 natural setting. The project itself is a large problem 
 carried over into action. It may be composed of a 
 group of problems, which constitute subdivisions of 
 the project. The project is the normal life situation. 
 In school we often take these problems out of their 
 natural setting in the project and study them one by 
 one. The tendency is to teach the problems in isolated 
 groups rather than as related to some life situation. 
 
 The chief educational function of a project is to 
 translate information into conduct. To illustrate, let 
 us take potato-growing as a project. In the life situa- 
 tion, in the natural setting, there would be a flow of 
 certain activities and problems such as preparation 
 of the ground, planting, cultivating, relationships to 
 the home, etc. An attack of the potato beetle appears. 
 Here a special problem arises, calling for information
 
 122 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 as to methods of control. Other interests and activi- 
 ties stop for the time being, and the student sets about 
 to get the necessary information and to apply this 
 knowledge in the solution of the problem. After this 
 problem is solved, the activities continue to the 
 completion of the project. Everything connected with 
 the process is in its natural setting and relates to 
 definite behavior and degrees of interest. 
 
 In the usual school situation, studying potato- 
 raising, the student is related to a certain flow of 
 activities and interests, such as study hours, recess, 
 classes, books, groups of pupils, attitude toward the 
 teacher, routine of the school, etc. The special prob- 
 lem of the control of the potato beetle comes in the 
 course of study. The information as to the methods of 
 combating the beetle is acquired by the pupil, and the 
 problem is solved, intellectually. The flow of school 
 activities continues, and throughout the whole process 
 a degree of interest may be manifest, but it is quite 
 likely to be considerably less than in the former case. 
 The project method attempts to reinstate the natural 
 situation in the educational process. Conduct or 
 behavior is here the aim of education, rather than 
 information. In the project, intellectual matters flow 
 out of conduct, and flow back into conduct. Conduct 
 is a steady, flowing stream in which problematic situa- 
 tions arise, are solved, and the stream flows on. 
 
 The chief values of a project are: i 
 
 (1) It carries information over into conduct.
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 123 
 
 (2) It arouses interest, since there are many 
 reservoirs from which interest may flow, being 
 tied up with life situations. 
 
 After one has learned the theory and principles of 
 how to do a thing, there is much left to be done in 
 order to carry it over and apply it in the actual life 
 situation. The process of carrying out a theory or 
 given information is often as problematic as the the- 
 ory itself. The student often needs as much assistance 
 in the actual carrying-out of the technique of a project 
 as in getting the necessary information. 
 
 Farmers often report that students of school agri- 
 culture are frequently helpless when they come to the 
 farms to do the farm-craft work necessary in successful 
 practice. In order to get the complete benefits of a 
 successful project, the information carried over into 
 action, further assistance must be given the student 
 in this process, and it is at this point that the project 
 method affords the best help. 
 
 The home project when applied to instruction in 
 elementary and secondary agriculture, includes each 
 of the following requisites, according to Mr. C. II. 
 Lane, of the States Relation Service of the United 
 States Department of Agriculture: (1) There must 
 be a plan for work at home covering a season of more 
 or less extended period of time; (2) it must be a part 
 of the instruction in agriculture of the school; (3) there 
 must be a problem more or less new to the pupil; 
 (4) the parents and pupil should agree with the teacher
 
 124 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 upon the plan; (5) some competent person must super- 
 vise the home work; (6) detailed records of time, 
 method, cost, and income must be honestly kept; and 
 (7) a written report based on the record must be sub- 
 mitted to the teacher. 
 
 A distinction should be made between home pro- 
 jects and the comparatively simple exercises discussed 
 under laboratory methods. These exercises for the 
 most part are utilized to illustrate and apply some 
 principle, or for the purpose of increasing skill in some 
 farm operation. A project to be worthy of the name 
 should involve skill in many operations, the applica- 
 tion of a number of principles and problems of gen- 
 eral management. To accomplish this it should cover 
 a branch of farming that will extend over a compara- 
 tively long period of time. As it is to be a part of the 
 instruction in agriculture it should have a definite 
 relation to the course of study. Growing an acre of 
 corn would mean the application of many principles 
 of agriculture and would involve skill in general farm 
 operations as well as those connected especially with 
 corn culture, hence it would be a suitable project for 
 a student in general agriculture or agronomy. Caring 
 for an orchard or a garden would be a suitable project 
 for a student in a class in horticulture because it would 
 involve many of the principles and practices of that 
 phase of farming. Students in animal husbandry may 
 select as projects the care of a flock of poultry, or of one 
 or more pigs in which the general principles of animal
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 125 
 
 production will be applied. If the project is to have 
 the highest educational value it must involve new 
 problems. A student may grow an acre of corn year 
 after year and continue to learn something new, but if 
 the work of the first year has been directed properly 
 it will have far greater educational value than that of 
 the succeeding years. After growing corn one year, 
 the student may better take up some other crop, or 
 better still an entirely different phase of farming. 
 
 Parents should be interested in the pupil's home 
 project. The boy and the teacher should consult with 
 them from the beginning. The teacher should explain 
 to the parents that agricultural instruction is conducted 
 on the principle that there are still educational op- 
 portunities at home, and that the school, in order 
 properly to perform its functions, must make use of 
 these opportunities. The parents must be in sym- 
 pathy with the idea that the home and school need to 
 work hand in hand to offer the best educational ad- 
 vantages to the pupil. 
 
 The following extracts from a letter written by H. B. 
 Allen, of LeRoy High School, New York, to the par- 
 ents of the boys studying agriculture in his school, 
 illustrate an excellent way in which to supplement per- 
 sonal interviews with the parents in an effort to enlist 
 their cooperation: 
 
 Instruction in agriculture in the high school cannot pre- 
 tend to be complete and sufficient when it restricts its field 
 to the classroom and laboratory. Instruction in such a sub-
 
 126 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 ject deals with living and definite objects, although treating 
 considerably of the general theories and practices relating 
 to the same. Only in so far as the teaching is connected with 
 everyday occurrences and the application of the general 
 principles is demonstrated will the instruction prove effec- 
 tive. The laboratory work and field trips are efforts in this 
 direction. However well these may be conducted, the teach- 
 ing has not proved effective until the pupil has solved some 
 problem related to the subject and tested the thoroughness 
 of his knowledge. As a practical test the home project has 
 been decided upon. 
 
 Each pupil who takes work in agriculture is expected to 
 take up a home project. The project must be related to the 
 subject which is being studied that year in school. Because 
 of the seasonal nature of home projects they are necessarily 
 being continued both during school and after school has 
 closed. The instruction is so planned that school time will 
 be omitted and outside time credited in order that no 
 injustice may occur. 
 
 The different kinds of home projects may be grouped as 
 follows: 
 
 1. Productive projects. 
 
 2. Experimental or demonstration projects. 
 
 3. Improvement or construction projects. 
 
 Group 1 includes those projects having for their aim the 
 successful raising and care of a crop, animals, etc. Group 2 
 is composed of those projects which discover or demonstrate 
 some practical application of the theories and practices stud- 
 ied. Group 3 is a large indefinite group which includes nearly 
 all not in 1 and 2. Remodeling a poultry-house, beauti- 
 fying the home grounds, would be good examples of this 
 group. 
 
 The pupil should choose some project satisfactory to the 
 parents and approved by his instructor. It is intended that 
 these projects shall not in any way become an unjust bur- 
 den on the pupil or the home. Unreturned expense is unde-
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 127 
 
 sirable, and for this reason productive projects are sug- 
 gested as more feasible. 
 
 It is intended to make the project a definite problem in 
 itself. It is best that the work be done in so far as possible 
 by the pupil himself. This is not to restrict parental in- 
 terest, but rather to prevent any lack of responsibility on 
 the part of the pupil. In conducting the project the pupil 
 will be supplied with all necessary blanks to keep records, 
 costs, etc., in order that a complete summary of production 
 and profit may result. The instructor intends to keep 
 thoroughly in touch with every pupil carrying on a project. 
 
 In conclusion, let it be stated that if a project can be 
 adjusted so as to fit into the customary routine of duties of 
 the pupil at home, such conditions are ideal. The project, 
 however, must be a unit in itself and not neglected or over- 
 looked because it may be routine. Remember that the first 
 object of the project is primarily to test the instruction 
 gained by the pupil, and to reinforce the instruction through 
 practical experience. 
 
 The home-project plan has not been used sufficiently 
 long to have established a very definite order of pro- 
 cedure. There are many problems arising in connec- 
 tion with the efforts to apply the home-project methods 
 in secondary-school agriculture. The following prob- 
 lems are mentioned by Mr. Barrows in Farmers' Bul- 
 letin 346, of the United States Department of Agri- 
 culture: 
 
 1. Supervision of the projects. 
 
 2. Fitting the projects to the course of study. 
 S. Giving credit for projects. 
 
 4. Contests, prizes, and awards. 
 
 5. To what extent shall projects yield a profit.
 
 128 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 6. Securing cooperation of parents. 
 
 7. Substitutes for home projects. 
 
 8. Preparation of teachers. 
 
 a. Suggestions for the control of home projects. In 
 order to meet and solve these problems satisfactorily 
 for the time being at least, the instructor in agriculture 
 must be guided by principles and have pretty definite 
 convictions as a working basis for procedure. The 
 following suggestions may be helpful: 
 
 (1) Project work when conducted properly is ex- 
 pensive, and supervision must be provided. Schools 
 which cannot afford to hire an instructor for the full 
 year, may well hesitate about adopting the plan, for 
 summer supervision is most important to the success 
 of home-project work. The teacher should not scat- 
 ter his attention over too wide a range of projects. 
 Local agricultural conditions will govern the number 
 and choice of projects feasible. 
 
 (2) If the agriculture given is a general one-year 
 course, the projects may be more varied and several 
 different ones carried on by members of the same class; 
 if, however, the course is a special one, such as agron- 
 omy, animal husbandry, or horticulture, then the 
 projects should be selected within the field of study. 
 It is a question whether the work and study of agri- 
 culture should grow out of the project, or whether the 
 project should develop from and supplement the agri- 
 cultural study. In the high-school courses it has been 
 found more practical to follow the latter method. Such
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 129 
 
 time as seems necessary to the successful progress of 
 the project is given in the regular classwork in agri- 
 culture. 
 
 (3) The crediting of home-project work presents a 
 difficult problem. It may be feasible in some cases to 
 withhold the credit in agriculture until the student 
 has carried out the project to the satisfaction of the 
 instructor. In other cases the project has been graded 
 on the same basis as the class-work in agriculture, and 
 an average of the two grades taken to make up the 
 final grade. Many instructors weigh the various proj- 
 ects in terms of units of agriculture, and add from one 
 fourth to one unit to the pupil's high-school credits 
 for the satisfactory completion of a home project. In 
 the writer's opinion this is a better way to give credit 
 for home-project work in agriculture. 
 
 (4) The project work must be related to the high- 
 school instruction as a particular feature of it, yet 
 those students carrying on the home projects may well 
 be organized into an agricultural society or club, and af- 
 filiated with the State boys' and girls' club movement, 
 or some other national organization. The contest fea- 
 tures including prizes and awards need not be em- 
 phasized in the high-school project work, but with- 
 out detracting from the educational or vocational 
 value of the work, these club ideas may be used with 
 success. 
 
 (5) The project undertaken in high-school agricul- 
 ture should be considered worth while by the student.
 
 130 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 It must require effort and management, and be prof- 
 itable withal. When a student carries on a successful 
 project he should have hope of some reward in addition 
 to the school credit he may gain. No false standards, 
 such as are often given by high awards, should be set 
 before the student, but the true standard of success 
 and productive project. 
 
 (6) In all efforts to secure the cooperation of the 
 parents in home-project work, the teacher will ac- 
 complish more by working quietly to win the con- 
 fidence and good-will of the parents and patrons than 
 he will by making arbitrary rules. A campaign of edu- 
 cation among the parents is often necessary before 
 home-project methods can be successfully used. 
 
 (7) If there are students of agriculture who do not 
 live on the farm or who do not have resources avail- 
 able for carrying on a home project, it is usually pos- 
 sible to secure land or animals from others to carry 
 on the work. Caring for dairy cows, gardening on 
 vacant lots, pruning and spraying orchards, etc., are 
 projects which may be undertaken on a profit- 
 sharing basis with owners. 
 
 (8) The lack of preparation of teachers to supervise 
 home-project work is~perhaps the greatest problem at 
 present. Teachers who are prepared to succeed in the 
 supervision of home projects are much in demand. It 
 is worth while for teachers of agriculture to make an 
 extra effort to prepare themselves for this phase of vo- 
 cational agriculture. In several of the agricultural
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 131 
 
 colleges the departments of agricultural education 
 are now giving special attention to practical training 
 for project work. 
 
 b. List of home projects suggested. Without attempt- 
 ing to give weighted credit-unit value or to classify 
 the projects upon any basis of time or method of pro- 
 cedure, the following list of home projects is sub- 
 mitted: 
 
 1. Equipping a farm boy's business office. 
 
 2. Poultry-raising. 
 
 3. Keeping dairy cows. 
 
 4. Raising a litter of pigs. 
 
 5. Raising a calf. 
 
 6. Growing an acre of corn. 
 
 7. Growing alfalfa. 
 
 8. Soil-fertility project. 
 
 9. Growing Sudan grass. 
 
 10. Vegetable gardening. 
 
 11. Tomato-raising. 
 
 12. Potato-raising. 
 
 13. Growing cucumbers. ' 
 
 14. Growing strawberries. 
 
 15. Growing sweet-peas. 
 
 16. Sweet-corn culture. 
 
 17. Beautifying home grounds. 
 
 18. Care of fruit trees. 
 
 19. Starting a young orchard. 
 
 20. Planting a catalpa grove. 
 
 21. Some insect life-history studies. 
 
 22. Making concrete walks. 
 
 23. Making a farm gate. 
 
 24. Farm, home, and community survey. 
 
 (See Appendix for plans of home projects.)
 
 132 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 Supervised farm practice under the Smith-Hughes 
 Law. The Smith-Hughes Law providing Federal funds 
 to the States for the salaries of teachers of vocational 
 agriculture hi secondary schools, states, in section 19, 
 " That such schools shall provide for directed or super- 
 vised practice hi agriculture, either on a farm provided 
 for by the school or other farm for at least six months." 
 This practical work may be either regular farm occu- 
 pations or special home projects as referred to above. 
 Regular farm work for this purpose implies an inter- 
 pretation of the regular farm duties carried on by the 
 pupil in accordance with outlines or instructions pre- 
 pared by the supervisor, corresponding reports by the 
 pupils to the supervisor, and actual visitation by the 
 supervisor to inspect the pupil's work and to confer 
 with him. 
 
 The home-project work, as described in the fore- 
 going pages, supplies one form of supervised farm 
 practice under the provisions of the Smith-Hughes 
 Law. The following excerpt from Bulletin 8 of the 
 Illinois Board for Vocational Education, relating to 
 the supervision of regular farm work as an integral 
 part of the school course, was a suggestion of the author 
 in an approach to one solution of this problem: 
 
 In order to provide more definite standards and better 
 organization of the supervised practice work in agriculture, 
 we may classify the farm operations commonly found in the 
 State, under the following systems or kinds of farming: 
 
 1. Grain farming. 
 
 . Live-stock farming.
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 133 
 
 3. Dairy fanning. 
 
 4. Truck farming. 
 
 5. Fruit farming. 
 
 6. Poultry farming. 
 
 7. General farming. 
 
 Should a student in the vocational course in agriculture 
 choose to do his six months' supervised farm practice in 
 helping his father or as a hired laborer in any one of these 
 systems of farming, then, in addition to the certificate of 
 work signed by the parent or guardian to the teacher of 
 agriculture, the student should have a special notebook in 
 which to write, each week of the twenty-four, the answer to one 
 of the twenty-four questions here submitted for the kind of 
 farming he is doing. The supervisor should visit the student 
 at least once each week, and the principal topic for discussion 
 or demonstration for the visitation should be the point in 
 question to be answered that week in the student's notebook. 
 
 The following points suggested for the various systems of 
 farming may not come up in actual order of farm operations 
 as here listed, but the supervisor should designate such 
 questions for his visit and for the written paragraph answers 
 in the student's notebook as apply as nearly as possible to 
 the work the student is doing on the farm at the time. A 
 permanent notebook which may be labeled, "The Smith- 
 Hughes Supervised Farm Practice Notebook," should be 
 used for this work. A few introductory pages should be 
 written describing the farm, the system of farming, and the 
 general plan of the student and supervisor for the season. 
 It would be well to set aside pages for a diary of operations 
 and the work certified to each week by the parent. 
 
 Suggestive Points for the Supervised Farm Practice in Systems 
 of Grain Farming 
 
 1. Meaning of crop rotation; values of crop rotation; the 
 rotation used on the farm where the boy works. 
 
 2. Leading legume crops of the State; value and use of
 
 134 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 legumes; the legumes produced on the home farm; 
 disposition made of the legume crop. 
 
 3. Essentials in successful production of red clover. Use 
 of red clover as a feed, and in permanent soil fertility. 
 
 4. Essentials in successful production of alfalfa. Har- 
 vesting and use of alfalfa. 
 
 5. Use of lime-stone in soil improvement, values, methods 
 of application, soil testing for acidity, etc. 
 
 6. Use of rock phosphate in a system of permanent soil 
 fertility. Times and methods of application. 
 
 7. Some good varieties and successful methods hi oats 
 seeding. How treat oats for smut? Demonstrate. 
 
 8. What are the points to observe in good ploughing, i.e., 
 breaking the ground in preparation for seeding? 
 
 9. Essentials of a good seed-bed. Some implements to use 
 in making a good seed-bed. 
 
 10. How are we to judge good seed corn? Essential quali- 
 ties of good seed corn. 
 
 11. Describe methods of testing seed corn used on the farm 
 where student works. Test seed corn. 
 
 12. Describe method of planting corn followed on the home 
 farm. Give all details. 
 
 13. Why do we cultivate corn? What cultivator did you 
 use this season? Are you using deep or shallow cultiva- 
 tion. Why? How many tunes to cultivate? 
 
 14. What weeds do you find in the corn, or troublesome any- 
 where on the place? Discuss best methods of con- 
 trolling them. 
 
 15. What harvesting practice is necessary in making good 
 timothy hay? Clover hay? Alfalfa hay? What yields 
 are you getting this season? 
 
 16. Describe good methods of shocking and setting up 
 wheat and oats. Are the prospects good for a large 
 yield? Give reasons. 
 
 17. What insect pests were on the corn or wheat this season ? 
 To what extent the injury? Outline methods of control.
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 135 
 
 18. Essentials in growing soy beans. 
 
 19. The yields of oats and wheat. What yields should we 
 reasonably expect? 
 
 20. Explain the methods of using eveners in three-horse 
 hitch and the tandem four-horse hitch in fall ploughing. 
 Which is the better hitch? Why? 
 
 21. Importance of selecting seed corn in the field. Describe 
 methods used. 
 
 22. When do you cut corn for the silo? Describe methods 
 of filling silos. Value of silage. 
 
 23. Estimated yield of corn on home farm. Probable rea- 
 sons for high or low yield. Methods of marketing. 
 Essentials in proper storage of seed corn. 
 
 24. Make out a summary and financial statement of the 
 leading crop on the farm. 
 
 Summary of Labor 
 
 Operations 
 
 Hours of labor at current price 
 
 Man 
 
 Boy 
 
 Horse 
 
 Cost 
 
 Ploughing 
 
 
 
 
 
 Harrowing and rolling 
 
 Seed preparation 
 
 Seed treatment 
 
 
 Cultivating 
 
 Harvesting ................ 
 
 Storing or marketing 
 
 Total 
 
 
 
 

 
 136 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 Summary of Financial Statement 
 
 Item 
 
 Quantity 
 
 Price 
 
 Total 
 
 Charges 
 
 Credits 
 
 Seed 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chemicals treating seed 
 
 Fertilizers 
 
 Rent 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Use of building 
 
 Products marketed or stored . 
 Net profit or loss 
 
 Total 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Suggestive Points for the Supervised Farm Practice in Systems 
 of Live-Stock Farming 
 
 1. Values of live-stock on the farm. Kinds, number, and 
 estimated value of live-stock on the farm where the 
 boy works. 
 
 2. What are pure-breds, grades, and scrubs? Number
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 137 
 
 and kinds of each on this farm. Advantages of pure- 
 breds. How are live-stock improved in breeding? 
 
 3. What is pedigree? Registration? Advanced registry? 
 Copy the official registration to four generations of 
 one pure-bred animal on the farm. 
 
 4. Characterize the breed of swine raised on the farm. 
 Select and describe the points, as you would judge 
 them in the best brood sow on the farm. 
 
 5. Describe the feeding systems used for the swine on the 
 farm. Figure out the nutritive ratios. Are there bal- 
 anced rations and good standards? 
 
 6. What provision is made for housing -the hogs? Are 
 conditions sanitary? Make suggestions for improve- 
 ment if needed. 
 
 7. Describe the breed of beef cattle fed on this farm. With 
 the help of the supervisor place a ring of steers and 
 describe in your notebook why you placed No. (?) first. 
 
 8. Describe the feeding methods used on the farm. Are 
 they good? Why? 
 
 9. Describe the breed of sheep raised. Place a ring of 
 sheep and state why you select ike first, second, etc. 
 
 10. Characterize a good fleece. Examine and determine 
 some good specimen. 
 
 11. Describe the methods of feeding and housing sheep 
 used on this farm. Criticisms. 
 
 12. Characterize the dairy breed on the farm. Describe a 
 cow in the herd you would place first in judging, with 
 reasons for your judgment. 
 
 13. What feeding rations are used? Are they good? Why? 
 
 14. Estimate from the daily milk record the yearly record 
 of each cow. How would this total weight compare 
 with the cow's weight? How does this yield compare 
 with some world record cows? 
 
 15. What is the butter-fat test for each cow in the herd? 
 How do these tests compare with proper standards on 
 the butter-fat content?
 
 138 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 16. What are the distinctive characteristics of the breed of 
 horses used on the farm? 
 
 17. Practice judging a ring of horses. Place the best horse 
 and write out your reasons. 
 
 18. What feeding methods and standards are used for the 
 work horses on the farm? Determine whether they are 
 good. 
 
 19. List eight or ten points in good horsemanship. Demon- 
 strate to the supervisor that you can hitch, drive, and 
 handle a team well. 
 
 20. Describe the breed characteristics of the poultry raised 
 on the farm. 
 
 21. What rations are used in feeding the poultry on this 
 farm? Are they good? Why? 
 
 22. Criticize the housing of the poultry on the farm. How 
 should it be improved if necessary? 
 
 23. Quote the market prices for all grades and classes of 
 live-stock for the current week. 
 
 24. Make out a summary and financial statement for one 
 group of live-stock for the period of supervised work. 
 
 Kind and Number of Animals 
 
 
 Pounds 
 
 Pounds 
 
 
 Cost of f eec 
 
 
 
 grain fed 
 
 roughage fed 
 
 Grain 
 
 Roughage 
 
 Total 
 
 Month 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Month 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Month 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Month 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Month 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Month 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total... 
 
 
 
 

 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 139 
 
 Date 
 
 Products 
 sold 
 
 Quantity 
 
 Price 
 
 Total 
 
 Month 
 
 
 
 
 
 Month 
 
 
 
 
 
 Month 
 
 
 
 
 
 Month 
 
 
 
 
 
 Month 
 
 
 
 
 
 Month 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total... 
 
 
 
 
 
 Summary 
 
 
 Charges 
 
 Credits 
 
 
 
 
 Labor boy 
 
 
 
 Labor horse 
 
 
 
 Feed '. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 JT* nf hiiilHi'ngS ............ i . , , 1 1 . 
 
 
 
 Miscellaneous ....... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Manure 
 
 
 
 Products marketed 
 
 
 
 Inventory 
 
 
 
 Net profit 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Totals 
 
 
 
 

 
 140 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 For the general farming system the supervisor may choose 
 from the lists on grain farming and live-stock farming any 
 twenty-four points applicable to the student's case. In fact, 
 these points are only meant for suggestions and methods, 
 and the supervisor should feel at liberty to adapt the points 
 and reports to the student's work and community interests. 
 For the other systems of farming in which students of voca- 
 tional agriculture may offer their supervised practice work, 
 the agriculture teacher should carefully prepare the twenty- 
 four points, admitting of practice and demonstration upon 
 the supervisor's visits and having definite notebook answers 
 to be made by the student. 
 
 Suggestive Points for the Supervised Farm Practice in Farm 
 Mechanics 
 
 1. Rope work. 
 
 (a) Up crown, down crown, whipping ends. 
 (6) Knots; square, weavers, bow-line, grain sack, 
 pipe hitch. 
 
 (c) Repair broken strands, long splice, short splice, 
 loop. 
 
 (d) Halters; horse, cattle, emergency. 
 
 2. Babbeting and dressing a box. 
 
 3. Get a soldering outfit. Do elementary soldering, repair 
 work, etc. 
 
 4. Belt lacing, cement splice, single cross lace, double 
 cross lace. 
 
 5. Pipe cutting and fitting. 
 
 6. Some forge and iron work, bending, clevis making; use 
 old machines, take apart and put together, study parts 
 and construction, repair broken parts, binder heads 
 and old disc harrows especially. 
 
 7 Wood-working. 
 
 (a) Construction of equalizers, especially the wood 
 parts, possibly buy iron and complete the con- 
 struction.
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 141 
 
 (b) Make a good farm gate, use old lumber if neces- 
 sary; make it right. 
 
 (c) Make pig self-feeders, chicken coops, etc. 
 
 (d) Make a hayrack. 
 
 8. Concrete work. Practice to get materials properly 
 proportioned. Make slabs and posts, compare the 
 breaking strength fpr tests as to success of your work. 
 : NOTE : For the notebook work, describe each practice 
 or construction, and state the fundamental principles 
 learned. The supervisor of agriculture may find on 
 any farm where his students are working opportunities 
 to give some excellent practice from among the points 
 suggested above. 
 
 Use of reference materials. Books and other pub- 
 lications intended for the use of farmers and students 
 of agriculture are not only increasing in number, but 
 improving in quality as well. The Department of 
 Agriculture at Washington, D.C., the various State 
 agricultural colleges, and many commercial institu- 
 tions publish valuable material which may be used 
 as reference by secondary schools teaching agriculture. 
 The leading agricultural journals should be available 
 for the use of the students. The teacher of agriculture 
 should keep in touch with the sources of all these 
 reference materials, and arouse interest in his students 
 to collect and use them. Students may be required 
 to obtain such available bulletins as bear upon their 
 courses and projects. 
 
 For most reference reading students must depend 
 upon the school library. With so much material avail-
 
 142 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 able there is little excuse for a high school being with- 
 out some kind of an agricultural library. Much of the 
 best reference material is in the free publications, but 
 in such a form that it is often overlooked. The teacher 
 should use a card-index system, so that students may 
 readily find the available information on any topic 
 which may be assigned. Bulletins should be in suit- 
 able boxes arranged according to the card-index 
 system in use. Covers may be provided for bulletins 
 which are used extensively. If files are not kept of 
 the farm papers, clippings may be made of such articles 
 as have a bearing upon the subjects studied. These 
 clippings may be placed in large envelopes or letter 
 files and indexed under title of subject with the bulle- 
 tins. If the students are made acquainted with sources 
 of information and established in efficient habits in the 
 use of that information, much will be accomplished 
 in their training. 
 
 SYSTEM OF FILING 
 
 [ (Courtesy of G. A. Deveneau, Agricultural Librarian, University of Illinois) 
 
 Classification of Agriculture 
 
 For use in arranging an agricultural collection of books, bulletins, 
 and clippings 
 
 Agricultural economics, education and sociology. 
 . 1 Farm organization and management. 
 0.2 Cooperative or "mutual" enterprises. 
 . 3 Agricultural credit and insurance. 
 . 4 Agricultural education. 
 . 5 Agricultural experiment station. 
 . 6 Agricultural extension.
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 143 
 
 . 7 Social activities and organizations (e.g., granges) . 
 0.8 Country church and Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A. 
 . 9 History of agriculture. 
 
 1 Soils. 
 
 1 . 1 Soil surveys. 
 
 1.2 Soil physics (soil depreciation and its preven- 
 
 tion). 
 
 1.3 Soil chemistry (constituents and fertility treat- 
 
 ment). 
 
 1.4 Soil cultivation and tillage (1.45 or 9.5? Dry 
 
 farming). 
 
 1 . 5 Crop rotation. 
 
 1 . 6 Soil moisture. 
 
 1.7 Fertilizers. 
 
 1 . 8 Soil bacteriology. 
 
 1 . 9 Climate and weather. 
 
 2 Agricultural engineering. 
 
 2.1 Drainage. 
 
 2.2 Irrigation. 
 
 2 . 3 Farm buildings. 
 2.4 
 
 2.5 Roads and bridges. 
 
 2 . 6 Fences and minor structures. 
 
 2 . 7 Farm implements and machinery. 
 
 2.8 Water supply. 
 
 2.9 Sanitation. 
 
 3 Economic entomology, plant diseases, and pests. 
 
 3.1 Apiculture. 
 
 8 . 2 Other beneficial insects. 
 
 3 . 3 Harmful insects affecting animals. 
 
 3 . 4 Harmful insects affecting plants. 
 
 8 . 5 Insect repression. 
 
 3 . 6 Diseases of agricultural plants. 
 3.7 
 
 8 . 8 Weeds and poisonous plants. 
 
 3 . 9 Injurious animals.
 
 144 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 4 Field and forage crops. 
 1 Cereals. 
 
 4.11 Wheat. 
 
 4.12 Barley. 
 
 4.13 Oats. 
 
 4.14 Rye. 
 
 4.15 Emm or and spoltz. 
 
 4.16 Corn. 
 
 4 . 17 Grain sorghums Kafir, milo, and durra. 
 
 4.18 Rice. 
 
 4 . 19 Buckwheat and others. 
 
 4.2 Corn (?) 
 
 4.3 Wheat (?) 
 
 4 . 4 Grasses Hay and pasture. 
 
 4.41 Meadows and pastures. 
 
 4.42 Bermuda. 
 
 4.43 Bluegrass. 
 
 4.44 Millets. 
 
 4 . 45 Prairie and native grasses. 
 
 4.46 Sudan grass. 
 
 4.47 Timothy. 
 4.48 
 
 4.49 Others. 
 
 4.5 Legumes. 
 
 4.51 Alfalfa (Lucerne). 
 
 4.52 Clovers. 
 
 4.53 Cow peas. 
 
 4.54 Field peas. 
 
 4.55 Peanut. 
 
 4 . 56 Soy beans. 
 
 4.57 Sweet clover. 
 
 4.58 Vetches. 
 
 4.59 Others. 
 
 4.6 Alkaloidal, medicinal, and oil-producing plants. 
 
 4 . 7 Textile and fiber plants. 
 
 4.71 Cotton.
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 145 
 
 4.72 
 
 4.73 Flax. 
 ; 4.74 Hemp. 
 
 4.75 Jute. 
 
 4 . 76 Broom corn. 
 
 4.8 Sugar-yielding plants. 
 
 4.81 Beet. 
 
 4.82 
 
 4.83 Cane. 
 
 4.84 
 
 4.85 Sorghum. 
 
 4 . 9 Root crops and miscellaneous forage crops. 
 
 5 Horticulture (plant culture). 
 
 6 . 1 Plant culture (including seeds, planting, pruning, 
 
 breeding, etc.). 
 5.2 
 5.3 
 5.4 
 
 5.5 Vegetables. 
 
 5.6 Fruits. 
 
 5.7 Floriculture. 
 
 5 . 8 Landscape gardening. 
 
 6.9 Forestry. 
 
 6 Animal husbandry (animal culture). 
 
 6.1 Cattle. 
 
 6 . 2 Horses and mules. 
 
 6.3 Sheep and goats. 
 
 6.4 Swine. 
 
 6.5 Poultry. 
 
 6.6 Birds. 
 
 6.7 Dogs and cats. 
 
 6.8 Fish, etc. 
 
 6 . 9 Veterinary science. 
 
 7 Dairy farming and manufacture. 
 
 7.1 General. 
 
 7.2 Dairy cattle, breeding and feeding.
 
 146 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 7.3 Milk. 
 
 7.4 Condensed and skim milk. 
 
 7.5 Cream. 
 
 7.6 Butter. 
 7.7 
 
 7.8 Cheese. 
 
 7.9 Ice cream. 
 
 8 Feeding of animals. 
 
 8 . 1 Composition of foods for animals. 
 
 8.2 Nutritive value. 
 
 8.3 Preparation and use. 
 
 8.4 Preservation silage. 
 
 8.5 Adulteration. 
 
 8 . 6 Food analyses. 
 
 8 . 7 Food experiments. 
 
 8.8 Soiling. 
 
 9 Home economics. 
 
 9.1 Foods cooking. 
 
 9.2 serving entertaining. 
 
 9.3 preserving canning. 
 
 9.4 Home and its furnishing. 
 9.5 
 
 9.6 Household administration and management. 
 
 9.7 Clothing. 
 
 9.8 Laundry. 
 
 9.9 Nursery and sick-room. 
 
 Liberal use made of Wyer Expansion of D.C. 1914, and 
 other classification schemes. 
 
 Agricultural extension in the high school. Contempo- 
 rary educational philosophy demands a free field for educa- 
 tional experimentation, an evaluation of educational attain- 
 ments in terms of personal and social efficiency, refinement 
 and happiness, and an expansion and extension of school 
 activities. 1 
 
 1 Dewey, Schools of To-morrow.
 
 When any school or department of that school gets 
 away from the monastic ideals of education, and is 
 willing to bring whatever of good it possesses to all the 
 people within reach, then the school not only takes 
 on new life within itself, but enlists the moral and 
 financial support to a larger degree of all the people it 
 endeavors to serve. This has been shown in the history 
 of the colleges of agriculture of the country. For a 
 score or more of years the Land-Grant Colleges of 
 Agriculture pursued the even tenor of their way, 
 scarcely known outside the campus farm, drawing 
 few students to the college, and receiving little or 
 no State aid. When, however, these colleges began 
 to establish extension departments, and to have the 
 extension spirit, they began to enroll students by the 
 hundreds, and to receive State aid by the thousands 
 and millions. 
 
 The high schools, especially since they are of aristo- 
 cratic origin and have been born and bred in classic 
 atmosphere, must also see to it that they break down 
 the closed-wall ideals and serve the common people 
 with a democratic and universal education. This the 
 American high schools are beginning to do through the 
 introduction of vocational courses and the develop- 
 ment of the community service and extension ideals, 
 and as a result of this movement we witness the most 
 remarkable growth of any educational institution in all 
 history, in that of the modern high school. 
 
 With the introduction of agriculture into the high
 
 148 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 school, a new and practical means of effective exten- 
 sion service is possible, and the high school having 
 a department of agriculture fails to see its golden op- 
 portunity when it neglects extension activities along 
 agricultural lines. Once the spirit and value of exten- 
 sion service is felt and realized by the high school, then 
 the whole school through its various activities be- 
 comes a community-serving institution in the broad- 
 est sense. 
 
 a. The objects of high-school extension are: l 
 
 1. To vitalize the regular work of the school by 
 articulating it more closely with the home, 
 farm, shop, and other forms of human en- 
 deavor. 
 
 2. To carry the benefits of the school to many 
 groups who are deprived of its direct influences. 
 
 8. To cooperate with all educational agencies of 
 the community which do not at present come 
 under school administration, utilizing these as 
 far as practical in the educational work of the 
 school and community. 
 
 4. To institute promising educational efforts 
 that may result in increased human pros- 
 perity and welfare. 
 
 There are well-established educational and govern- 
 ment principles underlying the movement for exten- 
 sion work: 
 
 1 Modified and adapted from Hummel, High-School Extension 
 Circular, University of California.
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 149 
 
 1. Government control and direction aims in all 
 good democracies to increase individual and 
 social content and happiness. 
 1 2. Whatever organized society desires to do for 
 the common good are legitimate matters for 
 governmental agencies to foster. 
 
 3. A continuation of education of the right sort 
 is desirable for every citizen of a democracy. 
 
 4. Modern civilization demands of every citizen 
 a more extensive and differentiated training 
 than the conditions of a simpler age required, 
 and the adaptation of educational forms and 
 progress to the changing needs of society is 
 in harmony with the principle of evolution 
 and gives warrant for the continued enlarge- 
 ment of public school activities and increased 
 financial support thereof. 
 
 Many agencies beside the school are contributing 
 to the work of education, the home, church, theater, 
 library, playground, club, workshop, farm, business 
 house, press, museum, art gallery, concert hall, lecture 
 platform, legislative hall, convention hall, and the 
 great out-of-doors. 
 
 Without going into detail to outline forms of ex- 
 tension activities through which a high school may 
 serve the entire community along many lines of human 
 interest, a few suggestions, referring to the four ob- 
 jects of extension work given above, may be grouped 
 about these larger aims as forms of extension work.
 
 150 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 b. Forms of extension activities for: 
 Object I. 
 
 1. Amateur dramatics. 
 
 2. Pageantry. 
 
 3. Literary societies. 
 
 4. School paper. 
 
 5. School farm. 
 
 6. Musical programs and societies. 
 
 7. School credit for home work, correlation 
 of home life and school work. 
 
 Object II. 
 
 1. Night schools. 
 
 2. Courses for retarded pupils. 
 
 3. Part time day schools. 
 
 4. Continuation schools, short courses, 
 etc. 
 
 5. Adult day schools. 
 
 6. Vacation schools. 
 
 7. Schools for defectives. 
 Object III. 
 
 1. Bible study, Sunday-Schools. 
 
 2. Schools as social centers. 
 
 3. Public recreation. 
 
 4. Specific vocational instruction. 
 
 5. Club work, home projects, etc. 
 
 6. Teachers' training courses. 
 
 7. Red Cross work. 
 
 8. Library training courses. 
 
 9. Home-making courses for girls.
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 151 
 
 Object IV. 
 
 1. Exchange teacher plan. 
 
 2. General language courses. 
 
 3. Elementary courses in civics, philosophy, 
 astronomy, etc. 
 
 4. Patrons' institutes, people's week, etc. 
 
 5. The high school a community laboratory, 
 a bureau of local research, local prob- 
 lems studied, surveys made, tests made, 
 etc. 
 
 6. Junior college work. 
 
 The teacher of agriculture who plans to begin a 
 policy of extension service from his department, may 
 wisely practice a little " watchful waiting." This may 
 also be good extension policy for the high school as a 
 whole. It may not be tactful to announce at first any 
 extension plans, but they should early be formulated 
 and set in motion, whenever and wherever the occa- 
 sion and opportunity are ripe. The extent and amount 
 of agricultural extension work done by the high school 
 will depend very much upon the type of school in 
 which agriculture is given. When the school does not 
 require the teacher of agriculture to teach other sub- 
 jects, and gives him at least half of his time for ex- 
 tension work, it is evident that such work will develop 
 to larger proportions. 
 
 c. There are four rather effective methods of approach 
 to agricultural extension work : 
 
 First, the community survey should be made. 1 
 1 See Appendix.
 
 152 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 Through the survey, the natural resources of the com- 
 munity may be determined, and the nature of the or- 
 ganizations and institutions affecting agricultural and 
 country life interests. 
 
 Second, home-project work, as described earlier in 
 this discussion, is an excellent method of approach to 
 extension service. By this method practical instruction 
 in agriculture is brought to the homes of the boys and 
 girls, and not only the students who attend school and 
 do the project work are benefited, but the parents and 
 other out-of -school folks, seeing the results of success- 
 ful home-project work, may gain valuable agricultural 
 information. 
 
 Third, individual work among farmers is real ex- 
 tension work, practical and possible, when the teacher 
 of agriculture has time and when he is capable of 
 doing it. Such work as testing seeds and milk, examin- 
 ing soils, advising on points of farm management, 
 pruning and spraying fruit trees, vaccinating swine 
 for cholera, testing cows for tuberculosis, caponizing 
 young cockerels, treating oats for smut, referring to 
 authorities the different problems arising, etc., are 
 common methods of individual extension work the 
 high-school department may do, but the teacher must 
 be "mighty sure" that he knows his ground, from an 
 abundant and successful experience, as well as from 
 technical scientific knowledge along the line of work 
 he attempts. 
 
 Fourth, organization of farmers' clubs forms an
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 153 
 
 opportunity for good extension activities by the high- 
 school agricultural department. In addition to the 
 organization of agricultural clubs among the interested 
 students in the high school, the school may be active 
 in the organization and leadership of agricultural socie- 
 ties, farmers' clubs, and country-life clubs, and other 
 similar organizations among the adults of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 Where there is a county agricultural adviser, the 
 school may follow up and conserve the work of the 
 adviser in all his efforts at organization in the com- 
 munity. 
 
 One interesting form of cooperation which is a 
 splendid piece of extension work, is an agricultural 
 advisory committee chosen from among the successful 
 farmers of the community. These men advise in all 
 matters relating to the agricultural work in the local 
 high school. They may give practical talks to the 
 classes in agriculture, and what is better still, they 
 may take the class on automobile trips to see actual 
 farm operations and conditions having educational 
 value for the students of agriculture in school. 
 
 The development of agricultural and home economic 
 short courses, to which all the people of the community 
 may come, will contribute more and more, like the 
 folk high schools of Denmark, to the vocational as well 
 as to the liberal education of the old and young of the 
 open country. The community high school will ulti- 
 mately not only be doing all the extension work now
 
 154 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 done by the colleges of agriculture, but vastly more and 
 with much greater efficiency because it is nearer to the 
 farmer's home. 
 
 In reply to a questionnaire sent out by the Assistant 
 in Agricultural Education in the United States Office 
 of Experiment Stations in 1914 to the high schools of 
 the country, over one half of the four hundred schools 
 replying reported that they were engaged in some kind 
 of boys' and girls' club work as an extension activity. 
 In most cases the agricultural instructors were acting 
 as local leaders. The principle types of extension work 
 done in the high schools were organizing farmers' 
 clubs, cow-testing and live-stock work, seed selection, 
 speaking at meetings, and giving advice to individual 
 farmers. The various kinds of extension work carried 
 on by the agricultural instructors as listed in the 
 report of the above-mentioned questionnaire are as 
 follows: 
 
 Spraying Organizing clubs 
 
 Pruning Speaking at meetings 
 
 Grange work Cow-testing 
 
 Testing milk Alfalfa plots 
 
 Weed identification Corn clubs 
 
 Testing seed corn Wheat-breeding 
 
 Consultations Experiments 
 
 Dairy improvement Farm visits 
 
 Purchase of live-stock Fertilizing 
 
 Hog-cholera work Answering questions 
 
 School contests Care of cattle 
 
 Introducing pure-bred seed Seed-testing 
 
 Poultry clubs Pig clubs 
 
 Garden clubs Ploughing demonstrations 
 
 Planning and building silos Cooperative associations
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 155 
 
 Agricultural extension work, properly carried on, 
 should reach the purse, the mind, and the spirit. It 
 should bring increased knowledge, added profits, and 
 greater contentment and happiness to farm people. 
 Local extension work enables the instructor to become 
 familiar with country-life conditions, and to be bet- 
 ter able to teach the pupils coming from the country 
 homes. Agricultural extension work hi the high school 
 offers opportunity to relate the State agricultural col- 
 lege, the school, and the farming population of the 
 community in ways mutually helpful to all. 
 
 The teacher of agriculture in the high school, if 
 properly prepared for his work, is in an ideal position 
 to do effective agricultural extension work. Extension 
 work from the college of agriculture must necessarily 
 be at long range and only a few people are directly 
 reached. The county adviser can come in touch with 
 his farm constituency only at more or less infrequent 
 intervals. The high-school teacher of agriculture is 
 in the community, " on the job " every day. He is 
 able to prove himself the farmer's friend and confident. 
 It is his duty to make himself a vital factor in pro- 
 moting better agriculture and happier country living 
 throughout the community employing him. If he has 
 the confidence of the farmers, they will bring their 
 problems to him and heed his advice. If he cannot 
 answer their questions, he will take them to some agri- 
 cultural expert who is especially fitted to do so. 
 
 Professor Hummel, of the California State College
 
 156 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 of Agriculture, made a study of certain phases of 
 high-school agricultural extension work and found: 
 
 First, that it was advisable that one half of each 
 school day, preferably the morning, should be given 
 by the agricultural instructor to classwork, and that 
 the other half be left free for preparation, for labo- 
 ratory work, and community extension work. 
 
 Second, that the agricultural teacher should be 
 hired for twelve months, a vacation of one month 
 being allowed at the most convenient time. 
 
 Third, a part of the financial support for the local 
 extension work should come from the State, and a 
 part from the local high-school district. A tactful 
 teacher can find ways, however, of starting effective 
 local extension work, even though no funds are pro- 
 vided or moral support given. 
 
 Fourth, the kinds of extension work may be clas- 
 sified under five heads: (a) work with farmers, as 
 organizing or working in farmers' clubs, an annual 
 farmers' short-course week, field and orchard demon- 
 stration, cooperative experiments on farms, good seed 
 distribution, seed- and milk-testing, preparing plans for 
 buildings, selecting and purchasing improved live- 
 stock, etc.; (6) work with farm women, as afternoon 
 or evening meetings, short courses, home garden, and 
 poultry experiments; (c) work with young people, as 
 short courses in agriculture and home economics, agri- 
 cultural contests and societies; (d) work with rural- 
 school teachers, as meetings for agricultural instruc-
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 157 
 
 tion, assisting in conducting school fairs; and (e) work 
 with rural-school children, as boys' and girls' agricul- 
 tural or domestic science clubs, school fairs or exhibits 
 of work, rural improvements, and athletic field days. 
 
 From all these studies we may conclude that among 
 the kinds of agricultural extension work found effec- 
 tive in secondary schools are : 
 
 Short courses for men and women over school age; 
 farmers' week hi cooperation with the State college of 
 agriculture sending representatives for extension lec- 
 tures; visiting and advising with individual farmers; 
 organization of farmers' clubs for definite purposes, 
 and work in these organizations; rural schoolhouse 
 meetings with farmers, with talks and round-table dis- 
 cussions on agricultural and rural-life problems; assist- 
 ing farmers in keeping cost and yield records; help- 
 ing in balancing feeding rations for farm animals; 
 suggesting improvements in crop rotations, testing 
 milk, seed, etc.; distributing good seed; pruning, 
 spraying, the use of hog-cholera serum, caponizing 
 poultry, treating oats for smut; cooperative demon- 
 stration plots on farms of the community; home-pro- 
 ject work among farm boys; promoting the teach- 
 ing of agriculture in rural schools, and assisting in 
 this work; organization of boys' and girls' clubs; 
 getting up local fairs, contests, farm product days, 
 etc. ; issuing of school bulletins on timely topics, agri- 
 cultural items in local papers, and agricultural sup- 
 plements occasionally; establishing farmers' circulating
 
 158 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 libraries; listing farmers for " sale " and " want " 
 items at the school or in published lists to be dis- 
 tributed; and utilizing all the educational and agricul- 
 tural resources of the community for the improve- 
 ment of agriculture and rural-life conditions. 
 
 Difficulties in connection with this work should not 
 dismay the right kind of an agricultural teacher. If he 
 is properly trained for his work and brings a man's 
 estate to the task, he need not fear failure. The agri- 
 cultural teacher who is qualified to give courses in a 
 high school, who is thoroughly grounded in the ele- 
 mentary principles of science, who has a detailed 
 technical knowledge of agriculture and a certain 
 amount of training in farm practice, should be able to 
 do a certain kind and amount of good community ex- 
 tension work. Training in public speaking and Eng- 
 lish will be of great value. Knowledge of rural sociology 
 and agricultural economics will be important. Keen 
 sympathy with, and an understanding of, community 
 needs and welfare are essential. 
 
 Use of land in teaching agriculture in secondary 
 schools. The Office of Experiment Stations of the 
 United States Department of Agriculture in 1914 sent 
 out a questionnaire to all high schools receiving State 
 aid, to special agricultural schools, and to normal 
 schools known to have courses in agriculture. To this 
 400 replies were received. Out of the replies received 
 257 reported that some land was used in connec- 
 tion with agricultural instruction. These schools were
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 159 
 
 distributed rather representatively in the Eastern, 
 Southern, and Middle Western States. Of the 257 
 schools with land, only 82 reported farm animals. 
 Over one half of the school farms had 6 acres or less. 
 There were 58 farms with over 20 acres. The report 
 shows that of the 257 school farms, 150 were growing 
 corn; 129, garden crops; 84, potatoes; 75, oats; 61, 
 alfalfa; 42, cotton; 35, wheat; 29, clover; and 20, sweet 
 potatoes. 
 
 Some of the larger uses to which the land was put 
 were 827 acres for crop rotation, 593 acres for general 
 demonstrations, 382 acres for raising pure-bred seed 
 for distribution among the farmers, 206 acres for dormi- 
 tory supplies, 166 acres for fertilizer demonstrations, 
 and 166 acres for general experiments. 
 
 A question was asked as to whether the school farm 
 was essential in secondary-school agricultural instruc- 
 tion. The replies indicated that a majority were op- 
 posed to the school farm. In stating the advantages 
 and disadvantages of the school farm, replies indicated 
 that the advantages were all educational, and the dis- 
 advantages arose in connection with the management 
 of the school farm. 
 
 Advantages referred to were that the school farm 
 made instruction real, gave the student some practical 
 work, supplied laboratory material, and gave oppor- 
 tunity to carry on demonstrations for the benefit of 
 the pupils and farmers. The principal disadvantages 
 were that help was hard to get, the land poor, and the
 
 160 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 instructor's time was poorly spent. Many difficult prob- 
 lems of management arise. The farms are small, build- 
 ings and equipment poor or absent, help of men and 
 teams must be hired, the investment is high in propor- 
 tion to the acreage cultivated and to the crops ob- 
 tained, and the agricultural instructor seldom lives on 
 the land or is employed for the entire year. The farm- 
 ers of the community are likely to criticize the school 
 farm if the agricultural instructor does not make it 
 produce crops with a profit. It is questionable whether 
 the school farm should be managed for profit; it is 
 even doubtful whether it should be called a " farm," 
 if land at the school must be managed at all. School 
 plots which seem to have met with the best success 
 are those which grow pure-bred seed corn, small grains, 
 alfalfa, potatoes, etc. This plan enables the school to 
 get good seed to be distributed in the neighborhood. 
 Fruit trees, forest and ornamental trees, and berry 
 vines, may be grown on the school plot and distributed 
 in a similar manner. No objection can be raised to the 
 use of school land when it becomes the distributing 
 center for high class seeds, plants, and trees. The 
 same idea may be extended to the use of live-stock 
 on the school land. By the use of pure-bred sires good 
 live-stock may be distributed over the community. 
 
 The use of student labor on school plots is a vexing 
 problem. Outside of a few hours per week which may 
 be required as laboratory time, no adequate amount of 
 labor, such as successful farming requires, can be de-
 
 SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES 161 
 
 manded of students regularly attending school. The 
 three types of work usually done on the school land 
 are, preparation of the land, planting of the crops, and 
 harvesting. Pupils usually have little time or oppor- 
 tunity for the work of cultivation. 
 
 When we consider the small size of the school plot 
 and the number of students taking agriculture, it may 
 readily be seen that the student can get but little 
 actual experience in farm operations, and that the 
 instructor can simply show what has happened under 
 certain conditions. The school farm would, therefore, 
 seem to be justifiable only as a center of distribution 
 of pure-bred seed, good varieties of plants, and of the 
 services of pure-bred animals; as a demonstration of 
 certain principles in agricultural instruction; and as an 
 outdoor laboratory for the production of agricultural 
 material for class use. In order to succeed with these 
 purposes, the school must provide labor and super- 
 vision the year round.
 
 VI 
 
 THE TEACHER OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 The most important factor in education is the 
 teacher. If agricultural instruction is to be effective, 
 if the faith of the people in agricultural education is 
 to be maintained, we must have efficient agricultural 
 teachers. It is, perhaps, more essential that teachers 
 of agriculture in elementary and secondary schools be 
 prepared to teach well the subject-matter of agricul- 
 ture than those in the colleges. Strong students may 
 gain information in colleges in spite of the poor meth- 
 ods of instruction too often common there. 
 
 Teacher-training courses in agricultural education 
 are being established and extended rather rapidly in 
 normal schools and colleges of agriculture, and we are 
 now able to find good teachers both technically and 
 professionally trained to teach in elementary and 
 secondary schools. The man with the pure science 
 training, who was " brought up on the farm," may 
 have been a good pioneer in agricultural teaching, but 
 he cannot satisfy the demands of modern scientific 
 vocational education. He lacks a proper viewpoint in 
 his work and does not understand the applications of 
 scientific agriculture to farm problems. The young 
 graduate who knows only technical agriculture is 
 likely to present his subject in an unpedagogical way 
 often " above the heads " of his students. If we are
 
 THE TEACHER OF AGRICULTURE 1C3 
 
 to have competent agricultural teachers, they must be 
 properly prepared for this work. They must be thor- 
 ough scientists, technically trained agriculturists, lib- 
 erally educated men, practical farmers, and profession- 
 ally trained teachers. To be specific, the prospective 
 teacher of agriculture should first have a thorough 
 foundational training in the elementary principles of 
 science. To this he should add a detailed technical 
 study of as many phases of agriculture as possible, 
 together with a certain amount of farm practice. His 
 course should include rural sociology, agricultural eco- 
 nomics, public speaking, and other work to liberalize 
 his general training. His professional training should 
 include studies of the history of education; of the prin- 
 ciples of education; of educational psychology; of school 
 management; of the principles and methods of teach- 
 ing agriculture; and practice teaching in elementary 
 and secondary agriculture. It is especially important 
 that the teacher of agriculture be liberally educated 
 and a man of affairs, for it is usually expected that he 
 not only give instruction to his pupils in school, but 
 that his influence and activities extend outside of the 
 school to the rural life of the community. 
 
 The three inseparables in the case of a good teacher 
 are: (1) strong personality, (2) high standards of quali- 
 fication, and (3) a respectable salary. The point of 
 attack in the preparation for teaching is, perhaps, at 
 number two. It is more easy to improve one's quali- 
 fication technically and professionally, where that is 
 weak, than it is to improve the personality. The per-
 
 164 THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE] 
 
 sonality of the teacher is a very difficult thing to de- 
 fine, yet we know it when we see it. The agricultural 
 teacher must have desirable personal qualities. He 
 should be physically sound; his character should 
 " ring true " to the highest moral standards; he 
 should have a strong, sympathetic nature, free from 
 sarcasm; he should have a keen imagination, and a 
 well-developed sense of humor; he should be intelli- 
 gently interested in affairs, and able to meet people 
 pleasantly in the working relations of the commun- 
 ity; and he should have enthusiasm which inspires, a 
 dominant optimism for his work, and an innate love 
 for country life. 
 
 If there is no prospect that these elements of per- 
 sonality, where they are abnormally weak, can be 
 improved by a college education, then there is little 
 hope for success as an agricultural teacher. An agri- 
 cultural college education is worth to the prospective 
 teacher all that it costs, but it is no guarantee of suc- 
 cess as a teacher, unless he has the desirable elements 
 of personality and loves the work. When the strong 
 personality and the high standards of training are at- 
 tained, then the respectable salary is sure. For voca- 
 tional work especially the best teachers are needed, 
 and when the best teachers are available good salaries 
 will inevitably be paid. 
 
 Former President Vincent, of Minnesota, says that 
 the real test of a teacher beyond the point of techni- 
 cal preparation is the test of imagination. How able 
 is the teacher to see agriculture in its ideal relation-
 
 THE TEACHER OF AGRICULTURE 165 
 
 ship? The enduring enthusiasm, the driving power of 
 pursuit, the real success, come to teachers who have 
 imagination. The teacher of agriculture who has the 
 scientific imagination has a tremendous advantage. 
 He is able to see agriculture in its larger and essential 
 aspects and to take a delight in it. Too many teachers 
 of agriculture pin their faith to technique, seeing every 
 problem in its immediate aspects and fail to see in it 
 its larger relationships. Agriculture under the inspira- 
 tion of one who has imagination can be made as gener- 
 ally a cultural subject as almost any subject one can 
 find. It all depends upon the teacher and the attitude. 
 The teacher of agriculture who has this large imagina- 
 tive point of view refuses to be segregated; he enters 
 into the work of the school in a spirit of thorough 
 comradeship. He does not want special treatment as if 
 he were a particularly isolated type. He is willing to 
 throw in his fortune with the common enterprise. 
 
 In all our technical arrangements, in the adjustments 
 of agricultural courses and units, in the detailed lists 
 of problems, and the like, the ultimate success of this 
 profession, as of every profession, will depend upon 
 the degree to which one can develop an imaginative 
 background, and an enthusiasm, based on enduring 
 faith that grows out of the imagination, that sees the 
 problem in its widest scientific, social, and national 
 aspects. The teacher of agriculture with such imagi- 
 nation, with a job that he likes and for which he is 
 fitted, keen, loyal, and enthusiastic, has a work full 
 of dignity and rich in service.
 
 vn 
 
 TEACHING VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE 
 
 WITH the passage of the Vocational Education Act, 
 a new meaning has come to the teaching of agriculture. 
 We must train pupils for the vocation of farming. In 
 all vocations involving processes to be done in order 
 to accomplish society's needs, instruction must be 
 both practical and theoretical. In the teaching of any 
 process, three phases should be taken into account, 
 the rules of procedure, the reasons and principles in- 
 volved in the process, and the related studies giving 
 results and further interesting related matter to enrich 
 or widen the pupils' knowledge with reference to the 
 process. 
 
 Vocational agriculture consists of processes, enter- 
 prises, or projects in endless series, in seasonal and 
 operational sequence throughout the year, and year 
 by year. We may organize these processes into units 
 for teaching purposes, by considering plant production 
 enterprises or projects for one year's work, and animal 
 husbandry enterprises or projects for another year's 
 work. 
 
 The whole farm is the farmer's project, and may 
 well be thus considered by the student of vocational 
 agriculture living on the farm. Even though the pupil
 
 TEACHING VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE 166a 
 
 may have a small project upon which he is concen- 
 trating his attention and for which he is responsible, 
 the larger units of operation of the whole farm should 
 be his field of problems, study and practical work. 
 The pupil in vocational agriculture may have as his 
 own project several acres of corn, but in the course of 
 the season, there may be wheat to harvest, clover hay 
 to cut, gardens to cultivate, fruit to pick, etc., on the 
 home farm, and all of these enterprises should be con- 
 sidered as units of farm work as bases for supervised 
 practice and instruction in vocational agriculture. 
 
 Any single unit of farm work then becomes a subject 
 for instruction in vocational agriculture, either in the 
 classroom or on the farm, and the instruction should 
 be given at the time or in the season when the farm 
 operation unit is in progress. For example, should the 
 unit of farm operation be the fall sawing of wheat, one 
 of the processes would be the preparation of the seed 
 bed. The three phases of instruction referred to above 
 will apply. In the first phase, the rule of procedure or 
 the statement of the process would be, " After the 
 ground has been broken by the plow, disc and double 
 disc, then follow with a corrugated roller, making a 
 compact, finely pulverized surface for the seed bed." 
 Good instruction in vocational agriculture at this 
 point would consist not only in knowing and learning 
 the rules for the process, but in actually doing the 
 work under the supervision and instruction of a 
 teacher,
 
 166b THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 In the second phase, the reasons and principles 
 should be taught and learned. For example, " The 
 corrugated roller is used in the preparation of the seed- 
 bed for wheat, because it serves both to compact the 
 soil and to pulverize it, leaving a loose, fine surface for 
 seeding. The compact soil is necessary to permit the 
 passage of capillary water up to the germinating seed, 
 and to furnish good anchorage for the growing seedling, 
 and the loose surface mulch prevents the soil's drying 
 out by excessive evaporation." 
 
 For the third phase of this study, such related mat- 
 ter as a study of the different implements used in seed- 
 bed preparation, the methods used in primitive agri- 
 culture, the further explanation of soil physics related 
 to seed-bed preparation, etc., may be introduced, de- 
 pending upon the capabilities and former training of 
 the pupils. 
 
 The above example, treating very briefly a method 
 of teaching one process in a farm operation unit, may 
 be used in every process, of every farm enterprise, and 
 illustrates the teaching of agriculture from the voca- 
 tional viewpoint.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 I. SUGGESTIONS FOR A FARM, HOME, AND 
 COMMUNITY SURVEY 1 
 
 1. FARM AND HOME CENSUS 
 
 THE students of the agriculture class should make this 
 work a class project and assist the teacher in getting the 
 data. 
 
 State 
 
 County 
 
 Township 
 
 Section 
 
 School District 
 
 1. Owner of the farm 
 
 2. Number of acres in farm 
 
 3. Operated by owners or tenant 
 
 4. Number of years on this farm 
 
 5. Number of years in the community 
 
 6. The village center Population 
 
 7. Names of persons in the home. Birthplace. Age. 
 
 8. Hired help employed. 
 
 ' i ' From Nolan's A Year in Agriculture. (Bow, Peterson & Co.)
 
 168 APPENDIX 
 
 9. Members of family attending school. Kind of school. 
 
 Are the parents willing to have their children study 
 
 agriculture, domestic science, etc., in school? 
 
 10. Church affiliations. 
 
 11. Church attendance. Percentage of days for each mem- 
 ber. 
 
 12. Sunday-school attendance. Percentage of days for 
 each member. 
 
 13. Societies or associations represented. 
 
 14. Clubs or lodges. 
 
 15. Does family make use of a public library? . . 
 
 16. Are agricultural bulletins read in the home? 
 
 17. List of newspapers in the home.
 
 APPENDIX 169 
 
 18. List of magazines in the home. 
 
 19. List of community events attended or shared in. 
 
 20. Members of family who are leaders or officers in any 
 rural organization or institution. 
 
 21. Natural resources of the farm. 
 
 Animals 
 
 (a) Number and breed of horses. . 
 .(ft) .."... " " . " cattle.. 
 (c) " " " "swine.. 
 (d). " " " " sheep.. 
 (e) " " " " poultry. 
 
 Fruit 
 (a) Size, age, and condition of the orchard 
 
 (6) Size of vegetable garden , 
 
 Farm crops 
 
 (a) No. acres of corn Yield . 
 
 (6) " " " wheat " . 
 
 (c) " " " oats '
 
 170 APPENDIX 
 
 (d) No. acres of timothy Yield 
 
 () " " " clover " 
 
 (/) " " " alfalfa " 
 
 (</) " " in pasture " 
 
 (fi) " " second growth, or planted 
 
 22. Number of acres of waste land Why waste?. 
 
 23. Farm equipment. 
 
 (a) Farm buildings. 
 
 (6) Farm implements. Are they sheltered?. 
 S 
 
 (c) Farm conveyances. 
 
 24. Modern conveniences in the farm home. 
 
 25. Size of yard What measures for 
 
 beautifying yard and farm? 
 
 26. Health conditions. 
 
 (a) Deaths in the family Causes 
 
 (6) What diseases have been in the home during the 
 past three years?
 
 APPENDIX 171 
 
 (c) What is done to combat the housefly? 
 
 (d) What is the source of the water supply? 
 
 (e) How is waste and sewage disposed of? 
 
 (f) Are the living and sleeping rooms well ventilated? 
 
 (g) Are there any superstitions about health? 
 
 27. Is extension service from the school desired? What 
 can the school do to help the agricultural interests of 
 the community? 
 
 I 
 
 2. COMMUNITY CENSUS 
 (Answer as fully as possible) 
 
 7. Natural resources 
 1. General topography and elevation 
 
 2. Is there a soil survey of your community? . . . 
 
 If so, what is the soil type? 
 
 The limiting soil elements? 
 
 8. What mineral resources has the community?.. 
 
 4. What farm products are sold out of the community?. . 
 
 5. What farm products are bought by the community? . . 
 
 6. What are the manufacturing interests of the com- 
 munity?
 
 17* APPENDIX 
 
 7. Is the community conserving its natural resources? . . . 
 
 II. Human resources 
 
 1. The general moral and intellectual tone of the com- 
 munity 
 
 2. Are there any vicious forces in the community? 
 
 8. Who are the strong leaders in the community life? . . 
 
 4. Has the community ever sent out any men or women 
 who have become famous in the world's work? 
 
 6. Has the community any memories or traditions which 
 should be respected by coming generation? 
 
 6. Are there any latent human resources unappreciated 
 and undeveloped? 
 
 777. Economic activities and interests 
 1. The leading industries 
 
 2. Means of transportation 
 
 8. Means of communication 
 
 4. Condition of roads 
 
 5. Average land values 
 
 6. Is there any cooperative buying and selling in the 
 neighborhood? 
 
 7. Do you have good markets? 
 
 8. Is there a drift from the country to the city in your 
 community? If so give the reasons for mov- 
 ing from the country to city
 
 APPENDIX 173 
 
 IV. Community health 
 1. General standard of health in the community 
 
 2. Are the health officers intelligent and alert in doing 
 their duty? 
 
 3. Have there been any serious epidemics in recent years? 
 
 4. What influences are at work to improve health and 
 sanitary conditions? 
 
 V. Local history 
 
 1. Was the region occupied by Indians before the white 
 
 men came? What 
 
 Indian history known? 
 
 2. Are there any Indian relics or indications of former 
 occupancy? 
 
 3. Who was the first white man in the community? 
 
 . . What is known of him? 
 
 4. What was the first school and church in the community? 
 
 5. Are there any pioneers left to tell the early history?. . . 
 
 6. Has the community ever suffered great disaster? 
 
 7. Did war ever touch the community? 
 
 8. Have soldiers ever gone from the community to war? . . .
 
 174 APPENDIX 
 
 9. Has the community ever taken part In any events 
 noted in history? 
 
 [10. Are there any great public works near? 
 
 11. Are there any historic sites near? 
 
 12. What has hindered or helped most in the community 
 development? 
 
 13. New England or Southern ancestry? 
 
 VI. Political life 
 1. What political parties in the community? 
 
 2. Which party predominates? 
 
 3. Are there many independent voters? 
 
 4. Attitude of people toward payment of taxes? 
 
 Do farmers feel 
 
 overburdened? 
 
 5. What are the various tax rates for various purposes? 
 
 State County Town 
 
 Road Special road.. School 
 
 6. What is the assessed value of the property of the dis- 
 trict? 
 
 7. Do the people know how the public money is being 
 used? 
 
 8. Is there any sense of class distinction in the community? 
 
 9. Is there a public opinion in the community favoring the 
 enforcement of law? . . 
 
 10. Is there anything being done for the civic education of 
 the community?
 
 APPENDIX 175 
 
 VII. The country beautiful 
 
 1. What natural objects of beauty in the community? . . . T 
 
 2. Is the community doing anything to protect and pre- 
 serve the natural beauty? 
 
 8. What influences and factors if any are working to de- 
 stroy the natural beauty? 
 
 4. What beautiful buildings are in the community? 
 
 5. Are the streets of the town and country beautiful? . 
 
 6. Are there any parks that have been beautified? . . . 
 
 7. What influences are working to add beauty to the com- 
 munity? 
 
 VIII. General social life 
 
 1. What are the objects that draw people together in your 
 community? 
 
 2. Are there any social gatherings which include the whole 
 community? 
 
 3. Forms of commercialized social gatherings
 
 176 APPENDIX 
 
 4. Are there any influences which interfere with the neigh- 
 borliness of the community? 
 
 5. Special efforts made to provide social life for the young 
 people 
 
 6. Is there any home or community interest in the proper 
 association of the young people with each other or do 
 the adults hold aloof and let the young folks go their 
 way? 
 
 7. Is the social life of the community organized around 
 any social center 
 
 8. Is there a federation of community organizations? 
 
 IX. Recreations, play, and amusements 
 1. List the recreational activities of your community? 
 Indoor Outdoor 
 
 2. What institutions are actively interested in the recrea- 
 tions of the people?
 
 APPENDIX 177 
 8. Do the homes provide adequate recreation? 
 
 4. What organizations are making provisions for the recre- 
 ational activities? 
 
 5. What festivals, pageants, celebrations, etc., are held? 
 
 6. Is the play life in the community a constructive ele- 
 ment? . . 
 
 A". Religious life 
 
 1. Are the churches strengthening the religious life of the 
 community? 
 
 2. How many churches and for what population? . ; 
 
 3. How long is the average pastorate? 
 
 Does the minister receive a living salary? 
 
 Does he live in the community? 
 
 4. Do the ministers visit the homes, and are they con- 
 versant with the occupations of their members? 
 
 5. Are the churches strong in their leadership for a pro- 
 : gressive country life? 
 
 6. Are there any organizations for young men and young 
 
 women connected with the church? Give 
 
 name and number of members in each organization.
 
 178 APPENDIX 
 
 7. Are there meetings, lectures, Sunday-Schools, or Chau- 
 tauquas for general religious education? 
 
 XI. Intellectual life 
 
 1. Is there a community interest in maintaining good 
 schools? 
 
 2. What organizations outside of the school in the com- 
 munity contribute to the intellectual life? 
 
 8. Kind of grade school in the community? One teacher or 
 consolidated? 
 
 4. Is a high school within reach of every boy and girl when 
 they are ready for it? 
 
 5. Is vocational work taught in the schools? State what 
 is taught if vocational work is offered 
 
 6. Is the school attempting to reach out and contribute to 
 the education of the whole community? 
 
 In what ways?
 
 H. SUGGESTED COURSE IN NATURE-STUDY 
 First Six Grades 
 
 FIRST GRADE 
 
 IN the first years of the school there is sure to be much 
 unorganized nature-study. The purpose should be to give 
 general acquaintance with and arouse interest in the com- 
 mon things and processes of nature. Children of the primary 
 grades naturally bring to nature-study the question, " What? " 
 In these grades the answer should be given. Birds, trees, 
 insects, flowers, pets, etc., should be the general topics. 
 Select the nearest and most interesting at hand. A detail 
 study should not be attempted here. It is better to refer 
 briefly to a topic at different seasons than to try to "finish" 
 in a stated time. 
 
 Autumn months 
 
 1. Discussion of summer experiences and out-of-door ac- 
 tivities, j. ' 
 
 2. Animal pets about the house. Annuals that work for 
 us. Where kept? How cared for? 
 
 3. Identify a few common insects. The simple life-history 
 story is most interesting to children. 
 
 4. Only a few trees need be taught. No principles of for- 
 estry or study of anatomy should be given. Learn to 
 recognize and know by name ten or a dozen common 
 trees. The nut-bearing trees should be studied first. 
 Observe the bark, leaves, and general form of the trees. 
 Autumnal coloration will furnish interesting lessons. 
 Observe Arbor Day: transplant small trees. Learn to 
 recognize the fruit trees, note the coloration of the fruit.
 
 180 APPENDIX 
 
 Lessons on evergreen may be given; how they differ 
 from other common trees. The Christmas Tree; pur- 
 pose, decorations, etc. 
 
 5. Informal field studies; note seed dispersal in dandelion, 
 thistle, and milkweed; learn names of a few common 
 birds and wild flowers. Note how trees and insects 
 are preparing for winter. 
 
 6. Nature-study myths and stories may be used by a ju- 
 dicious teacher. (See Bingham's Little Folks Land.) 
 
 Winter months 
 
 1. Some physical nature-study may be given here. Study 
 the compass and how to use it. Teach the general marks 
 and meanings of the thermometer. The observation of 
 clouds to distinguish rain clouds from the others may 
 be made. 
 
 2. Make a weather calendar for each month, serving to 
 teach days of week, name of months, seasons, birthdays, 
 holidays, etc. The relation of snow, rain, etc., to tem- 
 perature. The relation of sun, moon, etc., to directions. 
 (Many adults are weak on these points. We have lost 
 the woodman's art of observation, and proper early 
 training in nature-study may help to regain it.) 
 
 8. Plant nasturtiums and other plants in window boxes. 
 Care of potted plants indoors. 
 
 4. How plants and animals are cared for in winter. How 
 to care for birds and pets. 
 
 5. Simple lessons in hygiene may be put on an observa- 
 tional basis and be made good nature-study. Breathing 
 and ventilation; lessons in thorough mastication; care 
 of teeth; table manners, etc. 
 
 6. Note signs of coming spring, lengthening of days, 
 weather, early bird arrivals, pussy-willow, hibernating 
 
 s, etc.
 
 APPENDIX 181 
 
 Spring months 
 
 1. Continue weather charts and observations. 
 
 2. Report on spring activities at home. 
 
 3. Begin in a simple way a bird calendar. 
 
 In the study of birds, get acquainted with their com- 
 mon names, learn to recognize by song and sight ten or 
 a dozen common birds. Learn something of their habits 
 and habitat. Put out food, water, and nesting material. 
 Keep cats from the birds. 
 
 4. Note the opening of the flower and leaf buds in the 
 trees. Review the names of trees learned last autumn, 
 and recognize them again. Observe Arbor Day and 
 Bird Day, plant trees, and provide nests for birds. 
 Songs and poems about birds and trees. 
 
 5. Learn to know a few spring flowers. In the study of 
 flowers, learn only the common ones; avoid formal 
 dissection of blossoms. Learn where they grow. Bring 
 in wild plants, such as claytonia, violets, cranesbill, 
 anemones, dandelion, etc., for transplanting in pots, 
 or on the school grounds. A wild-flower chart may 
 be made by the teacher, with names and dates of 
 blooming. 
 
 6. The school garden. Children of this grade may plant 
 a small school garden working as a group. Let each 
 child have a share if possible. Flowers are more suit- 
 able to this grade, perhaps than vegetables. Plant sun- 
 flower seeds, and nasturtiums borders. Popcorn, rad- 
 ishes, and beans may be planted. 
 
 Sample Lesson Plans 
 
 I. Title: The Dog. 
 
 Object: To teach sympathetic interest in the dog. 
 Subject-matter and method: 
 
 1. Introductory talk about each child's dog.
 
 182 APPENDIX 
 
 2. Have a dog before the class. What kind of a dog is 
 this? How can you tell? Name other kinds. How 
 related to wolf. 
 
 3. What have you seen the dog do? 
 
 4. How does he make his living? 
 
 5. Why do we like the dog? How does he help us? How 
 can we help him? How can you tell a sick dog from 
 a well one? 
 
 6. What harm do some dogs do? 
 
 7. Tell some good dog story. 
 
 8. Tell about Gentry's Dog Show. 
 
 II. Title: The Robin. 
 
 Object: To see and learn something of the habits and 
 
 value of the robin. 
 Material: A robin in sight. 
 Subject-matter and method: 
 
 1. Take the class out on the lawn, or in the orchard 
 and sit down to watch and listen. 
 
 2. Learn to recognize the robin by its song as well as 
 by its appearance. 
 
 8. Where does the robin love to be? Why? What have 
 you seen the robin doing? When does it sing most? 
 Where does it nest? Out of what does it build its 
 nest? Who has seen a robin's nest? How many and 
 what color are the eggs? 
 
 4. What does the robin eat? Is it our friend? Why? 
 Could it be tamed? How? How can we help the 
 robin in nesting, feeding, and drinking? 
 
 5. What are the robin's enemies? How can we pro- 
 tect it? 
 
 6. Read some poem about the robin. 
 
 7. Tell the legend of Robin Red Breast.
 
 APPENDIX 183 
 
 SECOND GRADE 
 
 The second-grade work in nature-study should continue 
 as in the first grade with no sharp demarcation, giving general 
 acquaintance with and interest in common natural and phy- 
 sical objects. A few more details may be added and the 
 same ground gone over a second time with profit. Unless the 
 first and second grades are in separate rooms, it is best to 
 give the same work to the combined grades in one class. If 
 the second year can have a separate course and another year 
 for the work, there could be no objection to the consideration 
 of the same general topics as given in the first year, but it 
 would be advisable to use new materials to illustrate the same 
 principles. 
 
 Autumn months 
 
 1. Discussion of summer experiences and out-of-door 
 activities. 
 
 2. Continue the interest in animal pets. Emphasize how 
 the animal makes its living and how we can help it. 
 
 3. Learn to identify a few more common insects. How the 
 insect makes its living. How insects help the flowers. 
 How the insect escapes its enemies. How insects af- 
 fect our lives. Some observations of the honey bee 
 and its work. 
 
 4. Pupils of the second grade should learn to recognize 
 eighteen or twenty different species of trees by their 
 common names. Observe Arbor Day, plant trees and 
 follow tree studies as suggested for grade one. Study 
 fruits and nuts of trees. Identify a few varieties of 
 apples and nuts. How nuts and fruits are stored for 
 winter. 
 
 5. Bulbs may be planted by second-grade pupils, in pots, 
 window boxes or in the school yard. 
 
 6. Some of the common weeds should be gathered and 
 identified.
 
 184 APPENDIX 
 
 Winter months 
 
 1. Continue physical nature-study as suggested for first 
 grade. Study weather signs and evidences of approach- 
 ing winter. Make a weather chart, as described for 
 first grade. 
 
 2. Some simple observational studies of the common do* 
 mestic animals are advised here, the horse, cow, etc. 
 Note the food, habits, care, etc. No opportunity should 
 be lost to give the humane phase proper emphasis. 
 
 3. Continue simple lessons in hygiene, as related to good 
 habits in breathing and eating. 
 
 4. Make some observational studies of winter birds if pos- 
 sible. Place suet or bones on trees for the birds' food. 
 Study the English sparrow, its habits and disposition. 
 
 5. Note signs of approaching spring, and make nature- 
 , study lessons from them where practical. 
 
 Spring months 
 
 1. Second-grade pupils may learn the common names of 
 about twenty-four common wild flowering plants. It is 
 worth while to know the common names of things as a 
 part of general human interest. 
 
 2. Create an interest in the mother hen and her chickens. 
 Continue bird studies as suggested in grade one. 
 
 3. The garden work of the second grade may take a prac- 
 tical turn. The common vegetables are advised as well 
 as flowers for this grade. Have a class garden on the 
 school ground if possible, and let each pupil or group of 
 pupils be responsible for certain plants. The "garden 
 habit" is a very good one to form early in life. The 
 school garden will furnish an excellent opportunity for 
 many interesting lessons in nature-study. 
 
 4. Review tree studies and make sure of the names of those 
 learned last fall.
 
 APPENDIX 185 
 
 5. Make field trips whenever possible and study brook- 
 life, pond-life, birds, trees, insects and flowers wherever 
 the occasion affords. Have all excursions well planned 
 and organized and keep the attention of the children 
 constantly to the natural things and processes about 
 them. 
 
 Sample Lesson Plans 
 
 I. Title: Leaves of Common Trees. 
 Season : Autumn or spring. 
 
 Object: To review the names of ten or twelve common 
 trees from the leaves and what the leaves are 
 for. 
 
 Material: Each child with ten or twelve leaves. 
 Subject-matter and method: 
 
 Plan beforehand to have each child bring in ten or 
 twelve leaves from trees, or better still, go with the 
 children to gather the leaves. Have them write the 
 names of the leaves on slips of paper and pin to 
 the leaves. Let each child stand and name his 
 leaves as he points them out. After becoming fa- 
 miliar with the leaves ask what the leaf does. Per- 
 haps the teacher will have to tell that the leaf gets 
 part of the tree's food for it out of the sunshine 
 and air. 
 
 How do the leaves help the children? 
 What becomes of them? To play in during the autumn. 
 Are they good to eat? etc. 
 Read some leaf poem or legend to the children. 
 
 H. Title: The Rain. 
 
 Time: A rainy day in spring. 
 
 Object: to teach value and appreciation of the rain. 
 Subject-matter and method : 
 
 Either go out into the rain a few minutes with the 
 class or stand before the window.
 
 186 APPENDIX 
 
 1. How many of you were ever caught in the rain and 
 did n't care? 
 
 2. When do you like best to see it rain? 
 
 3. What animal seems to enjoy the rain? 
 
 4. Why is the rain good? 
 
 5. Where does it come from? 
 
 6. How does it get here? Where does the water go to? 
 
 7. Explain how it helps plants and animals and how 
 the water finally gets to the rivers and the ocean. 
 
 THIRD GRADE 
 
 Since the third grades of the public schools usually take up 
 oral or home geography and since it should be placed on an 
 observational basis and deal largely with the common things 
 and processes of nature, the nature-study work of this grade 
 and the home geography should be combined as one course. 
 The general topics usually outlined for home geography will 
 make good nature-study material and the work outlined for 
 the preceding grades will give good preparation for this 
 phase of the study. The natural questions of the intermedi- 
 ate grade children in the presence of nature are, "What?" 
 and "How?" The work in these grades should answer these 
 questions. 
 
 Autumn months 
 
 1. Autumn activities of farm, orchard and garden. 
 Location of country homes and roads. Simple maps 
 of school grounds, and home grounds. The grouping 
 of houses in town and the arrangement of streets. In- 
 terpretation of maps. 
 
 2. The surface of the land. Lessons on hills, valleys, 
 streams, prairies, etc. 
 
 3. Methods of transportation and travel; communication; 
 post-office, telephone, roads. Foodstuffs bought and 
 sold in the community. Pupils may begin to realize
 
 APPENDIX 187 
 
 the relation of the farmer as a producer to the city 
 dweller as a consumer. 
 
 4. The study of fruits, grains, and other farm products 
 used as foods. The harvesting, preserving, and storing 
 of food supplies in autumn. 
 
 Winter months 
 
 1. The materials used in building our homes furnish a 
 basis for observational work on trees, lumber, stone, 
 brick, sand, clay, etc. Observe the effects of weathering 
 on these materials. Have pupils report on home obser- 
 vations of these materials. Different workmen engaged 
 in building our houses. 
 
 2. Water. Various forms of water. How we get water in 
 country and city. How plants get water. Why water 
 is sometimes muddy. Effects of water on soil in 
 washing, etc. How hinds are drained, naturally and 
 artificially. 
 
 3. Observation of soils. Grow plants in pots of rich soil 
 and poor soil. Kinds of soil in the community. Weather 
 effects on soils. 
 
 4. Simple hygiene of the home and its surroundings. 
 Methods of heating, lighting, and ventilating. Sanitary 
 conditions. These may be put on an observational basis 
 and be good nature-study. 
 
 Spring months 
 
 1. School garden work is well adapted to this grade. Each 
 pupil should have his own plot of ground for a garden. 
 Relate the garden work to home life. Pupils should 
 note the home markets for local and foreign supplies, 
 and learn where the products go and come from on the 
 markets. Note time required for germination of seeds. 
 Identify weeds and combat them as they appear in the 
 garden.
 
 188 APPENDIX 
 
 2. Flowers and trees in relation to the home. Beautifying 
 the home grounds is often a topic in home geography, 
 and hence here in the nature-study is offered an op- 
 portunity to study flowers, trees, wild plants, bulbs, 
 flower-gardens, etc., in connection with the beautifying 
 of home and school grounds. 
 
 8. Review the pupils' acquaintance with the common trees, 
 wild flowers, birds, insects and grains and grasses of 
 the community. 
 
 4. All these topics of the third year should be unified and 
 organized about the home life and interests of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 Sample Lesson Plans 
 
 1. Title: Varieties of Radishes. 
 Season: Spring. 
 Aim: To demonstrate best kind of radishes to grow in the 
 
 garden. 
 
 Material: Radish seeds, box of soil or garden plot. 
 Subject-matter and method: 
 
 v Sow as many different kinds of radish seeds as you 
 can get in a large box of soil or in a garden plot. 
 After about twenty-five days the radishes will be 
 ready for the lesson. Have tops and roots of rad- 
 ishes from all varieties shown on the table before 
 the class. 
 
 Ask such questions as: 
 "What color is best?" 
 "What size is best?" 1 ' 1 
 "What number could you grow on a square foot 
 
 space, depending on size of these tops?" 
 "Which ones have best flavor?" 
 Separate those selected as best and review reasons for 
 the selection.
 
 APPENDIX 189 
 
 H. Title: A Bird Calendar. 
 Season: Spring. 
 Aim: To record early arrivals. 
 Materials: A chart as suggested below. 
 Subject-matter and method : 
 
 On some large cardboard or on some unused corner of 
 the blackboard, neatly draw off a table in which 
 the teacher may record the observations of bird ar- 
 rivals made by the children. 
 
 Bird's Name 
 
 Date of Arrival 
 
 Seen by 
 
 
 
 
 Have pupils report when they see a new bird arrival, 
 
 and write it in the calendar. 
 Talk with the children about where birds go in winter. 
 
 Why they go. Why they come back. Tell them of 
 
 the long dangerous flight, and of the welcome and 
 
 help they deserve. 
 Read Longfellow's "Birds of Killingworth." 
 
 FOURTH GRADE 
 
 The fourth-grade work in nature-study should be corre- 
 lated closely with the primary geography used in this grade; 
 in fact the courses might easily be run together. The indus- 
 trial phase of the geography work as well as the study of the 
 natural objects and phenomena of the earth about the pupils 
 furnish excellent nature-study material. 
 
 Autumn months 
 
 1. Supplementary to and alternating with the textbook 
 work in the primary geography, the nature-study may 
 take up the farm products of the community, making
 
 190 APPENDIX 
 
 observations and reports as follows Upon corn, wheat, 
 clover, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. 
 
 (a) Observations and classroom talks about the whole 
 
 plant, root, stems, leaves and fruit. 
 (6) Where and to what extent these crops are grown 
 in the community. 
 
 (c) Where and how marketed or used. Market prices 
 of each. 
 
 (d) Factors of the season, determining the success or 
 failure of the crop. 
 
 (e) Collecting and mounting of farm products, 
 weeds, grasses, grains, etc., for a school collec- 
 tion. 
 
 2. Farm animal studies as suggested by the following 
 outline: 
 
 (a) Farm animals raised in the community. The 
 
 principal money-making animals. 
 (6) Reports of the number and kind on each farm, 
 (c) Where the farm animals are marketed and 
 
 shipped. 
 ((Z) Plans for feeding and sheltering the farm animals 
 
 in winter. 
 
 8. The wild animals of the State; habitat, habits, food, 
 uses and values, methods of conserving or extermi- 
 nating. Determine which should be saved and which 
 killed. 
 
 Winter months 
 
 1. How plants and animals prepare for winter. Take up 
 numerous special examples. Study the evergreen trees 
 and their special adaptation to winter. Learn to iden- 
 tify the evergreens of the community. 
 
 2. Supplement the study of hills, valleys, rivers, etc., as 
 taken up in the geography, by observation lessons 
 of these objects wherever feasible. Note effects of 
 washing of streams, and weathering of rocks. Trace
 
 APPENDIX 191 
 
 the rain water from ocean to ocean, noting the various 
 changes it undergoes and the effects it produces on 
 climate, soils, water-supply, etc. 
 
 3. As the various industries, such as fishing, lumbering, 
 mining, manufacturing, farming, etc., are taken up in 
 the primary geography, supplement the work freely 
 with nature-study lessons on the materials used in 
 these industries. 
 
 (a) In lumbering, review names of trees and note by 
 observations the nature of some of the various 
 woods used. 
 
 (6) In manufacturing, note as much of the raw ma- 
 terial used as possible, the fibers used in rope- 
 making, hides for leather, various corn prod- 
 ucts, sand and cement, wool, cotton, etc. 
 
 (c) In mining, observe coal, iron ore, limestone, crude 
 oil, copper, etc. 
 
 (d) In fishing, make observational studies if possible 
 of fish, both alive and the canned goods on the 
 market. Read of the great salmon fisheries. 
 
 4. Continue lessons in home, school, and personal hygiene. 
 
 Spring months 
 
 1. Have school garden and carry out some plans as sug- 
 gested for grade three. Encourage the growing of 
 home gardens for the production of vegetables for the 
 market. 
 
 2. Have review lessons in the identification of trees, birds, 
 insects, and wild flowers as the coming of spring calls 
 attention to them. 
 
 3. Continue the correlation of the industries with natural 
 objects, as suggested for the whiter months, especially 
 that of farming with the materials the farmer deals with 
 in the spring.
 
 192 APPENDIX 
 
 Sample Lesson Plans 
 
 I. Title: Brook Studies. 
 Season : Spring or autumn. 
 Aim: To learn something of the life and nature of the 
 
 brook. 
 
 Material: An excursion to the brook. 
 Subject-matter and method : 
 
 Several excursions can be made to a brook, wherever 
 available, each time with one or more of the follow- 
 ing objects: 
 
 1. Make exact measurements of the length and width 
 of the brook. 
 
 2. List the common names of the trees, bushes, and 
 other plants along the brookside, also of any plant 
 life in the brook. 
 
 S. Record the animal life seen in or near it. 
 
 4. Make a map of the section observed. 
 
 5. What farms or home grounds touch it? 
 
 6. What changes occur in its course from time to time? 
 
 7. What lands does it drain? Its source, mouth-tribu- 
 taries, etc. 
 
 8. Its value to the community. 
 
 II. Title: The Horse-Chestnut Tree. 
 Season: At any tune when in leaf. 
 Aim : To get acquainted with the horse-chestnut tree. 
 : Material: Class before a tree. 
 Subject-matter and method: 
 
 1. Gather the children about a horse-chestnut tree and 
 tell them, "We are now going to get acquainted 
 with this tree." 
 
 2. Ask, "Who knows the name of this tree?" 
 
 3. Does the tree bear fruit? What kind? 
 
 4. Has the tree blossomed yet? 
 
 5. How many times taller than John is it?
 
 APPENDIX . 193 
 
 6. How could you tell this tree if you would meet it 
 again? 
 
 7. What is the tree good for? Can we help the tree any? 
 
 8. Tell a legend of the horse-chestnut. 
 
 (Similar studies may be made of all common 
 trees.) 
 
 FIFTH GRADE 
 
 (May be alternated with sixth-grade work and both grades com- 
 bined each year.) 
 
 Since statistics show that large numbers of the school pop- 
 ulation drop out about the fifth and sixth grades, it becomes 
 very important that the nature-study work of these grades 
 should give to the future citizens correct and helpful informa- 
 tion along biological and physical lines, enabling them to ad- 
 just themselves more sympathetically and intelligently to 
 their environments. It would seem best therefore to have 
 some rather intensive work along the larger and more impor- 
 tant groups of nature material affecting human interests. 
 Economic considerations appeal to the children, but these 
 should not be over-emphasized. Children should keep good 
 notebooks, prepare pictures, charts, calendars, etc. It should 
 not be the aim in these grades to attempt technical informa- 
 tion or to develop the scientific spirit, but to arouse a perma- 
 nent and intelligent interest in the common things and proc- 
 esses of nature, so that the boy or girl may become a citizen, 
 able and willing to do effective economic work for his com- 
 munity. In addition to the questions, " What f " and " How ? " 
 pupils of these grades begin to ask " Why ?" hi the presence 
 of nature phenomena. At least two half -hour periods a week 
 should be given to this work. 
 
 Autumn months: trees and insects 
 
 1. Insect studies, the interesting common species re- 
 lated to human life.
 
 1M APPENDIX 
 
 (a) Begin with a study of the grasshopper. Learn 
 from observation, the number of legs, segments 
 of the body, eyes, feelers, wings, etc. Note the 
 chewing mouth parts. Examine these parts with 
 a hand-lens. Make drawing of the grasshopper. 
 This study should give some idea of the nature of 
 insect bodies. 
 
 (6) Make similar study of the squash bug. Note es- 
 pecially the sucking mouth parts. Teach that 
 insects injure plants by chewing or sucking. Ex- 
 plain methods of combating each kind. Show 
 samples of insecticides and explain how to use a 
 few of these. 
 
 (c) Injurious insects of the garden : identify and note 
 damages done by potato beetle, cucumber beetle, 
 cabbage worm, squash bug, aphids, and others; 
 native insect enemies, toads, bats, birds, help- 
 ful insects. 
 
 (d) Life-history of the mosquito, the story of ma- 
 laria and yellow fever; demonstration of how to 
 kill larvae and pupae; organized community work 
 against mosquito. 
 
 (e) The house fly and its deadly injury in carrying 
 typhoid and other germs. Life-history and meth- 
 ods of combating it. 
 
 (f) Insects injurious to fruit and shade trees; identifi- 
 cation and simple life histories. Methods of com- 
 bating. 
 
 (g) Beneficial insects, ground beetles, lady bee- 
 tles, ichneumon flies, bees, etc. Special study of 
 the bumble and honey bee. 
 
 2. Tree studies. Some simple elementary text, such as 
 Roth's First Book of Forestry, Price's The Land We Live 
 In, or Pinchot's Primer of Forestry, might probably be 
 used as a guide in tree studies for the fifth and sixth 
 grades.
 
 APPENDIX 195 
 
 (a) Tree census and map of a convenient woodlot. 
 
 Review of common names of trees identified. 
 (6) Tree planting, celebration of Arbor Day, and 
 
 attention to some historic trees. 
 
 (c) Study of gross anatomy of trees, leaves, fruit, 
 branches, trunk, roots, etc. Comparative studies 
 of different trees. 
 
 (d) Trees of the State; explanation of the prairies, 
 forest enemies, fires, insects, destructive lumber- 
 ing; Government forest reserves and the United 
 States Forest Service; the foresters' life; lumber- 
 ing; uses of wood; collection of samples. 
 
 (e) The farmer's woodlot. Some points in the care 
 of woodlot, such as preventing fire, cleaning out 
 dead and decaying trees, and keeping brows- 
 ing cattle out. Planting of catalpa, locust, and 
 osage for posts and farm wood supplies. A plot 
 in the school garden should be planted to catalpa 
 seedlings. 
 
 (f) Some attention to fruit trees; how they differ 
 from forest trees in habits of growth and in cul- 
 tivation and care given them. 
 
 Winter months 
 
 1. Census of the domestic animals of the neighborhood. 
 The market values of each kind of farm animal. Use 
 for reference Davenport's Twelve Studies of Farm Ani- 
 mals. Make observational comparisons between draft 
 horses and driving horses; between beef cattle and 
 dairy cattle; between pure-bred stock and "scrubs." 
 
 2. The wild animal population of the State, including the 
 winter birds. If possible make observations on cap- 
 tured wild animals. Note their structural adaptation 
 to the life they live and to how they make their living. 
 Determine whether they are beneficial or destructive
 
 196 APPENDIX 
 
 to human interests. If beneficial, how we may help 
 them; if destructive, how to destroy them. Read 
 Seton's Wild Animals I Have Known. 
 
 8. Elementary observational studies of soils and rocks. 
 How soils are formed by water and frost. Identifica- 
 tion of sand, gravel, clay, loam, silt; characterize local 
 soils. Collection and study of pebbles, minerals, rock 
 specimens, glacial evidences, and fossils. 
 
 4. Simple astronomical observations; apparent path of the 
 sun; great dipper; phases of the moon; milky way; 
 north star; the evening and morning star. Keep in- 
 dividual weekly weather book during one month; con- 
 struct graph for each week from observed date. 
 
 Spring months: garden work, crop growth, and birds 
 
 1. Birds. 
 
 (a) Prepare a bird calendar upon which to note 
 early and late arrivals; habits in feeding, nesting, 
 habitat, etc. Learn to identify by sight and song 
 as many birds as possible; study the migration 
 phenomena. 
 
 (6) Protecting and helping the birds; providing food, 
 water, houses, and nesting materials; economic 
 and aesthetic values of birds; bird enemies, cats, 
 thoughtless boys, and men, etc. 
 
 (c) Group and learn, birds of prey, seed-eating birds, 
 insectivorous birds, good songsters, winter birds, 
 etc. 
 
 (d) The Audubon Society; its work and aims; pos- 
 sibly the organization of a chapter in school. 
 
 (e) Learn how to make field excursions to study and 
 observe birds. 
 
 2. Home and school garden work. 
 
 The garden work in this grade should be made of 
 real practical value. It should include a study and
 
 APPENDIX 197 
 
 practice in the preparation of ground, planting the 
 seed, cultivating the vegetables, combating the pests, 
 harvesting and disposing of the products. Records 
 of expenses and receipts in simple businesslike forma 
 should be kept. The garden should be an individual 
 possession of each student, either at school or at 
 home, preferably the latter, and it should include 
 the standard vegetable crops. Attention should be 
 given in a practical way to the planting of flowers, 
 shrubs, and trees in the beautifying of home and school 
 grounds. 
 8. Field crops, seeds, weeds, tillage, etc. 
 
 (a) Seeds and seedlings; conditions of growth; simple 
 
 experiments in germination and growth. 
 (6) The clovers; identify all the clovers of the neigh- 
 borhood, note difference and common charac- 
 teristics; economic values of clovers. 
 
 (c) Encourage boys and girls to plant corn plots at 
 home, to grow corn to exhibit next fall in the 
 corn show. Study elementary principles of corn 
 culture. 
 
 (d) Identification and life histories of the most 
 common weeds; means of combating; make school 
 collections of weeds. 
 
 (e) Observe the field work of ploughing, preparing 
 seed beds, and various methods of tillage. Try 
 to understand reasons for the practices observed. 
 
 Sample Lesson Plans 
 
 I. Title: The Codling Moth as an Apple Pest. 
 Season : Autumn or spring. 
 Aim: To teach something of the injuries done by the 
 
 codling moth. 
 
 Materials: Some knotty, wormy apples and bark con- 
 taining moth cocoons.
 
 198 APPENDIX 
 
 Subject-matter and method: 
 
 1. Have some knotty apples for observation, and 
 show the worms in these apples. Cause the children 
 to understand that the apples would be good if the 
 worms were not in them. Tell of the great loss due 
 to these moths. 
 
 2. Tell the life-history of the codling moth. If pos- 
 sible, have some pieces of old apple bark behind 
 which the larvae and pupse live. Lead the pupils 
 to see that it would be a good thing to scrape this 
 bark off and whitewash the tree or wash it with 
 soap solutions. 
 
 8. Ask, "How many ever saw a woodpecker on the 
 trunk of an apple tree?" "What was he doing?" 
 Explain value of these birds in eating moth larvse. 
 
 4. Explain how men spray poison on apple trees to kill 
 the codling moth. 
 
 II. Title: The Moon. 
 
 Season: When the moon is visible. 
 
 Aim! To teach something of the moon and its phases. 
 
 Subject-matter and method : 
 
 If possible go with the class on a moonlight night to 
 
 observe and talk about the moon. 
 In the class next day, after the teacher has asked the 
 pupils individually to observe the moon, if no ex- 
 cursion could be made, ask: 
 A. 1. At what time did you see the moon? 
 
 2. Go to the blackboard and sketch its shape. 
 
 3. All look again to-night and fill out this table: 
 
 Date 
 
 Shape and 
 Phase 
 
 Part of Sky 
 
 Hours since 
 it arose 
 
 Time of 
 Setting 
 
 
 

 
 APPENDIX 199 
 
 4. Keep up a series of observations and records 
 in above table. 
 
 B. When the moon is in the first quarter, 
 
 1. Where is it in the sky? 
 
 2. How do the horns point? 
 
 5. How does its distance from the horizon vary 
 each evening? 
 
 C. When the moon is in the second quarter, 
 
 1. Where is the moon when half at sunset? 
 
 2. How old is the moon at half? 
 
 3. Which direction from the zenith is it seen each 
 evening? 
 
 D. When the moon is hi the third quarter, 
 
 1. It begins the quarter full, when arise? 
 
 2. How long since it was new? 
 8. How long from full to full? 
 
 4. What quarter is completed when full? 
 
 5. How many full moons in a year? 
 
 E. When the moon is in the fourth quarter, 
 
 1. When is it seen? 
 
 2. What direction from the sun? 
 
 8. What becomes of the moon at the end of the 
 fourth quarter? 
 
 How does the moon give light? 
 Read: "The New Moon," Mrs. Pollen. 
 
 "The Silver Boat," George McDonald. 
 
 "The Wind and the Moon," George Mc- 
 Donald. 
 
 SIXTH GRADE 
 (Alternated with fifth-grade work advisable to take fifth grade first.) 
 
 In the sixth grade, we may begin a correlation of physical 
 nature-study with geography and arithmetic. At least two 
 periods a week may profitably be given to separate topics,
 
 200 APPENDIX 
 
 such as light, heat, sound, and possibly electricity, keeping 
 always in mind the nature-study viewpoint, and avoiding 
 science abstractions. The work in both the fifth and sixth 
 grades should gradually point the way to the sciences and 
 vocations which it has served to develop and introduce. 
 
 Autumn months 
 
 1. Water, its composition, weight, and other physical and 
 chemical characteristics, impurities in water and sources 
 of contamination; hard and soft water; evaporation, 
 formation of clouds; precipitation in rain and snow; 
 and final disposition of water in plant and animal life 
 and streams; city and farm water-supply. 
 
 2. Soil and water relations. Illustrate capillarity in lamp 
 wick and in soils; demonstrate water filtration through 
 sand, clay, and loam soils. Study disposition of water in 
 field drainage and sewer tiles. 
 
 8. Elementary studies of air, a substance composed of 
 oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapor; 
 brief references to the uses of these elements and 
 compounds to plant and animal life; air pressure, and 
 uses of the barometer; the siphon and its uses; interpre- 
 tation of the common suction pumps; motion of the 
 air; winds and their causes; provisions for pure air in 
 ventilation systems; air in combustion, necessary in 
 lamps, stoves, etc. 
 
 4. Simple tools and machines; various levers, wheel and 
 axle, pulley, derrick, etc. 
 
 Winter months 
 
 1. What heat does, helps our plants, cooks our food, 
 runs engines, makes us comfortable in winter, etc.; 
 how we get heat (this should start a series of sug 
 gestions from pupils which the teacher may classify); 
 demonstrations may be given to show all these,
 
 APPENDIX 201 
 
 friction, combustion, chemical action, electricity, etc.; 
 how measured; methods of transmitting heat; methods 
 of heating buildings; exercises to show how different 
 materials differ in their power of transmission of heat; 
 reasons for common apparatus and phenomena, 
 wooden handles, action of window glass, etc. ; the ques- 
 tion of the hygiene of clothing; illustrations and ex- 
 planation of expansion, melting, freezing, ice, etc. 
 Avoid generalizations of science. 
 
 2. Studies of light. It is not necessary to try to explain 
 what heat, light, or electricity is in this work. There is 
 much ignorance of common things even from a simple 
 observational basis. What light does for us; sources of 
 our light; artificial lighting systems; structure and 
 operation of kerosene lamp, gasolene lamps, carbide 
 and electric lights; opaque, translucent, and transpar- 
 ent bodies; simple lenses, the camera, the stereopticon, 
 and the eye; the rainbow. 
 
 S. Studies of sound, what sound is, musical instru- 
 ments correlate with music in study of sound and har- 
 mony; the telephone; the graphophone; the ear. 
 
 Spring months 
 
 1. Simple studies in electricity; its common uses and 
 methods of production. Try if possible to understand 
 how electricity functions in street cars, telephones, 
 automobiles, etc. 
 
 2. Simple chemistry of cleaning; making of soap, sol- 
 vents for grease, paint, etc.; dangers and treatment of 
 dust; values of cleanliness in person, home, bams, food- 
 supplies, etc. Sources of dust and dirt and methods of 
 eradicating. 
 
 S. Elementary life relations of plants and animals to the 
 various physical processes and phenomena studies, to 
 heat, light, soil, water, air, etc.
 
 202 APPENDIX 
 
 Sample Lesson Plans 
 
 I. Title: The Clouds. 
 Season : At any time. 
 
 Aim: To learn the common clouds and what they por- 
 tend. 
 Subject-matter and method: 
 
 Take the children out-of-doors when different kinds of 
 clouds are flying. 
 
 1. Ask them to point out the different colors and 
 shapes of clouds they observe. 
 
 2. Can you see the clouds moving? From what direc- 
 ; tion do they come? :': 
 
 3. What are the clouds? What do they do? 
 
 4. What color are rain clouds? 
 
 5. Can you tell when it is going to rain? 
 
 6. From what direction does most of our rain come? 
 
 7. Explain to the children the kinds of clouds that 
 mean ram and the kind that mean fair weather. 
 
 8. Explain the simple weather signals. 
 
 II. Title: How We Get Heat. 
 
 Season : At any time. 
 
 Aim: To demonstrate some sources of heat. 
 
 Materials: Two small blocks of wood, test tube, and 
 
 some hydrochloric acid, or unslaked lime and water, 
 
 matches, electric current, etc. 
 Subject-matter and method: 
 
 1. To demonstrate that friction is a source of heat, 
 rub vigorously two wooden blocks together and 
 have pupils feel the heat of the block generated. 
 List many examples and classify under friction. 
 
 2. Combustion. Strike a match. Explain cause of 
 ignition. Explain the continued burning. List other 
 examples.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 203 
 
 3. Chemical action. Pour water on unslaked lime 
 and note the heat evolved. Pour also a few drops 
 of hydrochloric acid into a test tube about one 
 fourth full of water. Note heat. List other examples. 
 
 4. Electricity. If there is an electric incandescent 
 light in the room, turn on the current and feel the 
 heat on the globe. Give practical uses made of this 
 source of heat. 
 
 Classify your examples as follows: 
 
 Sources and Examples of Heat 
 
 Friction 
 
 Combustion 
 
 Chemical Action 
 
 Electricity 
 
 
 
 
 
 Note. Many exercises in the new texts on elementary and 
 general sciences are suitable for the Nature-study 
 work of this grade.
 
 HI. SUGGESTED COURSE IN ELEMENTS OF 
 AGRICULTURE 
 
 Seventh and Eighth Grades 
 THE TEXTBOOK METHOD 
 
 SEVENTH GRADE 
 
 THE seventh and eighth grades should be combined, and 
 the work here outlined for these grades given in alternate 
 years. The elements of vocational agriculture follow logi- 
 cally a course in nature-study such as outlined for the first six 
 grades. The subject-matter given in various textbooks as 
 outlined below should follow the seasonal sequence wherever 
 possible and be used as a basis for classroom recitations and 
 demonstrations. For the practical work pupils should do the 
 real things of the farm, including the chores and such work 
 in crop and animal production as they are able to do. 
 
 THE PLANT INDUSTRIES AND RELATED TOPICS 
 
 Autumn months 
 
 1. Reports of vacation activities: garden, farm, or club 
 work done by the pupils. 
 
 2. Census of leading crops produced among the farmers 
 of the community during the summer. 
 
 3. Maps of home farms, showing general lay-out of fields, 
 lots, and buildings. 
 
 4. List the farm activities in the community for the au- 
 tumn season. 
 
 5. Study of the plant, life cycle, how it feeds, grows, re- 
 produces, etc.
 
 APPENDIX 205 
 
 6. The wheat crop. 
 
 (a) Facts of general interest about wheat. 
 
 (b) Preparation of ground. 
 
 (c) Methods of sowing. 
 
 (d) Study of the wheat seed and its germination, and 
 of the wheat plant. Note requirements of germ- 
 ination of seed. 
 
 (e) The products of wheat; extent and value of the 
 crop. 
 
 (f) Varieties best suited to the locality. 
 (</) Insect and fungous enemies of wheat. 
 
 7. Selecting and storing seed corn. 
 
 (a) Field selection of seed corn, some points to note 
 
 and methods of selection. 
 (6) Judging and scoring corn. 
 
 (c) Methods of storing seed corn. 
 
 (d) Corn contests and corn days at school. 
 
 (e) Importance and value of corn crops ; com products. 
 
 8. Weeds and grasses. 
 
 (a) Identification of autumn weeds and grasses. 
 (6) Review of methods of seed dispersal. 
 
 (c) How various plants prepare for winter. 
 
 (d) Seeds and bulbs planted in the fall. 
 
 Winter months 
 
 1. Elementary soil studies, 
 (a) How soil is formed. 
 (6) Kinds of soil, clay, sand, and loam. 
 
 (c) Relations of soil to water and to plants. 
 
 (d) Some methods of improving soil. 
 
 (e) Some values of stable-manure and how to use it. 
 
 (f) Some commercial fertilizers and how to find out 
 what to use. 
 
 (g) Excess of water in the soil, how to remove it, 
 why remove it.
 
 206 APPENDIX 
 
 (A) How clover helps the soil. What crop rotation 
 means. 
 
 (i) Reports of soils on the home farm. 
 2. Farm accounts and records. 
 
 (a) Some simple farm business accounts, such as live- 
 stock, egg, garden, or field accounts of actual 
 conditions and transactions. 
 
 (6) Records of fields and crops rotations, showing 
 expenditures, labor, and net returns. 
 
 (c) Farm taxes, insurance, and general business af- 
 fairs of the home farms. 
 
 (d) Make daily weather records and study United 
 States signal service. 
 
 (e) Study Year Book of United States Department 
 of Agriculture for comparative statistical reports 
 on farm crops of the State. 
 
 Spring months 
 
 1. The farm orchard the apple. 
 
 (a) Selecting the site. 
 
 (6) Choosing and ordering the nursery stock. 
 
 (c) Preparing the ground for the trees. 
 
 (d) Setting out the young trees. 
 
 (e) Pruning the young trees. 
 (/) Cultivating the orchard. 
 (g) Spraying apple trees. 
 
 (h) Picking, packing, storing, and marketing fruit. 
 
 2. Seeds and seedlings. 
 
 (a) Study the structure of various large seeds. 
 (6) Germination of seeds and growth of seedlings. 
 
 (c) Testing seed corn and clover seed. 
 
 (d) Simple life relations of soil, water, air, and light 
 to growing plants in field and garden. 
 
 (e) Practical exercises in growing plants in field and 
 garden.
 
 APPENDIX 207 
 
 S. Garden and field plot work. 
 
 (a) Have individual school or home gardens with 
 definite, well-defined plans of preparation, plant- 
 ing, care, and disposition of the products. 
 (6) Encourage the organization of corn clubs, and 
 other agricultural clubs, for the growing of field 
 plots in contests. 
 
 4. Planting and cultivation of field crops. 
 
 (a) Planting and culture of potatoes, the how and 
 why of best methods. 
 
 (b) Standard methods of planting and cultivating 
 corn. 
 
 (c) When and how to sow clover and alfalfa. 
 
 (d) Weeds, their injury and control importance 
 of early control. 
 
 (e) Renewing meadows and pastures by discing, re- 
 seeding, and manuring. 
 
 5. Birds and their economic value. 
 
 6. Special home projects for the summer. 
 
 EIGHTH-GRADE AGRICULTURE 
 
 (Alternate and combine with grade seven.) 
 
 ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 
 Autumn months 
 
 I. Reports of pupils' experiences in raising or handling 
 
 any live-stock of the farm. 
 H. The live-stock industry. 
 
 1. Importance of farm animals to man. 
 
 2. Numbers and value of live-stock. 
 
 8. Place of live-stock in systems of farming. 
 4. Pure-breds, grades, and scrubs; improvement of 
 inferior stock.
 
 208 APPENDIX 
 
 HI. Swine. 
 
 1. Types of swine, characteristics of each. 
 
 2. Breeds of swine, characteristics of each. 
 
 3. Selecting breeding hogs. 
 
 4. Feeding swine. 
 
 5. Care and management of brood sow and litter. 
 
 6. Kinds of hog houses. 
 
 7. Common hog diseases. 
 IV. Beef cattle. 
 
 1. Types of cattle, characteristics, and uses of each. 
 
 2. Cuts in the beef carcass, location, value and use. 
 
 8. Feeding beef cattle; balanced rations for various 
 purposes. 
 
 4. Care and management of breeding herds and 
 calves. 
 
 5. Cattle markets. 
 
 Winter months 
 
 V. Sheltering farm animals; methods and importance of. 
 
 Winter storage of stock feed. 
 VI. Sheep. 
 
 1. Types of sheep, their chief characteristics. 
 
 2. Study of the mutton type and the special market 
 requirements. 
 
 3. Breeds of sheep; characteristics of five or six 
 breeds. 
 
 4. Characteristics of a good fleece. 
 
 5. Feeding sheep; fattening lambs. 
 
 6. Care and management of the breeding flock and 
 lambs. 
 
 VIE. Dairy cattle. 
 
 1. Dairy type contrasted with beef type. 
 
 2. Breeds of dairy cattle; characteristics of each. 
 
 3. Differences in production in individual cows. 
 Some record cows.
 
 APPENDIX 209 
 
 4. Feeding dairy cattle; good dairy rations; feeding 
 standards. 
 
 5. Care and management of dairy cows. 
 
 6. Farm practices in handling milk. 
 
 7. Essentials of clean milk production. 
 
 8. Feeding and management of dairy calves. 
 
 9. Milk testing and record keeping. 
 
 Spring months 
 
 Horses. 
 
 1. Types of horses; characteristics and uses of each. 
 
 2. Description of ideal draft horse. 
 
 3. Breeds of draft horses; characteristics of each. 
 
 4. Feeding horses at work and when idle; brood 
 mares, and colts. 
 
 5. Good and bad horsemanship. 
 
 6. Essentials in horse barn construction. 
 
 7. Common disorders and unsouncinesses in horses. 
 IX. Poultry. 
 
 1. Members of the poultry group. 
 
 2. Types of chickens; their characteristics. 
 
 3. Breeds of chickens; their characteristics. 
 
 4. Selecting fowls for egg production. 
 
 5. Feeding poultry. 
 
 6. Poultry-houses, construction, interior arrange- 
 ment, and equipment. 
 
 7. Raising chicks, natural and artificial methods. 
 
 8. Marketing poultry and eggs. 
 
 9. Diseases, prevention, and treatment. 
 
 X. Interesting facts about the origin and development 
 
 of various common farm animals. 
 XI. Methods of improving farm animals. 
 XII. Comparison of grain-farming and live-stock fanning 
 methods.
 
 210 APPENDIX 
 
 NOTES 
 
 In connection with the work in Agriculture in the seventh 
 and eighth grades, it is recommended that special notebooks 
 be made, illustrated and kept by each student, on each of the 
 larger topics studied. Notebooks on corn, wheat, insects, 
 orchard, weeds, garden, swine, cattle, sheep, horses, poultry, 
 etc., may easily and profitably be made to correlate with 
 work in English and drawing. These notebooks may be in 
 the form of booklets, with neat cover design, illustrated by 
 crayons or water colors. Industrial Booklets, published by 
 Webb Company, St. Paul, Minnesota, are excellent helps 
 in this connection. 
 
 PRACTICAL HOME WORK 
 
 There is little time for laboratory or field work at school 
 in connection with agriculture in the seventh and eighth 
 grades, especially in the one-room country schools. But a 
 method referred to in Chapter III is entirely feasible, and 
 more detailed suggestions are here submitted. 
 
 From the following list of farm operations which a boy 
 of these grades can do, the teacher may select any two per 
 week, related as nearly as possible to the subject-matter 
 being studied at school, and assign these home duties to the 
 pupil. The parents may sign a form blank each week vouch- 
 ing for the work done by the pupil. From five to ten hours 
 per week should be required. 
 
 HOME WORK ON THE FARM TOR SCHOOL CREDIT m 
 AGRICULTURE 
 
 1. Mowing weeds about the farm (hours equivalent to one 
 hah* working day). 
 
 2. Ploughing for wheat (hours equal to one working 
 day). 
 
 3. Using fanning mill to clean seed wheat.
 
 APPENDIX 211 
 
 4. Sowing wheat (hours equivalent to a working day). 
 
 5. Selecting seed corn. 
 
 6. Husking corn (hours equivalent to one day). 
 
 7. Storing seed corn. 
 
 8. Testing seed corn. 
 
 9. Cutting corn (hours equal to one half -day). 
 
 10. Helping fill a silo. 
 
 11. Digging, picking, and storing potatoes (one half -day). 
 
 12. Picking, packing, and storing apples (one half-day). 
 
 13. Gathering and storing nuts. 
 
 14. Cleaning up all trash and junk about the farm. 
 
 15. Currying and harnessing a team of horses for the work 
 of one week. 
 
 16. Feeding and watering the horses for a week. 
 
 17. Cleaning, oiling, and putting away farm implements. 
 
 18. Hauling and spreading manure (one half -day). 
 
 19. Spreading limestone or rock-phosphate (one half-day). 
 
 20. Repairing fences, gates, or other farm equipment. 
 
 21. Making bird-houses. 
 
 22. Assisting in concrete construction. 
 
 23. Working on road improvement. 
 
 24. Keeping fuel containers in the house filled, ashes and 
 all garbage removed (for one week). 
 
 25. Mending, and oiling harness, and splicing ropes. 
 
 26. Making a hotbed. 
 
 27. Sowing clover seed. 
 
 28. Treating oats for smut. 
 
 29. Sowing oats (hours equal to one half -day)., ? 
 
 30. Pruning vines, shrubs, or trees. 
 
 31. Grafting fruit trees. 
 
 32. Treating potatoes for scab. 
 
 33. Planting fall or spring flower bulbs. 
 
 34. Planting potatoes. 
 
 85. Helping in spring gardening (one half-day). 
 36. Hoeing in garden about shrubs or flower beds (one half- 
 day).
 
 212 APPENDIX 
 
 37. Setting out trees or shrubs . 
 88. Mowing the lawn. 
 
 39. Planting corn (hours equal to one day). 
 
 40. Transplanting garden vegetables. 
 
 41. Spraying, or otherwise destroying insect pests about the 
 farm. 
 
 42. Feeding the pigs for one week. 
 
 43. Milking the cows for one week. 
 
 44. Feeding and caring for cattle for one week. 
 
 45. Feeding and caring for sheep for one week. 
 
 46. Feeding and caring for poultry for one week. 
 
 47. Making hens' nests, or other equipment for the poultry 
 house. 
 
 48. Gathering the eggs for a week. 
 
 49. Preserving eggs in water glass. 
 
 50. Caring for an incubator. 
 
 51. Cleaning out stables, mangers, and feed boxes at the 
 barn. 
 
 52. Helping hi butchering on the farm. 
 
 53. Herding farm animals, or driving them to and from pas- 
 ture for a week. 
 
 54. Helping to "break a colt." 
 
 55. Keeping all watering troughs for the stock cleaned and 
 filled for one week. 
 
 56. Running the Babcock test for one week and keeping 
 records. 
 
 57. Doing any other farm labor that needs to be done) 
 which the boy can do or help to do. 
 
 The value of all this work will be in the gaining of a back- 
 ground of farm experience, dignified by school credit, and in 
 the practice of habits of thoroughness and alertness, habits 
 which will be worth as much to boys in many respects, 
 in other kinds of business they may go into, as they might 
 gain from a term of school or the study of books.
 
 APPENDIX 213 
 
 The parent or guardian should certify to the work done, 
 on some such form as follows: 
 
 Date 
 
 School 
 
 To the teacher: 
 
 John Smith has done satisfactorily the two following pieces 
 of work required for school credit in agriculture this week: 
 
 (Parent's signature.) 
 
 Outline of the Plan Suggested on Page 25 for 
 Seventh- and Eighth-Grade Agriculture 
 
 THE HOME-PROJECT PLAN 
 
 Basing the work of these grades on the home project, the 
 class should decide upon one or possibly two projects and 
 each member of the class should do the work outlined in a 
 calendar similar to the one given below. Class recitations and 
 laboratory exercises should be based upon the practical work 
 done at home. Under this plan very little of the time of the 
 regular school hours need be given to formal classwork, but 
 the school becomes the guide and inspiration for the home 
 work. During the seventh and eighth years several projects 
 may be completed without any duplication of study or work, 
 and it may be better for the student to complete a thorough 
 study and practice of a few agricultural projects than to skim 
 over the general field of agriculture by the textbook method 
 of school work. In connection with the project plan, the 
 author's A Year in Agriculture 1 is suggested as a suitable 
 book for general study. 
 
 The following project outline is taken from the Row, 
 Peterson Home Project Series and illustrates the method of 
 using the home project as a basis for elementary agriculture. 
 
 > Bow, Peterson & Co.
 
 214 
 
 September 
 
 1. Organization of club. The class in agriculture, under- 
 taking to base its year's work upon the home project, should 
 be organized as directed by the club plan. Each member of 
 the class should become a member of the club and plan to do 
 all the work outlined for the project. The plan should meet 
 the approval of the board of education and of the parents of 
 the boys and girls undertaking the project and have the 
 hearty support of the county superintendent of schools and 
 of the teacher. The State Club Leader at the State College 
 of Agriculture should be notified of the organization of the 
 club so that he can send enrollment blanks and all such liter- 
 ature and publications as will be helpful in the progress of the 
 work. 
 
 2. Selecting the plot. For the corn growing project we may 
 well begin operations in September for the next season's crop. 
 The first thing each pupil should do after the organization 
 of the class is to select the plot upon which he is to grow his 
 corn. Not less than an acre should be used for this project. 
 
 The father should allow the boy an acre of good well- 
 drained, fertile land upon which to grow his corn. 
 
 8. The notebook. Each pupil should be provided with a 
 good permanent notebook in which he may keep a neat and 
 accurate record of all operations, results, and accounts, 
 month by month, so that at the end he will have an agricul- 
 tural booklet he will be proud to exhibit. It would be well 
 to have all these notebooks uniform in style and size. Upon 
 the durable cover may be pasted some such words as, "Ag- 
 ricultural Booklet"; "Com is King"; some good pictures 
 clipped from papers; or even the photograph and name of 
 the boy. 
 
 THE HOME-PROJECT NOTEBOOK 
 
 1. Diary of the home project. Answer all questions, make 
 all records, and describe all operations called for in the
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 215 
 
 calendar of monthly activities under the proper date 
 of this diary. When the operation done involves an 
 expense, record it, giving hours' time required at ten 
 cents an hour for your own work and fifteen cents an 
 hour for hired labor. Charge ten cents an hour for 
 horse labor. Record cost of material used. When the 
 diary activity brings in a return, record it under re- 
 ceipts to be summarized later. When the diary of the 
 month is finished write in the middle of the page the 
 next month thus : 
 
 SEPTEMBER 
 
 Date 
 
 Operations, work done, etc. 
 
 Hours 
 
 Expense 
 
 Receipts 
 
 
 12 or 15 pages ruled in 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 this way 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. Summary of cost of the acre of corn : 
 
 Items of labor and material 
 
 Man Labor 
 
 Horse 
 Labor 
 @10^ 
 per hour 
 
 Cost 
 
 @Wt 
 per hour 
 
 @l5t 
 per pour 
 
 1. AH preparation of ground 
 for planting 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 Planting the acre 
 
 3. Cultivation of the corn 
 4 Work in gathering 
 
 6. Estimated rent of the land . . 
 6 Cost of fertilizers 
 
 7 Cost of manure 
 
 8 Cost of seed corn 
 
 9 Cost of other material 
 
 10 Total cost 

 
 216 APPENDIX 
 
 3. Estimated value of corn from the acre : 
 
 
 Bushels 
 
 Value 
 
 1. Total number of bushels obtained 
 
 
 
 2. Number of bushels of seed obtained .... 
 8. Market value of common corn 
 
 
 
 4. Market value of seed corn 
 
 
 
 B. Value of all corn obtained 
 
 
 
 6. Total profit on your acre 
 
 
 
 7. Your labor income 
 
 
 
 8. Cost per bushel of producing your corn . 
 
 
 
 4 Mapping the plot. Make a map, drawing to scale, of 
 your proposed acre of corn ground. Copy this neatly 
 ^ in your notebook. Write answers to the following points, 
 (a) Location of the plot. 
 
 (6) Type of soil, sandy, clay, loam, upland, lowland, 
 etc. 
 
 (c) Cropping and treatment of the plot for the last 
 three years. 
 
 (d) Present condition as to plant growth and fer- 
 tility. 
 
 (e) Drainage. 
 
 (f) Estimated value of the acre of land. 
 
 5. Field selection of seed. Attention may well be given this 
 early in the project to the selection of the seed corn for 
 next spring. Send to the various seed corn breeders of 
 your State for their circulars; also to the International 
 Harvester Company and to the State College of Agri- 
 culture for bulletins on seed corn. 
 
 Go into the field and study good types of stalks and 
 ears from which seed corn should be selected. (Labora- 
 tory exercises on this point may precede this trip.) 
 Become thoroughly familiar with the ideal stalk and 
 ear which should be selected when the time for husking 
 the seed corn comes.
 
 APPENDIX 217 
 
 October 
 
 1. Storing seed corn. Devices for storing seed corn should 
 be planned and made this month. Each pupil should 
 make definite provision for storing his seed corn in some 
 of the various types of racks or devices used. 
 
 . Selecting and storing seed. Before freezing weather or 
 severe frosts, the seed corn to be used in this project 
 should be selected in the field and brought in for drying 
 and storing. The only satisfactory way of selecting 
 seed corn is in the field where one can take into account 
 the whole plant. The ear should be taken from a leafy 
 stalk that is well developed, standing at proper dis- 
 tance from other stalks and grown under normal con- 
 ditions. The ear should be supported about midway 
 up the stalk on a short shank inclined slightly down- 
 ward. Desirable ear characteristics are given in stand- 
 ard score cards. Since the pupil is to select for only a 
 small planting area, great care should be taken to select 
 and store the best seed corn possible. Determine the 
 number of ears required to plant an acre of corn. Select 
 several times this number for storing. Dry cellars, 
 basements or attics, if free from mice and rats, may be 
 used for storing corn. The old practice of hanging seed 
 corn from rafters is a good one to use until the corn is 
 finally stored for the winter. Corn contains considerable 
 moisture, the germ is a living thing, and the vitality 
 of the corn may be seriously injured if it is allowed to 
 freeze. Record in diary: (1) Amount of seed selected; 
 (2) where obtained; (3) variety of corn; (4) how stored. 
 
 3. Soil treatment. Attention should be given this fall to the 
 proper treatment of the soil of the plot to be planted. 
 If a clover crop has been growing to be ploughed un- 
 der, well and good. In any case, an application of five or 
 six tons of barnyard manure should be applied to the 
 acre. Most soils are deficient in phosphorus, and there
 
 218 APPENDIX 
 
 would likely be beneficial results from applying about 
 two tons per acre of finely ground raw rock phosphate. 
 The whole crops residue, clover, manure, and rock 
 phosphate should be ploughed down this fall to de- 
 compose and become available for plant food for the 
 corn crop of next season. 
 
 We must be sure that the soil is not sour. Get some 
 blue litmus paper at the drug store. Make up a moist 
 ball of the soil and insert the litmus paper. If after 
 five or ten minutes the litmus paper turns pink or red 
 we have evidence that the soil is acid. Now limestone 
 corrects acidity, and if the soil of the proposed plot 
 is acid from two to three tons of ground limestone 
 should be applied to the land after the fall ploughing. 
 
 The pupil should keep a record in his notebook of all 
 that is done by way of soil treatment on his plot: 
 
 1. What crop residue is present? 
 
 2. How much manure applied? When? 
 
 8. How much phosphorus applied? When? 
 
 4. When the plot was ploughed: Depth. Was the 
 ground disked? 
 
 5. How did you test for acidity? Was your soil sour? 
 
 6. How much limestone applied? When? 
 
 7. Record hours of horse and man labor necessary. 
 
 November 
 
 1. Unfinished work. Any of the unfinished work of select- 
 ing and storing seed corn or of the preparation of the 
 ground as described for October may be finished in 
 November. The seed corn should be stored in the racks 
 prepared, out of reach of rats and mice, in a dry room 
 where dampness or freezing will not occur. 
 
 2. Practice in judging corn. Full directions for scoring 
 and judging corn are given by State colleges and text- 
 books adapted to local needs. 
 
 3. Preparation of club exhibits. Details for corn exhibits
 
 APPENDIX 219 
 
 are given in various State publications. The class 
 should arrange a corn exhibit in the schoolroom, even 
 though the corn for this first year of the project was 
 not grown by the pupils. For the second year of the 
 project pupils should exhibit their own corn. 
 
 December and January 
 
 1. School-room studies. No practical work directly relating 
 to the project is necessary these months. Class recita- 
 tion work based on a study of the market prices and 
 causes of variation; systems of permanent soil fertility; 
 crop rotation; and the place of corn in systems of grain 
 and live-stock farming. Consult daily market quota- 
 tions and record prices of corn in a table prepared in 
 the notebook. 
 
 Class recitations and study on the subject-matter re- 
 lating to this project. Consult farm papers, bulletins, 
 and reference texts for class reports on corn-growing 
 and related problems, such as soil, weeds, insects, feed- 
 ing values, and uses of corn. 
 
 2. Laboratory exercises relating to the above studies. 
 
 February 
 
 1. The plot work again. We may now begin to turn our 
 attention more specifically to the plot and the next 
 steps in the production of the acre of corn which has 
 been planned since last September. 
 
 2. The signboard. One of the things each member of the 
 class or club should do is to make and letter a signboard 
 to be placed at the plot upon which the project is to 
 be done. This should be 12x8 inches planed on one 
 side. The signboard should bear the name of the local 
 or county club preceded by the word "Member"; 
 as,
 
 220 APPENDIX 
 
 Member 
 
 Lincoln County 
 
 Corn Club 
 
 The lettering may be done by means of a stencil cut 
 from cardboard. The letters may be cut from adver- 
 tisements or made by some member of the class. They 
 are then laid on the cardboard, their outline drawn 
 with a pencil, and the letters cut out. 
 5. Testing and grading seed corn. A rectangular box seed 
 com tester and as many other kinds of testers as pos- 
 sibly can be secured should be available for this work. 
 Send to your State College of Agriculture for circulars 
 of instruction on making the seed corn test. Test for 
 germination at least fifty high-scoring ears of corn 
 selected and stored last fall in order to discover the 
 twelve or fifteen having the most vigorous vitality to 
 be used for planting your acre. Record the results of 
 your testing in the notebook: (1) When tested; (2) how 
 tested; (3) per cent of good germination. 
 
 March and April 
 
 1. Preparation of seed bed. If the ground has not been 
 ploughed last fall, the first preparation in the spring 
 would be the breaking of the ground. Disking and 
 deep ploughing would be in order. If the ground has 
 been broken last fall, the plot should be disked and 
 thoroughly harrowed in the spring. A firm, deeply 
 ploughed, sub-surface with a well-pulverized surface 
 soil is the ideal seed-bed preparation. Record all 
 operations in the notebook records. 
 
 (1) Was ground ploughed in the fall or spring? Why? 
 
 (2) How was your seed bed prepared? 
 
 (3) Record hours of man and horse labor used.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 221 
 
 . Implements. Make a study of the ploughs, disks, and 
 harrows used in these operations: 
 
 Implements used 
 
 The Make 
 
 Degree of Success 
 
 Plough 
 
 
 
 Disk 
 
 
 
 Harrow 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 May 
 
 1. Corn-planting. Corn may be planted from the first to 
 the middle of May or even later. From one and one 
 half to three inches is the depth to plant corn, depend- 
 ing on the character of the soil. 
 
 If the acre used in this project is a part of a larger 
 field, the corn may be planted by the planter along with 
 the rest of the field. If the acre is apart from other 
 plantings the seed may be drilled or even dropped by 
 hand. 
 $. Record in the notebook diary as follows: 
 
 (a) When planted. 
 
 (6) Method used. 
 
 (c) Distance apart of rows and corn in rows. 
 
 (d) Amount of seed used. 
 
 (e) Record hours of man and horse labor used. 
 
 S. Planters. Study various corn-planters and drills. Write 
 a paragraph in your notebook on the advantages and 
 disadvantages of each method of planting. 
 
 June and July 
 
 1. Cultivation. Weeds are kept out and the shallow sofl 
 mulch maintained in proper cultivation. Early rolling 
 and harrowing before or soon after the com comes up
 
 222 APPENDIX 
 
 is a good practice facilitating the early control of th* 
 weeds. 
 
 The soil should be cultivated as often as is necessary 
 to maintain a loose, shallow soil mulch, and keep down 
 the weeds. Never allow the surface to become baked 
 and hard. It should be cultivated as soon after a rain 
 as it is dry enough to work. Care should be taken not to 
 cultivate too deep. If the roots of corn are injured, the 
 yield is reduced. 
 
 2. Record in the notebook diary as follows: 
 
 (a) Was your stand good, medium or poor? 
 (6) What and when was your first cultivation? 
 
 (c) Was cultivation deep or shallow? 
 
 (d) What implement was used? 
 
 (e) How many times did you cultivate? 
 
 (f) Record hours of man and horse labor used. 
 
 3. Insects. Observe and note the insect injuring the corn. 
 
 (a) Name of insect. 
 
 (6) Nature of the injury. 
 
 4. Weeds. List the weeds that were troublesome. 
 
 6. Other damages. Was your corn damaged by any other 
 causes? 
 
 6. Read and study bulletins, books, and farm papers re- 
 lating to corn production. 
 
 July and August 
 
 1. Cultivation. Continue cultivation to keep down weeds 
 and maintain the soil mulch. 
 
 2. Field trips. If the teacher or club leader is helping, 
 during the sunimer frequent trips to the plot should be 
 made by the pupil and leader to observe and discuss 
 
 (a) Pollination and fertilization. 
 (6) Insect and fungous injury. 
 
 (c) Corn stand. 
 
 (d) Probable causes of success or failure in good corn 
 growth.
 
 APPENDIX 223 
 
 Diary records of these observations should be made. 
 The teacher or club leader should assist the pupil in 
 completing in a full, neat, and satisfactory way all the 
 records and accounts connected with this project. 
 
 3. Picnics. A club picnic should be the closing feature of 
 the year's work. 
 
 4- Concluding work. The concluding work of the Booklet 
 should be the pupil's story of "How I Grew My Acre 
 of Corn."
 
 IV. SUGGESTIONS FOR LABORATORY 
 EQUIPMENT 
 
 MUCH of the laboratory equipment needed for a study of 
 biology, chemistry, and physics is suitable for work in agri- 
 culture. It is supposed that those schools which offer agri- 
 culture will be fairly well supplied with such apparatus as 
 suitable laboratory desks, tables, compound microscope, 
 hand lenses, etc.; hence, only that material somewhat pecu- 
 liar to the study of agriculture will be mentioned here. 
 
 2 Ibs. each of the following cereals: (1) Wheat (fife); (2) 
 wheat (Blue Stem); (3) wheat (Velvet Chaff); (4) wheat 
 (Macaroni); (5) oats; (6) spring rye; (7) speltz; (8) barley; 
 
 (9) corn $1 80 
 
 Twelve 4-oz. samples of wheat products (may be obtained 
 free of charge, f.o.b. Minneapolis, Minnesota, by applying to 
 the Pillsbury Flour Company). 
 
 A small sheaf of each of the above grains in the straw. 
 (Secure locally.) One 10-ear sample of several varieties of 
 corn. (Collect locally.) (Samples of starch, glucose, corn 
 oil, and other products made from corn may be obtained, 
 free of charge, f.o.b. Chicago, Illinois, by applying to the 
 American Manufacturers' Association of Products from 
 Corn, 1236 First National Bank Building, Chicago.) 
 
 Score cards for judging corn, in pads 18 
 
 4 oz. each of the following grasses and legumes: (1) German 
 millet; (2) Hungarian millet; (3) red clover; (4) alfalfa; 
 (5) crimson clover; (6) alsike; (7) Canada field peas; 
 (8) Kentucky bluegrass; (9) red top; (10) timothy; (11) 
 
 brome grass 2 50 
 
 12 cans with compression cap lids, 6 each, one pint and one 
 
 quart 1 50 
 
 One set of Collection of Injurious Weeds. (Obtainable 
 from the Biological Department, Agricultural College, Far- 
 go, North Dakota, at a cost of $1.00, or from Purdue Uni- 
 versity, Lafayette, Indiana, or other agricultural colleges.) 
 One case of Collection of Plant Diseases. (Obtainable
 
 APPENDIX 225 
 
 from the Biological Department of the Agricultural Col- 
 lege, Fargo, North Dakota, at a cost of about $1.50.) 
 
 10 plates, tin, 7-inch $ 50 
 
 1 quire blotting paper, 19 x 24 inches 60 
 
 5 yards of muslin. (Secure locally.) 
 
 12 shallow boxes for seed germination, and root cuttings, 
 about 16 x 12 x 3 in. of galvanized iron, $1.00 each (or secure 
 wooden boxes locally). 
 
 1 Ib. formaldehyde, 40 per cent 35 
 
 1 oz. iodine 40 
 
 2 oz. acid phosphate 15 
 
 2 oz. magnesium phosphate 18 
 
 1 Ib. nitric acid 80 
 
 1 Ib. hydrochloric acid 25 
 
 1 Ib. sulphuric acid 25 
 
 2 oz. sodium nitrate 10 
 
 2 oz. potassium sulphate 10 
 
 2 oz. ferric chloride 15 
 
 1 vial blue litmus paper 08 
 
 1 vial red litmus paper 08 
 
 One collection of economic seeds. (May be secured from 
 the United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, 
 D.C. Vials for these may be obtained from Mackell Broth- 
 ers, 9th St., N.E., Washington, D.C., at a cost of $1.50.) 
 
 1 grain container, metal, 2 gallons 80 
 
 100 seedlings for grafting (obtain from local nursery). 
 100 Catalpa Speciosa for nursery row (secure from local nur- 
 sery). 
 
 1 Ib. grafting wax 30 
 
 Score cards for fruit, pad of 50 18 
 
 1 pruning saw and knife 1 00 
 
 1 grafting knife, one blade 30 
 
 1 pruning shears, 9-inch 60 
 
 6 Ibs. copper sulphate (for Bordeaux Mixture) 50 
 
 6 Ibs. calcium oxide, quicklime (for Bordeaux Mixture) 50 
 
 1 Ib. Paris green 25 
 
 1 Ib. arsenate of lead (disparene or gypsene) 25 
 
 1 Ib. white arsenic 12 
 
 1 Ib. arsenate of soda 85 
 
 1 Ib. fish oil (whale oil) soap 15 
 
 1 Ib. hellebore (white) 25 
 
 1 qt. kerosene emulsion *0 
 
 i Ib. London purple 5 
 
 6 Ibs. tobacco sterna 25
 
 226 APPENDIX 
 
 1 lb. Bordeaux Mixture $ 25 
 
 1 lb. pyrethrum (Persian insect powder) 25 
 
 1 bucket sprayer, hand size 4 50-10 00 
 
 1 Babcock milk and cream tester, complete 5 00-10 00 
 
 1 milk sheet 15 
 
 1 poultry coop (made to order). 
 
 1 cream separator 75 Ibs. or 35 qts. per hour 17 00-35 00 
 
 Blank score cards for judging on light horses, draft horses, 
 beef cattle, dairy cattle, sheep, hogs, market cream (18c. 
 
 per pad of 50 of any one kind) 1 26 
 
 1 bu. each of sand, loam, and clay soils (secure locally). 
 
 2 dessicators, 6-inch 2 10 
 
 2 dessicator plates for above 2 00 
 
 12 crucibles, porcelain 1 80 
 
 2 crucible tongs, steel, double bend, 9-inch 40 
 
 12 test tubes, 8 x 1-inch 40 
 
 2 graduates, cylindrical, 100 cc 1 00 
 
 2 supports, ring stands with 3 rings 1 10 
 
 2 triangles, iron wire covered with pipe stems 10 
 
 2 mortars, porcelain with pestles, 2f-inch 60 
 
 1 rolling pin 15 
 
 1 Harvard agate bearing balance 6 00 
 
 1 weights, brass in block, 500 grams to 1 gram 1 60 
 
 1 analytical balance in case, capacity 100 grams. Sensibility 
 
 1 mg. Duty free 15 00 
 
 1 weights, brass in box, 100 grams to 1 mg 3 50 
 
 1 sieve, brass, 5-inch diameter, set of 3, sizes 2 mm., 1 mm., 
 and ^ mm., with pan bottom 3 90 
 
 10 soil tubes, water-holding capacity, 2 inches in diameter, 
 
 10 inches long, perforated bottom. Made of brass 10 00 
 
 (Or 10 soil tubes, same as above, but of galvanized iron, 
 $5.00.) 
 
 2 mulch cylinders, 19-inch, of galvanized iron 4 00 
 
 2 pans, metal, 14 x 18 x 2-inches high 2 00 
 
 12 flower pots, earthenware, 5 inches 45 
 
 12 jars, for pot culture, '2 gals. (20 cents each) 2 16 
 
 1 soil augur 2 70 
 
 1 drainage apparatus or water table, of copper 4 00 
 
 1 alcohol lamp, 4-oz 23 
 
 1 Bunsen burner and 2j feet of 3-16-inch rubber tubing. 40 
 
 Total (minimum) $109 29
 
 APPENDIX 227 
 
 SUGGESTIONS FOR HIGH-SCHOOL LABORATORY 
 IN AGRICULTURE 
 
 1. Heavy tables, built solid from floor, with individual 
 drawers at right-hand side, open directly in front of a 
 revolving stool with back. Size 3 by 2 feet for each 
 student. Tables all built together down center of 
 room, so that students face each other across table. 
 The whole table structure might be 35 by 4 feet, seat- 
 ing 20 students with individual places. Sinks and water 
 at ends of the table. 
 
 2. Case built in one wall, 9 feet long, 1 foot deep, and 
 7 feet high, the lower 3 feet projecting 2 feet forming 
 a table. Glass doors and shelves for the upper 4 feet, 
 solid doors, closing storage places, the lower 4 feet of 
 the case. 
 
 8. Demonstration lecture table 7 by 3 feet, drawers on each 
 side of an open center. Gas and electric connection, 
 water and end sink. 
 
 4. General sink at side of the room. 
 
 5. Leaf shelves at the windows, shelves to be used for 
 window boxes, pot cultures, etc. 
 
 6. Case for classifying agricultural bulletins, circulars, 
 books, etc. Case 6 feet wide, 1 foot deep, and 4 feet 
 high, above a table built below, projecting 2 feet, form- 
 ing a reading or reference table. One half the case cut 
 into filing places, similar to the shelves holding maga- 
 zines in a library; the other to be used as bookshelves. 
 
 7. Molding-board about the walls, where space permits, 
 upon which charts may be hung.
 
 V. THE SMITH-HUGHES BILL AND VOCA- 
 TIONAL AGRICULTURE IN SECONDARY 
 SCHOOLS 
 
 THE Smith-Hughes Bill, providing Federal grants to the 
 respective States of the Union for the promotion of vocational 
 education, was passed by the Sixty-fourth Congress, signed 
 by President Wilson on February 23, 1917, and became 
 operative as a law on July 1, 1917. 
 
 There is through this measure projected a great Nation- 
 al system of vocational education, extending downward 
 through the secondary schools, with Federal support similar 
 to that given to the Land-Grant Colleges by the Morrill 
 Act, signed by Abraham Lincoln, in 1862. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM THE SMITH-HUGHES LAW, REL- ' 
 ATIVE TO THE TRAINING OF AGRICULTURAL 
 WORKERS 
 
 An Act to provide for the promotion of vocational edu- 
 cation; to provide for cooperation with the States in the pro- 
 motion of such education in agriculture; ... to provide for 
 cooperation with the States in the preparation of teachers 
 of vocational subjects; and to appropriate money and regu- 
 late its expenditure. 
 
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
 That there is hereby annually appropriated, out of any 
 money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sums 
 provided in Sections 2 and 4 of this Act, to be paid to the 
 respective States for the purpose of cooperating with the 
 States in paying the salaries of teachers, supervisors, and 
 directors of agricultural subjects . . . and in the preparation
 
 APPENDIX 229 
 
 of teachers of agricultural subjects. . . . Sums shall be ex- 
 pended as hereinafter provided. 
 
 Sec. 2. That for the purpose of cooperating with the 
 States in paying the salaries of teachers, supervisors, or 
 directors of agricultural subjects there is hereby appropri- 
 ated for the use of the States, subject to the provisions of this 
 Act, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1918, the sum of 
 $500,000; for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919, the sum 
 of $750,000; for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920, the sum 
 of $1,000,000; for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1921, the 
 sum of $1,250,000; for the fiscal year ending June CO, 1922, 
 the sum of $1,500,000; for the fiscal year ending June 30, 
 1923, the sum of $1,750,000; for the fiscal year ending June 
 30, 1924, the sum of $2,000,000; for the fiscal year ending 
 June 30, 1925, the sum of $2,500,000; for the fiscal year 
 ending June 30, 1926, and annually thereafter the sum 
 of $3,000,000. Said sums shall be allotted to the States in 
 the proportion which their rural population bears to the 
 total rural population of the United States; not including 
 outlying possessions, according to the last preceding United 
 
 States census. 
 
 i 
 
 Sec. 4. That for the purpose of cooperating with the 
 States in preparing teachers, supervisors, and directors of 
 agricultural subjects and teachers of trade and industrial 
 and home economics subjects there is hereby appropriated 
 for the use of the States for the fiscal year ending June 30, 
 
 1918, the sum of $500,000; for the fiscal year ending June 30, 
 
 1919, the sum of $700,000; for the fiscal year ending June 30, 
 
 1920, the sum of $900,000; for the fiscal year ending June 
 SO, 1921, and annually thereafter, the sum of $1,000,000. 
 Said sums shall be allotted to the States in the proportion 
 which their population bears to the total population of the 
 United States, not including outlying possessions, according 
 to the last preceding United States census. 
 
 Sec. 5. That in order to secure the benefits of the ap-
 
 30 APPENDIX 
 
 propriations provided for in Sections 2 and 4 of this Act, 
 any State shall, through the legislative authority thereof, 
 accept the provisions of this Act and designate or create a 
 State board, consisting of not less than three members, and 
 having all necessary power to cooperate, as herein provided, 
 with the Federal Board for Vocational Education in the 
 administration of the provisions of this Act. The State 
 Board of Education, or other board having charge of the ad- 
 ministration of public education in the State, or any State 
 board having charge of the administration of any kind of 
 vocational education in the State may, if the State so elect, 
 be designated as the State board, for the purposes of this 
 Act. 
 
 Any State may accept the benefits of any one or more of 
 the respective funds herein appropriated, and it may defer 
 the acceptance of the benefits of any one or more of such 
 funds, and shall be required to meet only the conditions 
 relative to the fund or funds the benefits of which it has 
 accepted, Provided, that after June 30, 1920, no State shall 
 receive any appropriation for salaries of teachers, super- 
 visors, or directors of agricultural subjects until it shall have 
 taken advantage of at least the minimum amount appropri- 
 ated for the training of teachers, supervisors, or directors 
 of agricultural subjects, as provided for in this Act. 
 
 Sec. 6. That a Federal Board for Vocational Education 
 is hereby created, to consist of the Secretary of Agriculture, 
 the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the 
 United States Commissioner of Education, and three citi- 
 zens of the United States to be appointed by the President, 
 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. One of 
 said three citizens shall be a representative of the manufac- 
 turing and commercial interests, one a representative of the 
 agricultural interests, and one a representative of labor. 
 The board shall elect annually one of its members as chair-
 
 APPENDIX 231 
 
 man. In the first instance, one of the citizen members shall 
 be appointed for one year, one for two years, and one for 
 three years, and thereafter for three years each. The mem- 
 bers of the board other than the members of the Cabinet 
 and the United States Commissioner of Education shall 
 receive a salary of $5000 per annum. 
 
 The board shall have power to cooperate with State boards 
 in carrying out the provisions of this Act. It shall be the 
 duty of the Federal Board for Vocational Education to make, 
 or cause to have made studies, investigations, and reports, 
 with particular reference to their use in aiding the States 
 in the establishment of vocational schools and classes and 
 in giving instruction in agriculture. . . . Such studies, inves- 
 tigations, and reports shall include agriculture and agricul- 
 tural processes and requirements upon agricultural workers; 
 . . . and problems of administration of vocational schools and 
 of courses of study and instruction in vocational subjects. 
 
 The Federal Board for Vocational Education shall have 
 power to employ such assistants as may be necessary to carry 
 out the provisions of this Act. 
 
 Sec. 8. That in order to secure the benefits of the ap- 
 propriation for any purpose specified in this Act, the State 
 board shall prepare plans, showing the kinds of Vocational 
 Education for which it is proposed that the appropriation 
 shall be used; the kinds of schools and equipment; courses 
 of study; methods of instruction; qualifications of teachers; 
 and, in the case of agricultural subjects, the qualifications of 
 supervisors or directors; plans for the training of teachers, 
 and, in the case of agricultural subjects, plans for the super- 
 vision of agricultural education, as provided for in Sec- 
 tion 10. Such plans shall be submitted by the State board 
 to the Federal Board for Vocational Education, and if the 
 Federal board finds the same to be in conformity with the pro- 
 visions and purposes of this Act, the same shall be approved. 
 The State board shall make an annual report to the Federal 
 Board for Vocational Education, on or before September
 
 232 APPENDIX 
 
 first of each year, on the work done in the State and the 
 receipts and expenditures of money under the provisions of 
 this Act. 
 
 Sec. 9. That the appropriation for the salaries of teachers, 
 supervisors, or directors of agricultural subjects . . . shall 
 be devoted exclusively to the payment of salaries of such 
 teachers, supervisors, or directors having the minimum 
 qualifications set up for the State by the State board, with 
 the approval of the Federal Board for Vocational Educa- 
 tion. The cost of instruction supplementary to the instruc- 
 tion in agriculture, provided for in this Act, necessary to 
 build a well-rounded course of training, shall be borne by the 
 State and local communities, and no part of the cost thereof 
 shall be borne out of the appropriations herein made. The 
 moneys expended under the provisions of this Act, in 
 cooperation with the States, for the salaries of teachers, 
 supervisors, or directors of agricultural subjects, . . . shall 
 be conditioned that for each dollar of Federal money ex- 
 pended for such salaries the State or local community, or 
 both, shall expend an equal amount for such salaries; and 
 that appropriations for the training of teachers of vocational 
 subjects, as herein provided, shall be conditioned that such 
 money be expended for maintenance of such training and 
 that for each dollar of Federal money so expended for 
 maintenance, the State or local community, or both, shall 
 expend an equal amount for the maintenance of such 
 training. 
 
 Sec. 10. That any State may use the appropriation for 
 agricultural purposes, or any part thereof allotted to it, 
 under the provisions of this Act, for the salaries of teachers, 
 supervisors, or directors of agricultural subjects, either for 
 the salaries of teachers of such subjects in schools or classes, 
 or for the salaries of supervisors or directors of such sub- 
 jects under a plan of supervision for the State to be set up by 
 the State board, with the approval of the Federal Board for 
 Vocational Education. That in order to receive the benefits
 
 APPENDIX 233 
 
 of such appropriation for the salaries of teachers, supervisors, 
 or directors of agricultural subjects the State board of any 
 State shall provide in its plan for agricultural education that 
 such education shall be that which is under public super- 
 vision or control; that the controlling purpose of such edu- 
 cation shall be to fit for useful employment; that such edu- 
 cation shall be of less than college grade and be designed to 
 meet the needs of persons over fourteen years of age who 
 have entered upon or who are preparing to enter upon the 
 work of the farm or of the farm home; that the State or 
 local community, or both, (1) shall provide the necessary 
 plant and equipment determined upon by the State board, 
 with the approval of the Federal Board for Vocational Edu- 
 cation, as the minimum requirement for such education 
 in schools and classes in the State; (2) that the amount 
 expended for the maintenance of such education in any 
 school or class receiving the benefit of such appropriation 
 shall be not less annually than the amount fixed by the State 
 board, with the approval of the Federal board as the mini- 
 mum for such schools or classes in the State; (3) that such 
 schools shall provide for directed or supervised practice in 
 agriculture, either on a farm provided for by the school or 
 other farm, for at least six months per year; (4) that the 
 teachers, supervisors, or directors of agricultural subjects 
 shall have at least the minimum qualifications determined 
 for the State by the State board, with the approval of the 
 Federal Board for Vocational Education. 
 
 Sec. 12. That in order for any State to receive the bene- 
 fits of the appropriation in this Act for the training of 
 teachers, supervisors, or directors of agricultural subjects, 
 . . . the State board of such State shall provide in its plan 
 for such training that the same shall be carried out under 
 the supervision of the State board; that such training shall 
 be given in schools or classes under public supervision or con- 
 trol; that such training shall be given only to persons who 
 have had adequate vocational experience or contact in the
 
 234 APPENDIX 
 
 line of work for which they are preparing themselves as 
 teachers, supervisors, or directors, or who are acquiring such 
 experience or contact as a part of their training; and that the 
 State board, with the approval of the Federal board, shall 
 establish minimum requirements for such experience or 
 contact for teachers, supervisors, or directors of agricul- 
 tural subjects, and for teachers of trade, industrial and home 
 economics subjects; that not more than sixty per centum nor 
 less than twenty per centum of the money appropriated under 
 this Act for the training of teachers of vocational subjects 
 to any State for any year shall be expended for any one of 
 the following purposes: For the preparation of teachers, 
 supervisors, or directors of agricultural subjects or the pre- 
 paration of teachers of trade and industrial subjects, or the 
 preparation of teachers of home economics subjects. 
 
 Sec. 13. That in order to secure the benefits of the ap- 
 propriations for the salaries of teachers, supervisors, or 
 directors of agricultural subjects, ... or for the training of 
 teachers as herein provided, any State shall, through the 
 legislative authority thereof, appoint as custodian for said 
 appropriations its State Treasurer, who shall receive and 
 provide for the proper custody and disbursements of all 
 money paid to the State from said appropriations. 
 
 Sec. 16. That the Federal Board for Vocational Education 
 may withhold the allotment of moneys to any State when- 
 ever it shall be determined that such moneys are not being 
 expended for the purposes and under the conditions of this 
 Act. 
 
 Sec. 17. That ... no portion of any moneys appropriated 
 under this Act for the benefit of the States shall be applied, 
 directly or indirectly, to the purchase, erection, preserva- 
 tion, or repair of any building or buildings or equipment, or 
 for the purchase or rental of lands, or for the support of any 
 religious or privately owned or conducted school or college. 
 
 Approved, February 23, 1917.
 
 APPENDIX 235 
 
 Some of the outstanding benefits of the Smith-Hughes 
 Vocational Fund will be: 
 
 (1) The supervision of agricultural, industrial, and home 
 economics teaching in secondary schools. 
 
 (2) The training of teachers for these vocational subjects. 
 
 (3) The opportunity given to help boys and girls into bread- 
 winning vocations, as well as to a liberal education. 
 
 Coming as this Federal aid does at the time of the great 
 world war, it should assist very materially in training agri- 
 culturists and mechanics to support the men on the firing 
 line. It should aid also to no small extent in providing help- 
 ful vocational training to those who return, maimed in many 
 ways from war and battle, to take up the task, under great 
 handicap, of earning a livelihood for themselves and their 
 families. 
 
 This movement is a great new advance in education. The 
 resources of all the Nation are pooled for this large enterprise. 
 Great tasks and responsibilities are being placed on Federal, 
 State, and local boards and directors in the organization of 
 the work, and in the establishment of principles and meth- 
 ods with which to carry it forward. One great danger is in- 
 herent hi the whole scheme. Much authority and power is 
 taken away from those local communities accepting the pro- 
 visions of the law. Matters of equipment, courses of study, 
 qualifications of teachers, and even methods of teaching, are 
 largely under the control of the State and Federal boards. 
 Let us hope that the broad and liberal policy of the present 
 Federal Director, Dr. Prosser, who stated that local com- 
 munities shall be given the largest freedom possible in the ap- 
 plication of this law to the vocational education in the schools, 
 will prevail throughout the country. Another danger in 
 connection with the development of this movement is the 
 establishment of separate vocational schools. Let the work 
 be done under the supervision of existing boards and super- 
 intendents, and in departments of regularly established 
 schools. To go outside of these and establish separate State
 
 236 APPENDIX 
 
 or local boards of education would be unnecessary duplica- 
 tion and a useless expenditure of the people's money. The 
 same kind of men and the same kind of teachers would likely 
 be found on these separate boards and in separate schools, 
 and nothing is to be gained that could not be had, with 
 many added advantages, by establishing these vocational 
 courses in schools already existing.
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY AGRICULTURE 
 
 PUBLISHERS 
 
 1. The Macmillan Company, New York. 
 
 2. Ginn & Company, Chicago. 
 
 3. Orange Judd Company, New York. 
 
 4. American Book Company, New York. 
 
 5. Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis. 
 
 6. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. 
 
 7. Small, Maynard & Company, New York. 
 
 8. D. C. Heath & Company, New York. 
 
 9. Webb Publishing Company, St. Paul, Minnesota. 
 
 10. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 
 
 11. Row, Peterson & Company, Chicago. 
 
 12. Doubleday, Page & Company, New York. 
 
 13. W. A. Henry, Experiment Station, Madison, Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 14. Kenyon Publishing Company, Des Moines, Iowa. 
 
 15. The Torch Press, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 
 
 16. C. M. Parker, Publisher, Taylorville, Illinois. 
 
 17. D. Appleton & Company, New York. 
 
 18. Sanders Publishing Company, Chicago. 
 
 19. Chicago University Press, Chicago. 
 
 20. F. H. King, University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin. 
 
 21. J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia. 
 
 22. Y.M.C.A. Press, New York. 
 
 23. Rand-McNally & Company, New York. 
 
 SOME GOOD REFERENCE BOOKS FOR SECONDARY 
 AGRICULTURE 
 
 I. GENERAL AGRICULTURE * 
 
 Caldwell and Eikenberry, General Science (2) $1 . 25 
 
 Bailey, Encyclopedia of Agriculture (1) 20 . 00 
 
 .. * The Dumber* in parentheses refer to the publishers given above.
 
 ii BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Bailey, Principles of Agriculture (1) $1 . 25 
 
 Burkett, et al., Agriculture for Beginners (2) .75 
 
 Warren, Elements of Agriculture (1) 1.10 
 
 Mann, Beginnings in Agriculture (1) 1 . 10 
 
 McLennan, Manual of Practical Farming (1) 1 .50 
 
 Benson and Belts, Agriculture (5) 1 . 25 
 
 Waters, Essentials in Agriculture (2) 1 . 25 
 
 Lippincott, Productive Series (21) 1 .75 
 
 Card, Farm Management (12) 2 . 00 
 
 King, The Physics of Agriculture (17) 1 . 75 
 
 Hunt, How to Choose a Farm (1) 1 . 75 
 
 Ogden, Rural Hygiene (1) 1 .50 
 
 Belcher, Clean Milk (3) 1.00 
 
 Wilkinson, Practical Agriculture (4) 1 . 00 
 
 Wilson, Agriculture for Young Folks (9) 1 .00 
 
 Nolan, One Hundred Lessons in Agriculture (11) .65 
 
 Wood, School Agriculture (3) .90 
 
 Jackson and Daugherty, Agriculture, Through 
 
 Laboratory and School Garden (3) 1 . 00 
 
 Cotton and Fisher, Agriculture for Common 
 
 Schools (6) ' .80 
 
 Nolan, A Year in Agriculture with Home Projects (11) . 75 
 
 Nolan and Greene. Home Project Series (11) .32 
 
 IT. SOIM AND AGRICTTLTUKAL CHEMISTBT 
 
 Vivian, First Principles of Soil Fertility (3) 1 . 00 
 
 King, The Soil (1) 1.50 
 
 Snyder, Soils and Fertilizers (1) 1 . 25 
 
 Henry, Feeds and Feeding (13) 2.25 
 
 Jordan, Feeding of Animals (1) 1 .50 
 
 Elliot, Practical Farm Drainage (10) 1 . 50 
 
 Hopkins, Soil Fertility and Permanent Agriculture 2 . 00 
 
 Hopkins, Story of the Soil (2) 1.50 
 
 Elliff, A Unit in Agriculture (11) .50 
 
 Kyle and Ellis, Fundamentals of Farming and 
 Farm Life (6)
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY iii 
 
 Whitson and Walster, Sails and Sail Fertility. . . (9) $1 .25 
 
 Lyon, Sails and Fertilizers (1) .75 
 
 HI. ANIMALS 
 
 Sanderson, Insects of Farm, Orchard and Garden. .(10) 2 . 00 
 
 Plumb, Beginnings in Animal Husbandry (9) 1.50 
 
 Plumb, Types and Breeds of Farm Animals. ... (2) 2.00 
 
 Harper, Animal Husbandry for Schools (9) 1 . 25 
 
 Davenport, Domestic Animals and Plants (2) 1 . 25 
 
 Robinson, Principles and Practice of Poultry Cul- 
 ture (3) 1.50 
 
 Brigham, Progressive Poultry Culture (15) 1 .50 
 
 Craig, Judging Live-Stock (14) 1 .50 
 
 Davenport, Twelve Studies of Farm Animals. . . (16) .35 
 
 Harper, Training and Breaking of Horses (1) 1 .50 
 
 Eckels, Dairy Cows, and Milk Production 1 . 10 
 
 Wing, Milk and its Products (1) 1.50 
 
 Eckels and Warren, Dairy Farming (1) 1 . 10 
 
 Bull, Principles of Feeding Farm Animals (1) 1 . 50 
 
 IV. PLANTS 
 
 Hosier, Farm Crops and Soils (23) 1.50 
 
 Livingston, Field Crop Production (1) 1 . 25 
 
 Hunt, Cereals in America (3) 1 . 75 
 
 Hunt, Forage and Fiber Crops of America (3) 1.75 
 
 Conn, Bacteria, Yeasts and Moulds in Home ... (2) 1 . 00 
 
 Waugh, The American Apple Orchard (3) 1 .00 
 
 Duggar, Fungous Diseases of Plants (2) 2 . 00 
 
 Bailey, Principles of Fruit-Growing (1) 1 .50 
 
 Bailey, Manual of Gardening (1) 2 . 00 
 
 Corbett, Garden Farming (2) 1 .50 
 
 Card, Bush Fruits (1) 1 50 
 
 Maynard, Landscape Gardening (10) 1 .50 
 
 Waugh, The Landscape Beautiful (3) 2 00 
 
 Weed, Farm Friends and Foes (8) .90 
 
 Gifford, Practical Forestry (17) 1.25
 
 iv BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Gregory, ChecJcing the Waste (5) $1 . 00 
 
 Price, The Land We Live in (7) 1 .80 
 
 Davis, Productive Plant Husbandry (21) 1.75 
 
 Roth, First Book of Forestry (2) .80 
 
 Wing, Alfalfa Farming (8) 2.00 
 
 Wilson and Warburton, Field Crops (9) 1 . 25 
 
 Davis, Home and School Gardening (21) 1.50 
 
 V. FARM MECHANICS AND MANAGEMENT 
 
 Warren, Farm Management (1) 1 . 25 
 
 Roberts, Farmers' Business Handbook (1) 1 . 25 
 
 Roberts, The Farmstead (1) 1 .50 
 
 Davidson and Chase, Farm Machinery and Farm 
 
 Motors (3) 2.00 
 
 Green, Law for American Farmer (1) 1 . 50 
 
 VI. FARM LIFE INTERESTS 
 
 Butterfield, Chapters on Rural Progress (19) 1 .00 
 
 Bailey, Country Life Movement (1) 1 . 10 
 
 Bailey, Report of Country Life Committee (1) .80 
 
 McKeever, Farm Boys and Girls (1) 1 .50 
 
 Jewett, Good Health (2) .60 
 
 Plunkett, Rural Life Problems in America (1) 1 . 50 
 
 Bailey, The State and the Farm (1) 1 .25 
 
 Fiske, The Challenge of the Country (22) .75 
 
 Carney, Country Life and the Country School ... (11) 1 . 25 
 Hart, Educational Resources of Village and Rural 
 
 Communities (1) .75 
 
 Carver, Rural Economics (2) 1 . 30 
 
 Davenport, Education for Efficiency (8) 1 . 00
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 1. SOME REASONS FOR TEACHING AGRICULTURE 
 
 1. Aims for individual students 1 
 
 2. Social aims in view of modern demands 2 
 
 3. Conservation of natural resources 3 
 
 4. Inefficiency in rural vocations 3 
 
 5. Health in rural life 4 
 
 6. A greater appreciation of art 5 
 
 7. Moral growth 5 
 
 8. Rural organization 6 
 
 9. Liberal education 7 
 
 10. Rural problems 
 
 a. The problems of farm improvement 10 
 
 b. The problems of marketing and exchange 10 
 
 c. The problems of community life 10 
 
 II. NATURE-STUDY PRECEDING AGRICULTURE 
 
 1. Nature-study principles 12 
 
 a. Thede6nition 13 
 
 b. Nature study differentiated from science 13 
 
 c. The aims 13 
 
 (1) To give general acquaintance with nature 13 
 
 (2) To give training in accurate observation 13 
 
 (3) To give useful knowledge 13 
 
 d. The method should be observational 14 
 
 e. The materials must be the most common 14 
 
 /. Nature-study must be for the child 14 
 
 2. Nature-study for primary grades, grades one and two 14 
 
 3. Nature-study in third and fourth grades 10 
 
 4. Nature-study in the fifth grade 
 
 5. Nature-study in the sixth grade 19
 
 vi OUTLINE 
 
 111. ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE AND BOYS' AND 
 GIRLS' CLUB WORK 
 
 1. Some suggestions as to content of courses, and methods. . . 21 
 
 2. The textbook method 22 
 
 8. The home-project club method 25 
 
 IV. HIGH-SCHOOL AGRICULTURE 
 
 1. Some curriculum problems , 31 
 
 2. Junior and senior high-school agriculture 34 
 
 8. Agronomy in the high-school 35 
 
 a. Lesson plan introducing a course 38 
 
 6. Course in agronomy 39 
 
 4. Animal husbandry in the high school 46 
 
 a. Course in animal husbandry 48 
 
 6. Lesson plan 55 
 
 5. Horticulture in the high school 56 
 
 a. Course in general horticulture 60 
 
 6. Special elective courses in agriculture 64 
 
 a. Soils 66 
 
 b. The farm physical plant 71 
 
 c. Farm management 78 
 
 d. Plant and animal improvement 75 
 
 e. Poultry husbandry 77 
 
 /. Dairy husbandry 79 
 
 g. Vegetable gardening 81 
 
 7. A One-year general course 83 
 
 8. Anthology of agriculture 96 
 
 V. SOME METHODS AND PRINCIPLES IN 
 TEACHING AGRICULTURE 
 
 1. A fundamental principle 99 
 
 2. The science of agriculture and farm practice 99 
 
 8. Some principles of scientific agriculture 101 
 
 a. Relating to permanent soil fertility 101 
 
 6. Concerning injurious insects and fungus diseases .... 102 
 
 c. Controlling plant and animal breeding 102
 
 OUTLINE vii 
 
 4. The use of textbooks 103 
 
 5. The lecture method jo4 
 
 6. Reports and class recitations by students 105 
 
 7. Use of illustrative material 106 
 
 8. Laboratory methods 107 
 
 a. Experiments 109 
 
 b. Verifications 110 
 
 e. Demonstrations 110 
 
 d. Practicums Ill 
 
 9. Home projects in secondary-school agriculture 119 
 
 a. Suggestions for the control of home projects 128 
 
 (1) Supervision must be provided 128 
 
 (2) The project should develop from agricultural 
 study 128 
 
 (8) Credit for the home project should be supple- 
 mentary 129 
 
 (4) Organize home-project students into clubs 129 
 
 (5) Project work should lead to profitable produc- 
 tion 129 
 
 (6) Secure the cooperation of the parents 130 
 
 (7) Provide resources for students lacking them. . . 130 
 
 (8) Practical preparation necessary for teachers. . . 130 
 6. List of home projects suggested 131 
 
 10. Use of reference materials 141 
 
 a. System of filing 142 
 
 11. Agricultural extension in the high school 146 
 
 a. The objects of high-school extension 148 
 
 6. Forms of extension activities 150 
 
 c. Four effective methods of approach 151 
 
 12. Use of land in teaching agriculture in secondary schools. . . 158 
 
 VI. THE TEACHER OF AGRICULTURE 
 
 1. The most important factor in education is the teacher. . . . 162 
 
 a. Three inseparable conditions 163 
 
 (1) Strong personality 103 
 
 (2) High standards of qualification 103 
 
 (3) A respectable salary 163
 
 via OUTLINE 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 I. Suggestions for a farm, home, and community survey . . 167 
 11. Suggested course in nature study 6rst six grades 179 
 
 III. Suggested course in elements of agriculture seventh 
 and eighth grades 204 
 
 IV. Suggestions for laboratory equipment 224 
 
 V. Suggestions for agricultural laboratory 227 
 
 VI. The Smith-Hughes Law and Vocational Agriculture in 
 secondary schools 228 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 1. General agriculture 265 
 
 11. Soils and agricultural chemistry 266 
 
 III. Animals 267 
 
 IV. Plants 267 
 
 V. Farm mechanics and management 268 
 
 VI. Farm life interests. . . .268
 
 INDEX 
 
 Advisory committee, agricultural, 
 153. 
 
 Agricultural extension work, in 
 the high school, 146-58; four 
 methods of approach to, 151- 
 53; kinds of, 154, 156, 157; 
 what it can accomplish, 155; 
 certain phases of, studied by 
 Professor Hummel, 156, 157; 
 funds for, 156. 
 
 Agriculture, conclusions from 
 teaching of, in public schools, 
 v; one of the major vocations 
 and basic industries, v; should 
 have vocational aim in public 
 schools, vi; some reasons for 
 teaching, vii-ix, 1-11; general 
 and vocational, 1, 2; as indus- 
 try, business, and life, 2, 3; 
 scientific, makes for conserva- 
 tion, 3; will give greater effi- 
 ciency to rural vocational in- 
 terests, 4; will improve rural 
 health, 4, 5; conduces to great- 
 er appreciation of art, 5; rela- 
 tion of, to moral growth, 5, 6; 
 teaching of, leads to rural or- 
 ganization, 6, 7; a subject of 
 liberal and technical education, 
 7, 8; the teacher of, 8, 9; self- 
 injection and se'.f elimination 
 in study of, 9; teaching of, will 
 help in solving rural problems, 
 9-11; nature-study preceding, 
 12-20; elementary, and boys' 
 and girls' club work, 21-30; 
 beginning of vocational study 
 of, 21, 22; high-school, 31- 
 98; curriculum problems con- 
 nected with study of, in high- 
 school, 31-34; lesson plan in- 
 
 troducing a course in elemen- 
 tary, 38, 39; special elective 
 courses in, for one half unit 
 credit for junior or senior 
 year, 64-96; one-year high- 
 school general course in, 83-96; 
 general, textbooks, 96; anthol- 
 ogy of, 96-98; what should re- 
 sult from a course of instruction 
 in, 99; the science of, and farm 
 practice, 99-101; some prin- 
 ciples of scientific, 101-03; use 
 of textbooks in teaching of, 
 
 103, 104; the lecture method, 
 
 104, 105; reports and recita- 
 tions, 104-06; use of illustra- 
 tive material, 106, 107; labora- 
 tory methods, 107-14; teach- 
 ing farm craft, 114-19; home 
 projects in secondary school, 
 119-21; the project as a basis 
 for methods of instruction, 
 121-31; supervised farm prac- 
 tice under the Smith-Hughes 
 Law, 132-41; use of reference 
 materials, 141-46; classifica- 
 tion of, 142-46; use of land in 
 teaching, 158-61; importance 
 of properly trained teachers in, 
 162-66; qualifications for teach- 
 ers in, 163, 164; imagination as 
 a qualification of the teacher 
 in, 165, 166; suggested course 
 in elements of, 20t-23; high- 
 school laboratory in, sugges- 
 tions for, 227; vocational, in 
 secondary schools, and the 
 Smith-Hughes Bill, 228-63; 
 bibliography, 265-68. 
 
 Agronomy, 33, 35-37; course in, 
 39-46.
 
 INDEX 
 
 Aims, for individual students, 1, 
 2; social, in view of modern 
 demands, 2. 
 
 Allen, H. B., extracts of letter of, 
 to parents, 125-27. 
 
 Animal and plant improvement, 
 course in, 75-77. 
 
 Animal breeding, 102. 
 
 Animal husbandry, 22, 23, 33; in 
 the high school, 46-48; course 
 in, 48-56, 207-09. 
 
 Animals, books on, 267. 
 
 Anthology of Agriculture, 96-98. 
 
 Art, a greater appreciation of, 
 results from scientific agri- 
 culture, 5. 
 
 Barrows, Mr., problems of home- 
 project plan according to, 127. 
 
 Benson, O. H., quoted, 26. 
 
 Bibliography, 265-68. 
 
 Blackboard, use of, 107. 
 
 Books, on agriculture, 47, 48, 59; 
 for farmers and students of 
 agriculture, 141; bibliography, 
 265-68. See Textbooks. 
 
 Boys' and girls' clubs, 25-30, 
 129, 154. 
 
 Breeding, plant and animal, 102. 
 
 Bulletins, 47, 59, 141, 142. 
 
 Card-indexes, 142. 
 
 Charters, Dr. W. W., on project 
 and problem, 121. 
 
 Charts, use of, 107. 
 
 Chemistry, agricultural, books 
 on, 266. 
 
 Clippings, 142. 
 
 Club work, 25-30, 129, 152-54. 
 
 Community census, 171-78. 
 
 Community extension service, 
 48, 59. 
 
 Community life, problems of, 10, 
 11. 
 
 Conservation of natural re- 
 sources, scientific agriculture 
 makes for, 8. 
 
 Contests, 114. 
 
 Cora project calendar, 214-23. 
 
 Coulter, Dr., quoted, 9. 
 
 Course, for junior high-school ag- 
 riculture, 34, 35; in elementary 
 agriculture for high school, 38, 
 39; in agronomy, 39-46; in ani- 
 mal husbandry, 48-56; in gen- 
 eral horticulture, 60-64; in 
 soils and crop production, 66- 
 70; in farm physical plant, 71- 
 73; in farm management, 73- 
 75; in plant and animal im- 
 provement, 75-77; in poultry 
 husbandry, 77-79; in dairy 
 husbandry, 79-81; in vege- 
 table gardening 81, 82; one- 
 year high-school general, in 
 agriculture, 83-96; in nature- 
 study, 179-203; in elements of 
 agriculture, 204-23. 
 
 Crop production, course in, 66-70. 
 
 Curriculum problems, 31-34. 
 
 Dadisman, S. H., 64, 65. 
 
 Dairy husbandry, course in, 
 79-81. 
 
 Davenport, Eugene, Education 
 for Efficiency quoted, 21; In- 
 troduction to Agriculture, 213. 
 
 Demonstrations, 110, 111. 
 
 Diseases, plant, 102. 
 
 Education, technical and liberal, 
 7, 8; the teacher the most im- 
 portant factor in, 162-66. 
 
 Efficiency in rural vocational in- 
 terests, given by scientific 
 agriculture, 4. 
 
 Equipment, for animal husban- 
 dry work, 47, 48; for work in 
 horticulture, 59; laboratory, 
 suggestions for, 224-27. 
 
 Exchange and marketing, prob- 
 lems of, 10. 
 
 Experiments, 109, 110. 
 
 Extension work, agricultural, in 
 the high school, 146-58; gov- 
 erning principles in, 148, 149; 
 forms of, 150, 151. See Agri- 
 cultural extension work.
 
 INDEX 
 
 XI 
 
 Farm and home census, 167-71. 
 
 Farm craft, teaching, 114^-19. 
 
 Farm, home, and community sur- 
 vey, suggestions for, 167-78. 
 
 Farm improvement, the prob- 
 lems of, 10. 
 
 Farm life interests, books on, 
 268. 
 
 Farm management, 64, 65; course 
 in, 73-75; books on, 268. 
 
 Farm mechanics, 65; suggestive 
 points for the supervised farm 
 practice in, 140, 141; books on, 
 268. 
 
 Farm physical plant, course in, 
 71-73. 
 
 Farm practice, 99-101; super- 
 vised, under the Smith-Hughes 
 Law, 132-41. 
 
 Farmers' clubs, 152, 153. 
 
 Farming, lands of, 132, 133. 
 
 Farmstead, the, 33. 
 
 Federal aid for vocational agri- 
 culture. See Smith-Hughes 
 Law. 
 
 Fertility, soil, 101, 102. 
 
 Field work, 58, 59, 113. 
 
 Filing, system of, 142-46. 
 
 General horticulture, 33. See 
 Horticulture. 
 
 Grades, one and two, nature- 
 study in, 14-16; three and four, 
 nature-study in, 16-18; five 
 and six, nature-study in, 18- 
 20; first six, suggested courses 
 in nature-study for, 179-203; 
 seventh and eighth, suggested 
 course in elements of agricul- 
 ture, 204-23. 
 
 Grain farming, suggestive points 
 for the supervised farm prac- 
 tice in systems of, 133-36. 
 
 Greene, J. H., 26. 
 
 Greenhouses, 59. 
 
 Hall, G. Stanley, 96, 97. 
 Health in rural life, 4, 5. 
 High school, agronomy in, 35-37, 
 
 39-46; animal husbandry in, 
 46-56; horticulture in, 56-64; 
 special elective courses for 
 junior or senior year, 64-82; 
 one-year general course for, 83- 
 96; agriculture, house projects 
 in, 119-21; agricultural exten- 
 sion in, 146-58; broadening of, 
 147; objects of extension in, 
 148; forms of extension in, 150, 
 151. 
 
 High-school agriculture, 31-98; 
 aim of, 31; amount of time to 
 be given to, 32; how fitted into 
 a unified science course, 33; 
 organization and presentation 
 of, 33, 34; junior and senior, 
 34, 35. 
 
 High- school laboratory in agri- 
 culture, suggestions for, 227. 
 
 Home-project work, 24; club 
 method, 25-30, 129; in secon- 
 dary-school agriculture, 119- 
 21; requisites of, 123, 124; ex- 
 amples of, 124; need of par- 
 ents' interest in, 125-27; prob- 
 lems in connection with, 127; 
 suggestions for the control of, 
 128-31; expensive, 128; the 
 crediting of, 129; a method of 
 approach to extensive service, 
 152; outline of plan for seventh- 
 and eighth-grade agriculture, 
 213-23. 
 
 Home work, 114, 210-13. 
 
 Horticulture, in the high school, 
 33, 56-60; course in general, 
 60-64. 
 
 Hummel, Professor W. G., his 
 study of high-school agricul- 
 tural extension work, 155-57. 
 
 Illinois, farm craft teaching in, 
 115-19. 
 
 Illinois Board for Vocational 
 Education, excerpt from, on su- 
 pervision of farm work, 132-41. 
 
 Illustrative material, use of, 106, 
 107.
 
 xu 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Imagination as qualification of 
 teacher, 165, 166. 
 
 Improvement of plants and ani- 
 mals, 33; course in, 75-77. 
 
 Individual students, aims for, 
 1,2. 
 
 Industrial Booklets, 210. 
 
 Inefficiency in rural vocations, 
 3,4. 
 
 Insects, principles and facts con- 
 cerning life-histories of, 102. 
 
 Journals, agricultural, 48, 59, 
 
 141. 
 Junior and senior high-school 
 
 agriculture, 34, 35. 
 
 Laboratory equipment, sugges- 
 tions for, 224-27. 
 
 Laboratory exercises, 58, 106. 
 
 Laboratory methods, 107-14. 
 
 Land, use of, in teaching agri- 
 culture in secondary schools, 
 158-61. 
 
 Landscape gardening, 5. 
 
 Lane, C. H., on requisites of 
 home project, 123. 
 
 Leake, A. H., Means and Meth- 
 ods of Agricultural Education 
 quoted, 26. 
 
 Lecture method in teaching agri- 
 culture, 47, 104, 105. 
 
 Lectures, use of, in community 
 extension service, 59. 
 
 Lesson plans, introducing course 
 in elementary agriculture, 38, 
 39; in animal husbandry, 55, 
 56; in nature-study, 181, 182, 
 185, 186, 188, 189, 192, 193, 
 197-99, 202, 203. 
 
 Library, agricultural, 47, 48, 59; 
 school, 141, 142. See Books. 
 
 Live-stock farming, suggestive 
 points for the supervised farm 
 practice in systems of, 136-40. 
 
 Maps, use of, 107. 
 Marketing and exchange, prob- 
 lems of, 10. 
 
 Mass., home-project plan of 
 
 agriculture in, 120, 121. 
 Methods of teaching elementary 
 
 agriculture, 21-30. 
 Moral growth, its relation to 
 
 agriculture, 5, 6. 
 Museums, agricultural, use of, 
 
 107. 
 
 Natural resources, conservation 
 of, 3. 
 
 Nature-study, preceding agricul- 
 ture, 12-20; principles, 12-14; 
 definition of, 13; differentiated 
 from technical science, 13; 
 aims of, 13; method of, 14; 
 materials of, 14; for the child, 
 14; in grades one and two, 14^ 
 16; in third and fourth grades, 
 16-18; in fifth and sixth grades, 
 18-20; suggested course in, 
 179-203. 
 
 Notebooks, 210; home projects, 
 214-23. 
 
 Organization, rural, and agricul- 
 ture, 6, 7; of subject-matter of 
 high-school course, 33. 
 
 Personality of teacher, 163, 164. 
 
 Pictures, use of, 107. 
 
 Plant and animal improvement, 
 course in, 75-77. 
 
 Plant breeding, 102. 
 
 Plant industry, 22, 23, 204-07. 
 See Agronomy and Horti- 
 culture; also titles on pp. 64, 
 65. 
 
 Plants, books on, 267, 268. 
 
 Poultry husbandry, course in, 
 77-79. 
 
 Practicums, 111-14. 
 
 Problem and project, 121, 122. 
 
 Project, the, as a basis for meth- 
 ods of instruction, 121-31; de- 
 fined, 121; chief educational 
 function of, 121; chief values 
 of, 122, 123; home, requisites 
 of, 123, 124; examples of, 124;
 
 INDEX 
 
 need of parents' interest in, 
 125-27. 
 
 Projects, home, in secondary- 
 school agriculture, 119-21; 
 problems in connection with, 
 127; suggestions for the con- 
 trol of, 128-31; the crediting 
 of, 129; list of. 131. 
 
 Recitations, 104-06. 
 
 Reference materials, use of, 
 
 141-46. 
 
 Reports, 104-06. 
 Rural life, health in, 4, 5. 
 Rural organization, results from 
 
 teaching of agriculture, 6, 7. 
 Rural problems, 9-11. 
 Rural vocations, inefficiency in, 
 
 3,4. 
 
 Salary of teachers, 163, 164. 
 
 School farms, 158-61. 
 
 Secondary-school agriculture, 
 home projects in, 119-21; and 
 Smith-Hughes Bill, 228-63. 
 
 Smith-Hughes Law, supervised 
 farm practice under the, 132- 
 41; and vocational agriculture 
 in secondary schools, 228-63; 
 extracts from, 228-32; some of 
 the benefits of, 235, 236; dan- 
 gers in, 235; conditions govern- 
 ing federal aid for vocational 
 agriculture in Texas under, 
 236-42; application for fed- 
 eral aid in vocational agricul- 
 ture under, 243-64. 
 
 Snedden, David, The Problem of 
 Vocational Education quoted, 
 VI, 28. 
 
 Social aims in view of modern 
 
 demands, 2. 
 
 Soil fertility, facts of, 101, 102. 
 Soils, course in, 66-70; books on, 
 
 266. 
 
 Stereopticons, use of, 107. 
 Student labor, 160, 161. 
 Supervision of farm work, 132- 
 
 41. 
 
 Teachers, to supervise home-pro- 
 ject work, lack of, 130; of agri- 
 culture in high schools, possi- 
 bilities within reach of, 155; 
 should be hired for twelve 
 months, 156; in extension 
 work, difficulties should be no 
 impediment to, 158; the most 
 important factor in education, 
 162-66; in agriculture, the 
 training of, 162, 163; necessi- 
 ties for good, 163, 164. 
 
 Textbook method of teaching 
 elementary agriculture, 22-25, 
 204-23. 
 
 Textbooks, on animal husbandry, 
 47; on general agriculture, 96; 
 the use of, 103, 104. See Books. 
 
 United States Boys' Working 
 Reserve, 114-17. 
 
 Vegetable gardening, course in, 
 81, 82. 
 
 Verifications, 110. 
 
 Vincent, President, cited, 165. 
 
 Vocational agriculture, in the 
 public schools, v, vi, 31; and 
 general agriculture, 1, 2; begin- 
 ning of study of, 21, 22.
 
 UNTVER. C TTY of C * T TFORNfc* 
 
 LJBI'