GIFT OF MATERIALS AND METHODS IN HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURE THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO DALLAS ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED LONDON BOMBAY CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO MATERIALS AND METHODS IN HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURE- BY WILLIAM GRANVILLE HUMMEL, M.S. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AND BERTHA ROYCE HUMMEL, B.L.S. gork THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1913 All rights reserved COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published July, 1913. Xortoooti J. 8. Gushing Co. Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. PREFACE MUCH is being said and written in these days as to agricultural education. It is being conceded that we need and must have more agricultural and other voca- tional instruction in our public schools. The Uni- versities provide higher instruction in agriculture in admirable ways. Fairly satisfactory outlines and teach- ing methods have been worked out for agricultural instruction in the elementary schools. In the sec- ondary schools, however, agricultural teaching is in a very chaotic condition. High schools located in agricultural communities or in towns or cities depending largely upon agriculture for their prosperity should provide agricultural courses. As to the number or nature of these courses there is little agreement. Ideas regarding the proper mate- rials and methods to be employed in teaching agricul- ture in the high school lack clearness, definiteness, and pedagogical foundation. The average university trained agriculturalist, going out to teach, has little understanding of the exact na- ture of the agricultural work which should be given in the high school, or as to methods of presenting VI PREFACE it. The pure science man, to whom the agricultural teaching is frequently delegated, has still less. This book has been prepared to meet the needs of persons interested in the introduction or in the teach- ing of agriculture in high schools of towns, cities, or rural communities where large numbers of students are drawn from the farming population, or where the prosperity of the high ' school community is largely dependent upon agriculture. It is the result of the experience of one of the authors in teaching agriculture in such high schools, and of extended observation and comparison of high school agricultural courses and methods by both au- thors. Numbers of schools have been personally vis- ited, and correspondence has been carried on with many others. The purpose of the book is to outline the agricul- tural course, as a whole, for high schools of the type mentioned, and to give helpful suggestions as to the selection of suitable materials, teaching methods, and equipment for the various subjects of the course. The materials and methods outlined have been, for the most part, personally used and tested by W. G. Hummel in his work in the high school. The gather- ing of part of the material and the preparation of much of the manuscript has been the work of B. R. Hummel. The chapters of the book, written after experience and careful investigation and study, have PREFACE Vil been used and revised in connection with the teach- ing of university classes in high school agricultural methods. The practicums and references for collat- eral reading following each chapter were prepared especially for such classes. The thanks of the authors are due to Professor Maurice A. Bigelow, Professor of Biology in Teachers College, Columbia University, for reading of the manu- script and helpful criticisms and suggestions ; and to Professors E. B. Babcock and Alexis F. Lange, of the University of California, for reading of part of the manuscript and for helpful criticism. W. G. H. B. R. H. CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE v CHAPTER I AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL: WHAT IT is, AND SOMETHING OF ITS HISTORY i CHAPTER II THE REASONS FOR INTRODUCING AGRICULTURE IN HIGH SCHOOLS 12 CHAPTER III THE PLACE OF AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CUR- RICULUM 32 CHAPTER IV TEACHING METHODS TO BE EMPLOYED . . 65 CHAPTER V EQUIPMENT 88 CHAPTER VI THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK . . . .108 ix CONTENTS CHAPTER VII THE HIGH SCHOC LIVESTOCK COURSE 155 PACK ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL : THE GENERAL CHAPTER VIII DAIRY WORK IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 184 CHAPTER IX THE HIGH SCHOOL POULTRY COURSE 205 CHAPTER X HORTICULTURE 226 CHAPTER XI FOURTH YEAR AGRICULTURE 262 Farm Mechanics and Farm Buildings. Farm Management. CHAPTER XII THE SCHOOL FARM 312 CHAPTER XIII THE HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL TEACHER . . . 353 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Practical Work in Budding, University Farm School, Davis (Cal.) Frontispiece PAGE Exhibit of Garden Products of Class in Beginning Agriculture, Oxnard (Cal.) High School .... facing 17 School Garden, Gardena (Cal.) High School ..." 108 Three Systems of Irrigation illustrated in the School Garden, Hanford (Cal.) High School . . . " 145 Busy Bees at the Brawley (Cal.) High School . . 155 Studying the Dairy Cow, Fresno (Cal.) High School . " 184 At Work in the Dairy Laboratory, Fresno (Cal.) High School "195 Studying Trees before Pruning, Hanford (Cal.) High School "229 At Work in the Greenhouse, Oxnard (Cal.) High School " 242 Interior of Lath-house, Gardena (Cal.) High School . " 244 Studying the Gasoline Engine, La Crosse County School of Agriculture, Onalaska (Wis.) " 274 Making a Miniature Farm Building, La Crosse County School of Agriculture, Onalaska (Wis.) ..." 284 Practical Work in Building, Hollywood (Cal.) High School " 284 Irrigation Well on the School Farm, Oxnard (Cal.) High School "290 Plan of Ten Acre High School Farm, Bemidji (Minn.) . . 328 Plan of the High School Farm, Oxnard (Cal.) . . .338 Plan of the High School Farm, Gardena (Cal.), South Section 340 Plan of the High School Farm, Gardena (Cal.), Middle Section 342 Plan of the High School Farm, Gardena (Cal.), North Section 344 Plan of the High School Farm, Bakersfield (Cal.) . . . 346 Plan of School Grounds, showing Miniatures of Farms in the Neighborhood 348 Miniature Farms on the School Grounds .... 350 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURE CHAPTER I AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL I WHAT IT IS AND SOMETHING OF ITS HISTORY BEFORE entering upon a discussion of methods of teach- ing agriculture in the high school, we should have a defi- nite understanding as to the scope and purpose of high school instruction in agriculture and we should know something of its history. The object of agricultural work in the elementary schools is, it is agreed, to give correct ideas of environ- mental materials; "to get a wide, intelligent, and sym- pathetic acquaintance with the more evident things of nature and man's relation to them." 1 It is not the pur-' pose of agricultural work in the elementary schools to make farmers; but to open the minds of children to the common phenomena of nature, to inculcate habits of observation, and to generate in children high ideals of country life. It should be the aim of the work to awaken and cultivate an interest in and respect for industry in general and for the life and work of the farm in particular. It should "cultivate the active and creative instincts as distinct from the reflective 1 Bricker, G. A., "Teaching of Agriculture in the High School," p. 3. B I M \MKi.vl.S A\0 MFTHODS IN AGRICULTURE and receptive," 1 which have hitherto been almost exclu- sively exercised in our schools. There should be given, in the lower grades, such an experience with and knowl- edge of the more common things relating to plants, animals, soils, etc., as will form a practical working basis for future instruction in more specific studies in agriculture proper when the child reaches the upper grades and the high school. Throughout the elementary school the work should give practice in failure and success, thus putting to the test early in life the ability to do definite things ; it should connect the school work with real life and thus make the value and need of school- ing more apparent. Agriculture in the elementary schools has been well defined as nature-study with an economic significance. It is nature-study which emphasizes utility and stimu- lates industry. The work of the colleges has heretofore included much agricultural instruction properly of secondary rather than of college grade. The true province of the work in these higher institutions lies in the investigation and study of the more fundamental problems of agricultural science and practice. It should emphasize experimental and research work and the study of agricultural theory. When, as seems inevitable sooner or later, the high schools take up everywhere those phases of agricultural 1 Davenport, E., "Illinois Course in Agriculture." WHAT IT IS AND SOMETHING OF ITS HISTORY 3 teaching adapted to them, the universities and colleges will be enabled to drop many of the more elementary courses which they are now giving and to concentrate on more advanced work. The work of the secondary schools, as is evident, lies between that of the colleges and the elementary schools. Its purpose differs from that of either of these. High school agriculture should be practical agriculture, educat- ing students for the business of farming. And yet it should not be narrowly vocational, but should be cultural and disciplinary as well. It should not only prepare students to be good farmers, but should fit them for life as broad-minded, intelligent, progressive citizens. The agricultural instruction given should include the scientific principles underlying the farming industry, the observa- tion of agricultural methods and results in fields, orchards, flocks, and herds, and experiment and practice in the laboratory and on the school agricultural grounds. In the general high school the work will of course be less comprehensive than in the technical high schools, special private secondary schools, etc. ; but it should in all cases be practical, usable agriculture, giving a thorough grounding in the elementary principles of agriculture, with practical laboratory and field work. In addition, it is desirable that the courses in agriculture be so organized as to form a natural and proper prepara- tion for entrance to the agricultural colleges. 4 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE The graduate of the high school agricultural course should understand the rational and scientific basis of modern agriculture and should appreciate its needs. He should be able and alert to profit by the results of experiment station and government investigational work so far as it relates to his own problems; and he should be fitted to judge and to select from agri- cultural information, however offered, whether by other farmers, by books, bulletins, or periodicals, whatever will be useful and profitable to him. If he is to engage in farming immediately after completing his high school course, he should take to his work from the school, to- gether with valuable information, an appreciation of the dignity of his work, of its possibilities, and of its prob- lems. If he goes on to the more advanced work of the college, he should take with him a knowledge of elementary facts and principles and an eagerness for study and investigation of the many problems which he knows are forcing themselves upon the attention of those interested in agriculture. Having indicated the function of agriculture in the high school, we may review its history briefly. It is, however, a difficult matter to bring the history of agri- cultural teaching in high schools up to date, to keep pace with the spread of the movement for secondary instruction in this country. Even the experts in agri- cultural education of the Office of Experiment Stations WHAT IT IS AND SOMETHING OF ITS HISTORY 5 at Washington, with their special facilities for gathering information, confess their inability to keep a complete record of progress. The first successful agricultural high school was es- tablished in connection with the College of Agriculture of the University of Minnesota in 1888, twenty-five years ago. Agricultural secondary schools are now con- nected with agricultural colleges of nearly forty states. According to the latest available statistics, 1 over eighty distinctly agricultural high schools of different types have been established since 1888. Almost all of these are supported wholly or in part by state funds. In addition, at least 289 public high schools are receiving state aid for agriculture, and over 1600 unsubsidized public and private high schools and academies are giving instruction in agriculture. Among other second- ary institutions giving instruction in agriculture are a considerable number of privately endowed schools; and nearly 200 state and county normal schools are un- dertaking to prepare young people to teach agriculture. Of the separate agricultural high schools receiving state aid, there are several types, chief among which may be mentioned the congressional district agricultural high schools and the country agricultural high schools. Alabama was the first state to establish an agricultural 1 " Experiment Station Record," March, 1912. Editorial. Office of Experiment Stations Cir. 106, rev. Oct., 1912. 6 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE school in each congressional district. Georgia followed in 1906. In 1908 Virginia provided an appropriation of $25,000 for instruction in agriculture and other indus- trial subjects in one high school of each congressional district. In 1909 Arkansas provided for the estab- lishment of an agricultural school in each of the four educational districts of that state; and in Oklahoma, at an earlier date, an agricultural high school was pro- vided for in each judicial district. County agricultural high schools are now in operation in a number of states. They were first established in Wisconsin, in 1902. In that state the schools are equipped at the expense of the counties where they are located, but they receive $4000 per year to aid in paying running expenses. The Marathon and the Dunn county schools were the first established and have achieved national reputations. During the past few years other schools having similar courses have been established in other Wisconsin counties. In 1905 Minnesota passed an act providing for local option in the establishment and maintenance of county high schools of agriculture and domestic science, and in 1907 Michigan passed a like law. In Mississippi a law was passed in 1908 for the establishment of county agricultural high schools, with state aid of $1000 annually. In Michigan county agri- cultural high schools were authorized in 1907. Other states have quickly followed, and the establishment of WHAT IT IS AND SOMETHING OF ITS HISTORY 7 county agricultural high schools is now authorized in at least twenty- three states. Besides the county and congressional district high schools in the various states there are, in certain states, special separate agricultural schools of secondary grade, wholly or in part state supported. The California Polytechnic School at San Luis Obispo is an example of these. The New York State schools at Canton and Morrisville, the Massachusetts school at Petersham and the Smith agricultural school at Northampton, and others in various states, are similar, though not all offering work of like grade. Special provision is made in various states, notably Minnesota, for the introduction and support of agri- culture in consolidated rural or township schools; and in certain states provision is made whereby state aid is given to all existing public high schools introducing agriculture. There are also many private schools of secondary grade giving instruction in agriculture, as the Mount Hermon school, at Northfield, Mass., the Winona agricultural college, at Winona Lake, Ind., and others. Besides these, the normal schools all over the country are introducing agricultural work, and practically all the Indian and Negro schools of secondary rank give agricultural courses. Lastly, there are the many ordinary high schools of the country not receiving state aid, but which have in- 8 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE troduced agriculture into their curricula, supported by their communities. These are rapidly increasing in number, and excellent work is being done in many of them. In the majority of these locally supported high schools, and in all partly or entirely state supported high schools, agriculture is taught as a separate subject. In a consid- erable number of high schools, however, agriculture is taught only incidentally, in connection with the other sciences. In this connection it is interesting to note that the smaller high schools lead in teaching agriculture as a separate subject, presumably because located in close connection with agricultural communities. In the very large high schools where agriculture is taught, it is frequently only as applied science. Some of the great state universities are urging the placing of agriculture in all the high schools already established; others are urging the establishment of separate agricultural high schools. Each plan has its special advantages and disadvantages. It is argued against the separate secondary agricultural school that "to segregate any class of people from the common mass and to educate it by itself and solely with reference to its own affairs, is to make it narrower and more bigoted, generation by generation. It is to substitute training for education." 1 It is said, and very truly, that "our 1 Davenport, E., " Education for Efficiency," p. 105. WHAT IT IS AND SOMETHING OF ITS HISTORY Q young people need to be educated and trained together so that those who are preparing for certain modes of life shall come in contact with others who are preparing for different modes of life and so acquire sympathy for other vocations besides their own. Boys and girls will thus have opportunities for developing tastes and modes of life for which they are best fitted, and which otherwise they would entirely miss." 1 Moreover, it is impossible, even if it were desirable, for the majority of our boys and girls to leave home to go to these special agricultural schools. Whatever instruction they get must be in the local schools. On the other hand, there is a legitimate place for some of these special secondary schools of agriculture. They have already performed valuable work and will continue to do so. They have stimulated the intro- duction of agriculture into the ordinary high schools, and, in a general way, will set the pace for them. To be most effective they should serve comparatively large districts, 2 several counties preferably, that there may be ample provision for their equipment and support and that they may draw a sufficient number of students. They will then serve a most valuable purpose in our scheme of agricultural education. To them may go 1 Bricker, G. A., "Teaching Agriculture in the High School," p. 41. 2 Crosby, D. J., "The Place of the Agricultural High School." Na- tional Education Association, Proceedings, 1910, pp. 1103-1107, 10 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE those boys and girls who do not live where there is a local high school giving agricultural instruction, or who desire a more specialized training than the regular high school can give, yet who cannot go to college. Here instruction may be given for farmers and others who by reason of maturity or business demands desire, through special courses, to gain as much information as possible in a short period. The colleges will thus be relieved of much of the short and special course work which they are now compelled to give, often to the detriment of their regular instructional and research work. And the farm- ers will be helped quite as effectively. Farmers living at a distance from the agricultural college will often be enabled to attend short courses at such schools when they could not at the college. Experiments and demonstrations directly related to the special problems of the particular district may be carried on at the school farm under conditions similar to those with which the farmers of the district have to deal. Valuable extension work may be done among the farm- ers, and the influence of the school may be made evident in the agricultural work of the schools of the entire section. There are, then, as we see, various ways and means in agricultural education in the secondary schools. Opinions differ as to just the best kind of secondary ag- ricultural instruction. But all over the country school WHAT IT IS AND SOMETHING OF ITS HISTORY II men are agreed as to one point, that agricultural in- struction should be included in the curricula of the high and other secondary schools, in one form or another. And all over our own country, and in Europe as well, the schools are introducing it. PRACTICUM Using all available sources of information, outline the history of agricultural education in your own state. REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING Agricultural Education. U. S. Bur. of Education. Reports of the Commissioner of Education for 1910 and 1911. Chapters 4 and n. DAVIS, B. M. Agricultural Education in the Public Schools. Chapters 3 and 13. Chic. University of Chicago Press. 1912. Editorial, Experiment Stations Record, March, 1912, pp. 301-305. JEWELL, J. R. Agricultural Education. Chapter 4. U. S. Bur. of Education Bui. 2. 1907. Progress in Agricultural Education. Office of Experiment Sta- tions, Annual Issues. ROBISON, C. H. Agricultural Instruction in the Public Schools of the United States. Chapters i, 2, and 6. N. Y. Teachers College, Columbia University. 1911. TRUE, A. C., and CROSBY, D. J. The American System of Agri- cultural Education. Office of Experiment Stations Cir. 106. 1912. CHAPTER II THE REASONS FOR INTRODUCING AGRICULTURE IN HIGH SCHOOLS As stated by Dr. A. C. True, of the United States Office of Experiment Stations, the claims of agriculture to a place in our public school system are based not only on the social, economic, and educational needs of agriculture and agricultural people, but on the pedagogic require- ments of a school system which shall be adapted to the masses of the people in a democratic and industrial state, and the symmetrical culture of the mind and body of the human child. Intelligent farmers and members of the teaching profession now "meet on a common plat- form and, each party using the arguments appropriate to his calling, agree that agriculture is a fit and useful subject to be taught in public schools." * We may, then, well sum up the reasons for teaching agriculture in the high schools under two heads : (i) ar- guments for agricultural teaching advanced by farmers and others interested in agriculture; (2) arguments for agricultural teaching advanced by school men. 1 True, A. C., "Why Friends of Agricultural Progress believe that Agriculture should and will be taught in the Public Schools." Univer- sity of California Cir. 17, p. i. 12 THE REASONS FOR INTRODUCING AGRICULTURE 13 Let us review briefly the arguments advanced by the farmer and interested citizen. It is said, first, that a valid reason for teaching agri- culture is that agriculture is a great and fundamental industry. "On the successful prosecution of agriculture depend the continued existence and prosperity of the whole human race. By agriculture we are all fed and clothed and, in a large measure, are provided with dwell- ings and the material comforts of civilization." 1 There are more than six million farms in the United States, on which over ten million men work for the support of a rural population of over forty million. That is, fully one- third of our population is engaged in agriculture. In addition, over three million persons engaged in manu- facturing industries depend upon farm products for their raw material. The number of persons engaged in agricultural pur- suits, the amount of our territory used for agriculture, the variety, amount, universal use, and value of agricul- tural products, all demand that agriculture should be given a place in our public schools. Moreover, agriculture will always be the chief business of our country if we are to exist and prosper as a nation. As was well said by former President Roosevelt: "If 1 True, A. C., " Why the Friends of Agricultural Progress believe that Agriculture should and will be taught in the Public Schools." Uni- versity of California Cir. 17, p. 2. 14 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE there is one lesson taught by history it is that the per- manent greatness of any State must ultimately depend more upon the character of its country population than anything else. No growth of cities, no growth of wealth, can make up for a loss in either the number or the char- acter of the farming population. In the United States more than in almost any other country we should realize this and should prize our country population. When this nation began its independent existence it was a nation of farmers. The towns were small and were for the most part mere sea-coast trading and fishing ports. The chief industry of the country was agriculture, and the ordinary citizen was in some way connected with it. In every great crisis of the past a peculiar dependence has had to be placed upon the farming population, and this dependence has hitherto been justified. But it cannot be justified in the future if agriculture is per- mitted to sink in the scale as compared with other em- ployments." 1 In agriculture lies the prosperity of a nation and in country life we rightly expect to find much of its health and vigor rooted. But if our agriculture is to be what it should be, if it is to keep pace with the improvements 1 Roosevelt, T., "The Man who works with His Hands," p. 6. (Address at the semicentennial celebration of the founding of agri- cultural colleges in the United States, at Lansing, Michigan, May 31, 1907. Printed as Office of the Secretary Cir. 24, U. S. Department of Agriculture.) THE REASONS FOR INTRODUCING AGRICULTURE 15 in other industries, and to grow with them, country people must be put in sympathy with their work, must be trained and educated in terms of agriculture and country affairs. Advancement along agricultural lines has not hitherto kept pace with the advancement along other lines. The American farmer has great educational needs. Many economic and social questions of vast importance to the agriculturist demand that he be educated along the lines of his work. If American farmers are not to sink to the level of the peasants of Europe, they must be better educated in the business of farming. The farmer of to-day must be a more intelligent and a better informed man than his predecessor to compete with men in other lines of work and to secure adequate returns for his labor and capital. It has been proved that agri- cultural instruction increases the financial success of the agricultural worker. Education counts for greater income in this as well as in other occupations. The workers in our agricultural experiment stations and in the national department of agriculture have dis- covered facts of the greatest importance to farmers; yet these new truths are very slow in reaching the farmers and are very tardily taken advantage of. Though these new facts are printed in bulletins and circulars, and re- printed in various papers, yet many farmers do not hear of them. Moreover, even when farmers read the pro- 1 6 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE gressive agricultural papers and are on the alert to se- cure bulletins of experiment stations dealing with their problems, frequently it is very difficult for them to apply what they read. A farmer who has all his life been farm- ing according to some arbitrary rules of his father or of his neighbors, cannot easily adjust himself to scientific methods whose application depends upon a knowledge of conditions of which he is ignorant. He has not been educated in terms of agriculture, and, with his scant knowledge of the basic principles underlying his art, he finds it impossible to apply properly directions as to practice. As expressed by David Felmley, President of the State Normal School at Normal, Illinois, "It is evident that the agricultural experiment station will never accomplish its purpose unless there is diffused among our farming population an elementary knowledge of the sciences relating to agriculture." It is to the public schools that we must look largely to make this basic information common and to lay the foundation for an understanding of the facts won from study, research, and experimentation at the colleges and stations. While doing all we can for the adult farmer, we must, if we are to have a well-informed, pro- gressive agricultural population, begin with the farmers and the farmers' wives of to-morrow and instruct them concerning the elementary principles of agriculture THE REASONS FOR INTRODUCING AGRICULTURE 17 in the schools. It is possible for but few of our future farmers to go to the agricultural colleges. The elemen- tary and secondary schools must provide the agricultural instruction for the masses of the farmers. They must do this not only because the successful farmer needs a knowledge of certain facts, but that through his under- standing of basic principles, acquired in the school, he may be prepared to comprehend future agricultural dis- coveries and to apply them. The American population is increasing by leaps and bounds. Every year millions of foreigners are added to our native-born population. To continue to support this vast and constantly increasing population through the years to come, American farmers must study and use the best and most scientific methods of production. We have already depleted our natural stores of fertility and agricultural wealth in this country by careless and wasteful methods in farming. Our farmers must learn to conserve and build up our resources as well as to ex- ploit them. We can bring comparatively little new land under cultivation. Our farmers must learn to use what they have to better advantage. They must learn to care for and to use their soils properly ; to plant the crops best suited to their varying conditions ; to raise live stock more economically and with better results ; and to market their products to the best advantage of both producer and consumer, c 1 8 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE The great problem of modern agriculture is, while in- creasing production, to conserve and enrich our soil resources; to grow larger and better crops and still maintain the soil fertility. The solution of the problem lies in agricultural education. And this education, for the great mass of farmers, must be given in the public schools. At present half our total exports are agricultural prod- ucts of one kind or another. Our farmers need good markets abroad in order to reap satisfactory returns from their crops. But in many foreign countries they are now educating the children along agricultural lines in the schools, and the adults in special schools or under traveling teachers. And because of this the European farmers in such countries are being enabled to compete with our farmers in spite of our vast area and special advantages. For example, the Danes receive $8,500,000 a year more for their bacon, butter, and eggs than Eng- land pays to other countries for the same amount of such produce, although twenty years ago, before the children of Denmark were generally taught about such things, the Danish products received less than the usual market price. 1 Professor McKay, of the Iowa Agricultural College, found that this Danish butter brings two to three cents Jewell, J. R., "Agricultural Education," p. 116. U.S. Bureau of Education Bui. 2, 1907. THE REASONS FOR INTRODUCING AGRICULTURE 19 a pound more in England than any other butter, because of its dry, mealy appearance. Yet investigation showed that the butter actually contained 2 to 3 per cent more water than American or Canadian butter. So that the Danes get two or three more pounds of butter to each one hundred pounds of butter fat than we do, and yet sell it for two to three cents a pound more. The explana- tion is that the Danes have found the secret of making butter containing this extra amount of water appear to be extra dry, and the process is taught in the Danish schools. European farmers buy our entire surplus of cotton seed very cheap and feed the meal to their cattle, while many of our Southern farmers do not yet fully recognize the value of cottonseed meal as a fattening product and use it very little if any, although its value was dem- onstrated at the University of Tennessee Experiment Station very thoroughly a few years ago. Reports of the Bureau of Statistics of the United States Department of Agriculture show an average excess per acre abroad over production in the United States of 127 per cent for wheat, 97 per cent for rye, 36.8 per cent for oats, 30 per cent for barley, and 93 per cent for potatoes. And there is little doubt that an important factor in this increased average production per acre by foreign coun- tries over the United States is the systematic method pursued by these countries in agricultural education. 20 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE Nor is it the prosperity of our farming districts and states alone that demands agricultural training for our future farmers. Successful agriculture is essential to the prosperity and well-being of urban as well as rural communities. The welfare of our cities and of our great manufacturing states depends, to no small extent, upon our agricultural prosperity. All over the country the prosperity or poverty of rural communities influences the life of the towns and cities near at hand. If the abandoned farms of New England could be made produc- tive and economically valuable, they would be of inesti- mable value to the factory employees of the towns of the region. All over the South, city conditions would be greatly bettered if the productiveness of the surround- ing country were increased. And that this is not im- possible, but a task readily accomplished, has already been shown by the work of the late Dr. Seaman A. Knapp among Southern farmers. Better education of the owners and renters of farms in methods of caring for their land and their crops will increase their productivity and their prosperity. Many towns and cities of the United States are en- tirely dependent upon the agricultural territory surround- ing them for their commercial prosperity, and even for their very existence. It is not only a matter of wise forethought for the high schools in such towns to provide courses in agriculture, it is a matter of right and justice. THE REASONS FOR INTRODUCING AGRICULTURE 21 Such schools are supported largely by agriculture and should seek to promote, in the instruction which they offer, the interests of the industry to which they owe so much. The farmers of the surrounding communities do not expect that all the children who go to such schools should develop into farmers, but only that, along with the other instruction, children be given an opportunity to find out that there is in agriculture, as in other occupations, something worthy the best intellect and the best talent. All these are arguments from the agricultural stand- point. From the educational standpoint there are still other reasons why agriculture should be taught in the public schools, particularly in the high school. It is evident that in a truly democratic nation there must be equality of educational opportunity for all children. Our free public schools have from the first been open to all classes and have offered opportunity for the continuous mental development of every child to and through the higher institutions of learning. We have therefore prided ourselves on a school system offer- ing equality of educational opportunities to all. But that this pride was based on a fallacy and that our school system did not offer this equality of opportunity became evident some years ago. Secondary and higher edu- cation, particularly, have been largely confined to the needs of a particular class of people. Education in this country has been universal, but narrow and undiversified. 22 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE In an undeveloped state of society the narrow, fixed course of study is natural and perhaps desirable. The inefficient many subject themselves to the efficient few; education is confined to the upper classes, and is restricted in variety. But in the complex, highly developed social and in- dustrial conditions of our modern state, a diversified system of education is demanded. Pupils come into the schools from all grades of society, rich and poor, from the homes of the mechanic, the artisan, the doctor, the lawyer, the merchant, the literary worker, and many others; and they leave the schools for all kinds of life work. They differ in tastes, in talent, and in the life work which they will later do. The instruction given them must be cut on many patterns. A single type of education no longer meets the needs of society. " Every important form of industrial and commercial activity, as well as every phase of institutional and professional life, demands its technically trained leaders, so that we must have schools, not only for statesmen, lawyers, doctors, and divines, but for engineers, architects, chem- ists, merchants, industrial workers of every grade, and even for foresters and agriculturists. Many of these phases belong to University training, but all of them have their roots in the high school." l 1 De Garmo, C., "Principles of Secondary Education; the Studies," P- 13- THE REASONS FOR INTRODUCING AGRICULTURE 23 School men everywhere now recognize the necessity for a reconstruction of the work of our public school system to meet the demands of new times and new ways. The unsatisfactory results, under present conditions, of the old exclusively literary curricula are evident. It is necessary to bring school work into closer relations with the real life and activities of the masses of our people. That the unprecedented industrial development of the past century must be taken into account in the education of our young people is strongly felt. 1 Though we still strive, as in past years, for culture and mental discipline as results of education, yet we recog- nize that education is not for these alone. The physical, the economic, the social, the intellectual, and the spirit- ual should all have opportunity for development; and the studies of our schools should contribute towards that development. Though intellectual training must al- ways continue to be the dominant feature of all educa- tional work, yet we have come to realize that education must, in addition, give efficiency, if it is to accomplish its purpose in our modern world. Moreover, any one who is thoroughly informed as to recent investigations in educational psychology knows 1 Davenport, E., "Industrial Education a Phase of the Problem of Universal Education." National Education Association, Proceedings, 1909, p. 279. "No scheme of education is truly universal or can hope to become so until it not only touches and uplifts all classes of men but also touches and uplifts their industries as well." 24 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE that the old idea that certain subjects, seriously pursued, result in the training of particular faculties, such as ac- curacy in observation, memory, etc., which can be em- ployed in any field, whether related to that study or not, is false. We now know that though training in mathe- matics, or foreign languages, and similar liberal studies, results in the development of certain intellectual powers, yet these powers are not as readily applied to vocational pursuits that may be undertaken as was supposed. In- deed, it is asserted that training in one field means no training at all in other fields. Attempts to make the subjects of liberal education yield vocational efficiency must fail because of the very nature and purpose of these subjects. To attempt to make them vocational deprives them of significance as factors in a liberal education without giving any real vocational efficiency. The objects of modern democratic education effi- ciency with mental training and culture, for many differ- ent classes of people can only be attained by an en- richment of the curriculum and the addition of voca- tional subjects. A few studies will not accomplish the results desired for our many pupils. A variety of studies is necessary. There must be opportunity for mental training along many lines, that each may get for him- self that knowledge and those appreciations, that train- ing in habits and methods of work, which will be of the greatest service to himself. THE REASONS FOR INTRODUCING AGRICULTURE 25 In the enrichment and improvement of our public school work the vocational studies are clearly the most effective means to be employed, for such studies not only give practical training for work and life but they realize the aims of a liberal education. 1 They are thus given an advantage over the liberal studies, which, though impor- tant as factors in liberal education, do not contribute to vocational training or efficiency. The vocational subjects vitalize and add interest to the ordinary work of the school, connect the school work directly with life and the 1 Lange, A. F., " Self -directed High School Development." Univer- sity of California Chronicle, vol. XII, No. 4, p. 9. "The cultural mis- sion (of education) Can no longer be fulfilled through the so-called cul- ture studies alone. Little by little we shall doubtless learn to teach mathematics and the sciences, history and civics, literature and the lan- guages, so as to start from actual life for knowing and to come back to it for doing; but even then we cannot wisely leave out the subjects that specifically epitomize the economic activities of our contemporary civilization and lead over to the material side of the world's work. What life has ceased to give, the school must supply and improve on. Quite apart from vocational issues, efficient citizenship, the very heart of liberal culture from the viewpoint of democracy, demands, now-a- days, a trinity of developed senses, a vivid historic sense, the scientific evolutional sense, and a practical economic sense. It implies that neither those who can and will prolong their school career nor those who must cut them short should be deprived of the chance to get and keep in active, intelligent, sympathetic touch with the work and workers of our farms, our industries, our commerce. Accordingly, no high school is fully adequate to its cultural purposes until it has a department of agri- culture, or of commerce, or of the mechanical and domestic arts, ... a department in charge of teachers every whit as broadly and thoroughly trained and as civilized as those of other departments, ought to be," 26 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE industries of the world, and make the students who go out from the schools more efficient workers. They give information and mental training; and they also give ability to do certain definite things. The value of these vocational studies was perhaps naturally first recognized in the highly organized systems of the cities, where the rapid increase in the extent and variety of the mechanic arts and manufactures created a tremendous demand for young people prepared to deal with the problems presented in such pursuits. The teaching of manual and mechanic arts was provided for and was soon amply justified. From the city schools the movement spread to towns and villages and the scope of the industrial work given gradually broadened. The study of agriculture and domestic science, both fundamental occupations, though introduced somewhat later than the manual training work, have proved their right to a permanent place in our public school system. Their economic value was evident from the first. Their cultural and disciplinary value has been demonstrated. Agricultural instruction is, like that in other vocational subjects, not only a means of adjusting our public school education to the society in which we live, but of adjust- ing the education to the individual to be educated. Certain phases of agricultural study are particularly well adapted to the adolescent period of development, through which high school boys and girls are passing. THE REASONS FOR INTRODUCING AGRICULTURE 2J The mental characteristics and attitude at this time are successfully appealed to and stimulated by the agricul- tural work. Agricultural work in the high school takes into account both the sensory and motor powers of the individual, and appeals to and assists in educating each. It pro- vides for both impression and expression, for gaining knowledge and for application of knowledge. Though rich in educational material for those students who are mentally strongest on the sensory-intellectual side, it provides particularly well for those who are strong- est on the intellectual-motor side. Agriculture is not only a vocational or industrial course. It is a scientific course. To understand and practice agriculture properly, the elementary principles of all the high school sciences must be understood. By agricul- ture these are vitalized and their application to real life made evident. Nor is agriculture merely vocational and scientific. It is also cultural. 1 It teaches how to think, how to do, 1 Eliot, C. W., "A New Definition of the Cultured Man." National Education Association, Proceedings, 1903, p. 54. "Let us as teachers accept no single element or kind of culture as the one essential ; let us remember that the best fruits of real culture are an open mind, broad sym- pathies, and respect for all the diverse achievements of the human intellect at whatever stage of development they may actually be, the stage of fresh discovery, or bold exploration, or complete conquest. Let us re- member that the moral elements of the new education are individual choice of study and career among a great, new variety of studies and 28 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE and gives a broad view of life. 1 If properly taught, such work, perhaps better than any other one subject, makes possible the attaining of all the objects of school instruction of education as denned by former President Eliot of Harvard. It teaches how to "see straight and clear; to compare and infer; to make an accurate record ; to remember ; to express thought with precision ; and to hold fast on lofty ideals." The agricultural course in the high school prepares those students who cannot go beyond the secondary schools, and who are interested in agriculture, for a defi- nite life work worthy of the best efforts of any intellect. It prepares the student who wishes to become an agri- cultural expert for the college, where he can complete his education. For the student in other courses, agri- cultural instruction, besides the mental training which it affords, vitalizes the regular science work, gives some careers, early responsibility accompanying this freedom of choice, love of truth now that truth may be directly sought through rational inquiry, and an omnipotent sense of social obligation. Those moral elements are so strong that the new forms of culture are likely to prove themselves quite as productive of morality, high-mindedness, and idealism as the old." 1 De Garmo, C., "Principles of Secondary Education; Processes of Instruction," Preface, p. vi. "All teaching is cultural in proportion to the extent and quality of the insight it enables the student to attain. All instruction, likewise, is disciplinary to the extent that it renders the student efficient in the use of what he has learned. Culture and dis- cipline are accordingly the inevitable concomitants of all good instruc- tion and they become in turn the just measure of its effectiveness." THE REASONS FOR INTRODUCING AGRICULTURE 2Q understanding and appreciation of a fundamental in- dustry and our universal dependence on it, and dignifies an indispensable occupation. The inclusion of agriculture and other vocational work in the high school curriculum gives to students a view of the kind of work typical of various occupations and thus assists them in selecting a life work. 1 "Not every boy born in the city should always remain there; nor should every boy born on the farm be a farmer. The teaching of agriculture and the manual arts in the public schools will afford an opportunity for selection, and the boy from the city with rural tastes will, through this special course in instruction, secure new information and a proper attitude towards the farm. The boy from the farm will have an opportunity to secure information and a new ideal of farm life, but if some other vocation appeals to him more strongly, the work of the high school will discover it." 2 1 Hyatt, E., "The Opportunity of the California High School," 1910, Bui. California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, p. 3. "Is it the part of wisdom to exclude our chief est industry from the high school, where our choicest young people are preparing for life? The thing is absurd; preposterous. The genius of agriculture should overshadow, dominate our rural high schools. Our high schools everywhere should be in sympathy with the industrial life of the people who surround them and should intelligently undertake to broaden and enrich that life to make it more efficient, better able to meet competition. In that way only can the high school in future have a right to live and grow." 2 Michigan Agricultural College, Department of Agricultural Educa- tion. " Course in Agriculture for the High Schools of Michigan," p. 5. 30 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE Lastly, we may give as an argument for agricultural education in the secondary schools the fact that in what- ever country such instruction has been introduced (notably France and Belgium), it has materially raised the age of leaving school, from two to three years. What statistics we have so far been able to accumulate in the United States go to prove that the same thing is true in this country where agriculture has been put into the schools. This alone should prove a valid reason for its inclusion in the curriculum, and when considered in connection with its proved educational value, should insure it a universal and permanent place in our public school work. PRACTICUM List at least five instances in which it can be clearly proved that agricultural information, secured through study or experiment at our educational institutions, has materially increased the products and profits of a locality or state. REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING Course in Agriculture for the High Schools of Michigan. Michi- gan Agricultural College. Department of Agricultural Education Bui. 7, 1911, pp. 5-6. HAYS, W. M. Education for Country Life. Office of Experiment Stations Cir. 84. 1909. HENDERSON, E. N. The Industrial Factor in Education. Na- tional Education Association, Proceedings, 1910, pp. 666-75- THE REASONS FOR INTRODUCING AGRICULTURE 31 JEWELL, J. R. Agricultural Education. Chapter 6. U. S. Bur. of Education Bui. 2. 1907. SNEDDEN, DAVID. Problem of Vocational Education. Chapters i to 4. Bost. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910. THOMAS, D. Y. The Need for Agricultural Education. Annals of the American Academy of Political Science, 1910, vol. 35, pp. 150-55- TRUE, A. C. Why the Friends of Agricultural Progress believe that Agriculture should and will be taught in the Public Schools. University of California Cir. 17. An address read at a joint session of the California Teachers' Association and the State Farmers' Institute, December, 1905. CHAPTER III THE PLACE OF AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM OBSERVATION and investigation show clearly that modern industrial and social conditions demand a new kind of education, in which the instruction given in our public schools shall cover a wide range of studies and include many subjects, some of which at least are inti- mately connected with basic industries and the real life and activities of the masses of our people. It is obvious, however, that in our public high schools it is necessary for many reasons to limit the number of subjects to be taught and to select from each only special portions for study. We must, therefore, select from the many possible subjects those which seem best suited for high school study, and we must decide as to what portion of each subject shall be pursued, when it shall be begun, in what order taken up, and how long studied. That is, we must arrange a high school cur- riculum. In making up this curriculum as a whole we must remember that all studies naturally group themselves in three classes : the natural sciences, or those that per- 32 AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 33 tain solely to nature ; the humanities, or those that per- tain primarily to things purely human, such as history and languages; and the economic sciences, or those in which " the laws of nature are applied by human volition to produce the conditions for the well-being of individuals, the multiplication of populations, and the further devel- opment both of natural sciences and all that pertains to man as such." * No one of these groups may be over- looked. Courses representative of each should be in- cluded in the curriculum. In the small high school it may be necessary to confine the curriculum to a very few of what seem to be, for secondary students, the more important representatives of each type. In the high school with a large corps of teachers, there may be very many studies representative of each great type of studies. That no one student is able profitably to pursue all the many lines of study of the modern high school is evident, since this is prevented by lack of time. More- over, it is inadvisable, even if it were possible, for him to pursue every individual study throughout his entire high school course. It therefore becomes necessary to arrange the subjects of the curriculum into courses of study, each of which is fitted to the needs of a special class of students ; as, those 1 De Garmo, C., "Principles of Secondary Education; the Studies," p. 46. D 34 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE who are preparing for certain definite courses in college, those who expect to leave the high school for vocations, those who are particularly adapted to benefit by certain lines of work, etc. However, in making up the special courses of study, as in the making of the curriculum, representatives of all the great groups of study should be included. In each of the special courses of study must be included a maximum of those subjects which will be particulary useful to the student in his further education or in his life work, but at the same time oppor- tunity must be given for the acquirement of an education that is in no way limited to the demands of his special vocation or special interest. Some of the work of each course must be prescribed, for the school authorities naturally know far better than the immature student what subjects are absolutely necessary in a rational, progressive, well-balanced course along the chosen line. To suit individual differences in taste, ability, and per- sonal need, there must also be opportunity for many elective studies. No important field of knowledge or of essential training can be overlooked or ignored. At the same time, opportunity must be given for individual choice within the selected course. The organization of the classical, modern-language, scientific, and certain other high school courses has been well worked out; and these are fairly fixed, though flexible in nature. But the organization of the high AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 35 school agricultural course, though it has for some years been a matter of much discussion, is very unsettled. There is as yet no harmony of opinion as to just what shall be taught, or when. The agricultural materials to be used and the teaching methods to be employed are undetermined. Few definite principles of procedure in the organization and teaching of agriculture in the high school have been enunciated ; and practically none have been established. In short, while educators are agreed as to the necessity and value of agricultural in- struction in the secondary schools of communities where agricultural interests are prominent, they are not agreed as to the organization of the work or the methods by which it shall be taught; and comparatively few pedagogically sound ideas have been put forth on either point. The reasons for this chaotic condition are numerous. As yet the differentiation between the agricultural work of the upper grammar grades and the early years of the high school is very imperfectly worked out. The sec- ondary schools are in many cases obliged to give work which might well be given in the elementary schools. The colleges and universities are still giving courses which will probably later be conceded to belong only in the secondary schools. This makes the laying down of any rules as to the work to be given in the high school very difficult. Doubtless this differentiation will eventually 36 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE be worked out by the normal schools and colleges teach- ing elementary and high school methods in agriculture, but at present very little has been done. The function of agriculture and the other sciences in the high school and their relation to each other are not as yet perfectly clear. We must have a better under- standing of this before we can organize the high school agricultural course to the best advantage. It is argued by some that agriculture must be introduced in the high school as one means of vitalizing the sciences, but that it should be taught in connection with the sciences and not as a separate course, except possibly in the last year of the high school, when a synthetic course may well be given. By others it is urged that the sciences should change their viewpoint and be taught from the viewpoint of agriculture, domestic science, and other industrial occupations, not only for the vitalizing of the science work, but in order that the special courses in agriculture, domestic science, etc., may thus be per- mitted to put more time on the technical phases of their subject matter. Still others hold that while courses in agriculture may well be included in the high school, their chief function is to serve as a vehicle for scientific facts and as a means of relating the various sciences one to the other, not to prepare students to do definite agricultural work. However, the majority of teachers feel that though AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 37 agriculture depends upon the various sciences, and the successful agricultural student must learn and apply various botanical, chemical, physical, and physiological facts and principles, yet both agriculture and the various sciences should be taught from their own standpoints. Though granting that in the teaching of the sciences many agricultural applications may well be noted and made use of, and though realizing that in agricultural teaching the scientific principles underlying the art must be made plain, they feel that agriculture should be taught as agriculture, chemistry as chemistry, and botany as botany. They say that there is no more reason for incorporating agriculture with the other sciences in the high school than there is for incorporating domestic science with them; that agriculture should be taught as a separate course just as domestic science, manual training, and other industrial work is taught separately. Moreover, though agriculture is an indus- trial course it is also a scientific course ; and there is no more reason for correlating agriculture with the other sciences at the expense of a separate place in the curric- ulum than there is of so treating physical geography, or botany, or physiology. All three of these draw on the other sciences very largely, yet their right to a sepa- rate place in the curriculum is not even challenged. Then, too, not only does agriculture cease to be pre- sented in the most profitable way for high school stu- 38 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE dents when given only in connection with the other sciences, but if chemistry is limited to agricultural chemistry, physics to agricultural physics, botany to agricultural botany, and so on, these sciences themselves suffer. They are to some extent vitalized by the agri- cultural applications, to be sure, but they are limited in effectiveness by the definiteness of their scope. Many of the high school pupils will not take up agricultural work, but will go from high school into other industries. It is not fair to them that they should, in the few years of their schooling, be limited in their pursuit of science studies by having the work of those studies largely con- trolled by the applications of a single industry. All these suggested questions, and many others, as to the function of agriculture and the sciences in the high school, their relation to each other, and the extent to which cooperation between them is profitable and advisable, must be debated and more or less definite conclusions reached before we can have a systematic, satisfactory high school agricultural course, the general outlines of which are universally accepted. Moreover, we have the special technical agricultural high schools and the regular high schools giving agri- cultural courses. For both of these, at present, there seems to be a field. But it is evident that the courses must differ considerably in the two classes of schools. The local high schools cannot try to do as pretentious AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 39 work as the special schools because of the excessive cost of an extensive equipment. The selection of courses for any local public high school will necessarily, for many years at least, be more or less influenced by the means available for equipping and maintaining the work. Then, too, conditions differ in different states and lo- calities. Agricultural instruction in the secondary schools, to be of the greatest value, must be definitely adapted to the community. A fixed course and fixed materials for instruction will fit very few places. Mate- rials for instruction must be selected from the vast wealth provided by the science and art of agriculture with regard to the needs of local pupils and of the com- munity. In spite of this unsettled condition of opinion as to the character of the agricultural work to be given in the high school, there are certain definite points which must be considered in planning the agricultural work in any high school where it is given as a separate course. We must decide on the studies to be chosen for the course, remembering that besides agricultural subjects (representing the economic sciences), we must have in the course representatives of each of the other distinc- tive types or groups of studies, the natural sciences and the humanities. This is true not only because certain of these studies are needed for the better under- standing of agriculture, but because such a course seems 40 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE to furnish the material best suited to the all-round development of the individual. The degree and kind of representation must necessarily be governed partly by the size and qualifications of the teaching corps and partly by the general character of the agricultural course. We must decide upon the number of recitation and laboratory periods per week that can reasonably be re- quired of each student, being guided in our decision by the experience of other schools. We must determine the amount of time which shall be given to each study chosen, deciding the terms or years during which it shall be taught and the number and length of the class periods per week. The agri- cultural work will naturally run throughout the entire four years, in one form or another. The work in other subjects will be given less time, though sufficient for a complete mastery of the portions of the subject chosen for instruction. Having decided upon the subjects which shall be taught in the course and the amount of time to be given to them, we must next determine as to the content of the subjects chosen, that is, as to the materials for instruction in each course. In this, as in the other problems noted, cumulative experience is the best guide. We must turn for help to such published reports as those of the National Education Association, of state boards of education, and of the agricultural education AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 41 experts of the United States Department of Agriculture. Many of these are national in scope and of great value. But in organizing the agricultural work of any school we must also turn to the experience of schools located in districts closely resembling the one we plan to serve. For in choosing the branches of agricultural instruction to be presented in any given high school and in deter- mining the materials to be used, we must take into ac- count the agricultural conditions of the district. We must teach the same basic principles of agriculture in all schools, but our selection of materials and emphasis of topics in presentation must be modified by local con- ditions and interests. For example, if our high school is located in a district where live stock raising is impracticable, our courses in that subject will be very much more limited than if our high school is in a stock raising locality. If the para- mount interests of the community are in horticulture, and practically no grain is raised, it would not be wise to devote time to the study of even such an admirable book as Hunt's " Cereals in America." In such a place the time devoted to the study of grains must be limited. Some of the work of the agricultural course of the modern high school will be prescribed and some elective. Those studies dealing with the fundamental and ele- mentary principles of plant and animal production and farm management must evidently be prescribed. But 42 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE those branches dealing with special phases of the indus- try, as poultry work, bee-keeping, etc., may very well be elective. In the choosing of subjects from the hu- manities and the natural sciences there should also be both electives and prescribed work. The essentials, as indicated by experience, must be prescribed. Other work may well be elective and selected by individual students according to personal taste and ability. We must, in deciding all these questions, keep in mind not only the present and future needs of the student, the knowledge necessary for complete living and for vocational efficiency, but also certain psychological factors. 1 In our selection of studies and materials and in their order of presentation we must bear in mind the characteristics of the individual during this adolescent period of development. We should take into account the apperceptive basis which the student has for the work, that is, his previously acquired ideas and experi- ences; his previously acquired habits, in accordance with which he adjusts himself to his environment ; and the economic sanction, by which an appeal is made to the pupil's desire for production and ownership and by means of which his serviceableness to the race may be increased. In addition, in certain districts the sequence of studies 1 Bricker, G. A., "The Teaching of Agriculture in the High School," pp. 56-90. AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 43 must be affected more or less by the seasons. This is not true in parts of the South and on the Pacific Coast, however. There, almost any necessary materials for agricultural study can be secured at any time of year. The work is not hampered and hindered by seasonal conditions as in the East, and it is not necessary that these determine the sequence of agricultural studies. In planning the four years' agricultural work of the high school it is evident that the study of the plant furnishes probably the best first year or beginning course. All agricultural occupations are based on plant produc- tion. Moreover, many plants are familiar to children and by their use in instruction advantage may be taken of the psychological factor of apperception. Then, too, the economic sanction is strong in this as in much of the other agricultural work. In presenting the work there are good psychological reasons for beginning with the study of plant products and following this with study of the plants producing them. If no agricultural work has been given in the elementary school, this order of presentation may be necessary. But it is far preferable that the elementary study of plant products, and of certain animal products as well, should be taken up in the elementary schools, and the agricultural work of the high school begin with a study of plant growth and development. From this elementary introductory work there natu- 44 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE rally opens up a somewhat detailed study of environ- mental conditions, temperature, light, heat, moisture, soils, fertilizers, etc., followed by special study of impor- tant crop plants of the locality. A study of farm animals, the utilizers of plant products, and of animal products and their utilization, as in dairying, comes next. Farm machinery (needed in the production and care of plants and animals and their products), and its use, should then be studied ; while last in order should come the consideration of all the things that go to make up the farm work and life in their relation to each other, that is, farm management and farm economics. We thus proceed, in accordance with pedagogical prin- ciples, from the more familiar to the less familiar, from the known to the unknown ; and from the concrete and definite to the more abstract principles of agricultural practice. Though the courses given and the amount of time allotted to each may vary widely to suit different condi- tions, the sequence of studies should be, in general, as outlined. During the first high school year there should be an orderly and progressive study of the elements of plant production and some special study of local crops. Animal production, usually given under the names of animal husbandry or zootechny, may follow in the second year, or, if horticultural interests are paramount, horticulture may follow the introductory course in plant AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 45 production. If dairying is an industry of sufficient importance in the community, a course in this subject may well be given during one semester of the year in which animal husbandry is given. In any event, some time should be given to the study and testing of dairy products. If no dairy course is given, this may be in- serted in the animal husbandry course. If horticulture is of relatively little importance in the locality and live stock raising is preeminent, a special course in poultry culture or some special live stock topic may well be given a half of the year which would otherwise be assigned to horticulture. In the last high school year, as men- tioned before, should come an elementary study of the more important topics dealing with agricultural machin- ery, rural engineering, rural economics, and general farm management. Rural engineering in many of its aspects is too technical for students in secondary schools ; but some time should be given to the study of ordinary farm machinery, to planning the outlay of farms, farm buildings, water and sewage disposal systems, etc. Many rural economic topics are unsuitable for study in secondary schools. But some of the more important social and economic problems of rural life should certainly be presented for discussion, and the general principles of marketing, farm accounts, etc., should be studied. In time we shall doubtless have as helps in the or- 4 6 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE ganization of the high school agricultural course many carefully formulated outlines of courses as adapted to special states and localities. In the meantime we must use the best at present available to help us in outlining others. Several of these are appended, showing the practice in different localities where agriculture has been successfully taught, or giving examples of courses worked out in support of special theories as to secondary agricultural education. A Syllabus of a four-year secondary course in agriculture prepared by A. C. True of the United States Department of Agriculture. (Office of Experiment Stations Cir. 91, pp. 10-11.) REQUIRED SUBJECTS HOURS P ER WEEK UNITS 1 TOTAL ist Year adYear 3d Year 4 th Year HOORS* English . 3 5 5 3 2 540 Algebra . i 5 1 80 Geometry i 5 180 History . i 2 3 180 Botany . i 5 180 Chemistry i 5 180 French or Ger- man . . . 2 5 5 360 Agriculture 4 5 5 5 5 720 Elective . . 2 5 5 360 Total . . 2880 1 A unit consists of 180 hours, i.e. 5 hours per week for 36 weeks. 2 Recitation periods of 45 minutes are designated as "hours." In laboratory practice, demonstrations, bookkeeping, surveying, and agri- cultural practice an hour is a double period or 90 minutes. AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 47 ELECTIVE SUBJECTS SUBJECTS UNITS HOURS PER WEEK TOTAL HOURS Drawing i i hour i year ^6 Bookkeeping i hour i year ^6 Civics I 2 hours i year 72 Solid geometry Plane trigonometry and sur- veying French or German .... Botany, chemistry, or physics Agriculture, horticulture, or elementary forestry. 1 . . I t i i 5 hours ^ year 2 hours 2 years 5 hours i year 5 hours i year i to 5 hours 3d and 4th year QO 144 180 180 REQUIRED SUBJECTS FOR ALL STUDENTS IN AGRICULTURE i HOURS PI SR WEEK TOTAL SUBJECTS UNITS ist Year 2 d Year 3d Year 4 th Year HOURS The plant and its envi- ronment Farm crops , 2 I 72 s6 Agricultural engineering Horticulture and for- estry ! i I I I 72 36 Economic entomology . Animal husbandry . . Dairying Diseases of plants and animals Farm management . . Subjects to be added from subjoined list A . | i 2 2 I 2 2 2 3 72 72 36 72 72 180 Total 720 1 These are in addition to the 720 hours of required subjects in agri- culture and are offered to permit specialization in some branch of agri- culture by students not intending to take a college course in agriculture. 4 8 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE LIST A. SUBJECTS FROM WHICH SELECTION MUST BE MADE TO MAKE UP THE REQUIRED 720 HOURS IN AGRICULTURE HOURS P ER WEEK TOTAL SUBJECTS 3d Year 4th Year HOURS Farm crops 2 2 72 or 144 Animal husbandry Dairying 2 2 2 2 72 or 144 72 Or 144 Horticulture 2 72 Forestry 2 72 Agricultural engineering . . . Rural economics I 2 I 72 -i(\ or 72 Plant breeding I 2 36 or 108 B University of Wisconsin recommended high school course in agriculture. (University of Wisconsin Bui. No. 441, High School Series No. 12, pp. 8-9.) General outline of agricultural units. 1 Farm mechanics. One-half unit in freshman year. Farm management. One-half unit in freshman or senior year. Plant husbandry. One unit in sophomore year. Animal husbandry. One unit in junior year. Agricultural chemistry and soils. One unit in senior year. General outline of basic sciences. Botany. One-half year in freshman year. 1 One unit represents daily exercises throughout the school year. AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 49 Physiology. One-half year in sophomore year. Chemistry. One-half year in freshman year or one year in junior year. Physics. One year in senior year. NOTE. To this may be added : physical geograpny, one-half year in the freshman or the sophomore year. Suggested arrangement of work in agriculture and related sciences. First year Farm mechanics Botany Beginners' chemistry where no other chemistry is taught. Electives to make up the required number of units. Second year Physical geography Physiology Plant husbandry Plant husbandry Electives to make up the required number of units. Third year Animal husbandry Animal husbandry Chemistry Agricultural chemistry Electives to make up the required number of units. Fourth year Soils Farm management Physics Physics Electives to make up the required number of units. High school course in agriculture. (Michigan Agricultural College, Agricultural Education Depart- ment Bui. i, pp. 12-13.) The following course includes three units which practically conform to the State High School Course of Study. The high MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE school work is purely suggestive, as it may or may not conform to the regular course of study pursued in the school. It is given here to show the relation and general arrangement. The course in agriculture is elective and covers one unit in each grade of the high school giving a four-year course, and the unit in each case is made up of a combination of two or more subjects which are to be pursued during the year. This arrangement makes it possible for regular students to elect agriculture, and for a stu- dent who has already been graduated from the high school, or who enters for the purpose of taking the agricultural work only, to complete the entire course in one year. The purpose of this course is both educational and practical. It gives an opportunity for the practical application of the laws and theories of other sciences taught in the high school, also a working knowledge of the agri- cultural subjects themselves. This phase should be constantly kept in mind by the teacher. COURSE QTH GRADE IOTH GRADE IITH GRADE i2TH GRADE English English Literature and Literature and composition rhetoric Algebra Arithmetic Geometry General Physics Commercial Chemistry American history and history geography and civics bookkeeping Zoology Botany Crops el. 1 Live stock, Live stock, im- Soils and [ | types and i provement, i tillage J breeds feeds and a Dairying feeding Agricultural Horticul- Soils and ] Poultry botany ture i soil j Farm manage- Ento- physics J ment mology Farm me- i chanics Farm machin- ery AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 51 NOTE i. Permit students to take all the agriculture possible. Induce young men to enter school just for agriculture and take the course in one year. NOTE 2. This course may be varied to meet local conditions. Live stock, horticulture, or soils may be emphasized according to the character of farming. In the subject of agriculture there should be at least daily recitations for three periods each week, the other days being used for laboratory work and for study and observation on the experi- mental plots or on the farms. The number of recitations, however, must be determined by the conditions of the school, number of students, and number of classes. It is probable that the greatest value will be derived from laboratory practice and from actual study and observation of surrounding farms, therefore ample time should be given to it. It may be necessary to give more than three recitations and less laboratory time. New York State Education Department suggested Agricultural course for high schools. (N. Y. State Education Department Bui. 492, "Schools of Agri- culture, Mechanic Arts, and Home Making," p. 17.) CREDITS First year English 4 Algebra 5 Biology 5 Mechanical drawing 3 Carpentry and joinery (Laboratory periods) 2 Total 19" Second year English 3 Plane geometry 5 Physics (agricultural) 2\ Agriculture (elective "home project" work, or elemen- tary general agriculture) 3 Agriculture, cereal and forage crops, first term .... i\ Agriculture, poultry raising, second term i\ Total I8J 52 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE CREDITS Third year English 3 Elementary bookkeeping 3 Chemistry (agricultural) 2\ Economics 2 History 3 Agriculture, animal husbandry, first term 2$ Agriculture, potato growing, second term 2\ Total I8j Fourth year English or commercial English and correspondence ... 3 American history, with civics 5 Agriculture, general fruit growing, including apples ... 5 Agriculture, dairying 5 Total 18 Two and one- half credits are given for the equivalent of 5 reci- tation periods of 45 minutes each of prepared work in agriculture throughout a half year. Each laboratory period of 90 minutes on unprepared work counts as one recitation period. Two labora- tory periods per week alternating with three recitation periods are recommended for the agricultural courses. Thirty credits for special agricultural work are required in the course in vocational agriculture. E Maine agricultural course for high schools. (Course in agriculture for high schools and academies in Maine, prepared by W. D. Kurd, of the College of Agriculture of the University of Maine, under the direction of the State Superin- tendent of Schools, p. 4.) First year English 3 hrs. Algebra 5 hrs. Chemistry 5 hrs. Soils, plant life,. fertilizers 3 hrs. Practicums, two afternoon periods of 2 hrs. each School gardening AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 53 Second year English 3 hrs. Geometry 5 hrs. History and civil government 5 hrs. Live stock, dairying, poultry 3 hrs. Practicums, two afternoon periods of 2 hrs. each School gardening Third year English 3 hrs. Physics 5 hrs. History 5 hrs. Field crops, fruit growing, vegetable gardening . 3 hrs. Practicums, two afternoon periods of 2 hrs. each School gardening Fourth year English 3 hrs. Reviews 5 hrs. Commercial arithmetic, bookkeeping, etc 3 hrs. Agricultural engineering, farm mechanics, farm man- agement, plantfliseases, economic entomology . . 5 hrs. School gardening NOTE. The number of hours per week in the above course of study is not so large as to prevent the election of other studies in the high school courses. F Agricultural course of the Guthrie County High School, Panora, Iowa. (Catalogue.) Freshman year Arithmetic, algebra, American history, civics, English grammar and composition, literature, Latin. Sophomore year First semester Second semester Algebra Algebra English English Ancient history Mediaeval and modern history 54 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE Animal husbandry Animal husbandry Feeds and feeding Agronomy Bookkeeping Junior year First semester Second semester Plane geometry Plane geometry German German Physics Physics Geology Geology Farm mechanics Farm mechanics Senior year First semester Second semester Solid geometry German German English Political economy Chemistry Soils Soils Horticulture Advanced arithmetic Kern county (Bakersfield, California) high school agricultural course. (Catalogue.) Freshman year English Algebra Elementary science Music or letter writing Drawing Shop AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 55 Sophomore year English Geometry Chemistry Arithmetic Music or letter writing Drawing Shop Junior year English Advanced algebra Trigonometry Applied science Qual. analysis Agriculture Senior year English U. S. history Quant, analysis Surveying Agriculture Special one-year course in agriculture English Shop mathematics Shop drawing Agriculture and shop The special course includes approximately 450 hours of work in drawing, carpentry, and blacksmithing, and 630 hours of agricul- ture, including botany, horticulture, animal husbandry, soils, and crops. One hour daily is given to each of the following : shop 56 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE mathematics and English, elementary chemistry (including soil analysis). This course is for pupils over 18 years of age. Gardena (California) agricultural high school course in agricul- ture. (Catalogue, and Gardena "Reporter.") UNITS OR CREDITS First year General science and gardening 5 English 5 Algebra or applied mathematics (practical arithmetic) . . 5 Carpentry and drawing 5 Music or oral English 2 Second year Agricultural botany 5 English or foreign language 5 Economic zoology. Animal industry. Economic entomol- ogy 5 Forge and mechanical drawing 5 Music or oral English 2 Third year Agricultural chemistry > 5 Horticulture and forestry \ 5 Dairying and poultry 5 Elective (English, foreign language, mathematics, cabinet work) 5 Fourth year Agricultural physics 5 Soils and fertilizers. Farm crops and farm manage- ment 5 Rural law and economics 2 Bookkeeping and farm accounts 3 Landscape gardening and greenhouse management ... 3 Civics and history 5 Special problems 2 AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 57 Holtville (California) union high school agricultural course. (Catalogue.) First year * English * Elementary algebra * Physical geography Manual training (either one-half or a full year) Freehand drawing (one-half year) Second year * English * Applied botany Manual training (either one-half or a full year) Freehand drawing (one-half year) Third year * Agriculture Chemistry Physiology Manual training English Fourth year * Agriculture * Physics * United States history and civics English Manual training * Those subjects starred are required ; the rest are elective. Other electives are also allowed in penmanship, orchestra, singing, and athletics. Coin (Iowa) high school course in agriculture. (Office of Experiment Stations Annual Report, 1910, pp. 367-369.) 58 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE FIRST YEAR Farm crops. Corn, seed corn, oats, wheat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, sorghum, sugar beets. Legumes. Alfalfa, red clover, white clover, alsike clover, mammoth clover, cowpeas, soy beans, and vetch. Grasses. Kentucky blue grass, timothy, redtop, and orchard grass. Silos. Historical, form and construction, cost, selection and culture of silage crops, filling the silo, composition and feeding value of silage. Weeds. Identification of the neighborhood weeds by means of seeds, stems, and leaves. Habits of growth and methods of erad- ication. State ways in which weeds are an injury to the farmer. Name not less than five of the worst weeds, and state why. Clas- sify weeds as to habits of growth ; also as to annuals, biennials, and perennials. Collect seeds from all weeds, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and flowers in the neighborhood. Put them into envelopes or bottles and label each with date, name of plant, where found, and name of collector. Problems on yield, on amount of the three principal food ele- ments needed to replace that taken by different crops, on fencing fields of different sizes, on number of bushels of corn in different size cribs, or bins, etc. Soil formation. Mechanical agencies, the chemical action of air and water, plants and animals as soil formers and improvers, soil materials, light and heavy soils, physical characteristics of soils, moisture relations of soils, heat relation of soils, soil tempera- ture affected by color and drainage, chemical characteristics of soils. Experiments in the laboratory and on plats to determine the water-holding powers of different soils, experiments to demon- strate the capillary movements of water in soils under different AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 59 conditions, experiments to show the different methods of conserv- ing soil moisture, experiments to determine whether compact soils will hold more water than loose soils, experiments to determine how organic matter in the soil affects its water-holding power. SECOND YEAR Horticulture. The plant : propagation of plants by means of seeds, by cuttings, by layering, by grafting, by budding, by bulbs, rootstalks, stolons, and corms. Pruning of common fruit, shade, and ornamental trees of dif- ferent ages ; grafting of apple, peach, pear, etc. ; budding peach seedlings. Note how fruits fertilize. The proper way to plant a tree and its subsequent care. Identification of neighborhood trees and shrubs. The most troublesome insect and fungus enemies of fruit and ornamental trees and their destruction by spraying and otherwise. Special work in making and the application of spraying mixtures. The fruit garden, the vegetable garden, the school garden. Study of roots, stems, and leaves. The preparation and use of hotbeds, coldframes, and pits. Fruit growing. The apple, peach, pear, strawberry, rasp- berry, blackberry, currant, and gooseberry. Define the terms seedlings, stock, scion, standards, dwarfs, freestone, etc. Soil fertility. Improvement by drainage, tillage, manures, fertilizers, lime, humus, green manuring, legumes, and rotation of crops. Root tubercles and inoculation, sources of nitrogen, sources of phosphorus, sources of potassium, practical methods of main- taining fertility. Testing soils for acid conditions, pot experiments in growth of plants by adding the different elements of plant food, also the same on field plats. Comparisons made of crops grown on fields of different degrees of fertility, also comparative yields of the neighborhood. 60 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE Problems based upon the amount of plant food taken out of the soil each year by the different crops given. These problems should also show when to grow shallow or deep-rooted crops. THIRD YEAR Animal husbandry. Cattle : beef breeds, dual-purpose breeds, and dairy breeds. M ilk. Composition and characteristics, bacteria, how milk becomes impure and methods of prevention, use of the Babcock test, cream separators care and management, management and delivery of cream, butter making, cheese making, renovated or process butter and how to distinguish same from genuine butter. Testing of individual cows. Study feeding practices of the neighborhood. Different cuts of meats their location in the carcass and value for food. Horses. Breeds valuable for speed, draft horses, carriage and coach breeds, ponies, mules. Sheep. Short-wooled breeds, middle-wooled breeds, long- wooled breeds. Swine. Large breeds, middle breeds, small breeds. Poultry. General purpose breeds, meat or table breeds, egg breeds, ornamental breeds, turkeys, ducks, and geese, guinea fowl, squab raising. Breeds and characteristics of farm animals to be carried through the year. Identification of breeds, judging market types of live stock, studies of local live stock interests, the elements of animal nutrition, protein, carbohydrates, minerals, etc. Feeding standards and balanced rations. The common ailments of farm animals symptoms and methods of prevention or treatment. FOURTH YEAR The farm home, buildings, and surroundings. Location of buildings, plan of house, cost and construction, modern conven- AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 6l iences. Barns and outbuildings, location, plans, cost, and construc- tion, sanitary drainage and sewerage, disinfection, sources and supply of pure water. The lawn, walks, and drives. Selection and planting of flowers, shrubs, and trees. Cultural suggestions. Equipment of houses and barns with heat, light, motor power, water pressure, ventilating and cleaning devices, and other ma- chinery. Farm mechanics. Cement construction. Walks, basement, stable floors, and driveways, steps, tanks, small bridges, sewer pipe, drain tile, and reinforcement. Silo construction. Tools and leveling for drives. Location of tile and sewer drains. Con- struction. Farm machinery. A study of the elements of mechanics and of machine design entering into the construction of all machinery, followed by a special study of motors, including gasoline and steam engines, steam boilers, power transmission, windmills, water wheels, pumps, hydraulic rams, farm machinery for tillage, seeding, har- vesting, etc. Roads. Macadam, sand-clay, burnt-clay. Methods and cost of construction, management, and care. Road drags. Beekeeping. Location, what race to choose, what hive to adopt, management in swarming, how to avoid stings, prevention of swarming, how to obtain surplus honey and wax, wintering, risk and loss through disease and enemies, beneficial effects in pollen- ization. Forestry. Forestry and farm designing. The need of forest planting, a planting plan, trees, and methods recommended. Special features about the farmstead. The life of a tree, the life of a forest, enemies of the forest. Recitations on the history, production, and marketing of cereal crops, potatoes, field beans, forage, and miscellaneous crops. Recitations on elementary farm accounting, selection and purchase of farms, cost and relative profit of various farm opera- tions and systems of farming. 62 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE Agricultural course for high schools.' (Western State Normal School (Hays, Kansas) Bui. v, 2, No. 3, 1910, "Educational Agriculture," p. 25 and p. 33.) Charts prepared by Josiah Main, of the Western State Normal, Hays, Kansas. Agriculture taught as applied science for the first three years of the high school; as a separate course in general agriculture the last year. Chart I shows the relation of age, development, grade, and edu- cational purpose, with agriculture projected below so as to show the corresponding development of the subject. CHART I Age . . 6 7 8 9 10 ii 12 13 H 15 16 17 18 Grade . III Primary III IV V VI VII Intermediate VIII Grammar IX XXI XII High school Stage Transi- tion Formative Adolescent Educa- tional purpose Environ- mental equilib- rium Experiences, facts, utilities, habits Principles, system, science, ideals PHASE OF SUBJECT NATURE STUDY, SCHOOL GAR- DEN, INCIDENTAL AGRICULTURE LOCAL AGRICULTURE ANALYTIC AGR. SCIENCE SYNTHETIC AGR. Genetic relation Past Present Future-present Character Cultural Economic Scientific-econ. AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM 63 CHART II The high school course in science and agriculture. (Only the course as planned for the agricultural student is shown here, though much of it is in common with the regular science course.) IX X XI XII The fundamental sciences taught with an economic application and by means of agricultural materials. Analytic and unorganized with re- gard to agriculture. Organized from the aspect of the fundamental sciences. Agriculture and science students in the same science classes. ^APPLIED SCIENCE Elementary Physics, r Geography Botany Biology, Chemistry GENERAL AGRICULTURE Soils Economic Economic Zootechny Mechanics plants insects Specialization, diversifica- Tillage Field crops Diseases tion, rotation Weather Horti- Fertility Farm equipment culture Foods and Comparative agriculture rations Improvement by selection Rural economics The subject of agricul- ture organized as a science, including materials treated ana- lytically the previous three years. Vocational ideals incul- cated. Science work continued independ- ently. Formal and extra-program agriculture (vocational electives). Farm animals, manual and technical arts, assumed services, home projects. PRACTICUM Outline a four-year course in agriculture adapted to the needs of a high school in any chosen town of your own State. Note size of town and approximate number of pupils in the high school. Give reasons for your 64 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE selection of each agricultural course and for the place chosen for it in the curriculum. Explain your choice of subjects other than agriculture to be included in the complete four-year course. REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING BRICKER, G. A. Teaching of Agriculture in the High School. Chapter 7. N. Y. Macmillan. 1911. ELLIS, A. C. Teaching of Agriculture in the Public Schools. University of Texas Bui. No. 85, Gen. Ser. No. 15. 1906. HATCH, K. L. High School Course in Agriculture. University of Wisconsin Bui. No. 441, High School Ser. No. 12. 1911. MAIN, JOSIAH. Educational Agriculture. Part 2. Western State Normal School (Hays, Kansas) Bui., vol. 2, No. 3. 1910. Organization of High School Courses of Study. National Edu- cation Association, Proceedings, 1911, pp. 1138-1152. Report of Committee on Courses of Study in Agriculture. ROBISON, C. H. Agricultural Instruction in the Public High Schools of the United States. (See index under curriculum.) N. Y. Teachers College, Columbia University. 1911. TRUE, A. C. Secondary Courses in Agriculture. Office of Experi- ment Stations Cir. 49. 1902. CHAPTER IV TEACHING METHODS TO BE EMPLOYED THE success of agriculture as a subject of study is naturally determined largely by the character of the teachers giving the work and by the methods employed. If agriculture is to be taught successfully in the high school it must be taught by one who has received special training in the science and art of agriculture, and in teaching methods. He must know his subject as thor- oughly as the teacher of history or mathematics knows his ; and he must know not only the facts but also the best means and methods of presenting them. He must, moreover, keep clearly in mind throughout the work that there are several aims to be striven for in his teaching, in addition to that of giving agricultural information. He must keep each of these aims in mind in giving the work. It should be his purpose to give not only knowl- edge but efficiency in its use ; to awaken in pupils high ideals of country life and sympathy and appreciation for the animal, plant, and physical world which so largely makes up our environment. He must, in addition, more perhaps than any other high school teacher, give attention to the special needs of his school, its pupils, p 65 66 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE and the community. He should have an intimate under- standing of the agricultural interests and needs of the surrounding district and a genuine interest in all that tends toward the welfare and agricultural prosperity of its people. Pupils taking the work of the agricultural course of the high school should acquire not only information, but the ability to apply the knowledge acquired. In addition, they should, at this formative period of their lives, acquire good habits with regard not only to farm life and work, but to natural phenomena wherever found. The high school agricultural work should give pupils information, the ability to do certain things, and prac- tice in doing them. Not less important, it should leave with them right points of view as to agricultural facts, principles, and the occupation itself, and high ideals of accuracy, order, persistence, investigation, etc. 1 That we may better understand the methods of se- curing these results from the agricultural work, we may well review briefly the ways in which knowledge and training are acquired by the high school pupil, ways which should be kept in mind by the teacher in pre- senting any subject of study. 2 We may then take up 1 Bricker, G. A., "Teaching of Agriculture in the High School," pp. 133-138- 2 De Garmo, C., "Principles of Secondary Education; Processes of Instruction." TEACHING METHODS TO BE EMPLOYED 67 these ways and means as they relate particularly to the agricultural work. Outside of school a knowledge of facts is, as we know, acquired by first-hand observation and experiment or from authoritative sources through print or by word of mouth. Both methods are employed in the acquisi- tion of knowledge in the school. The pupil gains in- formation from the teacher by word of mouth in the classroom lecture, the discussion, etc. ; from the printed page of his text and reference books ; and through experiment or observation in the laboratory or else- where. However, on account of the limited amount of time which the pupil spends in the school and the vast amount of knowledge to be acquired within a compara- tively short period, there is a tendency for the major part of the knowledge gained to come at second hand, from the teacher or the textbook. Though this is necessary to a certain extent, it is desirable to increase, so far as is possible, the amount of knowledge acquired at first hand ; for the acquisition of an undue proportion of knowledge of a subject "by authority" tends toward vagueness in and lack of understanding of the facts gained, accompanied by more or less indifference toward the subject itself. There should be, wherever possible, not only acquisition of knowledge by personal observa- tion and tests, but verification of facts received by au- 68 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE thority in the same way. In this way there is not only greater certitude of the truth of the knowledge gained, but greater vividness in its impression upon the mind. This last point is, of especial importance in the case of the high school pupil, since he goes over such a multi- tude of facts in his studies during a comparatively short period. If the facts are not vividly impressed upon his mind, they are likely to be but imperfectly understood and temporarily retained. As a result, his interest in the en- tire subject of study to which they are related is lessened. The teacher must provide, then, for the acquisition of knowledge by the pupil through authoritative sources and by personal observation. Having done this, he must teach the pupil how to observe. The high school pupil is immature and untrained and his observations apt to be very inaccurate and incomplete. He must be taught how to observe fully and accurately and must be led to see the relations of the thing observed to other things. There must be sense impression, followed by right inferences. Without both we cannot properly observe. An unbalanced admixture of inference with sense impression always results in poor observation. " If we infer too much, we think we perceive what is not true ; if we infer too little, we are of those who, ' having eyes, see not/ " 1 1 De Garmo, C., "Principles of Secondary Education; the Processes of Instruction," p. 9. TEACHING METHODS TO BE EMPLOYED 69 Yet, though much useful knowledge can be acquired by the student by observation, there are many natural phenomena in which observation alone, even when aided by the use of scientific instruments, such as the micro- scope, dissecting tools, etc., does not enable him to dis- cover facts and their relations. This is because the phe- nomena under observation are so complicated with others that the observer is unable to interpret them simply through his observations. Experiment therefore be- comes necessary, that is, the observation of the phe- nomena in question under varying and controlled condi- tions. Though the facts to be discovered by the high school pupil in his experiments are already known to his teacher and to many others, and are probably printed in many forms, yet it is desirable, and indeed necessary, that he should gain a knowledge of some facts in this way as well as by authority and observation. For he thus not only intensifies his knowledge, but also lays the foundation for scientific methods of investigation in his later school studies or life work. By his observa- tions and experiments thought is stimulated, the desire to know is increased, and personal initiative is encouraged. The high school pupil acquires knowledge of facts, then, by authority, by observation, and by experimenta- tion. To what extent and in what way each means shall be employed in a given study depends, in the high school, upon the period of development of the pupil (the adoles- 70 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE cent), the nature of the study, the amount of time given to the subject, the amount of knowledge to be acquired during that time, the degree of efficiency desired in its use, and the equipment of the school. But though the provision of suitable means for the acquisition of knowledge by the pupil is an important step in instruction, it is but a part of the work. The teacher must next lead pupils to an understanding of the facts acquired, through the processes of reasoning ; and he must provide for the development of efficiency in the use of the knowledge gained, through practice in doing. He must give the pupil facts ; he must teach him to think; and he must train him to do. Having selected materials for knowledge and provided means for their acquisition, the teacher must, by leading the student along the paths of induction and deduction, arouse and exercise and train his mind so that it shall serve him well not only in present but in future need. Yet he must not forget that to know and to think are not all of education or of life. The student must gain the ability to do. He must have practice in applying his knowledge ; his information must be made to apply to concrete things, to solve definite problems. He must gain skill in using his knowledge under different circum- stances and in many instances. Having now reviewed the different ways in which knowledge and training are acquired by high school TEACHING METHODS TO BE EMPLOYED 71 pupils, we may next consider in some detail the use of these in agricultural instruction. Through the agricultural textbook, the lecture, and the agricultural library the student gains knowledge from supposedly authoritative sources; on the field trip, in the laboratory, and on the school farm he gains much additional knowledge by observation and by experiment ; and in the laboratory and through the field work of the school farm or through agricultural work at home, he is given practice in doing, resulting finally in skill. Each of these factors in his acquisition of agricultural knowledge we shall discuss briefly, and, in addition, we shall make note of certain special agencies which have been found efficient as aids in high school work in agriculture. To save time and effort, it is considered desirable in most high school courses to use a textbook as a basis for instruction. But there are few, if any, really satis- factory textbooks for high school agriculture in exis- tence. What texts we have are nearly all general in nature, covering a one-year course treating of a vast number of farm topics. Such books include both too much and too little. Their authors seem to have made the effort to cover, in a single volume, the agriculture of the world, from cotton growing to landscape gardening. All the materials included are necessarily, therefore, treated in a very elementary way or insufficiently ex- plained; and frequently a large part of the book deals 72 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE with crops and conditions of little or no interest in the particular community where agriculture is being taught in the high school. Others of these general agricultural books, advertised and used as high school texts, are really suitable only for the upper grades. Instead of helping gain the pupil's attention and interest they only too frequently prejudice him against agricultural work and give him the idea that it is not a subject worth study. Still others, though perhaps having certain merits as to the mate- rials included, are carelessly written and poorly arranged. There is little use in the high school for a general one- year agricultural course which treats of all farm subjects, crops, animals, products, etc. Such a course is almost inevitably a mere hodge-podge of agricultural facts of more or less importance, giving but little valuable train- ing or skill in the application of knowledge. 1 Therefore, we do not need or want, for the regular agricultural work of the high school, the kind of agricultural text- book which is universal in character, including all farm topics in one volume. 2 We do need well written, care- 1 However, in a few schools where a general survey of agriculture as a fundamental industry is all that it seems advisable to give on account of the greater local importance of other industries, such a course may prove desirable, provided no college entrance credit is expected or given for it. But if the work is to be of any value it must be very carefully selected and limited. 2 Such a book, with materials carefully selected and arranged, may, however, prove useful under the special circumstances mentioned under note i. TEACHING METHODS TO BE EMPLOYED 73 fully arranged textbooks, adapted to the comprehension of high school pupils, on each of the subjects of a well- organized course in secondary agriculture, as agron- omy or beginning agriculture, dairy work, horticulture, etc. In each of these the fundamental facts and prin- ciples of the subject written about should be as scien- tifically treated and their explanation as clearly and logi- cally expressed as is the case in the best secondary textbooks of the other sciences now commonly taught in the high school. Unfortunately, there is at present, as has been said, a great dearth both of suitable texts and of laboratory manuals. There are, to be sure, one or two fairly satis- factory texts in dairying ; but for high school horticul- ture, farm management, etc., there is nothing. As a result, teachers are sometimes found using as high school texts books totally unsuited to the work they are trying to do. Elementary botanies are used in place of a be- ginning agriculture or agronomy text. Textbooks suit- able only for the use of college students are used in farm management and other special agricultural courses. Naturally, the results are almost inevitably unsatisfac- tory. Rather than use a poor text, the instructor should get along with none, utilizing the classroom lecture and reading references to agricultural books and bulletins in place of this means of acquiring knowledge. And even though there may be a satisfactory text 74 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE which is used, the classroom talk or lecture and the agricultural library (see Chapter V) must be resorted to to supplement the text. For no high school agricultural text can be expected to contain the precise materials which will be advisable for all schools, wherever located. 1 Moreover, the good instructor will find it necessary to give frequent references to such books and bulletins of the agricultural library as deal with the topics taken up by the class, not only to supplement the work of the textbook, but to familiarize the pupil with the best in agricultural literature and to accustom him to using it. The lecture should be utilized by the teacher to give to his pupils information on topics which seem insuffi- ciently treated in the text, on additional topics which seem especially important locally, and to sum up or explain agricultural facts not given in any available book or bulletin in form suitable for the comprehension of his pupils. Logically arranged, clearly expressed classroom talks or lectures, illustrated whenever possible by objects, demonstrations, lantern pictures, etc., may be made a most fruitful and pleasant source of knowledge for the student, summing up, explaining, emphasizing, 1 This is true because of the nature of the subject. A carefully written elementary text in one of the pure sciences may be equally suited, ex- actly as it is, to almost all high schools. The agricultural text, treating largely of applied science, cannot be so universally satisfactory in the materials and practicums included. TEACHING METHODS TO BE EMPLOYED 75 and vivifying the work of the course, and inspiring the student with interest and enthusiasm. Accompanying the textbook, lecture, and agricultural library work must come appropriate laboratory work, field trips or excursions, and practice work on the school farm or at home. Through these the principles or facts studied can be observed, tested, or put in practice. In the laboratory, exercises may be performed by which the student discovers for himself some agricultural truth or verifies a statement read or heard. Or the pupil may observe demonstrations or experiments performed by the teacher before the class to teach definite principles. All of these should not only be closely and accurately observed by the pupil, but they should be carefully re- corded. By this means not only are the things observed fixed firmly in mind, but, most important of all, the abil- ity to observe completely and accurately is gradually formed. Moreover, in these records there is provided incentive and material for reflection on the relations of the things observed to other things, and by such records further observation is stimulated. As has been said, we have as yet almost no laboratory manuals suited to high school agricultural work, and but few good exercises have been formulated and printed in textbooks or bulletins. This is not because there is a dearth of material, for the opposite is the case, but because little study has been given to the working out 76 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE of clear, concise, and logical series of practicums. These will doubtless come in time, as better textbooks will come. Indeed, the lack of good textbooks probably largely explains the lack of series of good laboratory exercises. For laboratory exercises are designed to accompany and explain and emphasize the various topics of a subject as taken up in a textbook or by the teacher in lectures. Where there is no text, and the outlining of each course is still largely a matter of individual option, the scarcity of logical series of practicums is natural. The task of providing them falls, then, to the individual teacher as he works out the special course to be given ; and only too frequently lack of time and inadequacy of equip- ment are felt by him to be sufficient excuse for allowing this phase of his work to be very inferior. Every agri- cultural teacher should make a special effort to bring this feature of each of his courses up to the mark of its full usefulness. He should see to it that the agricultural laboratory is as completely equipped (according to its needs) as any other science laboratory; and he should secure from all available sources, or work out himself for his class, laboratory practicums to accompany and elucidate the work of the classroom. But though the laboratory is a very important source of information for the pupil, the agricultural teacher should not forget that probably the most valuable il- lustrative material which he can use is to be found in the TEACHING METHODS TO BE EMPLOYED 77 community surrounding his school. He should use not only the school equipment in the way of books, appa- ratus, and grounds, but he should draw as much as is profit- able from the surrounding community. Field trips or ex- cursions should be made by classes to near-by farms to observe farm operations, to see and to study farm stock, and to observe the growing of crops under different con- ditions. There pupils may observe agricultural facts and see agricultural principles demonstrated. Through their observations they may be led to understand the reasons for success and failure in agricultural work. Good farmers may be asked to explain their operations to pupils; or they may be induced to bring animals to the school to be studied by the classes in agri- culture when it is not convenient for the students to go to the farms. The towns or village barns and poultry yards, the butcher shops, livery stables, farm implement houses, and many other business places will also be found to furnish valuable illustrative material. The teacher should familiarize himself with those re- sources of the community which can be profitably uti- lized by him in his teaching and should select from the wealth of material offered such as will be most helpful. Whenever possible he should see to it that the school work touches actual experience and conditions; and wherever possible he should make use of the experiences 78 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE and businesses of the community. 1 When a principle of agriculture is being studied that does not readily lend itself to illustration outside of the schoolroom, the laboratory must be utilized, with its specially prepared apparatus for experiments, demonstrations, etc. But the valuable illustrative material outside of the school should never be forgotten or neglected. However, if the field trip is to be of any great value, it must be more carefully planned than is usually the case. The teacher must know definitely what he expects to show to his pupils and what he expects them to do, to observe, and to learn. He should know whether the con- ditions of the route gone over or place visited are such that a trip will really be of value. Proprietors of places to be visited should understand just when students are coming and the purpose of the trip ; and no unwelcome visits should be made. Pupils should understand what they are expected to do and to observe before starting on a trip. Each student should be assigned a definite piece of work in collecting material, observing, etc., to be reported upon later. This work, though allotted sufficient time and opportunity for accomplishment, should leave the pupil little time to waste. He should be kept on the alert throughout the trip. Order should 1 Crosby, D. J., "Use of Illustrative Material in Teaching Agricul- ture in Rural Schools." U. S. Department of Agriculture Yearbook, 1905, pp. 257-274. TEACHING METHODS TO BE EMPLOYED 79 prevail on the trip as in the classroom or laboratory. It is a different kind of order, to be sure, but it should be maintained. Having provided for the acquisition of facts, we must next provide for their application. For this a greenhouse and experimental grounds or a school farm are necessary. Here the pupil puts into practice information gained, deals with actual problems at first hand, and achieves concrete results. In the greenhouse he himself propa- gates plants by the various methods of which he has read or which he has observed. In the school garden he works the soil, deals with the varying conditions which affect plant life, and learns personal lessons of failure and success. On the school farm he uses farm machinery, cares for live stock, prunes, sprays, and grafts trees, and puts in operation the thousand and one things which he has learned in the classroom, the laboratory, or by ob- servation on field trips or elsewhere. Through repetition of this doing, that is, by practice, he not only acquires skill in the application of his knowledge, but learns many things which he would be apt to miss if only schoolroom work and field trips were provided for in the agricultural studies. By practice work is developed that self-confi- dence which is so important an element in success in any line ; reason, foresight, and judgment are exercised ; and enthusiasm for agricultural study is intensified. Rules for field work must of course be sufficiently 80 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE fixed and definite, so that students will be held to good methods and thus acquire good habits of work; yet they should not be too fixed and definite. Students should be encouraged to discover new and improved ways of doing things ; originality should not be crushed. In addition to its usefulness in the ways mentioned, the school farm, through its experiments in the growth of newly introduced plants, in plant breeding, or in farm methods, may give the student an opportunity to take a part in valuable investigational work. He may thus be led to attempt original experiments and to acquire a permanent interest in such work. But agricultural practice work may be carried on at home as well as at school. Pupils should be encouraged to attack individual problems in agricultural work and to carry them to a conclusion in home experiments. For not only is information and training thus acquired,- but the power of taking the initiative is developed, self- reliance is cultivated, the value of labor is demonstrated, and the advantages of special knowledge are empha- sized. Lastly, we may well note some special aids which have been found helpful in increasing the efficiency of school work in agriculture. One of these is the organization of an agricultural club. 1 At the meetings of such a club, 1 Howe, F. W., "Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Clubs," Farmers' Bui. 385. TEACHING METHODS TO BE EMPLOYED 8l which are usually freely open to all pupils and adver- tized in local papers, prominent farmers or others in- terested in agriculture are invited to speak; or the members take charge of the meeting themselves and give a more or less agricultural program. Contests may or may not form a part of the work of the club. In the Middle West, corn-growing clubs have been especially popular. These are associations of boys who enter a competition to determine which can grow the most or the best corn on a certain area of ground under defi- nite rules of planting, cultivation, and exhibition of their product. Cotton-growing clubs undertake similar competitions in certain parts of the South. For girls these contests frequently take the form of joint contests with boys in gardening or poultry raising, though they may very profitably deal with various other problems. Many such clubs are found in rural districts and many are organized in connection with the upper grades in town. In other cases they have no connection with the local schools, but are organized by officials of the extension department of the state agricultural college or by others interested. The agricultural club has also been profitably utilized as a part of the agricultural work and activities of the high school, and may well be made use of more widely. In connection with the club work, exhibits of products raised by members may be shown at school exhibits, 82 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE county and local fairs, etc. Specimens of fruits, vege- tables, and grains raised locally may be collected by members and preserved in glass jars as part of a per- manent collection to be secured by the school for illus- trative purposes. Weed seeds, specimens of injurious insects, etc., may be collected and put in properly la- beled bottles or cases for the same purpose. Many other kinds of work may also be taken up, and social intercourse should not be neglected. The club will thus not only accomplish useful results, but it will bring persons interested in the same things into pleasant con- tact and intimacy, connect the school life closely with the home and social life of pupils, and serve as one means of making school patrons feel that something worth while is being done along agricultural lines in the school. So far we have dealt only with agricultural instruction for the school pupils. In addition, the high school agri- cultural department may well undertake what is known as community work that is, work with the commu- nity at large with the men and women on the farms and the boys and girls who cannot attend school regu- larly. Though such work is not directly for the school pupils it reacts very favorably on the school work and increases its efficiency. It is therefore not out of place to consider it here. This new work resembles the extension work carried on by the colleges, but differs from it in that the work TEACHING METHODS TO BE EMPLOYED 83 in the high school deals with people at first hand, while the college often treats them at the length of the state. Some of the forms of community work now practiced in agricultural high schools or by agricultural depart- ments in the regular high schools are, as outlined so admirably by D. J. Crosby and B. H. Crocheron in the 1910 Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, those given below. 1 i: Work with farmers, as winter lecture courses on agriculture, corn and potato shows, field and orchard demonstrations, home experiments, good seed distribu- tion, seed and milk testing, preparing plans for buildings, and selecting and purchasing improved live stock and farm machinery. 2. Work with farm women, as afternoon or evening meetings and short courses at the school, house-to- house meetings, and home garden and poultry experi- ments. 3. Work with young people, as short courses in agri- culture and home economics, literary societies, and nature-study clubs. 4. Work with rural school teachers, as meetings for agricultural instruction, nature-study rambles, at- tendance at school fairs and rallies, and outline lessons 1 Crosby, D. J., and Crocheron, B. H., "Community Work in the Rural High School." U. S. Department of Agriculture Yearbook, 1910, pp. i87-i88a. 84 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE in agriculture and home economics published in local educational journals. 5. Work with rural school children, as boys' agricul- tural clubs, girls' domestic science clubs, summer vaca- tion encampments, rural improvement field days, and athletic field days. All these forms of community work have been carried on by high schools in various parts of the country with great success. No one school will ordinarily be able to carry on all the lines of work, but each school can select those forms of community work which, it seems, will prove most helpful for the surrounding community. The agricultural high school may well undertake at least some one form of community work with each of the five classes of persons mentioned. In the ordinary high school in which the agricultural work is but one depart- ment, and there are only one or two agricultural instruc- tors, it will probably be necessary to confine the work to one or two kinds of endeavor. The work to be done in any case and the special methods to be employed depend largely upon local conditions, such as the needs of the people, the size of the school, and the time avail- able to instructors for such work. No definite rules can be laid down. Such work adds to the work of the agricultural teacher, and it may be argued that it is unjust to burden him with it. But while it does take time and energy, TEACHING METHODS TO BE EMPLOYED 85 it will greatly help the teacher in gaining the interest and cooperation of the community in the actual school work. Frequently it results in definite and concrete help. Farmers make a special effort to cooperate with the school, to furnish illustrative material for the school work, and to assist in making field trips profitable for pupils. It is also said that such work requires special ability and preparation. This has not proved to be the case, however. Any agricultural teacher who is really fitted to teach high school pupils is fitted to undertake some community work. The only agricultural teaching that is worth while is that which can stand the test of practice. If the teacher's schoolroom theories will not stand the scrutiny and test of the farmers of the community, he has no business to be teaching their children. If the agri- cultural information of the teacher is broad and thor- ough, he will find that farmers will be very responsive to his efforts to help them. The farmer of to-day is, in general, desirous of learning new and improved agri- cultural methods. The high school agricultural teacher is in a most admirable position to assist him. He is familiar with, local conditions and needs, and lives in the community to be served. It should be far easier for him to plan an interesting institute, short course, series of lectures, or home experiments, than for an outsider at the state capitol, the university, or elsewhere, 86 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE not so familiar with conditions, though the outsider may be a very able man. PRACTICUM Examine carefully ten agricultural textbooks intended for high school use. Write a brief critical estimate of each. REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING BRICKER, G. A. Teaching of Agriculture in the High School. Chapters 8 and 9. N. Y. Macmillan. 1911. BUTTON, H. F. Short Courses and Extension Work in Agriculture for High Schools in the South. National Society for the Study of Education. Eleventh Yearbook. 1912. Part 2. pp. 75-82. Course in Agriculture for the High Schools of Michigan. Michigan Agricultural College, Department of Agricultural Education Bui. 7. 1911. CRANE, F. R. Short Courses and Extension Work in Agriculture for High Schools in the North. National Society for the Study of Education. Eleventh Yearbook. 1912. Part 2. pp. 83-90. . CROSBY, D. J. Use of Illustrative Material in Teaching Agri- culture in Rural Schools. U. S. Department of Agriculture Yearbook, pp. 257-274. 1905. CROSBY, D. J., and CROCHERON, B. H. Community Work in the Rural High School. U. S. Department of Agriculture Year- book, pp. i77-i88a. 1910. DAVIS, B. M. Agricultural Education. Chapters 12 and 14. Chic. University of Chicago Press. 1912. HOWE, F. W. Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Clubs. Farmers' Bui. 385. HURD, W. D. Course in Agriculture for High Schools in Maine. TEACHING METHODS TO BE EMPLOYED 87 Arranged and compiled under the direction of the State Superintendent of Public Schools. Waterville. Sentinel Pub. Co. 1909. Minnesota Department of Public Instruction Bui. 38. Outlines for Secondary Courses in Agriculture. 1912. New York State Education Department. Syllabus for Agricul- ture in Secondary Schools. 1910. CHAPTER V EQUIPMENT THE equipment needed for the teaching of agriculture in the high school will of course depend upon the size of the school and the amount and nature of the agri- cultural work to be given. It may be simple and com- paratively inexpensive, or very extensive and costly, depending upon conditions and needs. But whatever the conditions, the equipment must be adequate if the teaching is to be effective. There has, in the past, been too much teaching of agriculture without sufficient equipment; and this has explained its failure or only partial success in certain cases. There has been too much said in commendation of going to the rubbish pile for old tin cans, bottles, paint pails, etc., and the use of makeshifts in carrying on the agricultural work of the high school. It should be remembered that it takes time and labor to get these things ready for use in the laboratory; they are only partially satisfactory when used ; and, to say the least, they do not make an attract- ive laboratory. They may be made to serve in cases where it is the rubbish heap or nothing, to be sure, but their use should not be emphasized as it has been in the past. EQUIPMENT 89 Agriculture requires a definite special equipment as well as do the other sciences ; and it should be provided. There is no more reason why agriculture should be taught " without funds and without equipment" than that chemistry be taught in that way. The necessity of adequate equipment for chemistry, physics, etc., is recognized. This should also be true with regard to agriculture. Yet even when the needs of adequate agricultural equipment are recognized, it is frequently said that the equipment for the pure sciences must come first ; and after these are provided for there are usually no funds left for agriculture. Yet in only too many schools where this excuse is made, money has been really wasted on the equipment for the physical sciences; that is, the equipment has been injudiciously selected. Money has been spent not only for the necessary ma- terials and apparatus, but for very expensive apparatus, probably used but once a year, perhaps less often, and sometimes for comparatively unimportant experiments. If the equipment for the common high school sciences were judiciously selected, there would, in many cases, not only be more money available for the equipment of the new work in agriculture, but the pure science laboratories themselves would be quite as effectively fitted. It is true, however, that adequate provision for agri- cultural teaching in the high school requires a greater QO MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE expenditure than does any one of the other sciences. To equip and to maintain an agricultural department properly requires more money than is required for a pure science. Provision must be made for both indoor and outdoor work. Teachers of vocational work are obliged to have a combination of practical and theo- retical training and must not only be paid more than skilled workers in the vocation which they are teaching, but more than the teacher of a non-vocational subject. Instruction in agriculture or any other vocational subject cannot be as widely introduced or as efficiently carried on as is desirable in this country if supported only by local or private enterprise. Nor is it right that it should be so supported. The pupils of our public schools do not necessarily settle in their own community to live their lives or do their life work. Conditions are such that they may easily go from one locality to another from one state to another. A boy vocationally trained in the schools of one community may benefit another community by his skill and thrift. All communities, all states, should be equally interested in vocational training. It has been shown that this kind of training is as necessary for the best prosperity of our nation as is the training afforded by the old system of education. The states should therefore contribute to the support of these vocational courses in the public schools. It is even asserted that the national government itself may EQUIPMENT 91 legitimately be called upon to aid this form of educa- tion. 1 It already contributes to vocational education in engineering and agriculture in the colleges. It is both desirable and expedient that it should contribute to the work farther down the line. The Davis bill, introduced in Congress in 1910, and the Page bill of 1911 were efforts to secure federal aid for high school instruction in agriculture. Several states are already contributing to the support of the agricultural work, not only in special schools but in the regular high schools where such work is intro- duced. 2 Other states must inevitably fall in line as soon 1 Snedden, David, "Problem of Vocational Education," p. 67. 2 For example, in 1910 the Legislature of New York State passed an act providing that any public school above the elementary grades that established industrial training shall receive from the state $500 for each independently organized school or department of agriculture, mechanic arts, or home-making employing a teacher for that work exclusively, and $200 for each additional teacher. In 1908 the Virginia Legislature made an appropriation of $20,000 per year for two years, to enable the State Board of Education to estab- lish industrial courses in at least one public high school in each congres- sional district. Nearly all of the money went to established high schools. In 1910 the appropriation was increased to $30,000 annually, and, for the year 1912, $25,000 was appropriated for buildings and equipment for these schools and $10,000 for extension work carried on by them. The Putnam Act, passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 1909, pro- vided state aid to the amount of $2500 to each of ten high schools, or consolidated rural schools, which would maintain suitably equipped agri- cultural and industrial departments. The state pays two-thirds the ex- pense to maintain such departments, but not to exceed $2500 each year to each school. By legislative act of 1911, the number of schools aided Q2 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE as the profitable nature of such state investment in indus- trial education is more fully realized. For, as stated by was increased. The Benson-Lee Act of 191 1 gives $1000 each to fifty other Minnesota high schools for maintaining satisfactory courses in agriculture. In 1910 the Legislature of Louisiana passed a law for the encourage- ment of agricultural teaching in high schools and voted $50,000 for the period 1912-1913 for aid to schools maintaining a course approved by the State Board of Education. In 1911 Kansas made an appropriation of $50,000 for 1912-1913, for the purpose of granting $250 state aid to each high school that estab- lished a one-year course in agriculture, and a one-year course in domes- tic science. The Maine Legislature has provided that any free high school or incorporated academy in the state maintaining an approved course in manual training, domestic science, or agriculture shall be entitled to re- ceive annually from the state a sum equal to two-thirds the amount ex- pended for such instruction up to $500. The Maryland Legislature provides state aid for agriculture and other industrial subjects in two classes of high schools. In schools with at least eighty high school pupils and a four-year course of study the state gives $400 towards the salary of each of two special teachers, and to schools with at least thirty-five high school pupils and a three-year course of study, $400 towards the salary of one special teacher. The Massachusetts Legislature has appropriated $10,000 per year to aid in the support of vocational agricultural departments in selected high schools. Towns providing such approved departments will be re- imbursed by the state to the extent of two-thirds of the amount of sala- ries paid to agricultural instructors. The North Dakota Legislature provides for state aid to the amount of $2500 annually to each high, graded, and consolidated school to establish and maintain a department of agriculture and other industrial subjects. A requirement is that the school have at least ten acres of land suitable for a school garden and purposes of demonstration. Funds have not been available for this state aid up to 1913. The new school code of Pennsylvania requires that all township high EQUIPMENT 93 Dr. True, "If literary education has been a profitable investment for the American public, industrial educa- tion is likely to prove a bonanza." In discussing the agricultural equipment of the high school we may perhaps most profitably consider it under four heads: (i) the laboratory; (2) the school farm; (3) the agricultural library ; and (4) illustrative exhibits. In addition, the community surrounding the school also affords valuable materials for study by agricultural students, and these should be utilized as far as is profit- able ; but since none of these outside illustrative mate- rials have to be purchased by the school or belong to the school, we shall not consider them here. The purpose of the laboratory and its equipment is to furnish a workroom and means for demonstrating agricultural truths and performing exercises through which students discover agricultural truths for them- schools receiving state aid must teach agriculture in a manner accept- able to the State Department of Public Instruction. The amount re- ceived varies from $400 to $800 annually. Texas authorizes public high schools to teach agriculture, manual training, and domestic economy and appropriated $50,000 to aid in es- tablishing such departments during 1912-1913. It gives not more than $2000 to any one school during the year, and such appropriation shall not be made more than twice to the same school. Wisconsin provides state aid to the amount of $250 annually for each department of manual training, domestic science, or agriculture estab- lished in connection with any free high school. Where such departments are also maintained in the three grades next below the high school, $350 annually may be received. 94 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE selves or verify facts learned from the text or the teacher. In order that the work may be properly performed, the room and its furnishings should be suitable and all needed apparatus and materials should be provided. Certain of the materials and apparatus used in the physical and biological laboratories may form the basis of that used in the agricultural courses. Not all the equipment needed for chemistry, botany, physical geog- raphy, physics, etc., is needed in the agricultural work, but certain kinds of apparatus and materials used in each of the pure sciences commonly taught in the high school are needed in the work of the agricultural laboratory. In the case of these, a list of the kinds and amount of materials needed may be made out annually or oftener by the agricultural instructor and given to the principal or the heads of the various science departments, when it may be added to their orders and used as needed by the agricultural department. Or the agricultural de- partment may order these separately. The same is true of the apparatus needed by both the agricultural and some other departments, as, for example, micro- scopes, needed by both the botany or zoology and the agricultural departments. In most schools it will probably be found not only a matter of economy to have the same apparatus serve two teaching departments of the school but also perfectly satisfactory as regards use. However, where there is any doubt as to apparatus EQUIPMENT 95 properly serving the two or more teaching departments, the apparatus should be duplicated. The agricultural laboratory will, however, need other materials and apparatus in addition to those used in common with other departments. Some of these must be purchased, but others may be obtained by a little work and trouble. Soil samples for study and experi- ment may be had for the trouble of collecting them. Many ordinary farm seeds may be secured from the school farm or from farmers of the district. Their collection and preparation for use by students will be both a matter of economy for the school and of educa- tion for the student. Of the special agricultural appara- tus, it will be necessary to purchase such items as the Babcock tester, the cream scale, soil thermometers, and some others. But many needed things can be made by students of the manual training department of the school or by the agricultural students themselves. How- ever, the time and labor of students should be used for making apparatus only when such work will have some educative or training value. If it has no such value, the apparatus should be purchased or some one hired to make it. One large agricultural laboratory, properly fitted, may be made to serve for all the agricultural courses of the ordinary high school with the exception of dairying. For this a special cement-floor room should be provided, 96 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE properly equipped with the necessary appliances of the modern dairy. In a large school it would perhaps be desirable to have a special agronomy laboratory, a farm management laboratory, and so on; but one room equipped for work in the different courses may be made to serve very well, and usually this is all that can be provided. If possible, the laboratory should be near the ground, with easy access to the outside of the building, to a greenhouse, and to a workroom where grosser materials than those suited to the laboratory may be handled. This workroom may be connected with the greenhouse or may be in the school building, if provided with an out- side door. In some climates a greenhouse may not be necessary, if a lath or canvas house is substituted for it. One of the three is necessary, however, for any school giving agricultural work of any extent in plant propaga- tion and similar work. Adjacent to the laboratory there should be a small room properly fitted with cabinets, shelves, etc., for the storage of apparatus and supplies. The laboratory and its fittings should be such as to meet the requirements of the various kinds of agricultural experiment or demonstration work (botanical, chemical, etc.). Ample space and accommodations should be provided for work by all the individuals in a class. The room should be well lighted. There should be suitable desks, tables, chairs, a blackboard, drawers, shelves, EQUIPMENT 97 lockers, sinks, etc., for the work in soil physics, plant growth and development, and other studies. Either gas burners or alcohol lamps should be provided in sufficient numbers to supply each worker in the labora- tory. Drawing tables should be furnished either here or elsewhere for the use of students in farm architecture, general farm management, and for certain phases of the work in other subjects. All laboratory supplies for the year should, as far as possible, be secured and in readiness for use at the open- ing of the school year. In making up a list of laboratory supplies for the agricultural work, the teacher should go over carefully the outline of the work of each course to be given and note what apparatus and materials will be needed, at the same time determining the probable amount. In doing this he will be greatly aided by the lists of laboratory supplies for agricultural courses published in connection with printed outlines of work in different schools, by the lists accompanying syllabi of state education departments, in bulletins published by agricultural education departments of colleges, in textbooks, laboratory manuals, and in the catalogues of reliable school supply houses. But though these will be helpful, local conditions and needs and the special work planned must determine the supplies to be secured. A second essential in the agricultural equipment of a high school is a school farm. The purpose of the school 98 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE farm is, among other things, to serve as a place where farm crops can be grown for illustrative purposes and where practice work can be done by agricultural students. Though frequently lacking, it is a very necessary part of the agricultural equipment. The weak point in vo- cational training in the schools has been practice work. While strong in its ability to impart the theory or ab- stract phases of a vocation, the school has not given proper attention to training in doing, and for that reason its vocational work has often lacked effectiveness. The school farm may be large or small, depending on needs and on the funds available for its purchase and maintenance. It should be distinct from the lawn and playgrounds immediately surrounding the school, though it may be adjacent to them. The general over- sight of these grounds will probably fall to the agricul- tural department, and students will doubtless do some work on them. But their real purpose is to serve as a setting for the school building and for the general recreation of students. They should illustrate perma- nently and pleasingly the elementary principles of landscape gardening and should present at all times a well-cared-for, attractive appearance. A part of the grounds should be set aside for sports and recreation of various kinds ; but they should not be made to serve the purpose of a school farm or be confused with it. The size, buildings, equipment, and use of the school EQUIPMENT 99 farm or agricultural grounds will depend upon many factors which we shall not discuss here. (See Chapter XII.) It should be stated, however, that the farm should be of sufficient size and suitable equipment to provide for a wide range of practice work for students, adapted to the work of the different agricultural courses. It should have buildings adequate for storage of tools, housing of live stock owned by the school, a greenhouse or lath house, and a room or shop for farm mechanics work, repair of tools, etc. Certain other buildings, such as a farm dwelling, are also desirable, if the size of the farm warrants them. A third important part of the equipment of the high school giving agricultural courses is found in its agri- cultural library. Ordinarily, too little attention is given to it. It should be shelved with the other books of the high school library in a quiet, well-lighted room set apart for the purpose. This room should be supplied with chairs and tables, where books and bulletins can be consulted in comfort and periodicals looked over. All books should be carefully classified (preferably by the Dewey decimal classification system which is commonly used in public libraries), and a complete card catalogue, including author and subject entries, should be available for consultation. The book shelves should be neat and well made, uniform in character, and such that all books are easily accessible to students. 100 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE If there is a large collection of bulletins and circulars of the various state experiment stations and the na- tional Department of Agriculture, they should be ar- ranged in order by number under the proper bureau, office, or station, and each set given a classification num- ber. They should then be catalogued fully in order that the valuable material contained may be readily accessible. The bulletins should be kept in pamphlet boxes or in temporary binders until a certain number, or publications covering a certain period, have been acquired. They may then be bound permanently. However, if the bulletin collection is very small and scattered, each may be put in a manila cover, classified and catalogued in the same way as a book. Agricultural periodicals, if of but temporary interest, may be saved for a few months and then disposed of as the teacher sees fit. If of permanent value, they may be bound every six months or every year. The catalogue and care of the agricultural library will probably not fall to the agricultural teacher, but to the school librarian or to some other teacher to whom li- brary duties are assigned. These suggestions are not out of place, however, for the agricultural teacher should know how to care for the agricultural book collection. Both books and bulletins should be generously supplied in the agricultural library ; and some agricultural papers and periodicals should be received regularly. The book EQUIPMENT . ! . "COI list should be well balanced, including books on all the various subjects of instruction, animal hus- bandry, field crops, horticulture, general plant study, farm management, etc. Books should be well written, up-to-date, and, as far as possible, adapted to the com- prehension of high school pupils. Certain books quite beyond the student may, however, be included in the library for the teacher's use, that he may select mate- rial from them and present it to students in suitable form. Before selecting his book list, the teacher should go over the agricultural studies to be taught and make a note of the more important publications on the topics of instruction suited to the needs of his students. He may also secure lists of books in other high school agri- cultural libraries to help him in selection. Many such lists, together with " model," or especially recommended, lists, may be found printed in bulletins of agricultural education departments of colleges, in syllabi of state education departments, etc. Excellent short lists of reference material are frequently found in books and bulletins on special topics, as, for example, that on corn at the end of Farmers' Bulletin 409, that on tree litera- ture at the end of California Circular 59, and others. The catalogues and announcement lists of the various book firms should also be secured regularly, and those agricultural books which promise to be of most value IQ2 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE should be examined as soon as possible to determine whether their purchase for the school will be advisable. Having made out the list of books desired, the agri- cultural teacher will probably find that funds are avail- able for the purchase of only a small part of them. He must then choose from his lists such as are most needed for immediate purchase, and secure the others as soon as funds are available. Fortunately, much valuable material for the agricul- tural library can be secured free, in the form of bulletins and circulars. The agricultural teacher should write to the state experiment station and ask to have the school placed on the mailing list, that it may receive regularly all bulletins and circulars of the station as issued. He should secure, from the United States Department of Agriculture, the " Monthly List of Department Publi- cations," and the " Monthly List of Experiment Station Publications," both of which are sent regularly to all who apply for them. In addition, he should secure from the department Circular 2 of the Division of Pub- lications, entitled " Publications for Free Distribution"; Division of Publications Circular 3, " Publications for Sale" ; Office of Experiment Stations Circular 94, "Free Publications of the Department of Agriculture, classified for the Use of Teachers" ; and Office of Experiment Sta- tions Bulletin 180, "List of Publications of the Agricul- EQUIPMENT 103 tural Experiment Stations, ... to June 30, 1906." From the last four of these he will be able to select such bulletins and circulars as have been published in pre- vious years and as are suited to his needs. The "List of Publications of the Agricultural Experiment Stations" will, however, have to be brought up-to-date by con- sulting the monthly list from June, 1906, to date. By means of the two first-named lists the teacher will be enabled to note all new publications of the experi- ment stations and the national agricultural department as they are printed and may send for such as he desires for his school library. Many publications of value to the high school agri- cultural teacher are issued by state departments of edu- cation, state agricultural boards, etc. All such are listed, together with many others, in a monthly publication issued by the United States Library of Congress, Divi- sion of Documents, entitled a "Monthly List of State Publications." As to the periodicals and papers to be secured for the school agricultural library, free copies will very likely be donated by the publishers of some of those desired. The others may be subscribed for by the school, or by agricultural classes. The quality of such periodicals as are found on the library tables should be of the best. It is far better to have one good periodical or paper than a dozen poorly written ones, perhaps including much 104 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE inaccurate material. There should be at least one periodical or paper of special local or state interest agriculturally, another dealing largely with the leading interest of the community (as horticulture in a horticul- tural district, dairying in a dairy district, etc.), and others of general scope. The school should also receive, with- out fail, the Department of Agriculture periodical, "The Experiment Station Record," which gives monthly reviews of station and government bulletins, of circu- lars on agricultural topics, and of important periodical articles and books on agricultural chemistry, field crops, horticulture, zootechny, dairying, veterinary medicine, agricultural education, rural engineering, and related topics. The agricultural library should, then, be comprehen- sive, up-to-date, properly arranged and cared for. It must also be used. Students must be instructed in the use of books and bulletins and their attention frequently directed to the agricultural library. Noteworthy arti- cles in periodicals should be mentioned in class as soon after the periodicals have been received as opportu- nity offers. In every way possible the student should be led to appreciate the value of good agricultural literature, to understand how to use it and to know its sources. Frequently the public library of a town is very glad to cooperate with teachers in any way possible, and if the library funds of the school are inadequate and it is im- EQUIPMENT 105 possible to secure for the school all the books which are needed, the public library may be induced to buy at least single copies of books, and in some cases dupli- cates. Students may then be referred to the books in the public library and be sent there to do reading occa- sionally. Last in our consideration of the agricultural equipment of a high school, but by no means unimportant, come illustrative exhibits. Fortunately, these usually cost little but time and care. Provision must be made, however, for suitable cabinets, shelves, cases, etc., for preserving the exhibits. If a small room of suitable size is available, it may be properly equipped and the ex- hibits may be kept there ; or a portion of the library may perhaps be used ; or they may be stored in a part of the agricultural classroom, or even, if necessary, in the school corridors. The exhibits will naturally differ in every school. They should include many illustrative materials that will be helpful in the instruction in agriculture and that may not otherwise be available when needed. Specimens of local farm products, properly preserved, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, etc., should be included, as also ex- hibits of some of the more important agricultural prod- ucts raised elsewhere. If possible, it is desirable to have each kind of product represented by several differ- ent varieties. Exhibits of soil samples, injurious insects, 106 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE weed seeds, economic seeds, and mounted specimens of troublesome weeds should find a place in the collection. Mounted illustrations or photographs of farm buildings, with plans, may well be included, as also models of farm buildings, building specifications, etc. Pictures of farm machinery, plans for the layout of farms, and many other useful exhibits will suggest themselves. Excellent educational exhibits, valuable as illustrative material for agricultural classes, may frequently be se- cured free of charge from the manufacturers of certain products. Examples of these are the exhibit of cereal products prepared by the Postum Cereal Co., Battle Creek, Mich. ; that of corn products prepared by the Corn Products Refining Co., Chicago, HI. ; and that of cattle products which can be secured from Morris and Co., Union Stock Yards, Chicago. All exhibits should, of course, be carefully labeled, arranged, and catalogued. They may then be readily noted in class work and referred to easily by students. The exhibits should be kept up-to-date just as care- fully as is the agricultural library. Useful material should be watched for and added as opportunity offers. The materials preserved should be really valuable in illustrating the agricultural teaching of the school and should be referred to at every opportunity that they may become familiar to students. EQUIPMENT 107 PRACTICUMS 1. After study and comparison of the various ways in which state aid is given to agriculture in the public high schools of the United States, outline the legislation along this line that you consider best suited to needs and con- ditions in your own State. 2. Make a $50 list of books for the agricultural library of a high school of approximately one hundred pupils, where a full four-year course in agriculture is given, in- cluding beginning agriculture or agronomy, animal industry, horticulture, farm mechanics, and farm man- agement. Select four agricultural periodicals to be subscribed for regularly in such a school. REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING BARTO, D. 0. The Proper Equipment of an Agricultural High School. U. S. Bur. of Education, 1912 Bui. No. 6. pp. 20-27. DAVIS, B. M. Agricultural Education. Chapters 3, 4, 8, and 9. Chic. University of Chicago Press. 1912. ELLIFF, J. D. Unit in Agriculture, pp. 7-10. Chic. Row, Peterson & Co. 1911. Federal Aid for Industrial Education. U. S. Bur. of Education. Report of the Commissioner of Education for 1908. pp. 84-89. HATCH, K. L. High School Course in Agriculture. University of Wisconsin Bui. No. 441, High School Ser. No. 12. 1911. MAIN, JOSIAH. Educational Agriculture. Part 3. Western State Normal School (Hays, Kansas) Bui., vol. 2, No. 3. 1910. Movement for Securing Federal Aid. U. S. Bur. of Education. Report of the Commissioner for 1910. pp. 262-265. SNEDDEN, DAVID. Problem of Vocational Education. Chapters 5 and 16. Bost. . Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910. CHAPTER VI THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK HAVING considered in a general way the organization of the high school course in agriculture and the equip- ment for it, we may next take up in some detail the vari- ous subjects of the course. The first year work in agriculture must necessarily lay the foundations for the work which is to follow. It must be elementary, yet scientific and thorough in its presentation of selected topics. Since the growing of plants is the basis of agriculture, the study of plant life naturally precedes other agricultural study. The ma- terials of the first year agricultural course will therefore center about the growth and development of plants and the study of their environment. Even though we as- sume what is, though desirable, not always the case, - that elementary agriculture has been taught in the grades either as agriculture or under the guise of nature study, - yet a more thorough, scientific study of plant life and growth should be given during the first year of the high school than is possible in the elementary or grammar grades, with their limited equipment and unexpert in- structors. 108 THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK IOQ This is desirable not only because of the better equip- ment available in both the high school laboratories and library, and the clearer development of the scientific basis of agriculture possible because of it, but also be- cause of the possibility of greater thoroughness through more frequent and. longer recitation periods and the im- proved grade of instruction possible where the agricul- tural work is given by a trained, scientific agriculturist. This beginning plant study is given under different names in different schools. Very similar work is known in different places under such terms as beginning agricul- ture, beginning agronomy, or agronomy, farm crops, agri- cultural botany, general science, and other names. In still other schools the work is split up and given in different terms under such heads as agricultural botany, soils, agricultural chemistry, agricultural physics, etc. The matter is, to be sure, more important than the name, yet it is regrettable that this lack of uniformity in nomen- clature exists. From it arises much confusion and lack of understanding as to the work now being done and which it is desirable to do in the beginning and other agricultural courses of the high school. Moreover, although in many schools practically the same kind of beginning agriculture work is taught very successfully under various names, yet in many cases the first year work is very unsatisfactory. Unexpert teachers, though perhaps well informed agriculturally 110 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE and scientifically, lose sight of the great purpose of the beginning course and the psychological and other reasons which should determine its subject matter. They choose among the names applied to first year agricultural courses that which appeals to them most, farm crops, for instance, or soils, and they start a course under that name. And though excellent beginning courses are being given in many parts of the country under such names, yet in the hands of many teachers who follow the name rather than the subject matter, such a course becomes too highly specialized for a beginning course and fails to lay the desired foundation for the work of later years. Or, going to the other extreme, teachers some- times give preparatory courses so general that they take up animal life, plant life, farm mechanics, and farm man- agement, including so much that the course fails in its real purpose. It is inadequate as a preparation for future work, failing to fix important basic principles and degenerating to a mere collection of agricultural facts, the scientific foundation and principles of which are little understood. We need a uniformity of nomenclature and a certain degree of uniformity of subject matter in our high school agricultural course if a well-organized, well- balanced course of study is to be secured. Agricul- tural teachers' associations should adopt a definite nomenclature which will be as readily understood by THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK III teachers in one part of the country as in another, and which shall be understood to indicate certain definite lines of work. The time given to the vari- ous phases of work included in each course will, to be sure, vary greatly with different teachers and pupils and in different localities. But there should be suf- ficient uniformity in the nomenclature and subject matter to make the character of the work in the agricultural course in any school clear to those inter- ested in similar work, even though they be at a distance. The name to be chosen for the first year course is a matter of the greatest difference of opinion, even among those interested in securing uniformity. Beginning Agriculture is suitable, but has been so frequently used for a beginning course including both plant and animal study that there is some objection to it on that account. Agricultural Botany, though used for this course, is or- dinarily understood to mean something far different and much more technical than this first year's work is in- tended to be. Moreover, the term " botany" too greatly limits the work. Farm Crops is also undesirable in many ways. It is both too limited and too broad a term. General Science, though it describes the work well, in a way, is objectionable from the point of view of M the agriculturist. Beginning Agronomy, all things considered, is perhaps as good a term as can be chosen. For agron- 112 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE omy, in a broad sense, according to the definition given in Office of Experiment Stations Circular 32, is a " study of climate, soils, fertilizers, and crops, that is, of plant production." In Office of Experiment Stations Circular 77, an out- line is given for a secondary course in agronomy. This deals, as we should expect, with plant growth and de- velopment ; and though the outline as given presupposes some study of botany, yet, with certain modifications, it may be adopted as a basis for first year work. Local conditions and needs and the previous preparation of pupils will, however, in any given case determine the amount of time to be given to any topic and the emphasis to be placed upon it. In actual teaching it will also be found advisable to change the order of topics to some extent. This outline takes up first the composition, structure, physiology, and heredity of the plant; and the light, heat, air, moisture, soils, plant foods, and repressive agencies of the plant environment. This is followed by more or less study of the various classes of economic plants and of individual local crops and their rotation. Considering the outline from the standpoint of agricul- ture, it is found to suit the needs of a beginning course admirably in a general way, though, as has been said, it needs a certain amount of modification in arrangement in actual teaching. It furnishes a good arrangement for THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK 113 the study of plant growth and development from an agricultural viewpoint and abundant opportunities for the study of plant environment and improvement. A wealth of most interesting laboratory and field work is suggested by the topics, and the work is such that it promises both a firm foundation for future work and a sure appeal to students' interests. Although the outline may seem to begin with topics beyond the ready com- prehension of first year high school pupils, yet experience has proved that, treated in the right way, the essential facts as to plant composition and structure are readily understood by pupils of this grade. Frequent labora- tory demonstrations by the instructor at the beginning of the course appeal strongly to the pupil's interest and enthusiasm, and when, a little later, individual laboratory work and outdoor practicums are taken up by the class, this interest and enthusiasm is increased and made permanent. But the outline is also admirable from another point of view, that of the teacher of science. We find, on analysis, that it may be made to furnish an excellent outline for a beginning science course as well as for the beginning agriculture course. In fact, it appears to be just what science teachers have long been trying to find ; that is, a satisfactory introduction to the science work of the high school. For years it has been admitted that the teaching of the 114 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE physical and the biological sciences in the high school has been unsatisfactory in many ways. The educational results of high school science are not what was hoped and predicted when it was introduced into the high school curriculum. In many schools the number of students electing such work is falling off. The materials used are criticized as not sufficiently related to the life and needs of students. The teaching methods em- ployed are said to be too frequently adapted to the college rather than to the high school. The results attained are often called unsatisfactory, both as to the knowledge gained by the student and as to his attitude toward further scientific work. This failure is ascribed to the demands of the colleges on high school science work, to the need of a well-perfected method of science teaching, and to other causes. It is not our province to discuss these, but we are interested in the high school science situation inasmuch as it has been proposed to remedy the unsatisfactory conditions through agriculture. For ex- ample, it has been proposed to improve the high school science work by teaching the sciences in the high school more as applied sciences. This is being advocated by numerous school men and is without doubt a good suggestion. It is still further urged by some that the applications be to agriculture, and that this application take the place of agricultural courses in the high school. Many science men favor this, but it is approved by but THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK 115 few agriculturists. It enriches the science work to a certain extent, but it is not fair to students who want agricultural instruction to give it to them in this way. Agriculture thus taught would be unorganized and would inevitably appear to the mind of the student as a mere patchwork of fragments of the various sciences, or as an appendage to them. Moreover, many of the important facts of agriculture would not be taught at all. For the other sciences do not provide for instruction in farm machinery, stock judging, seed selection, and many other topics. Agriculture is itself a science, and though the other sciences shed a necessary light upon it, agriculture should be taught as a separate science. It is, in addition, an art, and, if taught efficiently, other methods must be employed in instruction as well as the ordinary methods of science teaching. Still another suggestion made by school men some years ago for the improvement of the science work in high schools was the giving of a general science course in the first year. It was evident that one of the greatest difficulties in science teaching lay in the fact that the various science courses as taught in most high schools were too isolated from the experience of the pupil and from each other. Each was abstract and to a certain degree helpless within its own department. Moreover, the various sciences used a language with which pupils were unfamiliar. As a result, the science work did not Il6 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE appeal to pupils, nor did it do for them what was expected in the way of educational training. With first year high school pupils especially, science work failed to prove attractive or beneficial. Such students are naturally superficial. Though their inter- ests spread over a large area, they do not go very deep. They are interested in the many wonderful and fascinat- ing things in the world about them and wish to under- stand them. They like to experiment, to see demonstra- tions. They like studies related to life. Formal science work, unrelated to life, does not appeal to them. It is therefore important, during this first high school year, on the threshold of the work in science, that the student be happily introduced both to the mysteries and methods of science. It is important that his first impressions be favorable. Otherwise he is apt to turn aside from science in his future work and to miss much training which he needs and should have. Since biology, physiography, and physiology are more nearly related to life than the other scientific subjects, it seems that these ought to prove interesting to first year high school students. Yet, though they led for many years as first year science, they were not found to be wholly satisfactory. Though they deal with real life and conditions, yet observation and experience show that they do not have the universal appeal desired. Moreover, each of these, to be most effectively taught, THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK 117 requires some knowledge of the other sciences ; and each of them appeals to a student only so far as his life has turned his interests in these directions. No one of the high school sciences, then, as ordinarily taught, leads to that experience which makes science seem a fairyland to the young pupil, and none gives him as broad a view as he should have. No one subject alone, experience seems to indicate, so stimulates the imagination, fires the interest, and engages the atten- tion as would a wise selection from the whole field of scientific knowledge. In view of this, the suggestion was made, something over a decade ago, that the first year science work might well be a general introduction to science, having its roots in all the high school sciences. It could thus, it was argued, be made interesting, prac- tical, full of demonstrations and laboratory experiments which would appeal to the interest, arouse the enthu- siasm, and increase the desire of the pupil for more and deeper knowledge. A background would thus be given for the scientific studies; they would be related to the child's experience and environment and to each other ; and students would be prepared for the more formal and specialized study of the various branches of the high school sciences. All over the country, school men recognized the need for such a course and its advantages as a preliminary to future science study. Courses governed by these Il8 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE ideas were introduced in various places, sometimes with great success. But though the ideal was good, it was soon found that there was danger of giving series of disconnected lessons and, unless the teacher was a par- ticularly strong one, of not getting the desired results. The work was apt to be unbalanced, disconnected, and too much influenced by the teacher's special interests. There was, ordinarily, too little emphasis laid on the oneness of science. There was needed a connecting thread which should give unity and balance and purpose to the work in the minds of both teacher and students. And here, we believe, is where the agriculturist and the science teacher can join forces. A proper beginning course in agriculture, or agronomy, presents work which not only meets the needs of the agricultural course, but which offers a fitting gateway to the various fields of science. A beginning course may be so taught as to give the student information concerning the elements of the so-called high school sciences, and may also present a thoroughly unified study of the elements of that science and art which is the most fundamental of man's occupa- tions, agriculture. First year agriculture, of agron- omy, properly presented, not only includes direct appli- cations of botany, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, etc., but gives a needed incentive to study and interest. It not only presents and teaches certain scientific facts, but it provides values for them. By using such a course THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK 1 19 we may not only serve the educational purposes of first year agriculture and first year science to the best advan- tage, but we may economize both time and money. The same beginning course may be given to all students whether they are to specialize in agriculture, domestic science, science, or other studies. Economy of time, materials, and teaching energy thus characterizes the most satisfactory form of instruction. Though as agriculturists we are primarily interested in agriculture and in the first year agricultural subject as a part of the high school agricultural course, yet it is both interesting and gratifying to note that in the ideal beginning agriculture course we have found an ideal general science course. We must, however, never fail to emphasize the fact that though beginning agriculture or agronomy, properly taught, is general science, it is not merely general science. It is something more. For while the average general science course, though it may serve more or less satisfactorily as an introduction to the various sciences, lacks, as has been indicated, both unity and purpose, and there is danger that it may prove merely a conglomeration of more or less interesting scientific facts, the agricultural course, though it gives an ideal introduction to the various sciences, also provides additional values for the work. It provides an economic as well as a cultural motive for further scientific study. It emphasizes the usefulness of scientific knowledge. I2O MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE It furnishes an opportunity for comparison of agricul- tural with other occupations, thus contributing towards a wise choice as to personal vocation. Better than the best of the non-agricultural general science courses, first year agriculture or agricultural general science inter- relates the various special sciences. For though the ordinary general science course has certain advantages as to materials selected over any one of the separate sciences, yet even here the relations of the different sciences one to the other are but poorly brought out. It is difficult for the student to see the relation of his science studies to each other and to life, their educational or practical value. But first year agriculture, properly taught, so draws on all the high school science subjects that their educational values and their interrelations are clearly discovered to pupils. For example, some knowledge of soils must come early in the agricultural study of plant life and development. In order to attain this, the student must go to the funda- mental earth-science, geology, and to physical geography for information concerning soil formation. Biology also comes in here, with a study of the work of plants and animals, such as the earthworm, in soil formation. For a knowledge of the elements which compose the soil and upon which the fertility of the soil depends, the student must go to chemistry. The physical properties of soils bring up a study of various facts and principles of THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK 121 physics. The agricultural importance of the soil is as a part of the plant's environment. Its fertility is evi- denced by its ability to produce plants. Understanding of the growth and development of plants necessitates a knowledge of many of the elementary facts of botany. Successful dealing with the repressive agencies with which plants have to contend brings in entomology. And so we might go orfc almost indefinitely, showing how whatever agricultural topic we may be studying reaches out for explanation and understanding, not only to one, but to several of the sciences, and, in addition, is enlivened and made vitally interesting by its relation to human experience and human needs. Lastly, in common with the best type of non-agricul- tural general science, first year agriculture provides an interesting and varied form of laboratory work and field observation at the beginning of the high school course. The pupil is thus gradually acquainted with the more common language of science and is early shown the fun- damental importance of investigational evidence in all science work. All this deals with the value of the course for agricul- tural and science students. But the value of the course is not for them alone. So much of agriculture as is embraced in a first year agricultural course of the kind under discussion should be known to every high school student, whether boy or girl, as a matter of general in- 122 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE telligence, information, and culture. Whether in the city or country, the high school girl should at least learn something as to the source materials from which come her daily food supply. Equally, the future man of any occupation should be educated to an understanding of the most fundamental of all occupations and its relation to other industries and vocations. 1 After this preliminary year's work, more specialized work in either agriculture or domestic science can be logically and systematically developed for those who wish to elect such courses, and the high school science course can be developed economi- cally, rationally, and pedagogically for science students. In addition, those students who are not aroused either to a desire for the special work in science, agriculture, or domestic science will at least have received a little valu- able training in habits of accurate observation, of think- ing to conclusions, and an elementary knowledge of the things which surround them. To agricultural students, then, such a course offers excellent preparation for vocational work; to science students it gives an admirable preparatory course ; and for general students it serves as a valuable culture course. The proof of the asserted values of such a course can be seen, naturally, only in actual observation of its teaching. 1 Editorial. Agriculture as First Year Science. Experiment Station Record, v. 23, No. 3, p. 206. THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK 123 The reasons for the appeal which the work makes to the student's interest are, however, not hard to understand ; and the practical teaching advantages of the work are becoming more and more apparent with its continued testing. To show more clearly how this first year agricultural course may be made to serve the purposes indicated, there is given below an arrangement of work which has been successfully tested by the writer in two high schools. Column i is a very free modification of the agronomy outline, in Office of Experiment Stations Circular 77, to which reference has previously been made. Columns 2 and 3, parallel with it, were worked out in giving a first year agricultural course in the high school, and the mate- rials indicated were tested with different classes with very satisfactory results. Column i may be said to represent the agricultural aspect of the course ; column 2 is made up of suggestions as to scientific facts and principles which may be presented in connection with the course, that is, it represents the general science aspect of the course ; and column 3 consists of sugges- tions as to experimental work in the laboratory and field, class demonstrations by the instructor, field trips, etc. It should be understood, however, that this outline does not attempt to indicate all of the valuable labora- tory and demonstrational work and field practicums 124 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE that might well be given during the course. The topics in both columns i and 2 will suggest to the alert teacher others which might profitably be given. Nor is it as- serted that those chosen are the best under all circum- stances. Those noted are merely intended to be sug- gestive, though they have all been successfully used in giving such a course in high schools. If but one class period per day is given to the work, the amount of the laboratory and field work possible will be considerably less than that indicated in the outline, and it may be well to change the character of many exercises. Even with two daily periods, it may not be possible to cover as much ground. Time may, however, be economized by in- creasing the number of demonstrations by the instructor or by individual pupils. Yet, to secure the best results, a generous number of the exercises and practicums must be performed by each member of the class. It will, obviously, be found impossible to treat in much detail the scientific facts and principles listed in column 2, the general science aspect of the course, in addition to doing practical agricultural work. But a generous selection should be made of such of them as seem to fit in best with the work and such as seem most needed by the class in connection with present or as a preparation for future work. The practical agricultural phases of the work and the attendant practicums and laboratory work must overbalance the purely scientific THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK 125 aspect of the work ; and the agricultural value of a par- ticular fact or experiment must be the guiding principle in the selection of the materials of the course. Yet even the treatment of the strictly agricultural topics must necessarily be greatly limited. Only the fundamental principles and basic facts can be taken up under each topic. A general understanding of the processes of plant growth and the conditions of its environment, together with an appreciation of the scientific basis underlying them, some little knowledge of a few special crops, a fair amount of deftness in laboratory and other practical exercises, ready and accurate observations, and the formation of right ideas as to agriculture and country life, this is as much as should be expected from the course. The work of the course will, as is evident from the outline, consist of lectures, reading assignments, labora- tory demonstrations and experiments, school farm and garden work, and field trips or excursions. No suitable textbook is at present available for such a course, though certain of the better high school agricultural manuals may be profitably used in connection with some phases of the work. The amount of time to be given to the course should be not less than one class period of forty to fifty minutes daily throughout the year, and should preferably be two periods. This time may be divided between laboratory, 126 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE S.I 3 . - *j c3 ^^ c/} *j d> en d ^ < o _- PQ ll B o S H g 1 5 -if 3 ail FORMI j en XM = 3 "3 a 8 rt 1 /-S >H ^ cc 3 i rt CA> J rtP S5-3 ? * 3 f ] ^'-^3^ bo ~H en y o r .S rt^-S n rt flJ '^4 Jjjitpf-Ay .a jc rf ^ , a <, 9*fl g 2L-".a Sl^S fcSg'SSg'S S5d?^r S oS2Cd^ g^i!.^ oH^: ^-SvS.S ^ b o 'S o o -cj *i3 "**"* *-> c t > 5 >^2 rt - w 5 I ^ If'S^&SJjSXi iiiJiltHvlJ CJ THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK I2 7 cii S > en i fl fl r-si M o II fK b fl f B if^g 8 -f u nn i rt J M X 'S 'S . w> ^ J bo * ^ 8 S J 5 S I 6^^o-S r ff c^S r^ .5 g o'^^ flg^-*- 1 P* S * S j 9 .> a w o bo II' 8 fl r*T C! 2 S 23 ^^ | o - C;3 .23 35 ^3 1*3 tj ,2 fl li " "S ^ w o 5l *J "tj r-j fl to cJ-S "> ^ tni3 & Z 8.S ai' "rt 'I -s.il tifgdi 365 5 = S g ' ^1.^ JoJ fn o J3 ^ 43 >.S "^ft^ ^2-g * -| S c=j ^ a Is^l Ss^.s lll, to OT ; ft o . 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P en C3 Q< ^Q O I! tS 8=3 w Ifl |eLHC^| W Q -d CJ 140 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK 141 field, and class work as seems best, but one-third of the time at least should be given to laboratory work. Dem- onstrations by the instructor, field trips, garden or greenhouse work and school farm practicums will con-, sume nearly another third of the time, leaving not over a third of the class periods for recitations and lectures. Reading or other assignments should, however, be made regularly for laboratory as well as for the regular reci- tation days. As a general rule it is suggested that demonstrations, laboratory, or field work precede the study of the reading assignment, though in special cases the order may be reversed. Careful written or printed directions for all laboratory and field work should be given students, and each student should keep a notebook in which every laboratory and field exercise and demonstration is care- fully recorded in good English. This notebook should contain the date and subject of each exercise, a statement of the materials used, descriptions of the work done, and such illustrative drawings as may be necessary. In preparing an index to this notebook the student should specify whether the work is a laboratory exercise, a field exercise, or a demonstration made by the teacher or another student. The value of demonstrations by the teacher or by individual students before the class should not be under- rated, though such work should not, of course, be carried 142 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE to excess. Frequently the demonstration avoids both loss of interest and loss of time, besides facilitating the making of drawings and notes. The laboratory or field exercises may be followed by assigned readings on the topics being studied and, later, by a recitation where the whole topic is reviewed and discussed with reference to its bearing on the home life of pupils, the general community life, and the practice of agriculture. The excursion or field trip should not be neglected in this first year agricultural work, for it serves as a valuable means of bringing principle and theory in contact with real conditions and of dealing with processes and prod- ucts at first hand. On the field trip or excursion many points difficult to explain and to understand in the classroom are made clear and vivid. New light is thrown on subjects studied, and desired information is fixed in memory. All excursions should be carefully planned by the in- structor, and students should be given definite directions as to procedure and observations on the trip. If possible, it will be found well to utilize a camera on such trips, recording in pictures the conditions at places visited. The pictures may later be used in reviewing the trip or be added to a permanent collection for reference or illustra- tion. Garden work may, if desired, be carried on very sue- THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK 143 cessfully in connection with the first year agricultural work in addition to the regular practical exercises of the course in the greenhouse and on the school farm. If such work is undertaken, considerable latitude may well be allowed pupils in the choice of crops to be grown. Individual plots should be assigned the members of the class, each plot or garden serving as a special problem for the individual student. Or, if desired, the same crops may be grown by all members of the class ; for example, vegetables, and in addition some special problem or additional crop may be given each student. This special problem may deal with the use of cold frames, hot beds, the use of fertilizers, or the testing of different methods of planting or of caring for plants. In many cases it may be well to have this special problem work carried on at home, or even to allow the garden work as a whole to be carried on at home. In the garden students should be expected to apply the knowledge gained in the classroom, and the results attained should be looked upon more or less in the light of a test as to the ability of students. The time given to garden work should come outside of the regular class periods, as a rule, just as does the study of reading assign- ments, except where the work done is to teach a new fact or method, and not merely to give practice in carrying on garden work. Both the amount and times of work in the garden may be left largely to students, thus develop- 144 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE ing a sense of personal responsibility and self-reliance, training reason and judgment, and increasing the value of the work as a test. There should, however, be fre- quent inspection of gardens by the instructor, occasional class talks about the garden work, and judicious indi- vidual criticism and advice where needed. The products of the gardens may be disposed of in various ways. If vegetables are raised, they may be donated to the domestic science department of the school and used by the cooking classes, thus correlating the agricultural and domestic science work. Or the vege- tables may be donated to the pupil's family. If the school has an agricultural club, the vegetables may be marketed by a committee of the club or of the class and the proceeds turned over to the club, after deducting the expense of seeds, etc. In some cases a stall has been rented at the town's public market, and the products of the school garden have been sold there. Still other excellent plans will suggest themselves to suit special conditions and the products grown. But on no account should the disposal of products be neglected and waste permitted. On a part of the agricultural grounds of the school should be demonstration plots devoted to the growing of desirable introductions of farm crops new to the locality and to new varieties of common crops. Rotation and fertilizer demonstration plots should also be given a place on the school farm, illustrating the needs of the THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK 145 soil and of different crops, the effect of different kinds of fertilizers on plant growth and yields, the effect of food supply on variation and heredity, etc. These demonstration grounds will prove valuable in illustrating the work of the first as well as of other years, and all students should have an opportunity to do more or less work on the grounds and to become familiar with them, though their main care will devolve upon the person in charge of the work of the school farm. In addition, a part of the agricultural grounds may profitably be given to a field museum, or crop garden, where as many as possible of the chief species of agricul- tural crops of the state are grown in plots arranged ac- cording to their family relationships, as, the leguminosae, the graminae, solanaceae, etc. This crop garden will doubtless be as much used by the botany class as by the agricultural class, but will be very valuable to both. If possible, wild forms of plants from which cultivated crops have been developed should also be illustrated in the crop garden. The equipment for the course must necessarily include many of the materials^nd some of the apparatus of the biology, botany, chemistry, physics, and other science departments of the high school, together with some special agricultural equipment. If the science and agricultural teachers are willing to cooperate, the added expense of the course will, however, be comparatively 146 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE small. The same microscopes may serve the biology and the agricultural courses; many of the same speci- mens may serve both for biology and agriculture and for geology and agriculture; much of the same apparatus may serve both chemistry and agriculture and physics and agriculture. A greenhouse, or, in some climates, both a greenhouse and a lath-house, will be needed for the plant propaga- tion and other work. These will also be used for the horticultural classes, however, and their cost should not be charged to the equipment for the first year agriculture class alone. Samples of fertilizers will probably be gladly donated to the school by fertilizer manufacturers, though it will of course be necessary to purchase fertilizers for garden tests, etc. Soil samples, seed samples, and many of the needed materials for laboratory work may be collected by the students. Tools for gardening will need to be purchased, but these will also be used by other agricultural classes. It will be necessary to purchase some little special agricultural equipment, as that for soil study. Most of the other appa- ratus and materials of the course will be found in any high school well equipped for science work. After once starting the agricultural work in a school, valuable collections of illustrative specimens of seeds, soils, etc., may soon be gathered and will form a valuable part of the equipment. THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK 147 In addition, it must not be forgotten that in this as in other high school agricultural courses, the community contains much illustrative material which should not be neglected in instruction. When studying seeding and tillage, the farm implement houses should be visited. When studying plant propagation, visits should be made to local nurseries. Valuable material for studying plant heredity and plant improvement may be found on many farms and in many gardens. .Drainage, irrigation, soil formation, soil types, plant diseases, the study of special crops, all offer inviting opportunities for valuable field trips and observations in the community surrounding the school. The library equipment for the first year agricultural work should include a wide range of books and bulletins. Fortunately, there is a wealth of material, much of which can be had for the asking. The teacher should select and secure from the lists of publications of the United States Department of Agriculture and the State Experi- ment Stations such bulletins and circulars as promise to be most helpful in the work of the course. Those suited to the comprehension of high school pupils should be given the preference, though more technical publica- tions will also be needed for the use of the teacher. Among books there may well be included at least two or three of the best high school botanies, physics, chemis- tries, biologies, physical geographies, and geologies; 148 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE the best of the elementary and secondary agriculture texts dealing with plant life and environment and farm crops; and a few standard agricultural books dealing with the topics of the course, as fertilizers, irrigation, drainage, farm crops, soils, plant diseases, and economic insects, together with the standard Cyclopedia of American Agriculture. In addition, the teacher will find it most helpful to secure from the Office of Experiment Stations, from ex- tension and agricultural education departments of col- leges, from normal schools, state boards of agriculture, and state boards of education, as many as possible of the vari- ous publications giving illustrative lessons or labora- tory exercises in agriculture. Though none of these publications contains as large or as varied a number of exercises as will be needed, yet the teacher will find valu- able suggestions in many of them. It is impossible to give a list of library equipment which will prove ideal for the first year agricultural course under all conditions. The following list of publi- cations giving illustrative lessons and practicums will, however, be found useful ; as will also the list of books, many of which should, together with two or three good texts each of botany, biology, physics, chemistry, physi- ography, and geology, be secured. Many others not on the list would also prove very helpful. No list of in- formational bulletins and circulars of the experiment THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK 149 stations and the government on the topics of the course is given, as such a list can readily be made out by any teacher who secures their lists of publications. PUBLICATIONS GIVING ILLUSTRATIVE LESSONS, LABORATORY EXERCISES, AND FIELD PRACTICUMS, MANY OF WHICH ARE ADAPTED TO THE FlRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK IN THE HIGH SCHOOL. (Many other useful exercises will be found in science and agricultural textbooks.) Cornell Nature Study Leaflets. Published in several different series and with varying titles by the New York State College of Agriculture of Cornell University. Course in Agriculture for High Schools and Academies in Maine. Prepared by Dean Wm. Kurd, College of Agriculture, Univer- sity of Maine, for the State Superintendent of Schools. 1909. Course in Agriculture for the High Schools of Michigan. Michigan Agricultural College, Department of Agricultural Education Bui. No. i, 1910; No. 7, 1911. Elementary Course in Horticulture for the Schools of Michigan. S. W. Fletcher. Published by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction as Bui. 28. 1908. Elementary Laboratory Study in Crops for the Schools of Michigan. J. A. Jeffery. Published by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction as Bui. 26. 1907. Elementary Laboratory Study in Soils for the Schools of Michigan. Published by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 1908. Elements of Agriculture for Public Schools. Missouri State Board of Agriculture, Monthly bulletin, v. 4, No. 5. 1904. Elements of Physical Science as Applied in Home, School and Farm Life. F. D. Barber. Published by the Illinois State Normal School, Normal, Illinois. 150 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE Exercises in Elementary Agriculture, Plant Production. Office of Experiment Stations Bui. 1 86. 1907. Exercises in Elementary Agriculture for Rural Schools. Prepared for the Maine State Education Department by J. E. McClin- tock and E. D. Ward, of the College of Agriculture of the University of Maine. 1910. Experimental Studies of Plant Growth. B. M. Davis. Teachers' Bui. No. 2, Ohio State Normal College. (Oxford, Ohio.) Miami Bui., Ser. 7, No. i. 1908. Experiments with Plants and Soils. F. E. Edwards. University of California Cir. 58. 1910. Forestry in Nature Study. Farmers' Bui. 468. 1911. Laboratory Exercises in Secondary School Agriculture. Maine State Department of Education. 1912. Manual of Agriculture for the Public Schools of Vermont. State Department of Education. 1911. Normal School Instruction in Agriculture. Office of Experiment Stations Cir. 90. 1909. * One Hundred Experiments in Elementary Agriculture for Cali- fornia Schools. R. O. Johnson. Published by the State Normal School, Chico, California. 1908. Potato Studies for Schools. J. W. Hungate. State Normal School, Cheney, Washington. Department of Agriculture Bui. A, No. 2. 1912. Practical Exercises in Agriculture for Public Schools. Purdue Uni- versity, School of Agriculture. 1904. Principles of Plant Production. University of Missouri Public School Bui. No. 2. 1906. (Circular of Information No. 15 rev.) Propagation of Plants. Farmers' Bui. 157. 1907. Public School Agriculture. Massachusetts Agricultural College, Department of Agricultural Education. 1909. School Exercises in Plant Production. Farmers' Bui. 408. 1910. School Garden, The. Farmers' Bui. 218. 1909. THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK 151 School Lessons on Corn. Farmers' Bui. 409. 1910. Secondary Course in Agronomy. Office of Experiment Stations Cir. 77. 1908. Seeds and Seedlings. New Hampshire College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts School Bui. No. 3. 1908. Seed Testing. New Hampshire College of Agriculture and Me- chanic Arts School Bui. No. 4. 1908. Simple Exercises Illustrating Some Applications of Chemistry to Agriculture. Office of Experiment Stations Bui. 195. 1908. Soil. University of Missouri Rural Education Series Bui., v. 10, No. 10. 1909. Soil and Its Relation to Plants. B. M. Davis. Teachers' Bui. No. i, Ohio State Normal College. (Oxford, Ohio.) Miami Bui., Ser. 6, No. 3. 1907. Soil Primer. Kansas State Agricultural College. " Agricultural Education," v. 3, No. 12. Soil Studies. New Hampshire College of Agriculture and Me- chanic Arts School Bui. No. 2. 1908. Soils. Hampton (Va.) Leaflet, v. 4, No. 8. 1908. Studies of Corn and its Uses. University of Illinois Agricultural College Extension Bui. 1908. Syllabus for Agriculture in Secondary Schools. New York State Education Department. 1910. Ten Lessons on the Study of Indian Corn. University of Missouri. 1909. Tree Growing in the Public Schools. E. B. Babcock. University of California Cir. 59. 1911. Use of the Score Card. Missouri State Normal School (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) Bui., v. 2, No. 2. 1910. Use of Illustrative Material in Teaching Agriculture. U. S. Department of Agriculture Yearbook. 1905. pp. 257-274. Year of Agriculture in a Rural Vermont High School. H. A. Farrar. Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vt.) Bui., v. 5. . No. 5. 1911. 152 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE GOOD BOOKS FOR THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL REFER- ENCE COLLECTION. (Good high school texts in botany, chem- istry, etc., should also be included in this collection, as mentioned above.) BAILEY, L. H., ed. Cyclopedia of American Agriculture. 4 v. N. Y. Macm. 1907-1909. BAILEY, L. H. Lessons with plants. N. Y. Macm. 1006. BAILEY, L. H. Manual of Gardening. N. Y. Macm. 1910. BAILEY, L. H. Plant Breeding. N. Y. Macm. 1910. BAILEY, L. H. Principles of Agriculture. N. Y. Macm. 1909. BARTO, D. O. Manual of Agriculture. Bost. D. C. Heath & Co. 1910. BROOKS, W. P. Agriculture. 3 v. Springfield, Mass. Home Corresp. School. 1905. BURKETT, C. W. Soils. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1911. CALL, L. E., and SCHAFER, E. G. Laboratory Manual of Agri- culture. N. Y. Macm. 1912. CLUTE, W. N. Agronomy : a course in practical gardening for high schools. Bost. Ginn & Co. 1913. COLEMAN, J. B., and ADDYMAN, F. T. Practical Agricultural Chemistry. N. Y. Longmans, Green, & Co. 1910. COMSTOCK, J. H. Insect Life. N. Y. D. Apple ton & Co. 1901. DAVENPORT, E. Domesticated Plants and Animals. Bost. Ginn & Co. 1910. DAVIS, C.W. Rural School Agriculture. N.Y. Orange Judd. 1911. ELLIFF, J. D. A Unit in Agriculture. Chic. Row, Peterson & Co. 1911. ELLIOT, C. G. Practical Farm Drainage. N. Y. John Wiley & Sons. 1908. GOODRICH, C. L. First Book of Farming. N. Y. Doubleday, Page & Co. 1910. HALLIGAN, J. E. Fundamentals of Agriculture. Bost. D. C. Heath & Co. 1911. HILGARD, E. W. Soils. N. Y. Macm. 1906. THE FIRST YEAR AGRICULTURAL WORK 153 HILGARD, E. W., and OSTERHOUT, W. J. Agriculture for Schools of the Pacific Slope. (Accompanied by Babcock and Steb- bins' Elementary School Agriculture ; a manual of exercises. 1911.) N. Y. Macm. 1910. HOPKINS, C. G. Soil Fertility and Permanent Agriculture. Bost. Ginn & Co. 1910. HUNT, T. F. Cereals in America. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1911. HUNT, T. F. Forage and Fiber Crops in America. N. Y. Or- ange Judd. 1911. JACKSON, C. R., and DAUGHERTY, L. S. Agriculture through the Laboratory and School Garden. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1911. KING, F. H. The Soil. N. Y. Macm. 1911. KING, F. H. Physics of Agriculture. Madison, Wis. F. H. King. 1904. KING, F. H. Irrigation and Drainage. N. Y. Macm. 1909. LASSAR-COHN. Chemistry hi Daily Life. Phil. J. B. Lippincott. 1909. LYON, T. L., and FIPPIN, E. O. Principles of Soil Management. N. Y. Macm. 1911. LYON, T. L., and MONTGOMERY, E. G. Examining and Grading Grains. Bost. Ginn & Co. 1907. MANN, A. R. Beginnings of Agriculture. N. Y. Macm. 1911. NOLAN, A. W. One Hundred Lessons in Agriculture. Chic. Row, Peterson & Co. 1911. OSTERHOUT, W. J. V. Experiments with Plants. N. Y. Macm. 1911. ROBERTS, I. P. Fertility of the Land. N. Y. Macm. 1909. ROTH, F. R. First Book of Forestry. Bost. Ginn & Co. 1902. SANDERSON, E. D. Elementary Entomology. N. Y. John Wiley & Sons. 1912. SANDERSON, E. D. Insect Pests of Farm, Garden, and Orchard. N. Y. John Wiley & Sons. 1912. 154 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE STEVENS, F. L., and HALL, J. G. Diseases of Economic Plants. N. Y. Macm. 1910. SNYDER, H. Chemistry of Plant and Animal Life. N. Y. Macm. 1905. SNYDER, H. Soils and Fertilizers. N. Y. Macm. 1908. VIVIAN, A. First Principles of Soil Fertility. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1912. VOORHEES, E. B. Fertilizers. N. Y. Macm. 1910. WARREN, G. F. Elements of Agriculture. N. Y. Macm. 1910. WEED, C. M. Farm Friends and Farm Foes. Bost. D. C. Heath & Co. 1910. WILKINSON, J. W. Practical Agriculture. N.Y. Am. Bk. Co. 1909. W T ILSON, A. D., and WARBURTON, C. W. Field Crops. St. Paul, Minn. Webb Pub. Co. 1912. PRACTICUM Outline not less than ten consecutive agricultural general science lessons covering some one phase of the first year work as outlined in the preceding chapter. Suggest laboratory or field practicums and reading ref- erences to accompany these lessons. REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING BRICKER, G. A. Teaching of Agriculture in the High School. Chapter 4. N.Y. Macmillan. 1911. Editorial, Experiment Station Record, September, 1910, pp. 201-209. PEET, C. E. What Shall the First Year High School Science Be ? National Education Association, Proceedings, 1909, pp. 809-16. CHAPTER VII ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ; THE GENERAL LIVE STOCK COURSE THE nomenclature and character of animal husbandry courses in high schools vary greatly. As a rule, but one course is given during the four years, and this is general in nature, including some study of types and breeds, stock judging, feeds and feeding, care and management, dairy- ing, etc. It is taught under such names as breeds of live stock, animal husbandry, animal production, domes- tic animals, animal industry, farm animals, agriculture, economic zoology, and others. When the animal hus- bandry work is divided into two or more courses in the high school, there is usually a general course in live stock study and, in addition, a course in dairying or in poultry culture, or both. We also occasionally find special courses in stock judging, stock feeding, breeding, apiculture, and other animal husbandry subjects. These last, however, are usually introduced to suit local condi- tions and needs, and we shall not consider them here. The courses in dairying, poultry culture, and animal production or general live stock are so frequently given 156 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE and of such universal interest that they may well be considered in some detail. The name animal production, or animal husbandry, should preferably be chosen for a general course including a study of types and breeds and the care and manage- ment of domestic animals. Such a course may usually best be placed in the second year of the high school (see Chapter III), though it is frequently given during the third year. If this is the only animal husbandry course given, it should preferably run throughout the school year ; but if a special course such as that in dairying or poultry work is given, the general course may be limited to the first half year and a special course be given during the second half. Or in some cases where a special live stock course is given in addition to the general course, it may seem desirable to give the general course three periods per week throughout the year and the special course two days per week, alternating. This arrange- ment has special advantages in the case of poultry work, particularly if poultry is kept on the school grounds. Students thus have the advantage of studying and of practicing the care and management of poultry at all times of the year and under many different conditions. Another possible arrangement is having a dairy course in the first half of the year, followed by the general course in animal production the second half. The object of this is to begin with the study of products rather than of their ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 157 producers, with the more rather than the less familiar, and to emphasize the economic factor at the beginning of the animal husbandry studies. The materials of the general course in live stock or animal production should consist of an introductory study of types and breeds of the common domestic animals followed by a study of their feeding and care, together with more or less consideration of their im- provement or breeding. The emphasis laid upon the different phases of the work will, however, vary consider- ably in different localities, depending upon the main live stock interests of the surrounding country and the special needs of the community. As in the case of agronomy or any other course, the instructor should prepare a careful outline of the work at the very beginning, emphasizing the study of the kinds of live stock in which the community is most in- terested. This need not be rigidly adhered to at all times, but should be so carefully prepared that it will seem wise to do so for the most part. Various good outlines for the general animal produc- tion course in the high school have been prepared and printed. Some of the best of these are given at the end of this chapter. Suggestions may be obtained from all of them, though probably none of them is ideal. The New York State outline (1907) emphasizes feeds and feeding, the nutrition of domestic animals, but 158 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE to their housing and care in other ways it gives practically no attention. The improvement of types and breeds is touched on, but very briefly. Animal products are studied, but no attention is given to their marketing. The Michigan outline (1910) seems to emphasize the general care and improvement of live stock. Feeds are perhaps studied more from the practical and less from the scientific standpoint than would be the case were the New York outline followed. The Office of Experiment Stations outline in Circular 60 (1904), for rural common schools, might well be adapted to high school use. It is, however, very brief and indicates a more elementary study of feeds and feed- ing than is desirable, besides omitting any study of live stock improvement or breeding. The preparation and care of products and their marketing is especially mentioned in the outline. The Wisconsin outline (1911), intended to cover a year's work with one recitation per day, emphasizes stock judging and gives special attention to poultry. In addition, it gives a prominent place to the study of insects ; but this is contrary to the general procedure and seems unwise in many ways. Their study under " re- pressive agencies" (p. 138) during the first high school year is undoubtedly preferable. Feeds and feeding are not included in the general live stock or animal husbandry course at all, but are studied in a course in agricultural ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 159 chemistry which is given during the fourth year of the high school. The study of dairy products, and their testing, is also put in the course in agricultural chemistry. The outline by J. D. Elliff, of the University of Mis- souri, is intended only as an outline for a part of a year's work in general agriculture. It might, however, very well be used as a basis for a special animal husbandry course, if desired. In January, 1911, the Office of Experiment Stations published a valuable circular, prepared by Professor H. R. Smith, head of the Animal Husbandry depart- ment of the University of Nebraska College of Agri- culture, outlining a course in animal production. This circular is entitled " A Secondary Course in Animal Production," and in it are outlined 155 lessons which, with necessary reviews, examinations, and a few supple- mentary field trips or lessons of a purely local nature, will occupy a full school year of thirty-six weeks, five recitations per week. The course as outlined deals almost entirely with types and breeds and the feeding and care of farm animals, although some time at the close of the year is devoted to the special topic of dairy- ing. In the introduction to the circular the author states that where it is undesirable to give a full year to the general course in animal production, it can be shortened by omitting certain of the less important les- sons or by studying only the most general facts relating l6o MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE to animals having small commercial value in the lo- cality. Thus, for example, there are many localities where the two lessons on ponies, asses, and mules could be omitted, because these animals are there so seldom seen or used as to be of no economic importance. Again, there are regions where cattle raising runs almost en- tirely to one type, either the beef type or the dairy type. In such places the emphasis should be placed on the important type of cattle, and only such time as can be spared should be given to the less important types. The same considerations should govern the study of sheep, swine, and other animals or topics included in the outline, where it is desired to devote only a part of the year to the course. Very full outlines for a general course in animal hus- bandry and for special study of beef cattle and their prod- ucts, swine, bees and the production of honey, are given in Minnesota Department of Public Instruction Bulletin 38, " Outlines for Secondary Courses in Agriculture." Suggestions as to materials, apparatus, and library equipment needed for the work accompany these outlines. One forty- to fifty-minute period per day will ordina- rily prove sufficient for the work, 1 though on one day per 1 In a number of high schools, however, a daily double period is con- sidered necessary for the work when only given during half of the year. Bakersfield, Cal., is an example. At the John Swaney School, McNabb, 111., three double periods per week and two recitation periods are given to the work. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL l6l week this time should be extended to a double period for stock judging, field trips, and other practicums. If possible, the last period of the day should be used for the course, so that on days when excursions or field trips are taken, or stock judging or other practicum work is done, extra time can be taken if necessary without in- terfering with other recitations. And though one practi- cum day per week will usually give enough time for such work in either a year or half-year of animal husbandry, where the class meets five periods per week, yet it may be desirable when studying types and breeds to take oc- casional extra periods for stock judging, or rather to use some of the regular recitation periods for extra practice in this work. It will probably also be desirable occasionally to take excursions or field trips on Saturdays, especially when trips are to farms at some distance or when it is desired to inspect stock at some particular time of day. As a textbook to be used in the animal husbandry course, C. S. Plumb's " Beginnings in Animal Hus- bandry" and M. W. Harper's " Elements of Animal Husbandry" are both satisfactory. Plumb's "Types and Breeds of Farm Animals" and Harper's " Manual of Farm Animals " have been used, but are adapted to college rather than high school classes. But even though a textbook is used, it should be supplemented by lectures (see p. 74) and by reading assignments in bulletins and agricultural reference books. 1 62 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE As to the " laboratory manual," giving practical ex- ercises in general live stock study, there is none for the animal husbandry course in the high school. Office of Experiment Stations Circular 100 suggests excellent practicums, but cannot be considered as a manual of live stock exercises. A large number of the exercises noted will undoubtedly be used, but definite directions for the work must be prepared for students in each case ; and it will be desirable to have additional exercises to suit local needs. In addition, score cards should be provided for the stock judging work of the course. If possible, copies of Purdue University Agricultural Ex- periment Station Circular 29, "Stock Judging for Be- ginners," and of the Cape Girardeau, Missouri, State Normal School Bulletin on " The Use of the Score Card in Rural Schools," should be secured for each member of the class. A sufficient number of J. A. Craig's " Judging Livestock" should also be available for consultation by students. Valuable hints as to practical exercises may also be found in such publications as the New York State De- partment of Education " Syllabus in Agriculture for Secondary Schools " ; " Course in Agriculture for the High Schools of Maine," arranged under the direction of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction; Michigan Agricultural College Department of Agricultural Educa- tion Bulletins no. i and 7, "Course in Agriculture for the ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 163 High Schools of Michigan"; D. J. Crosby's "Use of Illustrative Material in teaching Agriculture in Rural Schools" (in the 1905 U. S. Department of Agriculture Yearbook) ; Purdue University School Bulletin giving "Practical Studies in Agriculture for the Common Schools" ; and many others. In addition, the practical exercises given in Elliff's "Unit in Agriculture" and at the end of chapters on live stock in Davenport's "Domestic Animals and Plants," Warren's "Elements of Agriculture, "^and in other good secondary and elementary agriculture texts should be noted. In general, the practicums will consist of trips to see various kinds of stock at farms of the community, at the local fair, etc. ; judging of individual animals owned in the vicinity ; competitive judging, following consider- able preliminary practice ; trips to see buildings for the different farm animals, noting details of construction, stalls, yards, and other equipment ; a trip to the nearest packing house center, if it can be arranged, for observa- tion of methods of slaughtering animals, handling car- casses, and packing house by-products; trips to local markets to see the different cuts of meat; visiting dairies, creameries, and cheese factories. Practical worfc in the care and management of some farm animal or animals should also be included, where possible. This may be at the school if the school is equipped with 1 64 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE stock, or it may be at the homes of the community. Individual home experiments in the feeding and man- agement of stock will prove of especial value to students, throwing them largely on their own responsibility and developing initiative, good judgment, and self-reliance. All such work should, however, be planned and carried out by students under the careful supervision of the instructor. The recitation and review quiz in the animal hus- bandry course will be conducted as in other courses. The lecture will serve a purpose similar to that of the lecture in any other course, gathering up and presenting in suitable form material which it is desirable to give to students and which is not readily available to them in proper form in their text or reference books. A form of lecture which can be utilized with especial profit in this course is the lantern lecture, illustrating types and breeds, points in stock judging, conformation of animals, buildings for farm animals, etc. The lantern used should be one adapted to showing pictures in books and bulletins, as well as slides; for there is a great wealth of good illustrations in many of the animal husbandry publica- tions which will doubtless be available for use. Throughout the course the methods of instruction should take cognizance of the fact that animal husbandry, like other agricultural subjects, is both a science and an art; it deals both with a body of organized laws and ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 165 principles and with their application to actual problems. We must not only see to it that pupils acquire informa- tion from lectures and printed matter; they must be given constant opportunity for reference to the animals studied and for observation of the various phenomena concerning which information is sought and given. Pupils must be taken to the farm and farm animals for demonstration and proof of facts acquired in the school- room. Opportunity must also be given, as far as is practicable, for actual experience in the judging of live stock and in their care and management. The latter will, as has been indicated, probably have to consist of individual assignments to be carried out at home, and may vary widely in nature. But some first-hand ex- perience and knowledge of farm animals, in the way of feeding or other experiments or practicums in their care or observation, should be acquired by every pupil. It not only emphasizes knowledge acquired in the class- room, but gives ability to do, that is, to use the ac- quired information. And practice or repetition of this first-hand experience with animals gives to the pupil not only ability to do certain things, but facility, accuracy, and efficiency in his doing. The equipment for the animal husbandry work must naturally vary greatly under different conditions. Much of the material used will be found on the farms of the community. In addition, there should be a school- 1 66 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE room so screened as to be easily and quickly darkened ; a set of animal charts (which may be made in the art department of the school, copied from government bulletins) ; a supply of score cards for the various types of farm animals (which may be printed by the local printer) ; a good lantern with an abundant supply of animal slides ; and if possible a few good animal models. 1 It is, of course, taken for granted that any school giving a four year course in agriculture has some land available for agricultural purposes, and it is extremely desirable that the school own some live stock. The kind and amount will necessarily depend largely upon the re- sources of the school. (See Chapter XII, "The School Farm.") In any case it will, however, be necessary to draw largely upon the community for materials for observation and practicums for this course. If no special dairy course is given at the school, some testing of milk and dairy products should be done in the general animal husbandry course. A Babcock tester, milk and cream bottles, Farrington test tablets, lactometers, etc., should therefore be available for use. If a special dairy course is given, such work may best be omitted from the general live stock course. The agricultural library should of course be supplied 1 Score cards, lantern slides, anatomical and veterinary charts, and models of certain farm animals may be obtained from the Central Scien- tific Co., Chic., 111. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 167 with an up-to-date collection of government and experi- ment station publications on live stock topics, selected from the lists issued by them. The school should take regularly one or more of the best live stock periodicals and the more important material of each number should be noted in the live stock class as soon as convenient after the number is received. In addition, there should be a good collection of books on live stock, adapted to the comprehension of high school pupils. If funds are avail- able, any or all of the following list may well be included, after securing the indispensable Bailey's Cyclopedia, al- ready listed with the books for first year agriculture. BRIGHAM, A. A. Progressive Poultry Culture. Cedar Rapids, la. The Torch Press. 1908. COBURN, F. D. Swine in America. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1909. CRAIG, R. A. Diseases of Swine. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1906. CRAIG, J. A. Judging Livestock. Ames, la. J. A. Craig. 1901. DAVENPORT, E. Domesticated Animals and Plants. Bost. Ginn & Co. 1910. FARRINGTON, E. H., and WOLL, F. W. Testing Milk and Its Products. Madison, Wis. Mendota Pub. Co. 1911. HARPER, M. W. Elements of Animal Husbandry. N. Y. Macm. 1913- HARPER, M. W. Manual of Farm Animals. N. Y. Macm. 1911. HENRY, W. A. Feeds and Feeding. Madison, Wis. W. A. Henry. 1911. JOHNSTONE, J. H. S. The Horse Book. Chic. Sanders. 1911. JORDAN, W. H. Feeding of Animals. N. Y. Macm. 1911. MAYO, N. S. Care of Animals. N. Y. Macm. 1903. 1 68 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE MAYO, N. S. Diseases of Animals. N. Y. Macm. 1910. PLUMB, C. S. Beginnings in Animal Husbandry. St. Paul, Minn. Webb Pub. Co. 1912. PLUMB, C. S. Types and Breeds of Farm Animals. Bost. Ginn & Co. 1906. REYNOLDS, M. H. Veterinary Studies. N. Y. Macm. 1910. ROBERTS, I. P. The Horse. N. Y. Macm. 1905. ROBINSON, J. H. Poultry Craft. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1899. SHAW, T. Animal Breeding. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1911. SHAW, T. Feeding Farm Animals. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1907. SHAW, T. Management and Feeding of Cattle. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1910. SMITH, H. R. Profitable Stock Feeding. Lincoln, Neb. H. R. Smith. 1906. WILCOX, E. V. Farm Animals. N. Y. Doubleday, Page & Co. 1906. WING, J. E. Sheep Farming in America. Chic. Breeders' Gazette. 1912. In addition to the school work in animal husbandry, the agricultural teacher will here find an excellent op- portunity for community work. Evening lectures may be given on the improvement of live stock or other live stock topics of particular interest locally ; lantern slides and pictures may be shown ; boys' and girls' clubs may be organized for the raising of poultry, feeding experi- ments, etc. ; short courses on the kind of live stock most raised in the community or in which there is the most interest, may be given ; home experiments may be super- vised ; plans for buildings may be prepared ; and so on. All such work will not only help the community but ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 1 69 will react to the benefit of the school and repay many- fold the effort exerted in carrying it on. OUTLINES FOR ANIMAL PRODUCTION OR GENERAL LIVE STOCK COURSES ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY (An outline taken from the New York State Department of Education Syllabus in Agriculture for Secondary Schools. 1907.) A . The kinds of domesticated animals. 1. Classification of common domestic animals. Mammals : cattle, sheep, swine, horses, asses, mules, dogs. Birds : fowls, ducks, geese, pigeons, turkeys. Insects: bees. 2. Zoological relationships: origin, history of domestication, purposes for which kept, races, breeds, and varieties of each. B. Nutrition of domestic animals. 1. Relations of plant and animal life. 2. The chemical elements of nutrients : their number and oc- currence in plants and animals. 3. The compounds of animal nutrients. a. Water: in living plants, feeding stuffs, the animal. Its occurrence and functions. b. Mineral matters (ash) in the plant and hi the animal: amount and distribution. c. The nutrients. 170 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE C. Nutrition (continued). The nutrients in detail. 1. Protein. a. Nomenclature. 6. Examples. c. Composition. d. Physical characteristics. e. Variability. /. Occurrence. g. Distribution. 2. Carbohydrates. a. Examples. b. Composition. c. Physical characteristics. d. Nitrogen free extract and crude fiber. e. Starches. /. Sugars. g. Occurrence and distribution. 3. Fats and oils. a. Character and composition. b. Occurrence and distribution. 4. Functions of the nutrients. a. Protein. b. Carbohydrates and fat. c. Relations to one another. d. Nutritive ratio. e. Food as a source of energy. /. Heat relations. D. The digestion and utilization of food. 1. The digestive tract. 2. Ferments. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 171 3. Conditions influencing digestion. a. Palatableness. b. Quantity. c. Stage of growth of plant. d. Effect of methods of preservation and storage. e. Grinding. /. Addition of salt. g. Frequency of feeding and watering. h. Determination of digestibility. 4. Distribution and use of digested food ; also elimination of wastes. E. Foods. 1. Pasturage. 2. Forage and fodders: green and dried fodders, soiling, silage. 3. Root and tubers. 4. Concentrated feeding stuffs : grains and seeds, commercial by-products. F. Rations. 1 . Food requirements of different animals for different purposes. a. For maintenance. b. For work. c. For growth (young animals). d. For flesh (fattening). e. For milk, eggs, wool, etc. 2. Combination of fodders into rations. a. Amount of nutrients. b. Amount of water (succulence). c. Relative proportions of protein and non-protein (nu- tritive ratio). 172 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE d. Palatableness. e. Effect on product. /. Economy. G. Animal products. 1. Flesh: beef, mutton, pork, poultry; relation between the raising of different animals for various products ; com- position of animal products; quality as determined by age and condition of animals; relative suitability as food for man ; economy. 2. Eggs : composition ; quality as affected by food of fowls ; methods of preservation ; economy. 3. Milk. a. Source; kind of animal; physiology of secretion; methods of milking. b. Quality; chemical and physical properties; natural variations as affected by animal, by food, by environ- ment, by adulteration. c. Determination of specific gravity, fat, organisms, im- purities, adulteration. H. The animal. (The animal form as related to production.) 1. Animal mechanism in relation to speed and force, types of animals for production of milk and beef, wool and mutton, eggs, and flesh. Correspondence of individual to type. Standards or scales of points; methods of scoring. 2. Selection of animal with reference to future generations; heredity ; variation ; evolution of modern forms from simpler types. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 173 B ANIMAL HUSBANDRY OR LIVE STOCK (From "A Course in Agriculture for the High Schools of Michigan," Michigan Agricultural College, Department of Agricultural Education Bui. i, 1910.) The part of this bulletin dealing with the animal husbandry course in the high school was prepared by Professor R. S. Shaw and Professor A. C. Anderson, and reads as given below. Animal husbandry or live stock. Poultry. Dairying. Breeds. Cattle. Horses. Sheep. Swine. Uses. Care. Feeding. Breeding. Judging. Marketing. Breeds and breeding. Incubators. Care and feed. Marketing. Care of milk. Tests, Babcock, etc. Testing individual cows. Separators. Butter making. Cheese. 174 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE ANIMAL PRODUCTION (Outline from Office of Experiment Stations Circular 60, " The Teaching of Agriculture in the Rural Common Schools." 1904.) Draft. Trotting. Roadsters, etc. Dairy. Domestic ani- ~""~ Beef, mals, their types and f Wool, breeds. eep ' \ Mutton. Horses. Cattle. Bring out leading characteristics of one or two lead- ing breeds of each type represented in a given region. 2. Care and man- agement of domestic animals. Swine. Poultry. m Bees. Only the most general state- ments regarding the food requirements of different ani- Feeding. mals and for different pur- poses, and exercises in com- pounding rations suitable to a given region. Water supply. Exercises. Shade. Hygiene. Conditions of inclosures as to (i) comfort, (2) ventilation, (3) cleanliness. Preparation and care of product. Marketing of product. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 175 ANIMAL HUSBANDRY (From University of Wisconsin Bui. No. 441, high school series No. 12, 1911. "The High School Course in Agriculture.") Course given during the third year of high school agricultural work. Daily throughout the year. 1. Breeds of live stock. a. Principles of breeding. b. History of progress made in animal breeding. c. Standard breeds. d. Breed characteristics. 2. Stock judging. a. The "points" on the score card. b. Lantern slide demonstrations. c. Practice in judging stock easily available. d. Visits to best herds in the vicinity. 3. Poultry. a. Poultry as an economic factor in farm and city life. b. The care and management of poultry. c. Feeding poultry and marketing poultry products. d. Judging poultry. 4. Insects. a. Life history of insects. b. Collecting and preserving specimens. c. Insects injurious to our frjuits and grains. d. Means of controlling raVa^of insects. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY DETAILS OF WORK i. Types and breeds of live stock. The work in this subject may well consist of a study of the history of the various breeds and classes of live stock, the methods 176 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE used to develop these breeds, the distinguishing characteristics of standard breeds and the special merits of each. This intensive study of animal life in the high school is confronted by special difficulties. If the school is equipped with pictures, charts, a well-chosen collection of animal slides and a good lantern, these difficulties may be largely overcome. (See Plumb's "Types and Breeds of Farm Animals.") 2. Stock judging. The theoretical part of this work should be done in the class- room by the use of charts, lantern slides, and the score card. Practice may be obtained from the scoring of individual animals owned in the vicinity of the school or borrowed from more distant breeders. Competitive judging work can be done by occasional visits to the best herds and flocks in the neighborhood. (See Craig's "Stock Judging.") 3. Poultry. The study of poultry may easily be made a part of the high school curriculum. The birds themselves may be brought into the classroom. Specimens of each of the leading varieties of chickens may usually be found within easy reach of the school. Poultry and its proper feeding, care, and management should be studied as an economic factor in city and rural life. Practice should be given in judging poultry by means of the score card. The best methods to be used in preparing poultry and its products for market should receive attention. (See Robinson's "Poultry Craft.") 4. Insects. This work should begin with a study of the life history of a few of the common insects and should include practice in the collection, mounting, and preservation of specimens. Insects like the plum curculio and the codling moth, such as are injurious to our native fruits, should be studied, and those that cause serious damage to ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 177 farm crops should receive due attention. The laboratory work may well include the preparation and application of insecticides. Other means of controlling these pests should be studied. A school collection of injurious insects and examples of their destruc- tive work should be made. (See Comstock's "Insect Life.") E ANIMAL PRODUCTION (From Office of Experiment Stations Circular 100, " A Secondary Course in Animal Production." 1911.) Types and breeds of farm animals. Horses. Cattle. Sheep and goats. Swine. Poultry. Feeding and care of farm animals. Stock feeds. Horses. Dairy cattle. Beef cattle. Sheep. Swine. Poultry. Dairying. F ANIMAL HUSBANDRY (From J. D. Elliff, "A Unit in Agriculture." Chic. Row, Peterson and Co. 1911.) I. The Horse. i. Origin and brief history. 178 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE 2. The two principal types. a. The speed type. b. The draft type. 3. Breeds of horses. a. Draft breeds Percheron, Clydesdale, English Shire. b. Roadsters American trotter, American saddle horse, English thoroughbred, Hackney French coach. 4. Care of horses. II. Cattle. 1. Origin and brief history. 2. The two principal types. a. Dairy cattle. b. Beef cattle. 3. Breeds of cattle. a. Beef breeds Shorthorn, Hereford, Polled Hereford, Aberdeen-Angus, Polled Durham, Galloway. b. Dairy breeds Holstein-Friesian, Jersey, Guernsey, Ayrshire, Dutch Belted, Brown Swiss. c. Dual purpose breeds Shorthorn (milking strains), Devon, Red Polled. 4. Cattle products meat, milk, leather, glue, etc. III. Sheep. i The two types. a. Wool-producing type. b. Mutton-producing type. 2. Principal breeds. a. Wool producing American Merino, Delaine, and Rambouillet. b. Mutton producing Shropshire, Southdown, and Cotswold. 3. Care of sheep. IV. Swine. i. A study of the following principal breeds : Poland-China, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 179 Berkshire, Duroc-Jersey, Chester White, Hampshire, Tamworth, Large Yorkshire. 2. Care of swine. 3. Diseases of swine and how to control or prevent them. a. Hog cholera. b. Tuberculosis. V. Poultry. Chickens. 1. The four principal types. a. Meat type. b. Egg type. c. General purpose type. d. Ornamental type. 2. Breeds. a. Meat type or Asiatic class Brahma, Cochin, Lang- shan. b. Egg type or Mediterranean class Leghorn, Minorca, Black Spanish. c. General purpose or American class Plymouth Rock, Wyandotte, Rhode Island Red. 3. Care of poultry. a. Feeding chickens. b. The incubator. c. The chicken house. 4. Poultry and poultry products, their growing importance, value and use. VI. Live stock judging. 1. Horse. a. Heavy horse. b. Light horse. 2. Cattle. a. Beef cattle. b. Dairy cattle. l8o MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE 3. Sheep. a. Mutton. 4. Swine. VII. Feeding. 1. Composition of food plants: (a) water, (6) ash, (c) pro- tein, (d) fats and carbohydrates. 2. Percentage of each in different plants. 3. Function of each constituent. 4. Composition of animal tissue. (Compare with animal food plants.) 5. Digestion and palatability of foods. 6. The balanced ration. IMPROVEMENT OF FARM ANIMALS 1. Determining what animals shall be grown on the farm. 2. Importance of selecting only the best breeds. 3. Economy in feeding the balanced ration. 4. Study of comparative value of common foods at current prices. G DOMESTIC ANIMALS (Outline from "Course in Agriculture for High Schools in Maine." 1909. pp. 18-19.) i. Classification. a. Cattle. Dairy. Beef. Dual purpose. b. Sheep. Fine wool. Mutton. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL l8l c. Swine. Fat hogs. Bacon type. d. Horses. Saddle horses. Roadsters. Coach or carriage type. Draft type. Ponies. 2. Animal breeding. a. History of breeds, their formation, etc. (i) Demonstrate by use of stock in the neighborhood. b. The fundamental laws of breeding. (1) Heredity. (2) Inbreeding good and bad results. (3) Prepotency. Individual. Breed value to the stock breeder. (4) Selection. According to merit. According to pedigree and relationship. (5) Prenatal influence of sire. Of dam. c. The value of pure-bred sires. d. The up-grading of herds or flocks by the use of pure-bred sires upon the animals already on the farms in the neighborhood. e. Stock scoring and judging. Principles and practice. /. Methods of keeping breeding and performance records. g. A study of pedigrees. 1 82 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE FEEDING OF ANIMALS (Adapted from Circular 69, Office of Experiment Stations.) Foods. 1. Nature of feed as related to the animal. 2. Constituents. a. Refuse. b. Edible portions. (1) Water. (2) Nutrients, (a) Protein. (6) Fats. (c) Carbohydrates. (d) Mineral matter (ash). 3. Functions. 4. Classes. a. Roughage kinds. b. Concentrates kinds, composition, etc. 5. Composition of foods. 6. Digestibility. 7. Effects. a. On condition of the animal. b. On the product. 8. Manurial value. Feeding standards. Food requirements feeds for Maintenance. Growth. Meat. Fattening. Wool and hair. Milk. Work. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 183 Rations. Compounding. Methods of use. Economy. Systems of feeding. Dairy cattle. Beef cattle. Sheep. Swine. Horses. Effect of food on Condition of animal. Product. Practice in feeding different kinds of animals. PRACTICUMS 1. Outline a half-year high school course in animal husbandry adapted to stated conditions as to locality, size of school, available equipment, etc. State approxi- mate number of recitations to be given to each topic of the course. 2. Summarize lectures and outline practicums to be used in teaching any chosen topic in the animal hus- bandry course, as beef cattle. REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING Course in Agriculture for the High Schools of Michigan. Michi- gan Agricultural College, Department of Agricultural Educa- tion Bui. 7. 1911. pp. 38-40. SMITH, H. R. Secondary Course in Animal Production, pp. 5-7. Office of Experiment Stations Cir. 100. 1911. CHAPTER VIII DAIRY WORK IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ASSUMING that definite animal husbandry work begins with the second year in the high school, the dairy course may well be given in either the first or second semester of that year. In some schools it may be preferable to give the general live stock course, dealing with types and breeds of farm animals and their care and improve- ment, during the first semester, thus providing a good general survey of the animal husbandry field as a basis for the work which is to follow. In this case dairying will usually be given during the second semester of the same year. In other schools it is argued that dairying should be made the initial course in animal husbandry, dealing largely, as it does, with the study of the univer- sally familiar dairy products. Good arguments may be advanced for either plan. The last is clearly in accordance with pedagogical princi- ples, enabling us to proceed from a beginning study of certain well-known animal products to the study of what is less known, the kinds and care of their producer, the dairy cow. From the study of this type of domestic animal, that is, from the familiar cow, we may pro- 184 DAIRY WORK IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 185 ceed in a following course to the study of other probably less known domestic animals. Students usually have a good apperceptive basis for the study of dairying, since it deals largely with familiar things. Treating largely of products of economic use, from which profit may be made, the economic factor may effectively be utilized in presenting the work. The dairy course includes much laboratory work, actual doing of things, and ap- peals strongly to the adolescent mind. It arouses in- terest and curiosity, and larger classes in later animal husbandry and other agricultural courses are said to result from it as an initial course. Lastly, the study of the dairy cow forms an excellent basis for the study of the types, breeds, and care of other farm animals. The dairy course should, rightfully, be a popular one in any high school attempting to give agricultural instruction. Dairy products are universally used and should be of almost equal interest to the town dweller and to the countryman, to the boy and to the girl, to students specializing in agriculture and to those who are taking other courses. The general principles of dairying, including the production and care of milk, are facts that any well-informed person ought to know more or less about, since milk and other dairy products are used in every household. The dairy course should therefore be freely open to all students, regardless of any preparatory work in types and breeds of farm animals. 1 86 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE If there are large numbers of students desiring to take the work, both boys and girls, it may perhaps be well to divide the class into sections, having a girls' section and a boys' section. In such case the work in the girls' section would probably emphasize the composition, care and handling of milk, town and city public milk supplies, the products derived from milk, and the use of milk in the home ; while the boys' section, though including all those things, might perhaps emphasize the care and man- agement of the dairy cow and herd, which is more briefly touched upon in the girls' section. Or there might be a division into mixed sections of boys and girls, one for students taking the agricultural course, the other for general students. In many high schools, however, even though there are large numbers of both boys and girls taking the dairy work, it may not be advisable to divide the class in this way. In such cases, numbers and available laboratory equipment and the convenience of the instructor would be the factors determining any divi- sion into sections. The material chosen for the dairy course will naturally be much the same in different schools, though the em- phasis placed on topics may vary widely in different localities or even, in case of division of classes into sections, in the same school. The work should include, among other topics, an elementary study of the com- position of milk, butter, etc. ; methods of testing milk, DAIRY WORK IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 187 cream, butter, buttermilk, and other dairy products; the manufacture, care, marketing, and uses of dairy products; planning of dairy buildings; dairy sanita- tion ; the dairy type of cow ; and the care and manage- ment of the dairy herd. Unless the topics to be taught are prescribed and fully outlined by state or other school authorities, the teacher should carefully and completely outline the work of this, as of other courses, at the very beginning of the semester. At the close of this chapter are given outlines of dairy work as presented in various secondary schools of the country. None of these is ideal, but all of them are suggestive; and, together with any others available, they should be studied by the agricultural teacher plan- ning to give a course in dairying in the high school. A more extended outline than those noted here, and a very good one, is given in Bulletin 38 of the Minnesota Department of Public Instruction, on pages 65 to 66. This provides for a full year's work. The material having been decided upon, it must then be so arranged as to present a well-organized, well- balanced course. To each part of the work should be assigned the amount of time, the number of recitations, which can best be afforded for it and which the impor- tance of the topic warrants. Laboratory work and practicums should be planned. Lectures and reading assignments should be outlined. Circumstances may 1 88 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE alter the plans of the course somewhat, and the teacher should not consider them iron-clad by any means, but they should be a check upon the work and should enable him to keep the work better balanced than it would otherwise be. In addition, they will probably result in more work actually being done than would otherwise be the case. In accordance with the pedagogical principle of al- ways proceeding from the known to the less known, it is perhaps preferable to proceed, in our dairy study, from a brief general consideration or review of the various products of the dairy (milk, butter, cheese) and the by- products (skimmed-milk, whey, cottage cheese, etc.) to a study of the composition of milk, its testing, and methods of handling and caring for it. Then, after the study of milk, butter, and other dairy products as food and articles of profit, there will naturally arise a desire to consider the condition whereby the production of these articles may be increased and improved. The animals themselves will then receive attention, the types and breeds of the dairy cow and the care and management of the dairy herd. In the Office of Experiment Stations Circular 60 outline is given a study of the dairy cow, type, feeding, care, and management, as a preliminary to the study of milk and its products. This is a common arrangement of material, and, if the amount of knowledge which the average DAIRY WORK IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 1 89 student has of the dairy cow warrants it, may prove a good one. But if we utilize the economic approach to the fullest degree, we will begin with the dairy products and proceed from a study of the products to the study of the animal producing them, studying the dairy type and breeds, their care and management, after our study of milk and its products. By doing this we shall also acquire a better apperceptive basis for the later work. As to the methods to be employed in teaching dairying, they will consist, as in other agricultural courses, of lectures, reading assignments, recitations, laboratory work, field trips, and outdoor practicums. In deter- mining how much time shall be given to each, many factors must be taken into account. An arrangement which has been found satisfactory for a semester course is three recitations per week and two double laboratory periods. Three double laboratory periods per week and two recitations is also a popular arrangement of time. We may or may not use a textbook. In general, however, it will probably be advisable for students to purchase at least one of the more satisfactory texts adapted to the comprehension of high school students. The number of lectures which it is necessary for the instructor to prepare will thus be lessened, and certain fundamental facts will always be available for quick reference. Any textbook will, however, need to be supplemented by occasional lectures and by reading IQO MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE assignments in dairy reference books and bulletins. Among the textbooks on dairy work most used in high schools may be mentioned Wing's "Milk and its Prod- ucts," Van Norman's "First Lessons in Dairying," Farrington and Woll, "Testing Milk and its Products," and Michels, "Farm Dairying." We are particularly fortunate in secondary work in dairying in having easily available a vast wealth of ex- tremely valuable station and Department of Agriculture material on dairy topics, much of which is popularly written. This should be freely utilized and referred to ; and in many instances the instructor should endeavor to obtain duplicate copies of bulletins for the use of students. Lectures in addition to text and bulletin assignments will be on subjects that are not fully elucidated in the text, or which may more profitably be presented to students in lecture form than in the bulletins or other reference books. The recitation in dairying will, as in other classes, sometimes consist of an oral quiz on assignments or lectures, or it may review the results of laboratory work, or it may consist occasionally of reports by different students on special reading assignments covering matter which the instructor wishes brought to the attention of the class, but which he does not wish to give in lecture form and which he does not consider important enough to be read by every member of the class. The recitations DAIRY WORK IN THE HIGH SCHOOL IQI should fix in mind facts learned, should serve as a means by which the instructor tests the knowledge of students, and should emphasize important facts. They should be varied, quick moving, and interesting. The laboratory and other practicum work should be outlined as carefully as the recitation and lecture work. If a laboratory manual is not used, 1 the directions for the work should be carefully worked out by the teacher for each experiment or exercise, and the materials should be in readiness at the proper time. If possible, typed directions should be duplicated for each student. If there is a commercial department in the school, the instructor in that department may be glad to have stu- dents do such work for the agricultural department as practice work. Even if a laboratory manual is used, the good teacher will probably not follow it exactly, but will select, supplement, and rearrange the material as suits his work best. And, too, the indoor dairy lab- oratory work must be supplemented by field trips, 1 There is as yet no really satisfactory laboratory guide for dairy work in the high school. Charles W. Melick's "Dairy Laboratory Guide" (N. Y., Van Nostrand, 1907) will, however, be found useful, even if it is not adopted for class use. It was prepared for short courses where the classes are largely made up of farm boys whose education ranges from the eighth grade through the high school ; and it aims, therefore, to begin with very elementary exercises and to include only the most practical. H. E. Ross's "Dairy Laboratory Guide" (N. Y., Orange Judd, 1912) will also be found very useful. "Experimental Dairy Bacteriology" by Russell and Hastings (Bost., Ginn & Co., 1909) will be suggestive for the instruc- tor, but it is not recommended for class use. IQ2 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE judging of dairy cattle, outdoor practicums, and so on. Needless to say, the laboratory work should be given in proper sequence, articulating with the textbook, lecture and recitation work, and emphasizing and elucidating them. Only in this way can the greatest good be derived from it. Among the exercises should be included the testing of milk, cream, butter, and other dairy products ; judging of dairy cows, herds, and products ; operating the cream separator ; making of butter, cottage cheese, etc. ; balancing rations for dairy cows; and many others. In one school, several days each winter are spent in testing cattle for tuberculosis. Students go with a com- petent instructor to a neighboring herd. There they are divided into squads and, with a leader for each squad who has had some experience before, temperatures are taken for several hours. Records are carefully kept and the injections made in time to return home before bed- time. The owner of the herd has learned to take the morning temperature, or a few students are sent to take them. The class and instructor chart the curves for each animal and make careful study of the results. In this work class practice is seen to be of direct benefit to the individual farmer. Excellent suggestions as to the laboratory and prac- ticum work will be found in the New York State Educa- tion Department Syllabus in Agriculture for Secondary DAIRY WORK IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 193 Schools, 1910, where thirty-six exercises are fully de- scribed, a list of needed materials and directions for work being given in each case. Among other publica- tions suggestive in outlining the laboratory and prac- ticum work, the following may well be noted : Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station Circular 29, " Live-stock Judging for Beginners " ; Purdue University School Bulletin, " Practical Studies in Agriculture for the Common Schools " ; West Virginia University College of Agriculture, " School Agriculture," v. 2, No. 4, " Cattle and their Products"; Office of Experiment Stations Circular 100, " Secondary Course in Animal Produc- tion"; Office of Experiment Stations Bulletin 166, "A Course in Cheese Making for Movable Schools of Agriculture"; Vermont Department of Education, "Manual of Agriculture " (1911); and Oklahoma Agri- cultural and Mechanical College, Agricultural Club Series, Nos. 8 and 9, on "Butter Making" and "Milk Testing." In all of these good exercises will be found described which may be used in the dairy course. Field trips should include excursions, at appropriate times, to well-conducted dairies in the vicinity, for the purpose of noting and judging the various breeds of dairy cattle, or to observe details of the care and manage- ment of the dairy herd. There may also be some scoring of dairy barns and dairy herds producing milk for city use, the best being scored first to establish high standards o 1 94 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE in the students' minds. If possible, trips to creameries, to local fairs where dairy stock is exhibited, to implement or hardware houses to see different types of dairy utensils, etc., should be included. Wherever possible, the illustra- tive material to be found in the community should be sought out and utilized for the benefit of the class. In connection with the dairy course, individual home project work for the student may be encouraged, such as caring for at least one cow in a herd, with a view to securing from her the highest production of which she is capable ; weighing and recording the milk yields of the herd at each milking; making frequent Babcock tests of the butter-fat content of milk; and many others. Such work is not only of advantage to the students themselves, but it helps bring the teacher in touch with their home life and enlists the interest of parents in the work. Where there is no opportunity for students to undertake individual project work in dairying at home, it may often be arranged for at other homes of the community or on the school farm. Due credit should be given for the work in all cases. Where the individual project work is not done at home and the amount of time required for it exceeds a certain limit decided upon, workers should be adequately remunerated by the school or person for whom the work is done. The equipment for dairy work may vary widely in schools giving excellent courses. It will, however, DAIRY WORK IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 1 95 prove more expensive than the equipment for most of the other agricultural courses if the best work is to be done. If the school has a farm with suitable buildings, there should be some dairy stock and a good dairy room or house properly equipped for the care and testing of milk, butter making, etc. If it is not possible for the school to own or "rent" or borrow dairy stock, a definite amount of milk may be purchased daily while the dairy course is being given. With a properly equipped dairy room excellent work is then possible, though all obser- vation and study of dairy stock must necessarily be carried on through field trips, home project work, etc. In any event, whether or not the school owns dairy stock, the illustrative materials to be found in the community in the dairy herds, creameries, etc., should be freely utilized wherever possible and advantageous. The dairy room or laboratory should be well equipped for carrying on the work. Make-shifts are used in some schools, but it does not pay. Any reasonable expendi- ture to secure a well-equipped dairy laboratory will prove worth while in every way. The equipment should include all needed apparatus and materials for the test- ing of dairy products and for the making and care of butter. White duck suits to be worn in the dairy room should be purchased by individual students, and there- fore need not be considered here. Suggestions as to apparatus and supplies needed for 196 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE dairy work in the high school may be found in various publications, among which are the following : University of California Circular 67, pp. 48-50; Michigan Agri- cultural College, Department of Agriculture Education Bulletin i, p. 37 (list of apparatus needed for the Babcock test) ; Office of Experiment Stations Circular loo, p. 56; Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, Agricultural Club Series, No. 9, pp. 3-5, 13 (outfit for Babcock testing and for obtaining dairy herd records). In Office of Experiment Stations Bulletin 1 66, "A Course in Cheese Making for Movable Schools of Agriculture," is given a list of apparatus and materials needed for that work. Much of this would not be taken up in the average high school dairy course, but a part of it might well be in many localities. In making out a list of supplies needed for the dairy course in any particular school, the probable number of students taking the work would have to be considered, the laboratory exercises which it is planned to give, and many other questions. So that any published list is merely suggestive and to be used as a help. The dairy division of the agricultural library should include many bulletins and a few good books. Among the latter any of the following will be found useful. BELCHER, S. D. Clean Milk. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1903. CONN, H. W. Bacteria in Milk and its Products. Phil. P. Blakiston's Sons. 1903. DAIRY WORK IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 197 CONN, H. W. Practical Dairy Bacteriology. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1907. CRAIG, J. A. Judging Livestock. Ames, la. J. A. Craig. 1901. FARRINGTON, E. H., and WOLL, F. W. Testing Milk and its Products. Madison, Wis. Mendota Pub. Co. 1911. CURLER, H. B. The Farm Dairy. Chic. Breeders' Gazette. 1909. HENRY, W. A. Feeds and Feeding. Madison, Wis. W. A. Henry. 1910. LANE, C. B. The Business of Dairying. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1909. McKAY, G. L., and LARSEN, C. Principles and Practice of Buttermaking. N. Y. John Wiley & Sons. 1908. MICHELS, H. Dairy Farming. Milwaukee, Wis. H. Michels. 1911. PLUMB, C. S. Types and Breeds of Farm Animals. Bost. Ginn & Co. 1906. Ross, H. E. A Dairy Laboratory Guide. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1912. RUSSELL, H. L., and HASTINGS, E. G. Experimental Dairy Bac- teriology. Bost. Ginn & Co. 1909. SNYDER, H. Dairy Chemistry. N. Y. Macm. 1906. VAN NORMAN, H. E. First Lessons in Dairying. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1908. VAN SLYKE, L. L. Modern Methods of Testing Milk and Milk Products. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1912. WING, H. H. Milk and its Products. N. Y. Macm. 1907. In making out the bulletin list, at least those mentioned under dairying in Office of Experiment Stations Circular 94, "Free Publications of the Department of Agriculture Classified for the Use of Teachers," should be secured. 198 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE Selections should also be made from Bureau of Animal Industry Circular 106, "Publications of the Bureau of Animal Industry," and from the publications of the various stations. If desired, a wealth of useful community work may be undertaken in connection with the dairy course. Occa- sional authoritative tests of milk and cream may be made for farmers. Interest in cooperative breeding and im- provement of dairy stock may be aroused. Cow-testing associations may be formed. Cooperative ownership of dairy bulls may be encouraged. Evening lectures on dairying may be given, at least some of which should, if possible, be illustrated by demonstration exercises, lantern slides, etc. For example, the Office of Experi- ment Stations lecture on the "Care of Milk," illustrated by forty-four excellent slides, may be given ; or a lecture on the dairy type and breeds, illustrated with cuts from bulletins and books. Dairy short courses and institutes may be carried on. Exhibits of dairy products may be arranged for. The live teacher will find many ways of doing valuable work for the community along dairy lines, gaining at the same time sympathy and cooperation for his school work and respect for his instruction. DAIRY WORK IN THE HIGH SCHOOL I 99 OUTLINES OF HIGH SCHOOL DAIRY COURSES DAIRYING IN HIGH SCHOOLS (Michigan Agricultural College, Department of Agricultural Education Bui. No. 7, 1911, p. 40.) The work in dairying may well be confined to two general heads, viz.: i. Babcock test. Composi- tion. Production. 2. Milk. Care. Feeding. Secretion. Cleanliness in handling. Relation of bacteria to milk. Shallow pan setting. Creaming Deep setting or cooling of system, milk. Dilution methods. Centrifugal separation. Ripening and churn- ing cream. Process of ripening and necessary conditions. Conditions affecting time and efficiency of churn- ing. Making and salting but- ter. 200 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE B DAIRYING IN THE HIGH SCHOOL (University of California Cir. 47, "Agriculture in the High Schools," pp. 14-15. 1909.) Dairying. A. Milk. 1. Composition. 2. Study of each constituent in composition; fat, casein, albumin, sugar, ash. B. Babcock test for fat in milk, cream, butter, and cheese. Purchase small tester if possible. Specific gravity test with lactometer. C. Production and care of milk. 1. Cleanliness of stable, cows, vessels, and attendants. 2. Milking, straining, aerating, cooling. 3. Bacteria as cause of souring and other changes and flavors. 4. Odors and flavors not caused by bacteria. 5. Preventing and controlling fermentations. 6. Diseases that may be carried by milk. D. Milk and cream for home use, quality of, methods of mar- keting. E. Separation of cream from milk. 1. Gravity in pans. 2. Centrifugal separator. 3. The farm separator and its use. F. Butter making. 1. In the home. 2. In the near-by creamery. 3. From cream shipped to city. 4. Ripening cream flavors. 5. Kinds of churns. 6. Coloring, washing, salting, working, packing, marketing. G. Cheese making. 1. California and Eastern methods. 2. Other and fancy varieties. DAIRY WORK IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 201 H. Condensed milk. 7. Field work. 1. Visit creameries or cheese factories in neighborhood. 2. Have small Babcock test in school, and pupils bring samples of milk from home. 3. Visit dairies to study cleanliness. i. The dairy cow. ELEMENTARY COURSE IN DAIRYING (Office of Experiment Stations Cir. 60, pp. 18-19. 1904.) | Type. \ Feeding, care, and management. ~ i How determined. Composition. \ Relation to price. Handling. 2. Milk. Uses. 1 Stables. Cleanliness. Cows. Attendants. Relation to sour- Vessels. ing or tainting Straining. of milk. Aerating. Cooling. For con- sumption Putting up in cans or bottles. as milk Marketing. or cream. For condensing. (Putting in cans and hauling.) For cheese making. By setting in Creaming. pans. By use of sep- arator. For butter nu . f Temperature. Lnurmng. { making. [ Kinds of churns. Salting. Coloring. Working. Packing. Marketing. 202 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE OUTLINE FOR DAIRY WORK IN THE EIGHTH GRADE (Also used in some high schools.) (E. A. Cockefair, "Correlated Outline of Agriculture, Geography, Physiology." pp. 15-16.) 1. Anatomy of the udder. a. Structure. b. Blood supply. 2. Physiology of milk secretion. 3. Care of the cow. 4. Composition of milk. a. Variability and causes. b. Comparison with other animals. 5. Tests for butter fat. Materials needed : milk a. Composition of butter fat. . , . , . acid, Babcock machine b. Size of globules. and equipment. 6. Separation. a. Setting systems. f ^ _ . | Materials needed: thermom- o. Dilution methods. eters. c. The centrifugal method. f Materials needed : bottles 7. Pasteurization and sterilization. , I and cotton. 8. Churning. a. Principles involved. b. Use of butter color. c. Grain in butter. 9. Cheese making. 10. Diseases of dairy cattle. 11. Dairy countries. Books needed. Aikman, "Milk, its Nature and Composition." Farrington and Woll, "Testing Milk and its Products." DAIRY WORK IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 203 Wing, "Milk and its Products." Missouri Dairy Report, 1908. Farmers' Bulletins Nos. 29, 42, 55, 63, 74, 131, 151, 166, 206, and 241. E DAIRYING (A condensed outline taken from Office of Experiment Stations Cir. 100, "A Secondary Course in Animal Production," pp. 46-55. 1911. Work to form a part of a general year's course in animal husbandry.) 1. Milk and its products. Secretion. 2. Composition of milk. 3. Testing milk. 4. Testing milk and cream. 5. Milking. 6. Bacteria in relation to dairying. 7. The production of clean and sanitary milk. 8. Creaming. 9. Operating the farm separator. 10. How to secure good cream for sale or for butter making. 11. Butter making. 12. Churning and working butter. 13. General suggestions in making and marketing butter. 14. Visiting dairies and creameries. 15. Grading and judging butter. 1 6. Cheese making on the farm. 17. The making of farm dairy cheese. 1 8. Marketing milk and cream. 19. Visit to cheese factory. Some of the lessons outlined under other heads in this circular also treat of dairying. For example, under cattle we find : 204 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE Cattle, zoological classification. Development of modern types and breeds. Comparison of types of cattle (the beef and the dairy cow) . Beef breeds. Dairy breeds Jersey, Guernsey, Holstein-Friesian, Ayrshire. Judging dairy cows. Diseases of dairy cattle. (Milk fever, tuberculosis, impaction of the rumen.) Under feeding and care of farm animals we find, under dairy cattle, the following lessons outlined : Feeding for milk production. Equipment. Nutrient requirements for milk. Feeding the fresh cow in winter. Results of experiment station tests. Summer feeding for milk and the care of other dairy stock. (The calf, bull, heifer.) Rearing calves on skim milk. Relative economy of skim and whole milk in raising calves. PRACTICUM Draw a plan of a high school dairy laboratory of suffi- cient size to accommodate a class of fifteen students. List the equipment desirable for this laboratory, with itemized cost. CHAPTER IX THE HIGH SCHOOL POULTRY COURSE THE study of poultry culture furnishes an animal husbandry course which is adapted to the needs and in- terests of many communities and which, in addition, offers special opportunities and advantages for secondary and elementary schools. We are apt greatly to underestimate the poultry industry because it is so scattered and the proceeds are distributed among so many people. Yet in the ag- gregate the products of the American hen total more than $509,000,000 annually. This sum, according to the most recent statistics of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, is greater than the combined value of oats and barley for 1909. It is nearly five times the value of the tobacco crop for the same year. This value is con- stantly increasing, and the importance of the poultry industry advancing proportionately. Yet even now most of our city markets are fully supplied with choice quality eggs only a comparatively small part of the year, though the demand for them is increasing and the prices received are high. 205 206 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE It is evident, then, that the poultry industry offers opportunities for intelligent, well-informed persons practically all over the country. There is no reason why the industry should not be greatly expanded and, under proper management, meet the demands of both home and foreign markets. However, though there are many opportunities in the poultry business, and though fowls often thrive even when neglected, we have begun to realize that any real satisfaction in the rearing of poultry must come as a result of careful study and attention. By studying the questions of breeding, feeding, diseases, general management, and the applica- tion of business principles, the usefulness of all kinds of fowls and the profits from them can be greatly in- creased. Poultry work may, therefore, well be made one of the agricultural courses of the high school because of the importance of the poultry industry as an agricultural occupation and the importance of poultry products as food for man. There are, however, special reasons, aside from the importance of the poultry industry and of poultry products and aside from the general reasons for teaching agricultural subjects, which make poultry culture particularly adapted for instructional purposes in secondary schools in different localities and with different conditions. The work is suited to practically all kinds of high THE HIGH SCHOOL POULTRY COURSE 207 schools, except, perhaps, those of the larger cities. Poultry raising is carried on in both town and country. Poultry products are almost equally used in town and country homes. Probably no other branch of agriculture interests a greater number of people than poultry keeping. It is not limited by soil or climatic conditions ; it does not require an expensive equipment ; and it is reasonably profitable. The poultryman is found in every state and in every county of the Union. The farm without some poultry is almost an anomaly ; and yet the farmer does not monopolize the business. The villager with his back lot, the woman in search of a livelihood, and many others besides the farmer engage in poultry raising. 1 There is probably no other agri- cultural subject in which there is as nearly an equal "ready-made" interest in both urban and rural dis- tricts as in poultry raising. The majority of high school pupils have a fairly good apperceptive basis for the work, and it may therefore be introduced under the most favorable circumstances. Poultry work and poultry raising instruction is equally suited to both boys and girls. Each will be equally interested in and equally successful in the work. Poul- try work can be more easily and thoroughly done by stu- 1 Syllabus of Illustrated Lecture on the Production and Marketing of Eggs and Poultry. United States Department of Agriculture. Office of Experiment Stations, Farmers' Institute Lecture No. 10, p. 3. 208 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE dents of high school age than work with almost any other kind of live stock. It utilizes the economic ap- proach in its presentation of material and connects the school work with the home life of a large number of the pupils, showing them the practical side of education very forcefully. It, in common with many other agri- cultural subjects, trains pupils to investigate for them- selves; it teaches them to apply the knowledge which they may acquire ; and it sustains their interest. In many school districts the question of cost of equip- ment would forever prevent the raising and study of any kind of farm stock other than poultry on the school grounds. To be sure, other animal husbandry subjects may even in that case be studied in the school and the schoolroom work supplemented by visits to neighboring farms for the inspection and judging of the kind of stock studied. But only in the case of poultry can a large number of schools afford the purchase of stock and proper provision for its care. Having decided upon the advantages of a course in poultry work for the high school, where shall we put it in our curriculum ? If there is little interest in dairy- ing in the community, poultry work might take the place of the dairy course, in the second year of the high school, either the first or second semester. Or, better still, it might run throughout the second year, two days per week, alternating with the class in general live stock THE HIGH SCHOOL POULTRY COURSE 2 09 or animal husbandry. If there is great interest in all live stock topics in the community and but little in horti- culture, the poultry work or dairy work might be given half of the third year, general live stock and either poultry or dairy work being given the second year. The materials chosen for presentation in the course should include some study of types and breeds, poultry judging, feeding, and the general care and management of farm poultry. The outline given in Office of Experi- ment Stations Circular 100 for poultry study as a part of the general live stock course may easily be adapted to the purpose of a special course and will be found help- ful in many ways. However, other topics might well be added, and many more practicums. In a special poultry course, too, much more time would be given to the separate topics than is indicated in this outline. The Wisconsin high school outline, which is also a part of that for the general live stock course, divides the poultry work into four divisions : (i) poultry as an economic factor in farm and city life; (2) the care and management of poultry; (3) feeding poultry and marketing poultry products ; (4) judging poultry. An excellent outline for poultry study, taking up in order statistics of poultry keeping, study of breeds, poultry houses, feeds and feeding, marketing poultry products, hatching and rearing chickens, and diseases and parasites, is given in Bulletin 38 of the Minnesota 210 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE Department of Public Instruction, ''Outlines for Second- ary Courses in Agriculture." Still another outline for poultry work in the high school l reads as follows : Poultry. A . Study of breeds. 1. Egg breeds. a. Mediterranean Leghorn, Minorca, Spanish. b. Hamburg Houdan. 2. Meat breeds. Asiatics Brahmas, Cochins, Langshans. 3. General purpose breeds. Plymouth Rock, Wyandotte, Java, Dorking. Rhode Island Red, Orpington. 4. Fancy breeds. Polish, Game, Bantam. B. Study of incubators, incubation, and brooding. C. Care and management, diseases and their control. D. Judging and scoring all breeds, fowls from the home yard. The New York State Education Department outline for a half year's poultry work and the Maine high school outline are given at the end of this chapter. Though it may be advisable to give the instruction in poultry work largely by means of lectures and reading assignments, supplemented by practical work, yet stu- dents should be asked to purchase at least one of the several excellent books on poultry culture. None of 1 Anderson, Leroy, " Agriculture in the High Schools," p. 15 (Univer- sity of California Circular 47). THE HIGH SCHOOL POULTRY COURSE 211 these is ideal for a high school poultry course, but any one of several can be very helpfully used in connection with the work. Robinson's " Principles and Practice of Poultry Culture " is one of the latest of poultry books and is already used in a number of high schools. It has an excellent arrangement of material, but gives no prac- ticums. This, however, is a fault which it has in common with practically all poultry texts. Watson's "Farm Poultry," Robinson's "Poultry Craft," Brigham's "Progressive Poultry Culture," and other books are also used in high schools as texts. The teacher expecting to give a poultry course should examine these and other poultry books carefully, choosing the one best suited to the needs of his pupils and to conditions in the locality as well as to the outline prepared for the course. As to laboratory manuals, there is but one for poultry work. This is by H. R. Lewis, and is entitled "Poultry Laboratory Guide." It is not ideal, and in fact it would probably not be desirable to put in the hands of high school pupils. It will, however, be found very helpful in planning the practicums for the work. The teacher should secure a copy for himself or for the school library and select from the exercises such as are suited to his needs, supplementing them by others and by field trips. Teaching methods in the poultry course will not differ from those employed in the other agricultural courses 212 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE which have already been discussed. The lecture, recita- tion, quiz, laboratory work, field trips, and outdoor practi- cums will all have their place. In general, one- third to one-half of the class time should be given to practicum periods or field trips. In addition to this, individual home or school practice work will be carried on. This, however, is carried on outside of the regular class time for the most part, just as is the studying of reading assignments. Poultry work has an advantage over other live stock courses in that it is possible to do much practical work indoors as well as outdoors. Fowls may be brought within the classroom when needed, and many practical laboratory exercises may be planned for the schoolroom as well as outside. Interesting school exhibits of poultry and other agricultural products studied in tjie school may profitably and easily be made an annual feature of the school year. With a comparatively inexpensive equipment, work in poultry raising can be carried on with a degree of completeness possible in the case of practically no other stock-raising industry. With a few fowls and an inex- pensive house, all the work of raising and marketing poultry can be done by the students. Feeds and feed- ing, incubation, the marketing of poultry products, and all the other features of poultry management become in- tensely vital and interesting with the stock actually on the school grounds and the students doing the work THE HIGH SCHOOL POULTRY COURSE 213 of feeding and caring for the hens themselves, market- ing the products, figuring the cost of feeds and the profits realized from the sale of products. Problems of the business management of a poultry venture can be worked out with considerable detail. Actual facts and figures of poultry raising may be worked with all along the line, rather than general facts and figures. The actual rela- tions between cost of equipment and of carrying on the work can be seen and demonstrated. Valuable experi- mental study of feeds and feeding may be made. Judging of poultry may not only take place at the school or on field trips for the purpose, but visits to the county fair may be arranged, where permission will probably be granted the students to judge some of the poultry and compare their scores with the work of the judges. The fair officers might be induced to offer prizes for poultry raised by the students, and exhibits of their products might be made at farmers' institutes. Special study should be made of the different breeds of poultry found near the school, their origin, character- istics, etc. As a practicum it might be well, in this con- nection, to make a census of a given locality to determine whether the majority of the poultry are standard bred or scrub. Different methods of feeding poultry employed in the neighborhood should also be studied, and results compared. Poultry farms should be visited and poultry 214 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE houses inspected. Sketches should be made by students of different types of poultry houses, giving dimensions and stating the number of hens to be kept in each house, with other details. When poultry houses are needed on the school grounds for the housing of chickens, they may well be planned and constructed by pupils. We are told that in one school where no poultry buildings were needed for the school an eight-fowl portable poultry house was planned and constructed as practice work, later being sold. The difference between the cost of materials and the purchase price was donated to the school to be used for athletic goods for the boys. Catalogues from a large number of incubator and brooder firms should be secured when studying artificial incubation and the incubators and brooders studied and compared. Incubators in the neighborhood should be examined. The school itself should own at least one, if possible, and students should have practice in the use of the incubator and the care of young chicks in the brooder. Eggs should be tested on at least the seventh and the fourteenth day, and a brief description of the chick in the shell should be given. A broody hen should also be secured, for comparison of natural with artificial incubation, and placed in a proper nest. Students may, as a group problem while studying incubation, even construct an incubator and brooder THE HIGH SCHOOL POULTRY COURSE 215 along lines worked out by them and approved by the class and instructor as satisfactory. When studying the marketing of poultry, the meat markets of the town should be visited, and the displays of dressed poultry inspected. The methods of killing and dressing the poultry sold for meat in the town should also be learned, if possible. Poultry work is rich in opportunities for special indi- vidual practicums, for class practicums performed by each student, and for group problems in which all or a number of students take some assisting part. A valuable opportunity for community work is also afforded in connection with the poultry work in the high school. Poultry clubs might well be formed, evening lectures on poultry topics given, home experiments with poultry supervised, short courses given, and so on. Meetings for rural school teachers could also be held, and poultry work for rural schools discussed and its advantages made clear. Successful poultry raisers of the community might well be invited to talk to the pupils on topics on which they are especially well informed, or concerning work in which they have been particularly successful. The equipment for poultry work may vary widely in different schools and yet be admirably suited to the special conditions in each case. The main requirements are, of course, the fowls, the house, and a suitable yard. 2l6 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE The house should be convenient, well-lighted, well-ven- tilated, dry, warm in winter, and sanitary, a model in its way, and yet it need not be expensive. If necessary, one of the small portable houses now on the market could be made very satisfactory for a small flock, or, better, a house may be constructed by students at a small cost. The house should provide space of from 3 to 7 square feet for each adult bird, if there is a good run attached to the house ; otherwise a larger house space must be provided. The roosting space allowed should be from 6 to 8 inches for the smaller breeds, 8 to 10 inches for medium, and 10 to 12 for the larger. A yard space of from 60 to 150 square feet for each adult bird is recommended by many poultry authorities, but if necessary this space may be somewhat reduced. Fences inclosing the yards may be of netting or pickets, and should be about 7 feet high. At the bottom there should be a board, if young chickens are given the run of the yard. Some provision must be made for shade in the yard. This may be given by fruit or other trees, by sunflowers, or a small portion of the yard may be covered. Where the school has a manual training department, the poultry house may, if desired, be built by the students of that department. Coops will be needed for the con- finement of hens with broods of small chickens. These, THE HIGH SCHOOL POULTRY COURSE 217 too, may easily be constructed by pupils, as well as feeding troughs, drinking fountains, etc. The small school might well start with as few as a dozen hens and one cock of a breed which is a favorite in the community or especially adapted to the locality. As soon as it is possible, it would be well to add a dozen of another breed, in a second house. Naturally, the first breed selected will probably be an egg breed. The next may well be a general purpose breed, or, if desired, a meat breed. Thus the types, requirements, and per- formances of different breeds may be studied and com- pared in fact and not merely learned from textbooks. If absolutely impossible to secure pure-bred stock, com- mon mixed fowls may be used to start with, but this is not advised. It will almost always be possible to secure donations of eggs from good poultry raisers of the community, and frequently fowls themselves are gladly given. It may also be possible to secure for the school at small cost settings of eggs of desired pure-bred stock from the state agricultural experiment station and from prominent poultry breeders of the state. An incubator and brooder and various tools and appli- ances will need to be purchased. However, many of the latter can, as has been mentioned, be made by pupils, either of the poultry class or of the manual training department, and their cost greatly lessened thereby. The agricultural library should be well supplied with 2l8 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE both bulletins and books on poultry culture, and fortu- nately there is a wealth of very good material to choose from. The bulletins may be selected from the various lists already mentioned in discussing other agricultural courses and the general equipment for agriculture. The farmers' bulletins on poultry will, of course, be found especially helpful, and also the Cornell Reading Course for Farmers bulletins on poultry. Excellent poultry bulletins have also been published by the Maine, Oregon, Connecticut, North Carolina, Maryland, and Rhode Island stations. A good collection of poultry books may be selected from the list given below. American Standard of Perfection, as adopted by the American Poultry Association. Beaver, Pa. (Box 303). American Poultry Assn. 1911. BRIGHAM, A. A. Progressive Poultry Culture. Cedar Rapids, la. The Torch Press. 1908. BROWNE, E. Races of Domestic Poultry. Lond. Edward Arnold. 1906. HAWKS, E. B. Science and Art of Poultry Culture. Clinton, Wis. E. B. Hawks. 1909. KAINS, M. G. Profitable Poultry Production. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1910. McGREW, T. F., and HOWARD, G. E. Perfected Poultry of America. Detroit, Mich. Howard Pub. Co. 1908. PEARL, R., and Others, comp. Poultry Diseases and their Treat- ment. Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, Orono, Me. 1911. THE HIGH SCHOOL POULTRY COURSE 219 Poultry Houses and Fixtures, yth ed. (Various authors.) Quincy, 111. Reliable Poultry Journal. 1910. POWELL, E. C. Making Poultry Pay. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1907. QUISENBERRY, T. E. Poultryman's Guide. State Poultry Ex- periment Station, Mountain Grove, Mo. 1911. ROBINSON, J. H. Common Sense Poultry Doctor. Bost. Farm Poultry Pub. Co. 1908. ROBINSON, J. H. Principles and Practice of Poultry Culture. Bost. Ginn & Co. 1912. ROBINSON, J. H. Poultry Craft. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1899. SALMON, D.E. Diseases of Poultry. N. Y. Orange Judd. 1899. VALENTINE, C. S. How to keep Hens for Profit. N. Y. Macm. 1910. WATSON, G. C. Farm Poultry. N. Y. Macm. 1908. OUTLINES FOR HIGH SCHOOL POULTRY COURSES New York State Education Department Poultry Husbandry Course. (New York State Education Department, Syllabus for Agriculture in Secondary Schools. 1910. Adapted from pp. 95-103-) POULTRY HUSBANDRY Half-year course. (Daily, i laboratory period per week.) RECITATIONS Feeding fowls. (4-6 recitations.) Breeds. (3-5 recitations.) Importance of vitality. (2-3 recitations.) Breeding. (3-5 recitations.) Killing and picking. (1-2 recitations.) Marketing. (2-4 recitations.) Diseases, parasites, vices and sanitation. (3-5 recitations.) 220 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE Building poultry houses. (5-8 recitations.) Natural incubation. (2-3 recitations.) Artificial incubation. (2-3 recitations.) Brooding with hens. (1-3 recitations.) Artificial brooding. (1-3 recitations.) Feeding chicks. (3-5 recitations.) Fattening. (1-3 recitations.) Capons and broilers. (1-3 recitations.) Turkeys. (1-3 recitations.) Ducks and geese. (1-3 recitations.) LABORATORY EXERCISES Exercises i, 2. Feed hoppers. Exercise 3. Mixing feed. Exercise 4. Parts of a fowl. Exercises 5, 6. Killing and picking. Exercise 7. Age, sex, and vitality. Exercise 8. Egg and meat types. Exercise 9. Making materials for killing lice. Exercise 10. Killing lice. Exercises n and 12. Houses. Exercise 13. Coop for hen with chicks. Exercise 14. Structure of the egg. Exercise 15. Marketing eggs. Exercise 16. Preserving eggs. B HIGH SCHOOL POULTRY COURSE (Outline from " Course in Agriculture for the High Schools of Maine." 1909. pp. 24-27.) i. Poultry culture. a. Attractiveness. b. Advantages. c. Evidences of growth. THE HIGH SCHOOL POULTRY COURSE 221 d. Statistics. e. Successful poultry keeping depends upon the general, accurate, and faithful performances of many small tasks. The characteristics of the successful poultry- man. 2. Purpose of poultry keeping. a. As a part of farm stock. b. As a special business. c. As fancy poultry. 3. Location of poultry buildings. a. Soil and drainage. b. Aspect and situation. c. Water supply. d. Laying and breeding houses. e. Coops and colony houses. /. Poultry appliances, hoppers, nests, yards, fences, etc. 4. Types and breeds of poultry. a. Meat types characteristics and breeds. b. Egg types breeds and characteristics. c. Broiler types. d . Roaster and soft roaster types and characteristics. e. Market types general purpose, breeds, farm poultry. 5. Selection of breeding stock. a. When to select. b. Points to be considered. (1) Constitutional vigor and physical perfection. (2) Breed shape. (3) Comb and head appurtenances. (4) Color of plumage. 6. Anatomy of the fowl. a. Philosophy of the moult (growth of feathers). b. The bony framework. c. Digestive system. d. The ovarian system. 222 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE 7. Feeds and feeding. a. The hard grains. b. The ground grains. c. Mixtures and mashes (wet and dry). d. Animal feed (beef scraps, green bone, etc.). e. Green feed. 8. Egg production. a. Egg production vs. meat production. b. Factors in egg production. (1) Good stock, well grown. (2) A variety of feed, well fed. (3) Suitable buildings. (4) Exercise. (5) Sympathetic interest. 9. Incubation. a. Selection of eggs to set. b. Natural vs. artificial incubation. c. Setting hens. d. History of artificial incubation. e. Chinese and Egyptian methods. /. Modern types of machines. g. Temperature. h. Ventilation. i. Moisture. j. The unknown factor (carbon dioxide). k. Lime assimilation. /. Manipulation of the eggs turning, cooling, etc. 10. Embryology. a. Growth and development of the embryo in the shell. b. Blood rings, dead germs. c. Rotten eggs. d. Chicks fully formed dead in shell. e. Cripples. THE HIGH SCHOOL POULTRY COURSE 223 11. Brooding. a. Natural vs. artificial methods. b. Coops for hens and chickens. c. Brooders types and systems. d. Chinese and Egyptian methods. e. Fireless brooders (Philo system). /. Temperature. g. Ventilation. h. Summer vs. winter brooding. 12. The chick. a. Management. b. Feeds. c. Mortality. (1) Anemia symptoms. (2) Diarrhoea symptoms. (3) Pneumonia symptoms. (4) Lung weakness symptoms. 13. Growing young stock. a. Houses and appliances. b. Management. c. Range. d. Feeds. e. Selection. /. Broilers. g. Roasters. h. Caponizing. i. Soft roasters. 14. Fattening and killing. a. Pen fattening. b. Crate fattening. c. Machine fattening. d. Feeds. e. Killing. (i) Dislocation. 22 4 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE (2) Sticking. (3) Bleeding. /. Picking. (1) Scalding. (2) Dry picking. 15- Marketing. a. Drawn or undrawn. b. Shaping. c. Trussing. d. Packing in barrels ; in boxes. e. English and French methods. 1 6. Dressed poultry. a. Weight. b. General appearance. c. Fleshing finish. d. Softness mellow to the touch. e. Texture. /. Faking. 17. Eggs. a. The structure of an egg. b. Grading weight, size, color, and uniformity. c. Appearance at candling. d. Packages. e. Preservatives. (1) Cold storage. (2) Water glass. (3) Lime water. (4) Salt. 18. Duck culture. a. Breeds of. b. Houses. c. Feeds. d. General management. e. Incubation of eggs. THE HIGH SCHOOL POULTRY COURSE 225 /. Rearing young stock. g. Marketing. 19. Geese and turkeys. a. Breeds. b. Housing. c. Feeding. d. General management. e. Hatching and rearing of young stock. 20. Insects and diseases. a. Insects. b. Common ailments. c. Contagious diseases. d. Remedies. e. Prevention better than cure. PRACTICUMS 1. Make a list of equipment for use in connection with a high school poultry course, to cost not over $75. Assume that one dozen pure-bred fowls and a cock are donated by an interested school patron. In case build- ings or appliances are to be made by students, give approximate cost of materials, and state arrangements to be made for doing the work. 2. Draw to a scale plans for a poultry house and runs for a high school where it is the intention to keep about two dozen hens, one-half of which belong to an egg breed while the others are of V/^// PVBL/C ffO/ID PLAN or SCHOOL GROUNDS, SHOWING MINIATURES OF FARMS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. (From Office of Experiment Stations Cir. 84.) THE SCHOOL FARM 349 tools cost between $700 and $800. The buildings in- clude a dwelling, machine shed, poultry houses, and an in- cubator and brooder house. The dwelling and machine shed were on the land when purchased. The other buildings are worth about $400. It is planned to ex- pend about $1500 for stock, including poultry, registered mares, and other animals. The farm is also to be equipped with a small herd of the best dairy cows, a well-furnished dairy, and other buildings. The agricultural instructor lives in the farm dwelling and supervises the farm work throughout the year, keeping records of all expenditures and receipts, plant- ings, breeding, etc. Two men are hired regularly for the work of the farm. Mr. H. F. Tout, the director of the agricultural work of the school, estimates that stu- dents do about one-tenth of the farm work. The annual cost of maintaining the farm is esti- mated at from $1500 to $2000. The annual receipts, so the agriculturist states, "are not a consideration as yet." In considering the planning of the school agricultural grounds, the idea of utilizing a part of them for the rep- resentation of farms in miniature, as set forth in the suggested plans for a lo-acre farm for a rural consolidated school in Office of Experiment Stations Circular 84, is interesting. Two such plans are here illustrated. Whether it would be advisable for the ordinary high 350 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE 3O ffoos PUB L/C POAD MINIATITRE FARMS ON THE SCHOOL GROUNDS. (From Office of Experiment Stations Cir. 84.) THE SCHOOL FARM 351 school to utilize any of its land for miniature farms seems open to question. Whatever the crops grown and the arrangement of the school farm, the use of land by the ordinary high school should be distinctly educational and adapted to the in- structional work of the school. The majority of schools have, up to the present time, made too little profitable use of land from a pedagogical standpoint. Special, county, and district agricultural high schools seem to need particular warning against the use of land for show purposes only. There have been, in connection with such schools, too many farms whose major purpose was to please the eyes of the people who might see them and to make the farm a means of drawing appropriations from the several political bodies managing the financial affairs of the institution. The use of school land for purposes which cannot be defended from the standpoint of useful teaching and practical educational demonstration is detri- mental to the agricultural work of a school, and should not be permitted. PRACTICUM Plan and map to a scale a school farm for use in con- nection with the work of a high school giving a four-year agricultural course. Describe the equipment needed in buildings, stock, tools, and machines. Discuss crops to be grown and provision to be made for the care and man- agement of the farm. 352 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE Give reasons for your decision as to the proper size of the farm, the equipment needed, crops to be grown, and care and management. REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING Agricultural Project Study. Massachusetts Board of Education Bui., 1912, No. 4. MAIN, JOSIAH. Educational Agriculture. Chapter 14. Western State Normal School (Hays, Kansas) Bui. v. 2, No. 3. 1910. STIMSON, R. W. The Vocational Agricultural School; with Special Emphasis on Part-time Work in Agriculture. Na- tional Society for the Study of Education. Eleventh Year- book. 1912. Part 2, pp. 22-53. CHAPTER XIII THE HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL TEACHER THE introduction of agricultural instruction in the public schools is now encouraged in practically every state of the Union. In many states it is required by law in the elementary schools. In a number of states legislation has been enacted whereby substantial aid is given to high schools introducing agriculture. The economic need and educational value of instruction in agriculture is recognized. Throughout the country there is an increasing demand for teachers of agriculture. All this is well and good ; but if agricultural instruc- tion is to be effective, if it is to live up to the promises that have been made for it, we must have efficient agricultural teachers. If untrained teachers, poorly informed as to agricultural principles and practice, are allowed to teach in our schools, they will, inevitably, do harm to the cause of agricultural education. The value of agricultural instruction will be greatly lessened, and even those students to whom good agricultural training would be most useful will be prejudiced against it. In the high school it is especially necessary that the agricultural teacher not only have agricultural knowl- 2A 353 354 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE edge, but the ability to impart that knowledge. In th college, persistent students may gain information i spite of the poor methods of presentation that ar all too common. In both the high school and th elementary school it is of the greatest importanc that the teacher should not only know the facts c agriculture, but the best means and methods of pre sen ting them. The normal schools are now endeavoring to prepar teachers to give agricultural instruction in the elementar schools. How well or how ill this is done as yet it i not our province to discuss. Graduates of the norrm schools have not, ordinarily, sufficient education c training to teach in the high schools. For teachers fc the secondary schools we must look to the colleges. Unfortunately, the number of agricultural graduate of colleges is as yet small as compared with the graduate in other lines, as, for example, English, or history, c languages. The majority of these agricultural graduate either become instructors in colleges or go out to tr their hands at some line of practical, scientific farminj The high school administrator has, therefore, few t select from. Of these few, perhaps all have sufficien technical knowledge, but only a small remnant are prop erly qualified for the special work of teaching. As a result, in response to the demand for agriculture instruction and in recognition of its value, science teachei THE HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL TEACHER 355 with no technical agricultural training, or agricultural col- lege graduates with no knowledge of teaching methods, are too frequently found giving agricultural instruction in the high school. Or, still worse, we sometimes find a teacher whose chief qualification seems to be that "he was brought up on a farm." The work given by teachers of either of these three classes is almost always disappointing. The agricultural graduate who knows only technical agriculture is apt to select and to present his materials for instruction in an unpedagogic, unsystematic way, often "above the heads" of his students. He over- emphasizes the particular phases of agriculture in which he is most interested. If the school work is too special- ized and technical, students are discouraged at the start. If the agricultural teacher lacks general culture, the educated people of the community are apt to lose respect for both him and his work. The pure science man fails in his agricultural teaching because he lacks a proper viewpoint in his work ; he is apt to be out of touch with the various agencies of agri- cultural education ; and he is almost always lacking in practical farm knowledge and experience. The man whose sole qualification is that he was brought up on a farm may know ordinary farm practice, but he does not know its why and wherefores. He falls into errors in practice because he does not understand 356 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE the scientific basis of agriculture ; he does not know tl principles of agriculture. With such teachers as these, agricultural instructio fails in its aim. Both subject and teacher gain but i repute with pupils, with the high school teaching forc< and in the community at large. Instruction read disastrously on the very movement it is intended t promote, and the cause of agricultural education suffei through those whose greatest interest should be in prc moting it. 1 If we are to have efficient, competent teachers c agriculture in the high school, they must be properl 1 "One of the cardinal difficulties in the organization of agricultur; education is the lack of trained teachers. Teachers who have grown u in the normal schools or those who go into the profession from college and high schools without a normal training, very seldom have practics experience adequate to give them a comprehension of farm problem On the other hand, those who have practical experience find it difficult t secure the scientific training which is necessary to make instruction i farming sufficiently advanced to justify calling it a science. The gradi ates of agricultural colleges are either so much in demand for practice positions, or so poorly qualified for the special work of teaching, that the do not enter upon the teaching profession after they complete the: agricultural course. The result of this whole situation is that there ai many efforts being made to teach agriculture from textbooks, and thes efforts are being criticized by practical people and educators alike as to abstract. In other quarters instruction lacks that systematic an progressive character which can come only from the study of the science upon which farming must ultimately rest. Practical farmers are n better teachers than the abstract students of textbooks." C. M. Judc Introduction to B. M. Davis, " Agricultural Education," p. 3. THE HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL TEACHER 357 prepared for their work. They must be thorough scientists, technically educated agriculturists, practical farmers, and trained teachers. The preparation of an agricultural teacher should in- clude, first of all, a thorough grounding in the elementary principles of science, a detailed technical study of agri- culture, and a certain amount of training in farm prac- tice. It should include study of rural sociology and agri- cultural economics. And it should include enough other work to give insight into different fields of knowledge and avoid over-specialization. Along professional lines it should include some study of the history of education, especially agricultural educa- tion, and of the place and purpose of agriculture in the high school; a general study of the principles of edu- cation ; of educational psychology ; and of school man- agement. Lastly, it should include special study of methods of teaching agriculture in secondary schools, and observation and practice teaching of agriculture with secondary pupils. That the teacher of agriculture in the high school needs a detailed and specialized knowledge of his subject is unquestioned. The preparation necessary for the high school teacher of other subjects, such as history, Latin, and mathematics, includes, by common consent, univer- sity or collegiate training in his specialty. This necessity is no less for the teacher of agriculture. In fact, univer- 358 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE sity training is probably more essential for him. For it is usually expected of an agricultural teacher that he not only give instruction to his pupils, but that his in- fluence and activities extend outside of the school, reaching the farming population in the community. It is agreed by agricultural educators that, if possible, helpful extension work should be planned which will reach adults outside of the schoolroom, and which will assist in establishing the school work in the estimation of the public. The agricultural teacher therefore needs to be so well informed concerning his subject that he can command not only the respect of pupils, but that of practical farmers of the community. In order to do this extension work, to meet the farmers of the community on common ground, it is evident that the teacher must have, together with his technical knowledge, understanding of practical agricul- ture. He must be able, if an occasion presents itself, to do farm work in a deft, workmanlike way. If a part of his youth has been spent upon a farm, he will find this experience of great advantage to him in teaching agricul- ture successfully in a community where general agricul- ture is practiced. In any case he should have had at least enough actual practice in doing farm work under ordinary farm conditions so that he has skill and ease and ability in farm operations. If agriculture is to become universally recognized as a THE HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL TEACHER 359 science as well as an art, the agricultural teacher must be thoroughly grounded in science. A knowledge of tech- nical agriculture is not sufficient. The principles of agricultural science have been, and are being, developed through the application of scientific principles in the field of agriculture. They are produced and organized and applied through the study of the chemistry of plant and animal life, the productivity of soils, the culture of certain kinds of plants, animal husbandry, and the like. All knowledge of agriculture as a science must be de- veloped through knowledge of various basic sciences. However, the fact should not be forgotten that this study of science must be accompanied by equally thorough training in technical agriculture. Just as technical agriculture alone is not sufficient for the agricultural teacher, neither is a thorough knowledge of science sufficient. The weakness of the pure science man as a teacher of agriculture has already been referred to. We have no reason to expect because a man is a scholarly and expert botanist and zoologist that he will therefore be an equally skillful agriculturist. Without special training there is no likelihood that he will be. With many of the facts concerning plant growth and de- velopment which are of great importance to the agricul- turist, the botanist has little concern; in many facts concerning animal life, of vital importance to the farmer, the zoologist has no interest. Both the botanist 360 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE and the zoologist are interested in a multitude of facts and phenomena which have but a passing interest for the agriculturist. Even when the trained agriculturist and the trained science man take the same subject for presentation and study, there is likely to be a noticeable difference in method because of the difference in point of view. The agriculturist looks upon his stock of scientific knowledge, and upon the knowledge of nature presented to pupils in the high school sciences, as largely for the purpose of improving upon nature and as a foundation for other knowledge. Too frequently the scientist finds it impossible to take this point of view. He is too much inclined to teach facts for what they are worth as facts of pure science. Moreover, it is difficult for the scientist to gather into synthetic unity the dissociated bits of the subject, when trying to teach agriculture. In order to secure the habits and knowledge of agri- cultural science, those that make it really unique and distinguish it from all other fields, there must be special study of the facts and processes that belong to that field. A knowledge of the other sciences, though they may be the basis of agriculture, is not sufficient. In addition to his scientific and technical training, the agricultural teacher should have as much broad general knowledge as possible. He should be able to recognize the limitations as well as the educational resources of his THE HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL TEACHER 361 specialty. He should understand what his pupils can get from the study of agriculture and what they cannot get. He should know from what courses the pupils can get other needed training. Too many high school teachers have little apprecia- tion of what should be the right relation of their depart- ment to the other departments of the high school. Their ambition is to push their subject to the front, regardless of its comparative value. They seem, sometimes, to desire to crowd out other subjects altogether. They have no idea of relative values. Every high school teacher, if he is to do the best grade of work, must be able to see his work in relation to that of his fellow teachers and be able to cooperate with them on a basis of mutual understanding to the advantage of the institution as a whole. Included in his general education, the agricultural teacher needs good training in English and public speak- ing, as a preparation for the extension or community work which is coming to be an expected part of his duties. For this work, too, some knowledge of economics, espe- cially agricultural economics, will be very valuable. In fact, any studies which put him in touch with the life and activities of the world and help him to under- stand better the relations of society will be of advantage. Lastly, the agricultural teacher needs broad general knowledge in order that he may make his work respected 362 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE as it should be by his colleagues, by the high school pupils, and by the community. For no very good reason, there exists at present in many communities and even among educated people, a lack of respect for agriculture as an occupation and a lack of appreciation of the thorough education which a university-trained agriculturist now receives. It is particularly necessary that the high school teacher of agriculture be a man of wide general information and considerable culture if this tide of unfair opinion is to be turned. There is no more reason for the slighting fling at the " farmer's" occupation than for that of the en- gineer. It is a part of the duty of agricultural teachers to make the kind of work for which they stand respected and dignified. The teacher of agriculture, as of any other high school subject, needs to have a certain amount of professional knowledge and training, acquired either during the last two years of his university course or in postgraduate study in a good school of education. One of the greatest hindrances to-day to the progress of agricultural education lies in the fact that so many agricultural teachers have only a student's knowledge of subject matter and are lacking in other essential qualifi- cations of a successful teacher. Every teacher of agriculture should be well grounded in the social and pedagogical principles and problems THE HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL TEACHER 363 involved in all education. He should have a right point of view as to education in general. His training should include a general study of the past history and present status of educational institutions and the relation of the high school to the elementary school and the university ; the aims and organization of work in secondary schools and some comparison of our own with foreign secondary schools; the history of the teaching of agriculture, especially in the elementary and secondary schools; a course in educational psychology, with special emphasis on adolescence ; study of the fundamental principles of education, with consideration of educational aims, values, and processes or methods ; special study of methods of teaching agricultural subjects in the high school ; and a certain amount of experience in instruction and class management with secondary pupils. In addition, some study of school hygiene and of the organization and man- agement of the school system is most desirable. The high school teacher needs to know something of the history of secondary education in order to under- stand the present place and work of secondary schools. He needs to know something of our present civilization, social conditions, and the obligations of citizenship in order to understand the work and problems of public education in general and the work, purposes, and special problems of secondary education in particular. He needs to have a knowledge of the fundamental 364 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE facts of psychology and of their educational applications, in order that he may deal wisely with pupils in instruc- tion and general management. Much of the psychology taught in many universities is not directly serviceable to teachers, it is true. It may not be clear as to how some of this information will help in teaching boys and girls. It is perhaps difficult to point out how it can be put to specific daily use in solving particular problems. But that a knowledge of educational psychology is valuable to the teacher, there is no doubt. Human minds do not work in a lawless way, and the teacher should know the laws of the mind, just as an electrical engineer needs to be familiar with the laws of electricity, before he installs a plant. As a civil engineer who deals with certain materials studies these materials, so the high school teacher should study the general laws governing the working of the minds of boys and girls of the high school age before he attempts to teach them. He should have a knowledge and appreciation of the processes and laws of mental growth, and should under- stand the fundamental characteristics of pupils of the adolescent period. If he is to know how to govern pupils, how to enlist and hold attention, how to teach pupils to study, he must understand their mental char- acteristics and shape student management and instruc- tion in harmony with it. THE HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL TEACHER 365 Supplementing study of educational psychology should come the study of pedagogy. Too often the agricultural teacher knows enough of his subject, but he does not know how to teach it. As a part of his preparation he needs a good general survey of teaching methods for the high school and special knowledge and training in the teaching of his own subject. Teaching methods for industrial or vocational sub- jects are quite unlike those adapted to the older high school subjects. Methods for different vocational sub- jects vary widely. In agricultural teaching particularly a knowledge of special methods for the subject is neces- sary. For example, the proper management of the work of individual gardens, experimental or problem gardens, and demonstration plots demands a knowledge of special methods of procedure. Each requires a differ- ent treatment as a part of the instructional work of the high school. Moreover, the agricultural field is so broad that the prospective teacher needs to make a special study of materials and methods from the viewpoint of the secondary school, that he may be able to segregate from the entire field such materials as will make a suitable course for a given place or a given length of time. He must understand how to adapt his knowledge to the com- prehension of high school pupils ; how to recast that knowledge to fit the pupil's mind. Too many young college graduates fail to recognize 366 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE the fact that high school students are boys and girls, not grown-up young men and women. They insist on doing special and technical work before their pupils are prepared for it. They do not realize that college mate- rials and methods are not necessarily suited to the high school, and that what was admirable in college instruction may be quite the reverse in the high school. They are too prone to follow the example of their college profes- sors in teaching, since their example is fresh in memory. If this example has been good, the result of their imita- tion may be fairly satisfactory. But if not, pupils and subject suffer. In addition to instruction in special teachers' courses in his own subject, the high school agricultural teacher should, if possible, have some opportunity for observation and practice teaching with secondary pupils, under proper supervision. He needs practice in making lesson plans and opportunities to teach under the direction of helpful critics. He needs to acquire, in addition to a knowledge of certain educational principles and rules, good sense in applying those rules, to be able to judge as to when to enforce a rule and when to disregard it, though it may be an accepted procedure in teaching. The university-trained agriculturist is not, "ipso facto," a teacher. Nor does he always become a good teacher after he goes out into the high school, by the experience gained there in his work. A few people THE HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL TEACHER 367 may be "born teachers"; but the number is rare. The average person needs training in order to become a good teacher, as much as for any other vocation. How the agricultural teacher is to get experience and training as a part of his preparation to acquire skill in teaching is still a question. It is asserted by some that every university should have, as a " laboratory" for its education department, a secondary school of observation and practice for students preparing to teach in the high school. But others affirm that we cannot expect the universities to undertake this line of work because of the difficulty of securing support for such schools in students of right quality and number as well as in money. Moreover, it is objected that ordinary high school conditions do not prevail in such schools. As a substitute, it is suggested that arrangements be made with local high schools for practice work and sub- stituting, the university possibly assisting in paying the salaries of superior teachers for such schools, with the understanding that they supervise the practice work of students and act as critic teachers. The ideal plan for practice work as a part of a future high school teacher's training is as yet undetermined, though in one way or another a considerable number of colleges are trying to find it. But that the practice teaching should be in schools of secondary rank seems 368 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE unquestioned. The suggestion that experience in grades be made a part of a high school teacher's training has not infrequently been made. But the fact that grade pupils are of different age, capacity, and characteristics from high school pupils makes such an arrangement very unsatisfactory. Finally, the high school agricultural teacher must be of desirable personal qualities. He should have good health, good habits, a well-balanced mind, and an opti- mistic nature. He should be of strong, sympathetic per- sonality, able to feel and see with his pupils. " Without sympathy a teacher may develop such a spirit of con- trariness in his pupils that they will walk to the block and lay down their intellectual heads before they will study for him." He must have imagination, that he may put himself in the position of pupils and look through their eyes. He should have a well-developed sense of humor, enabling him to see and to enjoy the humorous, to en- liven the routine of daily school work, and to take the sting out of unpleasant situations. He must be prepared to meet people pleasantly in his community work and to establish agreeable working relations with them; and he must be prepared to maintain harmonious relations with his fellow teachers. Some people ought never to teach, whatever their training. The man of bad personal habits, bad taste, irritable, gloomy, or narrow in his views of life has no THE HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL TEACHER 369 business in a schoolroom. The universities should see to it that those students who have not the natural traits of a good teacher are urged to take up some other line of work. There are many things besides teaching which an agriculturally trained man can do. If he shows plainly that he is not adapted to the teaching profession, he should be urged to take up some farming occupation, not to go into the high school to teach. Agricultural colleges should not recommend persons to teach unless they have natural ability as teachers, together with a proper amount of technical and professional training. It is evident that many of the qualifications necessary for the high school agricultural teacher are quite as necessary for other high school teachers ; but it is equally clear that a more extended training is required for him than for his colleagues. Moreover, the duties as well as the preparation of an agricultural teacher are greater than those of other high school teachers. As has been said, it is now recognized that the high school agricultural teacher (as also perhaps the home economics and the manual training teacher) must not only work with students, but that he must be prepared to do a certain amount of community or extension work ; that is, work for and among those members of the agri- cultural community who do not attend school, the men and women on the farms and the boys and girls who cannot attend school regularly. 2B 370 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE The question may be raised as to why such duties should devolve upon the agricultural and other voca- tional teachers, and not upon the teachers of other sub- jects. In the first place, even though other departments might wish to help the people of the community, there is little opportunity for them to do so because of their limited equipment along practical lines. Comparatively few persons are interested in the languages, or school mathematics; but all farmers and many others are in- terested in agriculture. We need comparatively few scholars, but many breadwinners. However, it would undoubtedly be a move in the right direction if the teachers of the so-called cultural subjects should search out the possibilities in extension work along their own lines, inaugurating reading circles, popular literary or historical lecture courses, and the like. In order to do extension work most effectively, the agricultural teacher must be in keen sympathy with rural needs and welfare ; he must give more or less time to special study and investigation of agricultural prob- lems in the locality. He must be thoroughly informed as to all the work of the national government and the state agricultural college and experiment station along lines of interest to farmers of the district ; and he should keep in touch with the experiment stations in other states where work is done under conditions similar to those in his own state. THE HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL TEACHER 371 He must be able not only to present a topic to a class, but to take up the agricultural problems of farmers and to help in finding a solution. He must be able to direct and carry on short course work, to direct the work of farmers' institutes, to cooperate with the state experi- ment station and the national government in carrying on experiments at a school experiment station for the benefit of the locality. He should be able to prepare for publication, in good, clear English, leaflets bearing on the agricultural problems of the district, and to di- rect their distribution. He may not do all this, and unless special assistance is given him whereby his classroom work is lightened and financial support is assured, he will be unable to do so ; but he should have preparation which fits him to do this kind of work. In addition to his regular school and extension duties, the agricultural teacher is frequently expected to be on duty practically throughout the year, being responsible for the school farm during the summer vacation period and supervising the summer home project work of stu- dents. His vacation, if he has one, is thus necessarily brief ; unless there are two or more agricultural teachers in the high school, and arrangements are made whereby they relieve each other at certain times ; or unless, as has been suggested (pp. 322-23), it is possible to so arrange the agricultural work of the school as to give the 372 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE teacher a winter vacation corresponding to the summer vacation of other teachers. Having reviewed the qualifications and legitimate duties of the agricultural teacher, the next question is naturally as to where he can receive proper training for his work. 1 In most of the agricultural colleges provision is made for instruction in the history and theory of peda- gogy, 2 and in a considerable number special courses are given for students preparing for public school teaching. However, in many cases this preparation is especially for rural or elementary school work. 3 In a few colleges an endeavor is made to prepare students especially for high school agricultural teaching ; but the number is very limited. In only one or two instances is there any at- tempt to give supervised experience in high school practice teaching. 1 It is perhaps needless to say that persons already teaching agricul- ture, but inadequately prepared for their work, should, wherever possible, discontinue teaching to prepare themselves fully. Where this is not possible, they should take advantage of summer school or correspondence courses, dealing with the subjects in which they are lacking. 2 Monahan, A. C., " What is being done to prepare Teachers of Second- ary Agriculture," U. S. Bur. of Education Bui., 1912, No. 6, pp. 41- 51 ; U. S. Bur. of Education, Report of the Commissioner, 1910, pp. 256- 258; Davis, B. M., "Agricultural Education," chapter 5, University of Chicago Press, 1910. 3 Except where the teachers are to be supervisors of the work, this seems to be a mistake. For the normal schools can, if they secure prop- erly trained teachers from the agricultural colleges, very well take care of the training in agriculture of the grade or rural school teacher. THE HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL TEACHER 373 Even where adequate training can be secured for secondary agricultural teaching, comparatively few students take the work. Opportunities for trained agriculturists in the commercial world and in practical farming are as yet more attractive than teaching in a high school. The tendency is naturally to emphasize technical training, since it is this that promises the great- est returns. If agricultural college students are to be induced to take the special professional training needed to fit them for high school work and to engage in teaching, they must be paid salaries which will make the work attractive to them. Otherwise such persons will refuse to enter the schoolroom and will go into the commercial world. If teachers of the desired grade are to be attracted to high school agricultural work, they must be paid salaries com- mensurate with the experience and training which they have received and the duties they are expected to per- form. The agricultural teacher should, obviously, re- ceive a salary greater than that of a mere skilled agri- culturist, or that of the ordinary academic trained teacher of history or English. It must be at least as much as would be received in other lines of work open to him. That it is worth while to pay such salaries to high school teachers of agriculture, there is no doubt. For agricultural work, or vocational work of any kind, the best teachers are needed. Inefficiency is more disastrous 374 MATERIALS AND METHODS IN AGRICULTURE in this than in any other kind of teaching work. From the incompetent teacher, pupils will receive neither satis- factory training in the art of farming nor educative in- struction in the science of agriculture. But the value of the services of an efficient agricultural teacher to pupils and to the community is beyond measure. From him pupils receive practical training which enables them to go out and earn a living ; and that interest in and un- derstanding of their environment which gives zest to life. Through the work and influence of many such shall industrial education in general and agricultural education in particular "come to its own" and be put on an assured basis of support in the minds of the people. PRACTICUM Outline a four-year college course which you consider best suited to the needs of a person preparing to teach agriculture in a high school. Indicate studies for each year and the amount of time (credit hours) to be devoted to each. REFERENCES FOR COLLATERAL READING BAILEY, L. H. On the Training of Persons to teach Agriculture in the Public Schools. U. S. Bur. of Education Bui. 1908. No. i. DAVIS, B. M. Agricultural Education in the Public Schools. Chapters 5 and 7. Chic. University of Chicago Press. 1912. MONAHAN, A. C. What is being done to prepare Teachers of Sec- THE HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL TEACHER 375 ondary Agriculture. U. S. Bur. of Education Bui. 1912. No. 6. pp. 41-51. Professional Preparation of High School Teachers. National Education Association. Proceedings. 1907. pp. 523-617. (Report of the Committee of Seventeen.) ROBISON, C. H., and JENKS, F. B. Agricultural Instruction in High Schools. U. S. Bur. of Education Bui. 1913. No. 6. pp. 24-50. SACHS, JULIUS. The American Secondary School. Part I. The Teacher. N. Y. Macmillan. 1912. STORM, A. V. The Unprepared Teacher of Agriculture in High Schools and Colleges of Education. U. S. Bur. of Education Bui. 1912. No. 6. pp. 33-40. What constitutes the Ideal Secondary Teacher. Symposium. National Society for the Study of Education. Fourth Year- book. 1905. Part i. pp. 27-48. The Work of the Agricultural Colleges in Training Teachers of Agriculture for Secondary Schools. Office of Experiment Stations Cir. 118. 1912. (Fifteenth Report of the Committee on Instruction in Agriculture of the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations.) INDEX Accounts, study of farm, 56, 61, 296- 297, 299. Agricultural instruction in high schools, history of, 4-8. Agricultural news hour, the, 301. Agricultural schools, special secondary, function of, o-io. Alabama, establishment of agricul- tural schools in, 5-6. Anderson, Leroy, outline for poultry work by, 210. Animal husbandry, place of, in curricu- lum, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49 ff., 156-157; character and scope of courses, 155- 156; outlines for courses, 157 ff., 169183; textbooks for, 161; man- uals, exercises, score cards, etc., 162 ; recitations, review quizzes, and lectures, 164-165; equipment for, 165 ff.; books on, 167-168; com- munity work in connection with, 168-169. Apparatus, for agricultural labora- tories, 93-97. See Equipment. Arkansas, establishment of agricultural schools in, 6. Authority, the necessary acquisition of knowledge by, 67; complement- ing and verification of, by personal observation and tests, 67-68. B Bailey, L. H., on terms "farm manage- ment" and "rural economics," 269. Bakersfield, Cal., outline for horticul- tural work in high school, 248-249; school farm at, 347-349. Barley, excess per acre abroad in pro- duction of, over United States, 19. Beekeeping, study of, 61, 129. Blackberry, outline for study of the, 257-258. Blacksmithing, study of, in farm me- chanics, 275, 281-282. Books in school agricultural library, 100-104; for first-year work, 147- 154; for course in animal husbandry, 166-168; for dairying course, 196- 197; for poultry course, 210-211, 218-219; fr horticultural course, 244; for farm mechanics, 290-294; for farm management course, 303- 305. See also Textbooks. Botany in agricultural course, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50 ff., 127, 130 ff., 139. Bricker, G. A., quoted, r, 8-9, 42, 66. Budding, study of, 59, 229, 232, 238. Building, practical work in, 283-284. Buildings, planning, grouping, and construction of farm, 262263, 2 ?6. Bulletins, agricultural, for school li- braries, 102-103, 147. Butter, Danish, 18-19. Butterfield, President, on nomenclature of course in rural economics, 268- 269. C California, high school agricultural courses in, 54-57 ; outlines for work in horticulture for high schools in, 227, 247-261 ; outlines for work in farm mechanics in, 308-309. California Polytechnic School, 7. Circulars, agricultural, for school li- braries, 102-103. Cities, dependence of, on successful agriculture, 20. Clubs, agricultural, 80-8 1 ; poultry, 215; gardening, in horticultural work, 235. 377 378 INDEX Coin, Iowa, high school agricultural course, 57-61. Colleges, province of agricultural work in, 23 ; relief to, by establishment of special secondary schools of agri- culture, o-io ; criticism of graduates of agricultural, and reasons, 314. Commercial farm, the model, 325-326. Community gardens, in horticultural course, 234-236. Community work, by high school agri- cultural departments, 82-86; in connection with animal husbandry, i68-i6g; in dairy course, 198; in poultry course, 215 ; in horticultural course, 246247 ; in farm mechanics and farm buildings, 294295 ; in farm management, 305-307 ; in connection with the school farm, 323 ; qualifications necessary to teacher for, 358, 369-371. Contests in agricultural work, 81 ; utilization of, in horticultural course, 234; plowing, 295. Cook, Dean, quoted, 339. Cooperative breeding, 198. Corn-growing clubs, 81. Cotton-growing clubs, 81. Country life conferences, 307. County agricultural high schools, 6-7. Courses of study, agricultural, 32-63. Cow-testing associations, 198. Crocheron, B. H., community work outlined by, 83-84. Crop garden, the, 145. Crops, study of, 226. Crosby, D. J., cited, o, 234; on use of illustrative material in teaching agriculture, 77-78 ; community work outlined by, 83-84. Curriculum, arrangement of the high school, 32-63. Dairying, place of, in high school cur- riculum, 44, 45, 47, 48, 50, 155, 156, 184-185; textbooks in, 73; labora- tory equipment for courses in, 95- 96, 194-196; rightful popularity of course, 185; suggested division of class into a girls' and a boys' section, 1 86; topics to be included in course, 186-187; importance of teacher's outlining work, 187; methods of approaching work, 187 ff. ; text- books for, 189190; recitations in, 190-191 ; laboratory and other prac- ticum work, 191-192 ; field trips, 193-194; individual home project work, 194; books and bulletins for, 196-198; community work in con- nection with, 198 ; outlines of courses in, 199204. Davenport, E., quoted, 12, 8, 23. Davis, B. M., cited, 372. Davis bill, to secure federal aid for high school instruction in agricul- ture, 91. De Garmo, C., quoted and cited, 22, 28 n., 33, 66, 68. Demonstration plots in gardens, 144- 145 ; care of, in vacations, 335-336. Demonstrations, use of, in first-year work, 141-142. Denmark, advantage of agricultural education in case of, 18-19. Drainage, study of, 136, 266, 275. Drawing instruments and materials, 290. Dried fruit industry, study of, 259. E Education, vital importance of agri- cultural, 1 6-2 1 ; arguments from standpoint of, for giving agriculture in the public schools, 21-29; em- phasis to be placed on, as main object of the school farm, 324-325, 351. Elementary schools, object of agri- cultural work in, 1-2. Eliot, C. W., "New Definition of the Cultured Man" by, quoted, 27 n. Elliff, J. D., outline for animal hus- bandry course by, 159, 177-181. Environmental conditions, first-year study of, in high school agricultural work, 44, 132, 133, 134 ff. INDEX 379 Equipment, for teaching high school agriculture, 88 S. ; provision of, for first-year work, 146; for animal husbandry work, 165 ff. ; for dairy work, 194-196; for poultry work, 215-217 ; for outdoor work in horti- culture, 243; for farm mechanics and farm buildings, 285-290, 309; for farm management, 302; for school farms, 331-335. Europe, excess in production per acre in, over United States, 19. Exhibits, of agricultural products in connection with club work, 81-82 ; illustrative, as a part of agricultural school equipment, 105-106; of dairy products, 198 ; of poultry prod- ucts, 212; in connection with hor- ticultural work, 237. Experimental grounds for practice work, 79. Experimental work, as the province of agricultural study in colleges, 2-3 ; as one means of acquiring knowledge in high school, 69. Experiment station, the school farm as an, 323-324. "Experiment Station Record," an essential for school libraries, 104. Experiment stations, new agricultural truths discovered by, 15. Extension work in agriculture. See Community work. F Farm animals, second-year study of, 44, 48 ff., 156-157. Farm buildings, course in, 273 ; sub- jects to be studied under, 276; text- books in, 278; practicum work in, 283-285 ; community work in con- nection with, 294-295. Farmer, arguments advanced by the, for agricultural teaching in high schools, 13-21. Farmers' institutes, 295. Farm management, place of, in curric- ulum, 44, 45, 295; scope of study, 264 ; division of time between prac- tice work and recitations in, 273- 274; growing realization of impor- tance of economy in, 295-296 ; text- books in, 297 ; lectures in, 297-298 ; practicum work, 298-300; equip- ment for, 302 ; periodicals and books for, 302-305; community work in, 305-307 J outline of work in, 310. Farm mechanics, study of, in fourth year, 262 ; scope of study, 264 ; discussion as to term, 267-272 ; sub- jects of study, 274-275; textbooks and bulletins on, 276-277; lectures and reading assignments, 277-278; library equipment, 200-294; com- munity work in connection with, 294295 ; outlines of work in, 308 309; equipment for, 309; outline for work in, 310. See Machinery. Federal aid for high school instruction in agriculture, 90-91. Felmley, David, quoted, 16. Fences, building of, 276. Fertilizer demonstration plots, 144- 145- Fertilizers, study of, 136, 137 ; securing samples of, 146. Field crops, study of, 226. Field exercises, place of, in first-year work, 141, 142. Field trips for high school classes, 75, 7679; use of, in first-year work, 142; in animal husbandry course, 161 ; in dairy work, 193-194 ; in poultry work, 212, 213; in horti- cultural course, 237; in farm me- chanics, 278. Field work, proper employment of, 239- First-year agricultural work, 108 ff. ; question of name to be chosen for, 109112; outline of course in, 112 113; interrelation of, with begin- ning course in science, 113 ff. ; tab- ular arrangement giving outline of first-year course, 126-140; demon- strations, laboratory, and field work in, 141-142 ; excursions or field trips, 142 ; garden work, 142- 144; demonstration plots, 144-145; INDEX equipment for, 145-146; field trips and community observations, 147 ; library equipment, 147-154. Floriculture, 230, 231, 239. Forestry in agricultural course, 47, 48, 56, 61. Forge work, 276, 279; equipment for, 309- Fourth-year work, 262 ff. Fruit culture, study of, 227-229; indoor work in connection with, 236-237 ; outline for course in, 250- 260. Gardena, Cal., high school agricultural course, 56; outline for horticultural work in, 249; practical work in building at, 284; outline of farm mechanics work at, 308 ; school farm at, 347. Gardens, school, 79 ; disposal of prod- ucts of, 144; individual and com- munity, in horticultural work, 233- 236. Garden tools for school farm, 335. Garden work in first-year course, 142- 144. Gardener, F. D., on terms "farm man- agement" and "rural economics," 270-272. Gasoline engine, study of, 274; secur- ing apparatus for studying, 289. Georgia, establishment of agricultural schools in, 6. Goats on school farms, 333. Grafting, 50, 229, 238, 249. Grape, outline for study of the, 254- 257- Greenhouses for practice work, 79, 96, 241-242. Guthrie County, Iowa, high school agricultural course, 53-54. H Halligan, C. P., on high school course in horticulture, 227. Harvesting methods, study of, 229, 259-260. Hens, amount realized from, in Amer- ica, 205. See Poultry. High schools, scope and purpose of instruction in agriculture in, i ff.; history of agricultural teaching in, 4-8; arguments for and against establishment of separate agricul- tural high schools, 8-10 ; unanimity of opinion as to advantage of agri- cultural instruction in, 10-11; rea- sons for introducing agriculture in, 1 2 ff . ; arguments advanced by the farmer for agricultural teaching in, 13-21 ; arguments from the educa- tional standpoint for, 21-29; age of leaving, raised by agricultural teach- ing, 30; place of agriculture in cur- riculum of, 32 ff. ; teachers and teaching methods in, 65 ff., 353-374. Holtville, Cal., union high school agri- cultural course, 57. Home project work, 51, 80, 314-323; in dairying, 194. Horse, study of the, 177-178. Horticulture, course in, 44, 226; topics to be included in, 227-231 ; text- books for, 231 ; laboratory work and field practicums in, 231-237; apparatus for use in, 243 ; books and bulletins for, 244-246; community work in connection with, 246-247 ; outlines for, 247-261. Howe, F. W., cited on agricultural clubs, 80. Hurd, W. D., course in agriculture prepared by, 52-53. Hyatt, E., quoted, 29 n. I Illustrative lessons, suggestions from publications giving, 148, 149-151. Illustrative material, use of, 77-78, 105-106. Implements, study of, in farm me- chanics course, 274, 288; for the school farm, 334-335. Incubators, practice in use of, 214. Indian and Negro schools, agricultural courses in, 7. INDEX Industrial education, state aid of, 90- 93- Initiative, development of, by home practice work, 80, 314-323. Insect study, 158, 175, 176-177, 229. Iowa, high school agricultural courses in, 53-54, 57-6i. Irrigation, study of, 136, 229, 266, 275. Jewell, J. R., cited, 18. Judd, C. M., on teachers of agriculture, 356 n. K Kansas, state aid of agricultural teach- ing in high schools in, 92 n. Kern County, Cal., high school agri- cultural course, 54-56. Knapp, Seaman A., work of, among Southern farmers, 20. Labor on school farms, division of, between students and employees, 337-341. Laboratory, equipment of the, 93-96; location, 96 ; supplies for, 97 ; for dairy work, 195. Laboratory work, 75-76, 141, 142; publications giving exercises for, 149-151, 239-240; in dairying, 191- 192; in horticulture, 231 ff. Landscape gardening, 230; indoor practicum work in, 238-239; out- line for study of, 261. Lange, A. F., quoted, 25 n. Lath-houses for work in horticulture, 241, 242-243. Lectures, use of, in high school agri- culture, 74-75 ; in animal husbandry courses, 161 ; illustrated, in con- nection with community work, 294- 295- Library, the agricultural, 74, 99-105. See Books. Lighting of farm buildings, study of, 276. Live stock, place of study, in high school curriculum, 45, 226; list of books on, 167-168; outlines for courses, 160-183; provision for, on the school farm, 333. Louisiana, state aid of agricultural teaching in high schools in, 92 n. M Machinery, farm, study of, 44, 45, 262, 274, 279, 288. Machines for the school farm, 334-335. McKay, Professor, cited, 18. Magazines, dealing with farm me- chanics, 292 ; articles on farm man- agement in, 302-303. Main, Josiah, charts of agricultural course for high schools prepared by, 62-63; quoted, 327. Maine, agricultural course for high schools in, 52-53 ; state aid of indus- trial and agricultural teaching in, 92 n. ; outline for animal husbandry course in, 180-183; poultry course for high schools in, 220-225. Manual training course, desirability of, 275-276; farm devices and appli- ances to be made in, 279. Marketing methods, study of, 229, 259-260. Marketing products of school farm, 326. Maryland, state aid of agricultural and other industrial teaching in high schools in, 92 n. Massachusetts, state schools of agri- culture in, 7 ; state aid of vocational agricultural departments in high schools in, 92. Massachusetts Education Service, home project work recommended by, 322-323. Mechanical drawing, advantage of instruction in, 276; textbooks in, 277; desirability of, in farm me- chanics and farm buildings, 285 ; instruments for use in, 200. Michigan, county agricultural high schools in, 6 ; agricultural courses in, 158, 227. 382 INDEX Michigan Agricultural College, high school course in agriculture in, 49- 51 ; outline for animal production course in, 173; outline of dairying course, 199; outline of farm man- agement work, 310; subject of school farms passed over in publica- tions of, 329. Miniature farms, on school grounds, 349-351. Minnesota, county high schools of agriculture and domestic science in, 6; state aid of industrial and agri- cultural departments in high schools in, 91 n. Minnesota Department of Public Instruction, outline of animal hus- bandry course by, 160; outline of dairy course by, 187; outline for poultry study, 209210. Minnesota University College of Agri- culture, agricultural high school of, 5. Mississippi, county agricultural high schools in, 6. Model farm shop, 280; construction and equipment, 285-288. Monahan, A. C., cited, 372. Mount Hermon, instruction in agri- culture at, 7. Museum, the field, 145. N Nature-study, agricultural, 2. New York, state aid of agricultural departments in, 7, 91 n. New York State Education Depart- ment, agricultural course for high schools suggested by, 51-52; out- line for animal production course in, 157-158, 160-172; outline for poultry study, 219-220; horticul- tural work suggested by, 227; on home project work, 320; subject of land equipment passed over in bul- letins of, 329. New York State School of Agriculture, Canton, N. Y., labor on school farm at, 339- Nomenclature, desirability of uniform- ity in, i oo-n i ; of course pertaining to rural economics, 267272. Normal schools, agricultural work in, 7, 354- North Dakota, state aid of agricul- tural and other industrial teaching in schools of, 92 n. Notebooks for recording exercises and demonstrations, 141. Oats, excess per acre abroad in pro- duction of, over United States, 19. Observation, acquisition of knowledge by personal, 67-68; training of high school pupils in, 68; supple- menting of, by experiment, 69. Oklahoma, provision for agricultural high schools in, 6. Olericulture, 229; outline for course of study in, 260-261. Orchard fruits, study of, 227, 228, 229. Orchards, work in, 229, 232, 238. Oxnard, Cal., school farm of high school at, 345. Page bill, to secure federal aid for high school instruction in agriculture, 91. Palmer, C. F., cited on lath- houses, 243 n. ; outline of Gardena High School course in horticulture by, 249; on labor on Gardena school farm, 347. Peach, outline for study of the, 252 254- Pennsylvania, state aid of agricultural teaching in high schools in, 92 n. Periodicals, agricultural, for school libraries, 100-104, 149-154. Plant and plant production, first-year study of, in high schools, 43-44, 108-109, 125 ff., 228-229; tabulated arrangement of course, 126-140; review of, to be included in the hor- ticultural work, 228-229; use of greenhouses and lath-houses for, 241-243. INDEX 383 Plowing contests, 295. Pomology, inclusion of, in horticultural work, 229. Potatoes, excess per acre abroad in production of, over United States, 19. Poultry course, 45, 205 ff . ; importance of, 205 ; suitability of subject for high school agricultural course, 206- 207; place of, in curriculum, 208- 209; outlines for study, 200-210, 219-225; books and laboratory manuals for, 210-211; teaching methods, 211 ff. ; community work in connection with, 215; equipment for, 215-217; library equipment, 217-219. Power, study of sources of farm, 274. Practice work, necessity of, 70; in greenhouses, experimental grounds, and school farms, 79 ; importance of, and of the school farm for, 98; in teaching, for high school agricultural teachers, 366-368. Practicums, provision of, by teachers, for laboratory work, 76 ; publications giving, 149-154; in animal hus- bandry, 162, 163-164; dairy work, 191194; farm buildings, 283285; in farm management, 298-300 ; farm mechanics, 282-283 ; horticultural, 231 ff. ; poultry work, 212 ff. Price, Dean, on nomenclature of rural engineering subjects, 269-270. Products of gardens, disposal of, 144. Project study, 51, 80, 314-323. Pruning, 59, 229, 238. Psychology, knowledge of educational, essential to teacher of agriculture, 363-364- Repairs, farm, 282. Research work as the province of col- lege agricultural study, 2-3. Road construction, study of, 61, 266- 267. Roosevelt, Theodore, on the depend- ence of the state on the farmer, 13- 14. Rotation-of-crops demonstration plots, 144-145. Row, R. K., cited, 327. Rural economics, place of, in high school curriculum, 44, 45, 295 ; use of the name, 267-272 ; course in, 295 ff. See Farm management. Rural economy, growing realization of importance of, 295-296; textbooks in, 297. Rural engineering, place of, in curric- ulum, 45, 262-263; topics in- cluded under, and names for, 263 265; essential subjects in course, 266; nomenclature of course, 267- 272. See Farm mechanics. Rural schools, introduction of agricul- ture in, 7. Rye, excess per acre abroad in pro- duction of, over United States, 19. Salaries of teachers of agriculture, 373- 374- School farm, for practice work, 79; equipment of, 97-99; demonstra- tion plots on, 144-145 ; general pur- poses of, 312; as a demonstration farm for the community, 323; em- ployment of, as an experiment sta- tion, 323-324; the educational rather than the commercial principle to be kept in view on, 324-325; question of owning or renting, 326- 327; size of, 3 2 7-3 31; equi pment for, 331-335; care of, during sum- mer vacation, 335-337; division of work between students and em- ployees, 337-341 ; initial cost and expense of running, 341-343 ; plans of farms at California high schools, 347-349; representation of farms in miniature on, 349-351 ; stress to be laid on educational rather than "show" use of, 351. School farm house, 334. School gardens, 79, 144; individual, in horticultural work, 233 ff. Science, relation of agriculture to, in INDEX high school curricula, 36 ff. ; inter- relation of first-year agricultural work and a beginning course in, 113 ff. ; cooperation of teachers of, in securing apparatus, 145-146; disappointing work of teachers of, as teachers of agriculture, 354-355, 350-360. Second-year work, animal husbandry courses in, 156 ; dairy course in, 184. Seeds, study of, 127, 128. Sewage disposal system, 276, 284. Sheep. See Animal husbandry. Shop, model farm, 280, 285-288. Shop work, 270-282 ; outline of course in, 308-309. Smith, H. R., outline for course in animal husbandry by, 159. Smith agricultural school, Northamp- ton, 7; home project work at, 321. Snedden, David, cited, 91. Soils, place of study of, in curriculum, 50, 52, 54, 58, 59, 134, 135. Specimens, exhibits of, in connection with club work, 81-82. Spraying, practice in, 238. State aid, of agricultural high schools, 5-7; of vocational courses in gen- eral, 90-91. Stimson, R. W., quoted, 322. Stock judging, 175, 176. Superintendent of school farm, 334, 337, 339- Supplies, laboratory, 97. See Equip- ment. Surveying, 275. Survey work by teachers in rural com- munities, 305-307. Teachers of high school agriculture, 65 ff ., 353 ff ; qualifications of, 353- 357; preparation of, for the work, 357-358; ability of, to do extension work, 358, 360-371 ; weakness of science teachers as, 350-360 ; neces- sity of broad general knowledge in, 360-361 ; possession of professional knowledge and training and a ground- ing in social and pedagogical princi- ples by, 362^ ff. ; acquaintance with teaching methods, 365-366 ; practice work in teaching for, 366-368; desirable personal qualities of, 368- 369; arrangement of vacations for, 371-372; provision in colleges for training of, 372; compensation of, 373-374- Teal, Robert J., outline of farm me- chanics work by, 308-309. Texas, state aid of high schools teach- ing agriculture, etc., in, 93 n. Textbooks, dearth of suitable, for high school agriculture, 71-73; special lack of, in connection with laboratory exercises, 75-76; suitable for first- year work, 147-148; for animal husbandry course, 161-163; for dairy work, 180-190; for poultry course, 210-211; for study of field crops, 226 n. ; for horticulture, 231 ; in farm mechanics, 276-277 ; in farm buildings, 278; in rural economy, 297. Third-year work, in horticulture, 226; field crops, 226-227. Tools, study of, in farm mechanics, 274, 288; for the school farm, 334- 335- Tout, H. F., cited on labor on Bakers- field school farm, 349. Township schools, introduction of agriculture in, 7. Trees, budding, grafting, pruning, and planting, 59, 229, 232, 238. True, A. C., quoted, 12, 13, 93; syl- labus of course in agriculture pre- pared by, 46-48. Tuberculosis, practice work in testing cattle for, 192. Vacation, care of school farm during, 335-337- Vacations of teachers of agriculture, 371-372. Vegetable gardening, study of, 52, 53, 227, 229-230; practical work in, INDEX 232 ; outline for course of study in, 260-261. Virginia, high school agricultural in- struction in, 6; state aid of indus- trial courses in high schools in, 91 n. Viticulture, study of, in horticultural course, 229. Vocational studies, value of, to public school work, 25-26; argument for state support of, 90-91. W Water supply, study of, 276, 284 ; for the school farm, 332-333. Weeds, study of, 58. Western State Normal School, Kansas, course in agriculture for high schools, 62-63. Wheat, excess per acre abroad in pro- duction of, over United States, 19. Window gardens, 239. Winona agricultural college, 7. Wisconsin, county agricultural high schools in, 6 ; state aid of industrial and agricultural departments in high schools in, 93 n. ; outline for animal production course in, 158- 159, i?S; outline for poultry work, 209. Wisconsin, University of, high school course in agriculture in, 48-49. Yards in poultry work, 216. Z Zoology, place of, in curriculum, So, 127. Zootechny. See Animal husbandry. D US- 3&87Z US H8I Ha THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY