iCATIOi icniTu EDUClTfON BY HOME PROJECTS STIMSON EARNING AND LFATn *■' ;i ^' ^ 5 ^^ This book is DUE on the last date stamped belo* VOCATION.\L AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION •The^^^ o 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 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION BY HOME PROJECTS BY RUFUS W. STIMSON STATE SUPERVISOR OF VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION IN MASSACHUSETTS " The better part of courage is the courage of having done the thing before " — Emerson THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1919 All rights reserved 3 i^ H H Z Copyright, 1Q19. By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published May, 1919. yortoooO prfss J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. I TO H. M. S. PREFACE The Act of Congress known as the "Smith-Hughes Act " requires at least six months a year of "supervised practice in agriculture," either on a farm provided for by a school or on some other farm. This minimum requirement must be met by all who desire federal aid for vocational agricultural education. The home-project plan, reviewed in the follownng pages, meets this requirement. Plant projects, from the preparation of the land to the storage or the disposal of the products, have a natural life of fully six months. Animal projects are better for supervision, nine, ten, or eleven months a year. Typewritten and multigraphed memoranda, also special reports and bulletins of the Board of Education, have set forth certain features of the home-project plan, from time to time, for the information of the Legislature and of those teaching agriculture in Massachusetts. They have not been prepared in such quantities, nor published in such editions, as to permit of general distribution. Special addresses and papers by the author, on one or another phase of the plan, have appeared in various publications, such as the "Proceedings of the Harvard Teachers' Association," "Transactions of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society," " Report of the Canadian Seed Growers Association," the Quarterly of Alpha Zeta, Business America, the New England Homestead, the Congregationalist and the Christian World, the School Review, the "Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education," and American Education. A hundred-page description of the plan was published in 1914, as Bul- letin No. 579, by the United States Bureau of Education. Calls for information from without the state, — greatly multiplied since the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act, — and lack of available printed matter, have prompted the preparation of this book. Its chapters are chapters of experience. The author has undertaken at vii viii PREFACE all points to support precept by example. Materials have been as- sembled, revised, and supplemented. Up-to-the-minute information, therefore, is herewith presented. This book is published, primarily, as a contribution to the study of efficient vocational education; but it has paragraphs of importance to the economist and the sociologist. It has been asked for as a text, or reference book, for use in agricultural teacher-training ; and as a guide-book to beginners in vocational agricultural teaching. High school principals, and teachers of science and mathematics, civics, and English, may find in it support for efforts to make their high schools interlock with life, — to teach, at least in part, in terms of their im- mediate school environments. For the convenience of the reader, the table of contents is given in two parts. On the first page, the scope of the book may be seen at a glance. On the next pages there is a more detailed analysis. Many of the half-tones are from the negatives from which the colored sKdes and transparencies were made for the Massachusetts vocational education exhibit that was awarded the Grand Prix at the Panama-Pacific Exposition. But there has been no resting on ancient laurels. The illustrations include the best features of the moment. Photographs and negatives furnished by the agricultural instructors, directors, and others are elsewhere acknowledged. The illustrations, as a rule, are arranged so as to picture the hom.e- project plan in a progressive order. But they are kept in touch with the text by frequent cross-references. Perfection is far from having been reached. The degree of success so far attained in Massachusetts is due to the capable cooperation of local directors and superintendents of schools ; to the resourceful initiative and untiring efforts of the agricultural in- structors ; to the assistance of federal and state departments of agri- culture and forestry, and of the United States Bureau of Education ; to the agricultural colleges and experiment stations of this and other states which have been most liberal in furnishing bulletins and cir- culars of agricultural information ; to the local press which has given generous space to notices and results ; to the Massachusetts Agricul- tural College, which, in its Extension Service, instead of employing a PREFACE ix multitude of little men, has employed a moderate number of relatively big men, specialists capable of meeting emergency calls from local instructors for expert help, and which has been host at valuable con- ferences ; and to the wise counsel and unfailing support of the com- missioners and deputy commissioners of education, under whose ad- ministrations the plan has been developed. Grateful acknowledgment is here made to all who have gi\'en of their time and talent. Throughout the book, the author has intended to give due credit to those whose exemplifications of, or whose contributions to, the home-project plan he has described. To the Board of Education for the loan of photographs and the right to reproduce materials from the files of his department, to Professor Hanus for his kind "Introduction," and to the Outlook for permission to print Dr. Lyman Abbott's account cf his tour among the home-project pupils and instructors in Massa- chusetts, the author is particularly indebted. The manuscript of this book was sent to the publishers June i, 191 8. Unavoidable delays in the manufacturing department, due to the war with Germany, have made it possible to include some interesting recent data. Revisions which would have occasioned still further de- lays have been avoided, such as substitution of 191 8 figures, in place of those of 191 7, in statistics on enrollment and earnings. / Inasmuch as this is intended to be an authoritative source book for information about the Massachusetts home-project plan, these delays are, perhaps, fortunate ; for they permit the author to an- nounce here two new rulings, dating from February, 1919, affecting high school agricultural departments in this state. The Massachusetts Board of Education will hereafter permit the vocational agricultural instructor in a small high school, where there are only three or four teachers, to serve as principal ; and to teach chemistry, physics, botany, and biology. Permission will be premised upon four definite conditions. It will be given, when the pupils desiring the agricultural course are too few to require an agricultural instructor full time. At least one full half- day of school time daily must be reserved for the program described in Fig. 57 on p. 73 ; but a pupil who desires to prepare for the Agri- cultural College may be excused from the first, "Agricultural Survey," X PREFACE period, in order to take algebra, geometry, or any other subject re- quired for college entrance credit, and his agricultural instruction in school time may be reduced to ninety consecutive minutes daily. All agricultural pupils must carr\' on supervised farm work as the foundation, or indispensable accompaniment, of this instruction at least six months every year. Pupils who are not preparing for an agricultural college must devote the entire half-day of school time to this vocational agricultural study or work. The author was prompted to recommend these new rulings by desire to give boys attending the smaller high schools out among the farms as good an opportunity to study agriculture as is now given boys from farms which are near the larger high schools ; and by de- sire to support the efforts of his colleagues, who are responsible for supervision of state-aided high schools, to encourage the employment of principals who are sympathetic towards the best in country life and who are as much interested in preparing pupils for successful farm- ing careers, as they are in preparing pupils for college. By designating another teacher as vice-principal, and by delegating to the vice-prin- cipal the ordinary chores of record keeping and the like, the principal will be as free as the agricultural instructor heretofore has been, to conduct agricultural work and study outside the school building and away from the school premises. During the earlier stages of development of this new plan, it was considered best that the voca- tional instructor should give his entire time and attention to his agricultural teaching. With the plan better developed, it is now hoped to extend instruction to the smaller high schools with only boys enough to require half of the agricultural teacher's time. Of course, more nearly permanent tenure of office was also an im- portant reason for these new rulings. We have always held that the agricultural instructor may be paid, and ought to be paid, what he is worth, without regard to the salary schedule for the rest of the high school staff. Consequently, the agricultural instructor's salary has not only equaled the salaries of other teachers, but has even ex- ceeded, in some cases, that of the principal. This has occasioned un- rest, sometimes even ill-will. That the agricultural instructor's salary generally covers, not only services in the classroom, but also services PREFACE xi awheel which tax his purse two to four hundred dollars a year, has not relieved such situations. As principal and agricultural instructor, a good man may now be paid what he is worth, and may be held more permanently in a locality which he fits. Since the agricultural instructor will in no way be hampered by his principalship, but may be immeasurably helped by the general attitude of the high school as a whole toward the work of his vocational de- partment, and since his chemistry, physics, botany, and biology will be correlated with the environment of the school and, therefore, will be primarily agricultural, these new rulings are, of course, entirely in keeping with the spirit and with the methods of the home-project plan set forth in this book. They are, also, in keeping with similar rulings in other states. The delays in printing, moreover, make it possible to refer here to an important recent discussion of the place of the project in education, namely, the article on "The Project in Science Teaching," by Dr. John Alford Stevenson, of the University of Illinois, College of Edu- cation, in the January, 1919, number of School Science atid Mathe- matics. He defines a project as "A problematic act carried to com- pletion in its natural setting." His discussion is closely reasoned and clearly illustrated. Dr. Stevenson finds that there is need for the project in education, both as a concept and as a term. He is sensible of possible shortcomings in a project method ineffectively applied, but states in his final paragraph the following conclusion : "The project method rightly carried on develops great interest, gives training in carrying acts to completion, and provides adequate op- portunity for directing thinking and reasoning." Professor Hanus has visited pupils and projects. His words, like those of Dr. Abbott, are the words of an eye-witness. Upon the first decade of development of the home-project plan, the author feels that the chapter by Dr. Abbott is a sort of benediction. Rurus W. Stimson. February 20, igig. CONTENTS PAGE Introduction by Paul H. Hanus xxxvii CHAPTER I \'ocATioNAL Agricultural Education i CHAPTER II Home-Project School or Department versus Self-contained School 32 CHAPTER III Project Stlt)y versus Subject Study 59 CHAPTER IV Vegetable Growing Project Study. Illustrative Outlines . 99 CHAPTER V Example of a State Agricultural Project Study Bibliography 135 CHAPTER VI County Schools and High School Departments in Massachu- setts No-Dormitory System Compared as to Requirements and Advantages 17S CHAPTER VII Suggestions to Supervisors, Superintent)ents, and Directors 302 CHAPTER VIII Suggestions to Vocational Agricultural Instructors . . 399 CHAPTER IX The New Education — Making Farmers, by Lyman Abbott 451 [For detailed outlines of chapters, see the following ptiges.] xiii CONTENTS MORE DETAILED CHAPTER I VOCATIONAL AGRICXJLTURAL EDUCATION PAGE 1. Education i (i) Modern versus Medieval if (2) "What Knowledge Is of Most Worth?" 3 (3) "Liberal and Practical" 4 (4) Practical and Liberal S (5) Not a Matter of Moment 5 2. Vocational Education 6 (i) For Those Over Fourteen 6 (2) Of Less Than College Grade 6 (3) Vocational versus Cultural .......... 7 A . Limited Appeal of Cultural Education ..... 8 B. Schools of Privilege ........... 9 C. Schools of Protest ........... 9 • D. An Army out of School 10 E. A Problem of Conservation . . . . . . . .10 F. Individual versus Mass . . . . . . . . . -14 (4) Education by .\ction and Affairs . . . . . . . . .16 3. Vocational Agricultural Education 19 (i) Definition and Development ......... 19 A. Agricultural Schools at Colleges of Agriculture 21 B. Separate Agricultural Schools . . . . . . . .22 C. Agricultural Departments in High Schools ...... 24 (2) A Square Deal in Vocational Education 29 A. General Schooling Not Enough 29 B. Books and Bulletins Not Enough 29 C. The Farm Not Enough 30 D. Conclusion , 31 CHAPTER II HOME-PROJECT SCHOOL OR DEPARTMENT VERSUS SELF-CONTAINED SCHOOL 1. Spectator versus Participant 32 2. The Fundamental Problem 35 XV XVI CONTENTS 3. Productive F.^rming as Educational Projects (i) First Use of Term "Project" for Unit of Vocational Instruction (2) " Project " Defined and Described ..... A . A Fanning Project, A Thing to be Done B. A Fanning Project, Something to be Done on a Farm C. A Farming Project Involves an Educational Process D. Three Elements of a Project E. Project Fields or Classes (3) Educational Analysis of a Project A. .\bundant Crop B. Clean Crop C. Sound Crop D. Sub-projects . 4. Projects of Pupils A^fD Other Farm Work 5. Parents Like Home Projects . 6. Young People Respond 7. Counting the Cost of Farming 8. Earning and Learning 9. Conclusion .... PAGE 38 39 40 40 41 d2 43 44 44 45 48 49 49 50 53 54 55 S6 57 CHAPTER III PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 1. Project Wors and Project Stl-dy 59 2. Project Study Suitable for Vocational Agricltltural Schools ... 59 (i) Range and Progress 59 (2) Studies Not on Diagram . . . ... . . • - .60 3. Project Stldy Suttable for Vocational Agricultur.al Departments in Selected High Schools .60 (i) Necessary- Groupings 60 (2) Agriculture First 62 4. Project Stutjy Concentration. Year Limits 62 (i) Pupil 62 (2) Instructor ..........••• 63 (3) Published Year Groups 63 5. Project Stltjy ant) Capacity of Pupils 63 (i) Individual versus Class 63 (2) Varying Capacity 64 6. Kinds of Project Knowledge . . . - 64 (i) Rules • -4 (2) Reasoning 65 CONTENTS xvii PAGE (3) Broader Results 65 (4) Typical for .\11 Projects 66 (5) The Three R's of the Project Method .66 7. Project Stlt)y Program and Records 68 (i) Of Highest Importance 68 (2) A Supposed Project ........... 68 8. Apportionment of Project Stl-dy Time and Materials . ... . 6g (i) Diagram Column Widths .......... 6g (2) Faculty Cooperation .70 (3) No Pupil- 'Held Back" 71 (4) First Column, First in Fact 71 (s) High School Half -days, Spring and Fall 71 (6) More Mature and Less Mature Minded . 71 (7) Project Study versus .Agricultural Survey . 72 (8) Class Focus ............. 72 (9) Individual Focus ............ 72 (10) Prime Merit of this Apportionment 74 9. Vegetable Growing Project Stitjy 76 10. Small Frlit Growing Project Study' . 78 11. Beekeeping Project Study . . . •. . . . . . .79 12. Poultry Keeping Project Study . . • 80 13. Sheep and Goat Husbandry Project Study 82 14. Swine Husbandry Project Study .82 15. Ornamental Planting Project Sti-dy 83 16. Third-year and Fourth-year Project Study — Orcharding, Market Gar- dening, Dairying, Farm Management 83 17. Project Study Perspective 84 (i) "Improvement" and "Trial" Projects Desirable 85 (2) "Productive" Projects Fundamental 86 18. Project Study versus Subject Study 88 (i) Subject Study 88 .4. Organized Knowledge .......... 88 B. Deferred Values ........... 89 C. .\griculture and Subject Study 89 D. The Unaided Farm Boy ......... 90 E. Education in Forgetting ......... 90 F. Subject-study Merits . . . . . . .92 (2) Project Study ............ 92 .1. .Accompanied by Subject Study ........ 92 B. Organization of Common Sense ........ 93 XVlll CONTENTS CHAPTER IV ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES APPLIED TO VEGETABLE GROWING PAGE 1. Project Study Outline Making in Massachusetts . . . . . gg 2. Vegetable Growing Project Study Outlines 102 (i) Project Study and Vegetable Groups 102 .1. Possible Classifications 102 B. Possible Varieties ........... 104 C. Classification by Methods of Cultivation 105 D. \'arieties of Vegetables per Pupil 106 Project Study by Vegetable Groups log A . A Practical Approach .......... log B. Aid to Garden Planning ......... log C. Good but Inadequate 113 Project Study by Vegetable Varieties . . . . . . . .114 Suggestive Project Study Outline — Kitchen Gardening . . . . iig Suggestive Project Study Outline — ■ Lettuce Grow-ing .... 126 (2) (3) (4) is) CHAPTER V EXAMPLE OF A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Approved Agricultur.\l Papers and Periodicals (i) Nru! England Homestead (2) Rural New Yorker (3) Breeder's Gazette . (4) Hoard's Dairyman (5) Market Growers' Journal (6) Garden Magazine . (7) Gleanings in Bee Culture (8) Warehatn Courier . (9) Better Fruit . (10) Park and Cemetery, and Landscape Gardening 2. Free Bulletins, Circulars, and Reports (i) The Federal Board for Vocational Education (2) The United States Bureau of Education (3) The United States Department of .\griculture A. Farmers' Bulletins B. Department Bulletins .... C. Journal of Agricultural Research D. Other Publications .... (4) The .Agricultural Experiment Stations (5) The Extension Service of the Massachusetts .Agricultural College 137 138 138 138 138 138 138 138 138 138 138 140 140 140 140 141 141 141 141 143 147 CONTENTS XIX PAGE (6) The Massachusetts Board of Agriculture . . . . . . -151 (7) The State Forester 151 3. Text, Exercise and Reference Books, Bui-letins, Circulars, and Reports 153 (i) Instructor's Aid Necessarj- .......... 153 (2) Lists Subject to Revision 154 (3) Prices and Estimates 154 (4) Student Purchases 155 (s) Reference Numbers for Books 155 A. Library .\rrangement 155 B. Project Outlines 156 C. Library Card Indexes . . . . . . . . . - 156 D. Future Entries 157 (6) Reference Numbers for Publishers 157 (7) State Help and Approval i57 4. Agrici,t.tur.\l Project Study Bibliography Arranged for Ready Reference 158 (i) Textbooks Approved for First and Second Year Agricultural Sur\'ey . . 158 (2) Textbooks Approved for Third and Fourth Year Agricultural Survey . .158 (3) For First and Second Year Study of Projects in : A. Vegetable Growing 159 B. Small Fruit Growing 159 C. Beekeeping . 160 D. Poultry Keeping 160 E. Sheep Husbandry . . 161 F. Swine Husbandry 161 G. Ornamental Planting . . . 161 (4) For Third and Fourth Year Study of Projects in : .1 . Animal Husbandry 162 B. Fruit Growing . . 163 C. Market Gardening 163 (5) For Laboratory Exercises and Scientific Data Bearing upon the Productive Projects Undertaken 164 A. Agriculture in General . . . . . • • • .164 B. Animal Diseases ........... 165 C. Animal Foods and Feeding 165 D. Animal Life, Propagation and Tests ....... 165 E. Bacteriologj', Agricultural ......... 166 F. Birds and Agriculture . . 166 G. Botany and Plant Physiology 166 H. Chemistry and Agriculture 167 /. Construction and Repairs : Plans, Materials, Tests, etc. . . .167 /. Dairy Products, Manufactures, Chemistr>-, and Bacteriologj- . 168 K. Farm Management and Rural Economics 168 L. Fruits . . ■ 169 M. Insects 169 N. Lime and Liming ........... 169 0. Physics of Agriculture . . . 170 XX CONTENTS PAGE P. Plant Diseases 170 Q. Plant Foods and Feeding . . . . . . . .170 R. Plant Life, Propagation and Tests . . . . . . . .171 S. Soils, Geology, Physical Geography, Soil Fertility 171 T. Spraying and Fumigation .......... 172 U. Text-books and Manuals for Schools . . . . . . .172 V . Trees and Shrubs, Not for Fruit . . . . . . . .173 W. Weeds and Their Eradication 174 A'. Zoolog>', General and Economic ........ 174 (6) For Betterment of Country Life and Education 174 Publishers and Their Addresses 176 CHAPTER VI COUNTY SCHOOLS AND HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENTS IN THE MASSACHUSETTS NO -DORMITORY SYSTEM COMPARED AS TO CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS AND ADVANTAGES 1. Authorization (i) Chapter 471 of the Acts of iQ 1 1 . (2) But This Act Is Not Sufficient Authorization PAGE A. County School . . 180 | B 2. Control .... (i) County School A . Board of Trustees . B. Director Is Executive Officer C. Records . 3. Organization (i) Cooperation with Educators (2) Cooperation with Farmers (3) The Plan of Organization (4) County School A. Director . B. Staff of Specialists 181 181 ISI 181 186 186 188 i8g 180 180 180 High School Department 180 (2) High School Department A . School Committees . B. Superintendent Is Execu tive Officer C. Records C. Advisory Committee D. Branches of County Schools E. Farm Bureau Department igi G. Program : Time Allotment for Day Pupils H . Size of Classes ..... /. Persistency of Attendance (5) High School Departments A . Superintendent of Schools B. Agricultural Instructor or Instructors C. Advisory Committee F. Farm Bureau Cooperation 181 181 181 181 181 182 182 183 185 186 186 188 i8q igi iqi IQS iQS 196 CONTENTS XXI /. Special Efficiency Corps K. Staff "Vacation" and "Professional Improvement" Provisions 4. Location (I PAGE 196 197 199 County School ^. On a Farm B. Accessibility C. Acreageand Variety of Soil D. One-teacher Branches in High Schools PAGE 200 200 201 201 201 (2) High School Department . 200 A. In a High School Building 200 B. Accessibility . . . 201 5- Equipment . 202 (i) County School 202 (2) High School Department . 202 A. The Farm 202 A . No Farm 202 B. Classrooms and Their B. Classroom and Its Equip- Equipment 206 ment 206 C. Examples 208 C. Examples 208 6. Courses of Study 2X6 (i) County School 219 (2) High School Department 219 A. Agricultural 219 A. Agricultural 219 B. Non-agricultural. Re- B. Non-agricultural. Op- quired of All-day Pupils 258 tional, But Advised 258 Qualification of Teachers 266 (i) Fitness for Particular Position . . • . 268 (2) Not Passed upon Once for All . . . . . . . • . 269 (3) Qualifications for Improvement 269 A. For Improvement in Farming ........ 269 B. For Improvement in Teaching 270 (4) Agricultural College Training . . . . . . . . ■ . 271 (5) Lifelong Farm Experience 271 (6) Certain Differences 271 A. County School 272 B. High School Department 8. Methods of Instruction 276 (i) Home-project Visitation .......-•• 276 (2) Lantern Slides and Charts ........•■ 277 (3) The Following Differences -77 A . County School (A ) Correlation Controlled (B) Group Instruction and Individual (C) Scientific and Practical . {D) School and Home Farm . 277 B. High School Department 277 277 (.4) Correlation Voluntary and \'ariable 277 277 (B) Individual Instruction and C.rt)up . -'77 278 (C) Practical and Scientitic 278 279 {D) Home Farm and Depart- ment .... 279 lO. xxii CONTENTS PAGE g. Conditions of Admission , . . . . 280 (i) Age Restrictions 280 A. Fourteenth Birthday .280 B. Sixteenth Birthday in Some Cases 280 C. Twenty-fifth Birthday in Some Cases 280 (2) Good Character 280 (3) Career Motive ^^^ (4) Physique 281 (5) Facilities for Home Projects or Acceptable Substitutes . . . .282 (6) Non-resident Pupils 282 Employment of Pupils • • -283 (i) Approved Employment 283 A. Agricultural tier^jw Non-agricultural Employment 283 B. Routine versus Educational Agricultural Employment . . '. . 284 C. Work versus Recreation 285 D. Pupils on Farms versus Other Farm Workers 286 E. Employment Adjustments by Schools and Departments . . .286 F. School Records of Employment 294 (2) Employment Honors 296 A. Prizes .296 B. Certificates 297 C. Diplomas .297 (3) Agricultural Employment Bureau 297 (4) Supervision of Employment • • 297 A . Local Triplicate Memorandum Blanks 299 B. State Supervision Blanks 299 C. Advisory Committee Supervision 299 D. Deputy Commissioner's Supervision 299 E. Commissioner's Supervision 30o ' F. Board of Education's Supervision 300 (5) Blanks, Files, and Photographic Supplies 300 (6) Employment Reports 30o . Conclusion ^°° CHAPTER VII SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS, SUPERINTENDENTS, AND DIRECTORS, SUPPORTED BY EXPERIENCE IN MASSACHUSETTS I. Know the Agricultural Resources and Possibilities of the Locality You Serve ^02 (i) Incentives to Farming in Massachusetts 303 A . The Stresses and Uncertainties of Other Callings 303 B. Family Attractions and Associations 303 C. Natural Charm of the Country 304 D. Life Pursuit to be Found in Farming 30S CONTENTS XXIU (2) (3) (4) Farming Prospects Were Good, and Improving .... A. Agricultural Census ........ Massachusetts Farmers Said Farming Prospects Were Promising Few Abandoned Farms ....... Improved Tillage ........ Increase of Investments ....... Little Farms Yielded Large Returns .... Productivity Compares Favorably with That of Big Farming Conclusions Present Status . B. C. D. E. F. G. 2. Fit Agricultural Instruction to Local Needs . (i) Needs of Sons of Well-to-do Farmers ..... Needs of Sons of Parents without Land or Live-stock . A . Training for Wage-earning ...... B. Training for Independent Farming .... Needs of Sons of Farmers of Modest Means Needs of Those over Sixteen Who Desire Evening or Other Short Needs of Families for Itinerant Teaching .... A . Example of a Survey of Such Needs . . " . B. Referendum Vote by Cities ...... C. War Conditions versus Conditions of Peace D. The Future . (2) (3) (4) (S) 3. Organize Farming on School Land as Projects . (i) This Means Departmental Organization and Responsibility (2) This Means, also, Individual Responsibility . (3) This Means Cost Accounting Every School Project (4) This Means a Written Report on Every School Project States Courses PACE 306 306 307 308 3og 310 311 313 314 314 31S 31S 317 317 317 321 322 322 323 335 335 338 338 339 340 340 4. Assign Half of Each Day at School, in Consecutive Periods, to Each Project Study Group 341 S. Provide for "Professional Improvement" Work Every Year for Every Man Improvement Is Possible for the Best of Farmers and for the Best of Teachers Farm-shop Work Good Winter Stop-gap Short Courses at State .Agricultural College Good Winter Stop-gaps Project Plan of Teacher-training Promotes Permanent Tenure and Increasing Efficiency Require Annual Reports on "Professional Improvement" . (i) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) 6. Require Teaching by Projects, Not by Subjects (i) Require Preliminar>' Project Surveys and .Agreements . (2) Require Systematic Project Inspection and Suix^rvision Records (3) Require Project Study Outline Making or Adaptation . (4) Require Seasonal Planning of Related Study and Practice . 342 342 343 343 344 345 346 353 353 353 355 355 XXIV CONTENTS PAGE 7. Provide for Team Work 357 (i) Cooperate with Educators 3SQ .4 . With the State Agricultural College 359 B. With Other Agencies for Agricultural Education 361 C. With County Farm Bureaus 362 D. Hold " Conferences on Wheels " 364 (2) Cooperate with Farmers . . 367 A. Broadsides of Criticism 367 B. A Fair Answer ........... 36g C. The Long-distance Educator ......... 369 D. The Middle-distance Educator 370 E. The Short-distance Educator 371 F. Give Farmers a Place of Honor and Influence 372 a. Invite Farmers to Cooperate as Advisers 372 b. Invite Fanners to Cooperate in Instruction 373 c. Invite Farmers to Examine Pupils 374 d. Avoid Dormitories as a Hindrance to Cooperation with Farmers . 375 e. Make School Land and Live-stock Help and Not Hinder Cooperation with Farmers 376 (3) Model Types of Organization for Team Work 378 A. Vocational Agricultural Education and Farm Bureau Work United in a County Agricultural School 378 B. A Service System, without Publicly Owned Land or Live-stock . . 381 (4) Fight for Service, Not for Leadership 384 CHAPTER VIII SUGGESTIONS TO VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 1. Make Educational Surve-ys 2. Make Surveys of Farming 3. Require Preliminary Project Agreements (i) Suit Project Agreements to Conditions A. Projects Should Not be Too Small a. The Big Project Is a Better Test of a Given Method b. The Big Project Yields the Larger Return c. The Big Project Bulks Larger on the Home Farm d. The Big Project Bulks Larger in the Community e. The Bigger the Project the Better (2) Project Work Should be Done in Working Clothes (3) Untoward Conditions Should be Accepted as a Challenge (4) Ample School Credit for Project Work Should be Provided for in the Pre- liminary Agreements 4. Require Preliminary Agreements Covering All Approved Substitutes for Projects 399 399 400 402 406 406 406 407 407 407 407 407 409 409 CONTENTS XXV PAGE 5. Make Project Study Outlines 411 (i) Ask Questions . . . . . . . . . . . .411 (2) Cover the Needs of Every Bo\- . . . . , . . . .411 (3) Include Short Units of Related Study 411 (4) Make Outline Overlap Outline ......... 413 (s) Make OutUne Overlap Textbook . . . . . . . . 413 (6) Refer to Illustrated Matter 413 (.7) Prepare Outlines Ahead .......... 413 (8) Cooperate in Outline Making . 414 (9) Mark Outlines for Each Pupil . . 416 (10) Disregard the Printed Sequence . .416 (it) Improve Your Outlines 416 (12) Carefully Select Reference Materials . .-416 (13) Keep the School Reference File Intact ....... 41O 6. Make Outlined Study Lead to Unoutlined 417 7. Require Talking " . . 418 8. Keep Project Records . . . . . . . . . . .418 (i) Require Careful Planning and Note-taking 41Q (2) Require Accurate Accounting ......... 420 (3) Make Photographic Records 423 (4) Make Farm Practice Records ......... 424 (s) Make Supervision and Instruction Records 426 (6) Require Reports in Writing .......... 427 A. For the Project Instructor 427 B. For Possible Publication 43° C. For Double Credit 432 D. For the "Educational Manager" 434 E. For the State Supervisor 439 9. Keep in Touch with Graduates 440 10. Help Educate Gentlemen of the Old School and Farmers of the New 446 CHAPTER IX THE NEW EDUCATION — MAKING FARMERS By Lyman Abbott 45 1 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Foil Essentials of the Home Project Plan Frontispiece 1. MOTIVES AND GROWTH FIGURE PAGE 1 Symbol for Earlier Secondary Education 7 2 Symbol for Earlier Vocational Education 8 3 Symbol for Modern High School Education 9 4 Symbol for Modern Vocational Education lo 5 Symbols for Modern High and Vocational Schools lo 6 Young America's Opportunity ii . 7 The Money Value of Education 13 8 The Money Value of Education in Farming 14 g A "Real Job" . . 15 10 Growth in Numbers of Vocational Pupils 17 1 1 Variation in Enrollment by Types of Schools ....... 18 12 Percentage of Attendance " " " 20 13 Percentage of Withdrawals from " "....... 21 14 Percentage of Withdrawals Placed in Industry for which They had Received Some Training 22 IS 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 2. PLANT AND EQUIPMENT Some Schools Have Land and Live-stock . 24 "Related Study" Demonstration and Recitation Room ..... 25 Substantial Laboratory Tables 26 Farm Bacteriolog>' Laboratory . . -27 28 29 31 33 34 Farm Chemistry Laboratory Farm Shop, Wood Working Farm Shop, Iron Working Mixing and Using Concrete Farm Drawing Room Girls Provide School Luncheon .......... 35 Home-making Department — One of Kitchens • . 36 Model Dining Room — Table Service 37 Home Nursing Room 39 Dressmaking and Millinery Room 40 Assembly Room — Movable Desks . . . 41 Assembly Room Exhibit — Cabinet and Candy Sale ..... 42 Assembly Room E.xhibit — Sale of Plants and Fancy .\rticles .... 43 Assembly Room Exhibit — Sewing and E)ressmaking Exhibit .... 45 Vista, Essex County Agricultural School 46 Horse-barn ............. 47 Horse-bam Converted into School Building 48 New School Building in Process of Construction ...... 49 Steel Lockers and Note-filing Cases 50 xxvii xxvm LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE 38 Testing Soils in Laboratory 39 Basement Lunch Room 40 "Project Study" Room 41 Electric Cars at Door 42 Mpdel Consolidated School 43 Model Consolidated School with Greenhouse 44 Ashfield Room with Agricultural "Atmosphere' . 45 A Literary Home Project Work Shop at North Easton 46 A Two-teacher Agricultural Department . . 47 High School Department — Even Year Agriculture 48 High School Department — Odd Year Agriculture 49 Project Study Room at Concord 50 Books, Bulletins, FiUng Cases, Card-index 51 Tag Device for Temporary Numbering of Books 52 Poultrj' AppUances ...... 53 Non-book Related Study Materials . 54 Pruning Tools, Sprayers, etc 55 Bulletin Board and Telephone .... 56 Diagram of Project Study Di\-isions — the Three R's 57 Diagram of .\gricultural Periods for Yoimger Group 58 . Diagram of Agricultural Periods for Older Group 59 Diagram of Agricultural Half Day 3. FIRST-YEAR PLANT PROJECTS — ELEMENTARY 60 First-year Plant Projects — Elementary 61 Clean Cultivation, Dust Mulch .... 62 Root Study — Turnip 63 Fertilizer Identification and Tests .... 64 Scoring Potatoes ....... 6s New Kind of Examination — Naming Vegetable Seeds 66 Asparagus Growing — School Project 67 Instructors Teach Handiest Ways and Set the Pace . 68 Making their First Hot-bed at the School . 69 Making Hot-bed for Advisory Committee Member . 70 " Pricking Out " Lettuce 71 Sowing with Seed Sower ...... 72 Studying Seed Sower Mechanism .... 73 Stud>'ing Capillar^' Movement of Water 74 A City Boy's Project at Bristol County Agricultural School 75 Potatoes in Bloom — City Boy's Project . 76 Both Hand and Horse Work Taught City Boys 77 City Boy's Well-rounded Training — .Apple Packing . 78 City Boy Helping Set Up Corn Harvester . 70 Project \'icissitudes — Frosted Melons 80 Projects Suited to Strength 81 Village Boy's Back Yard before Studying .\griculture 82 Village Boy's Back Yard while Studjang Agriculture . LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XXIX FIGURE PAGE 83 Improvement Project . . . 107 84 Improvement Project Followed by Productive Project 107 85 Improvement Project — Market Gardening 108 86 The Boy and His Brother Hired to Help . . . . • . . . . log 87 Farm Boy's Acre . . . . no 88 Part of Farm Boy's Squash Crop . . in 89 Forty Acres in Sweet Corn — Boys from Big Farms 112 90 Small Fruit Project — Selecting Strawberry Plants 113 91 Real Estate Dealer Awake to Advantage of Agricultural Department in Local High School 114 92 Bit of Landscape Forestry . . . .115 93 School Flower Garden Aid to Home Flower Garden 116 94 Potting Plants for AH Schoolrooms . 117 95 Lessons in Lawn Making ........... 135 96 Future Needs .\nticipated — Bird's-eye View Plan 136 97 Pupils Planting Shrubs According to Plan 137 98 "Between the Acts" — Cutting a Melon 139 4. SECOND-YEAR SMALL ANIMAL PROJECTS — ELEMENTARY 99 Second -year Small Animal Projects . . . 139 ICX5 Sheep, a Home Project 140 loi Chester Whites, — Clearing Rough Land on Home Farm 141 102 Shoats in the Orchard — Home Project . 142 103 Brood Sow on Good Pasture — School Project 145 104 A Vigorous Litter — Essex County School ....... 146 105 Farm Biology — Post Mortem of Pig's Brain 147 106 Studying Beekeeping — School Project 148 107 Home Project in Beekeeping 149 108 Trees in Poultry Yard . . . . . . . . . . . 150 109 A Pupil's Hatch at School 151 no Colony House for Young Birds . . . . . . . . . -152 111 Brooding Coops in Home Orchard . . . . . . . . .153 112 Egg-laying Club Project of Vocational Pupil 154 113 No Two Home Projects Alike 156 114 "For Sale" Bulletin at School .......... 157 115 Stud>'ing .\rtificial Brooding 178 116 Building Coal Stove Brooder House . 179 117 Building Poultry Houses in School Arena . 182 118 Building "Trial" Project Poultry House at Home 183 119 Village Boy's Back Yard Poultry Project 1S4 120 Village Boy's .\pproved Substitute for Second-year Crop Project . . .185 121 Mangels for Poultry — Home Project 186 122 Supplementary Farm Work for Wages . . '. . . . . .187 123 CapKinizing — Boy Operating . . . . . . . . . ' . 18S 124 A Workmanlike Job — Big Poultry House Built by Boy on Home Farm . 1 89 125 Essex County Egg-laying Contest ......... 191 126 Poultry Projects Mean Business — Sometimes Pretty Big Business . 192 XXX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 6. THIRD-YEAR PLANT PROJECTS — ADVANCED FIGURE 127 Third-year Plant Projects — Advanced 128 Home Project on Big Market Garden Farm I2g School Cabbage Project — Boys Grew Crop 130 Tobacco Farm of Pupil's Father 131 Everybody Works, even Father . 132 Lathing Tobacco ..... 133 Passing the Lathes Laden with Tobacco Plants 134 The Load on the Way to the Tobacco Bam 13s "Trial Project " — Testing Early Tomatoes at School 136 Plant Pests. Advisorj- Committee Member Showing a Class his on Wheels ■ . 137 City Boy's Potato Project at Home . 138 City Boy's Potato Sorter .... 139 Farm Boys — Partnership Market Garden Project at Home 140 .\n Empty Wagon but a Full Pocket . . , 141 Bank Books of the Partners .... 142 Citj- Boys — Partnership Project on Hired Land 143 Partners Visited by Classmates .... 144 Earnings Report of the Partners ... 145 Partners, "Hired Men" and Instructor 146 Substitute for Market Garden Project — Xotes in Record Book 147 Constant Exploration of Books and Bulletins 148 Water Percolation Tests — Related Study . 149 Certain Schools May Specialize — .\pple Harvest 150 Low-down, Short-turn Orchard Wagon 151 Apple Tree Nursery and Cover Crop . 152 Good "Air Drainage'' and Orchard Cover Crop 153 Dwarf Wagener, Six Years Old .... 154 Ontario, Eight Years Old ..... 155 Spray on Foliage, Young R. I. Greening 156 Dwarf Mcintosh, Seven Years Old 157 First Prize Box — Won S75 in Prizes . 158 Village Boy's Orchara Project — Two Years' Lease 159 Mounts — Good and Bad Cuts in Pruning 160 Varieties of Apples — Laboratory Study . 161 Cambium Layer — Apple Tree Propagation 162 Top-working — Grafting High Quality Strains . 163 Buckwheat — Renovation of Land for Orcharding 164 Keeping the Land Busy — Rape and Crimson Clover 165 Looking for Nodules on Clover Roots . 166 "Coming through the Rye and Vetch" 167 Another Type of Soil Improver .... 168 Setting Out an Apple Orchard — School Project 169 Setting Out a Peach Orchard — School Project . •170 Home Project — Starting .\pple Orchard . 171 One of the Trees the Second Summer PAGE 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 202 203 Potato Sprayer 204-205 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 21S 217 218 2ig 221 222 223 224 225 226 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 240 241 243 244 245 246 247 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XXXI FIGURE 172 Learning to Spray by Spraying — School Project 1 73 Pounds of Prevention — Tent Caterpillar Nest Collecting Contest 174 Spraying to Prevent Brown Rot of Peaches — School Project 17s Boy Cultivating Peach Orchard — School Project 176 Careful Picking and Handling Taught 177 Both Box and Barrel Packing Taught 178 Picking Apples at Home .... 179 His Own Apples ..... 180 Orcharding Section of Farm Practice Sheet 181 Ipswich River from Turner Hill Orchard . 182 Arbor Day — Planting Forest Trees . PAGE 248 249 251 251 253 254 255 256 257 258 260 6. FOURTH-YEAR ANIMAL PROJECTS — ADVANCED 183 Diagram of Gradation of Projects in Full Four Years Course 184 Father Backs the Agricultural Department 185 Boys Who Cannot Attend Full Time Not Neglected . 186 Studying Fine Holsteins at Neighbor's Farm 187 Advisorj^ Committee Member Coaching Stock Judging Team 188 Diagram of County Agricultural School Education 189 Diagram of High School Agricultural Department Education 190 Studying "Dolly Dimple," "Queen of the Guernsey Milkers' 191 Favorite of School Herd — Ayrshire .... 192 Farm Bams, Essex County School .... 193 Miss Ruth Wood and Her Prize Jersey Bull 194 Comparing Weights of Milk and Cream 19s Babcock Testing ....... 196 Pupils Explaining Babcock Test to Visitors 197 Diagram of Minimum Qualifications for Instructorships 198 Bad Shoulder — Farm Horse Study at School . 199 Good Shoulder — Farm Horse Study at School . 200 Types for Mounts Studied at Neighbor's . 201 Draft Type Studied at Neighbor's .... 202 School Colt and Boy Who Cared for Her . 203 School Colt and Boy Who Trained Her 204 Bam Constmction Studied at School — Contract Job 205 Shed for Wagons and Tools Built by Pupils — School Project 206 Plan of Farm Drawn by Pupil from Sketch and Measurements 207 Dair>' and Cash Crop Projects Combined . 208 Mangels for Cows without Ensilage . 209 City Boy Mowing Alfalfa with Machine at School 210 Curing Alfalfa — School Project 2 1 1 Boy Raking Hay with Horse .... 212 Boys and Instructor Carting Timothy 213 Using Land for Blackboard — Corn Planted Untested 214 Contrasted Yields of Fodder — School Project . 215 Contrasted Yields of Ears — School Project 216 Germination Test — Strong and Weak Ears Detected 261 262 262 263 263 264 26s 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 275 276 277 278 279 281 281 282 283 284 28s 2S6 287 287 288 289 290 291 291 294 XXXll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE 217 Field from Tested Seed — School Project . 218 ■ Corn Roots Studied at School 2ig Ridding Corn Field of Smut 220 Pupils Haul Concentrates and Fill Silos 221 Academy Graduate Returns Part-time for Agriculture 222 Cost Accounting Neighbor's Herd for Pay, in Addition to Home Project 223 Cost Accounting Employer's Herd ^ Substitute for Project 224 " Home Project " Permitted by Employer 225 Corn Growing Home Project — Seeded at Last Hoeing 226 Corn Club Champion ...... 227 Pupils Report Results at Public Meeting . 228 Adult Farmers Ask for Evening Instruction PAGE 29s 296 297 298 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 7. HOME PROJECT SUPERVISION 229 Bicycles Help in Supervision .......... 308 230 Horses are Used in Bad Going .......... 309 231 Motorcycles Sometimes Preferred ......... 310 232 Automobiles Most Common in Project Visiting ...... 311 233 Touring Car for Instructor from Subscriptions . . . . . . .312 234 Farmers are Invited to Help . . . 313 8. ARENA TYPE OF BUILDING 23s Arena Type of Agricultural School Building ....... 316 236 Arena Building, Smaller Size ......... 318-319 237 Arena Addition to High School, Proposed 320 238 Auditorium for Live-stock Demonstrations ....... 322 239 Arena and Auditorium Thrown Together . . . . . . . .323 240 Building Colony Houses in Arena ......... 324 241 Arena Used for Recreation when Not Used for Study or Work .... 325 242 Arena Fence Converted into Table ......... 326 243 Poultry Show in Arena ........... 328 244 Poultry Demonstration in Auditorium . . . . . . . . 329 245 Arena, Morning before Horse Show ......... 330 246 "Earl of Chatham," Prepotent Sire of Race Horses Shown in Arena . . 332 247 "May Chatham," Sired by "Earl of Chatham" 333 248 High School Horse Shown in Arena ....... c . 334 249 Arena Ribbons Much Coveted 335 250 Graduation in the Arena — Home-making Course ...... 336 251 Graduation in the Arena — Agricultural Course 337 9 COUNTY CONFERENCES 252 County Planning Conferences .... 253 Tractor Demonstration at Farmers' Show at School 254 Luncheon Served by Home-making Department 25s "Better Babies" Contest at Smith School 256 Arena Exhibit by Manufacturers of County 338 339 340 341 343 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XXX 111 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 28s 286 287 288 289 290 FIGURE 257 Press Notice of "Get Together" and Exhibit 258 Automobile Exhibit in Arena ...... 259 Delegates to County Planning Conference 260 Both Vocational and Civic Values Realized 10. ORGANIZATION FOR SERVICE 261 "I Serve"' Diagram of a State .\gricultural College . 262 Diagram of a County Agricultural School Organized to Serve 263 A Community Not United . . . . . 264 Steps in Community Organization ..... 265 A Long-term Program of a United Community . 11. PROFESSIONAL IMPROVEMENT 266 Example of Professional Improvement Opportunity . 12. " CONFERENCE ON WHEELS " Shetland Pony Breeding Farm Visited .... Hackney Horse Breeding — "Marlboro"' .... "Seaton Saxton," Son of "Marlboro," at Six Weeks Old . Mr. Spencer Borden's .Arabs and Arab Crosses. "Scimmeter" in Army Service A Sister of "Scimmeter" in the Show Ring "Segario," Sire of "Scimmeter," Owner Up "Halcyon," Famous Long-distance Mare, Dam of "Kingfisher "Kingfisher,"" Col. (then Maj.) Frank Tompkins up, on Villa Raid in 1916 ............. "Kingfisher'" at End of Villa Raid ........ " Kingfisher" Winner of Blue, in 1918 at Camp Devens, for Best Officer's Mouni Draft Horse Breeding — A Prepotent Sire ...... "Jess of Craigwillie,"' Sired by Grand Champion "Fairholme Footprint"' o Langw-ater Farms .......... Owner of Langwater Farms, Host of 1917 "Conference on Wheels" . Conference on Wheels Stopping at a School . . . ■ . PAGE 444 345 346 347 348 349 352 354 356, 3S8 360 362 3(>3 364 36s 366 367 368 370 371 372 373 374 375 13. RECREATION Athletic Field . .' 376 Inter-county School Meet — Contests both .\gricultural and .\thletic . . 377 Baseball after Haying ........... 378 Annual Rope-pull .\cross School Pond ........ 379 Steers Trained by Pupil to Do Tricks ........ 380 Community Pageant in Which Pupils and Instructors Participated . . 382, 383 Play Presented by Pupils ........... 385 14 RECORD BLANKS AND OTHER FORMS Score Card for Efficiency of an Agricultural School or Department Farm Survey Card — An Example Application and Agreement, Front of Day Class Card 387 380 300 XXXIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE PAGE 291 Facilities for Farm Practice Survey, Back of Day Class Card .... 391 292 Example of Report of Facilities for Farm Practice of All Pupils in a Depart- ment 392-395 |For Section from Farm Practice Record Blank, see Fig. 180) Projects Must Meet Individual Needs — Needs of Cranberry Growers, for Ex- 293 ample ........ 294 Evening Class Project Agreement Card — Front 29s Evening Class Project Agreement Card — Back. 296 Seasonal Plan of Instruction — Kitchen Gardening 297 Seasonal Plan of Instruction — Poultry Keeping 298 Seasonal Plan of Instruction — Fruit Growing . " 299 Example of Boy's Daily Record 300 Example of Boy's Monthly Summary 301 Example of Boy's Detailed Cow .Account . 302 Example of Boy's Annual Summary . 303 Example of Instruction and Supervision Memorandum Front of State Supervisor's Record of Home Project Inspection 396-397 400 401 • 403 404-40S . 408 . 410 412 414-41S . 418 • 427 • 453 • 15. SUMMARIES OF EARNINGS OF PUPILS 304 Earnings of Pupils since 1911-1912 42Q 16. LIFE HISTORY RECORDS — AN EXAMPLE 30s Stanley Bartlett, Employed on Hood Farm Jerseys 442 306 Stanley Bartlett's Dairy Home Project and Present Place of Employment as a Graduate 443 17 BIRTHPLACE OF THE HOME PROJECT . 307 Arena Type of Classroom and Administration Building. Arena design sketched by the author. Smith Agricultural School, Northampton, Mass. 450 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS For the use of photographs or negatives, from which certain of the above listed illustrations were made, the author is deeply in- debted to those for whom, or by whom, the pictures were taken. The pages on which the cuts appear are listed below ; and the per- sons to whom the author desires to express his hearty thanks are as follows, the names being arranged in alphabetic order : Mr. C. S. Bartlett, 442-443; Mr. Warren K. Blodgett,49, 147, 212, 213, 215; Mr. Spencer Borden, 364-370; Mr. L. B. Boston, 140; Mr. H. E. Botsford, 99; Mr. W. H. Bronson, 80, 107-109, 310; Mr. E. J. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XXXV Burke, 85-89, 139, 197-202, 235, 249, 255, 262, 263, 266, 297, 305, 358 ; Connecticut River Stock Farm, Mr. Fralig, Manager, 332 ; Mr. I. G. Davis, 87, 205 ; Mr. W. H. Dickinson, 333 ; Mr. A. W. Doolittle, 60, 77, 100, 186, 187; Director G. H. Gilbert, 94, 150, 151, 241, 243, 251, 268, 281, 282, 287-289, 298, 339, 378, 379; Hood Farm, Mr. Dodge, Manager, 442 ; International Film Service Inc., 270; Mrs. W. A. King, 360 ; Director F. W. Kingman, 318, 319, 372-374; Director H. N. Loomis, 82, 245, 277, 283, 33^-33^, 340, 34i, 343, 345, 385 ; Judge W. H. Moore and his Manager, Mr. George Chipchase, 362, 363 ; Mr. J. G. Powers, 102, 103 ; Director F. A. Smith, 46-49, 55, 78, 142, 145, 147, 188, 191, 196, 203, 212, 213, 215, 221-229, 230, 231, 236, 253, 254, 258, 269, 296, 349; Director C. R. Titlow (W. Va.), 348; Colonel Frank Tompkins, 371; Underwood and Underwood (N. Y.), 368, 370; United Cape Cod Cranberry Company, 396 ; United States Department of Agriculture, 305 ; and Mr. R. W. Williams, 192. The illustrations on the other pages of the list, not otherwise credited on the pages where they appear, are photographs and drawings made either by the author or under his direction. INTRODUCTION When in igo6 Massachusetts began to develop state-aided voca- tional education, including agricultural schools, the State Commis- sion on Industrial Education had the duty of approving directors for the schools and teachers for the classes. Among the schools for which state-aid was desired, the Smith School of Northampton, for the es- tablishment of which a fund had been held in trust and permitted to accumulate for sixty years, came under the supervision of the State. The Trustees of this School and the Commission on Industrial Educa- tion, having sought diligently for a suitable director, found R. W. Stimson, then President of the Connecticut Agricultural College, to be just the man they wanted. Mr. Stimson thus became the director of the first vocational agricultural school in Massachusetts. He de- signed the arena type of agricultural school building, and began his studied and persistent effort to link school and home farm together in what has since become widely known as the home-project plan of vocational agricultural education. He also served the Commission as special agent for the purpose' of extending this type of education. When in 1909 the Massachusetts Board of Education was reor- ganized, and when the Commission on Industrial Education was abolished and its work became part of the work of the reorganized Board, Mr. Stimson was continued as special agent. He made the survey ordered by the Legislature of 19 10 to determine whether or not there ought to be a system of vocational agricultural education in this Commonwealth; and helped formulate the report. The next Legislature approved the recommendations in this report and pro- vided state-aid for both separate schools and departments in high schools in which the home-project plan of agricultural education should be followed. In 191 1 Mr. Stimson resigned as director of the Smith School, and became the agent of the Board for the supervision of the state-aided system of agricultural schools and departments. As Chair- xxxvii XXXVm INTRODUCTION man of the Commission on Industrial Education and as a member of the Board of Education, I have been in close touch with Mr. Stimson's work for eleven years. Massachusetts has been fortunate in the services which Mr. Stim- son has rendered. His development of the "project" method of teaching agriculture in our rural communities, as contrasted with the "subject" method, has been much to the advantage of all concerned. He has, of course, been a student of agricultural education in other states and countries, and has known how to render available for Massachusetts the results of his studies elsewhere. An introduction to his book seems to me unnecessary; because the book will carry its own message effectively. But, since I have observed the development of the home-project plan closely from the beginning and he has invited me to write an introduction, I am happy in this way to express my hearty appreciation of Mr. Stimson's aims and methods, and of the results which he has achieved. I do not see how his book can fail to interest and stimulate all workers in the field which it covers. Paul H. Hanus. » VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION CHAPTER I VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION I. Education Definition and agreement as to terms are important aids to profit- able discussion. We are all pretty well agreed as to what is meant by education. Education, as the derivation of the word suggests, means the drawing out and development of the best capabilities latent within the individual. (i) Modern versus medievaL — In modern usage, education means beginning to draw out the powers of the individual at the earliest possible minute in the child's life, and the continuance of carefully studied efforts for the development of those powers well on into young manhood and womanhood. We do not wait for the child to come to the primary school, or even to the kindergarten ; we hold mothers' meetings in order that we may begin with the babe. He who visits Harvard University, on entering the main gate lead- ing to University Hall finds on his left old Harvard Hall, the tongue of whose belfry has called generation after generation of young men to lectures and to prayers. On his right he finds old Massachusetts Hall. The Old South Church across the Charles in Boston has been called the birthplace of American liberty. Faneuil Hall, Boston, has been called the Cradle of Liberty. In a very important sense old Massachusetts Hall might well be called a schoolhouse of liberty, — so many succeeding classes of young men, afterwards potent in centers of influence, have been schooled within its walls in the history and principles of American freedom. 2 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION A niche has been built into the front of this old colonial building. When the class of 1883 was deciding who might most appropriately occupy that spot, they chose a man who has been called by one of our hard-working scientific men " perhaps the best poet for the working man," James Russell Lowell. And when the sentiment to appear on the pedestal beneath the bronze bust was chosen, these were the words cut into the marble : I, Freedom, Dwell With Knowledge : I Abide With Men By Culture Trained and Fortified. From the first moment, American freedom has been joined to knowl- edge ; Americans everywhere — selected Americans — have been trained and fortified by the cultivation of their higher and finer powers. We have sought the safety of democracy in education. The period since our Civil War is one of most extraordinary interest to the student of the history of teaching. While eradication of ig- norance and development of personal power have been constant aims, there have been marvelous changes in means and methods. During much of this period there has been one great slogan, " Mental dis- cipline." For eight hundred years one type of training had dominated the schools. The first higher school of our fathers was to no small ex- tent a survival of the Middle Ages, those twilight days one of the " idiosyncrasies " of which was a " mystical reverence " for the num- ber seven. There were " seven planets," " seven metals," " seven days in the week," " seven apertures in a man's head," " seven cardinal virtues," " seven deadly sins," " seven sacraments." It probably was more than merely a coincidence that studies had been divided into groups of three and four. Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric constituted the so-called Trivium; Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy, and Music made up the so-called Quadrmum. Until recently, education, not only in colleges, but also in secondary schools — education claiming for its watchword " Mental disci- pline " — has been very largely of the language-number, of the Trivium-Quadrivium, type. VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 3 While the casements in the Capitol at Washington were still rattling with the cannonading across the Potomac, however, there came signs and portents of change. The names of Darwin and Wallace, Huxley and Tyndall, Louis Agassiz and Asa Gray, were commanding atten- tion and respect. That is to say, powerful influences for change were at work even within the schools and colleges themselves. Perhaps of keenest interest to us to-day are two influences which, as the years have passed, have exerted marked modifying power ; — both acting on established education, not from within the schools, but from without. (2) " What knowledge is of most worth? " — It is not far from fifty years ago that Mr. Herbert Spencer put into print, and chal- lenged the public with, the question: " What knowledge is of most worth? " Answering for himself, he said : A. That knowledge which has to do with self-preservation. The little babe's eyes must be protected from the bright light lest they suffer harm. His first steps must be steadied lest he fall. Berries good for food he must be taught to pick, not berries from bushes which poison. As the years advance, every stage of life calls for special care lest the body suffer injury. All things which have to do directly with self-preservation are of the first importance. B. That knowledge which has to do indirectly with self-preservation. Here Mr. Spencer referred to training which develops power to earn a livelihood. All occupational knowledge is here included. The body must not only be protected from harm, it also must steadily be sustained and promoted in well-being. C. That knowledge which has to do with parenthood, including all training necessary for the creation and well-being of family life. D. That knowledge which is conducive to social or community welfare. E. Finally, that knowledge which has to do with the graces and re- finements of Hfe, including literature, music, — fine art in all forms. Mr. Spencer's discussion was of unusual value, owing to the breadth and thoroughness of his treatment of education. It was unique for the order in which he stated the objects of knowledge and their rela- tive worth. Before art and refinement, he put social and community well-being. Before knowledge of history and politics, he put knowl- edge of parental functions and obligations. Before all these he put 4 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION that elemental knowledge which has to do with vocational efficiency. What gave Mr. Spencer's contribution its most searching pedagogic importance was his insistence on the relatively higher educational value of vocational knowledge for the average student in the average college and no less for the average pupil in the average school. The school men could not escape his psychology nor his logic. The friends of the common people received his message gladly. Almost immedi- ately his doctrine crossed to the continent, and there was translated into French, German, Italian, Russian, Hungarian, Danish, and Dutch. Simultaneously it crossed the Atlantic. In short, Mr. Spencer and those who espoused his views, or some- thing like them, once for all protested against the domination of the familiar ideal in education, that mental discipline was the supreme thing. Knowledge, to be of worth, must not only train the mind ; it must also furnish it for the immediate, pressing, practical affairs of life. (3) "Liberal and practical." — Parallel with the scientific and philosophical treatment of education by Mr. Spencer came the es- tablishment and development of the land-grant colleges, a move- ment, again, which originated outside the schools. It sprang from that remarkable farmer, blacksmith, village banker, and for many years influential member of Congress, the late Senator Justin S. Morrill of Vermont. Mr. Morrill contended that Congress and the legislatures of the several states ought to unite in furnishing a " liberal and practical " education. We should equip all young men and all young women for success in life ; some for usefulness in the learned professions, others for success in the great, basic, economic industries. The history of the development of the land-grant colleges need not here be traced, so familiar with it are we all, and so profoundly con- vinced are we of the educational wisdom and foresight of this past master of public affairs. The practical program of Mr. Morrill, like the educational ideas of Mr. Spencer, met with opposition but prevailed in spite of it. The first Morrill bill, as Dr. Abram Harris has reminded us, was vetoed by the " gentleman-president," James Buchanan; the Morrill Act of 1862 was approved by the rail-splitter, Abraham Lincoln. VOCATION.\L AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 5 (4) Practical and liberaL — Happily, as the years have passed, the new education and the old have been joining hands. The old college has affected the new, and the new college has modified the old. The training in the new college, Mr. Morrill said, must be liberal and practical. The education in the old college, leaders to-day are demon- strating, may be both practical and liberal. So imitative of the college is the school, in both spirit and methods, that we may almost say, " As does the college, so does the school." Thus the new college spirit and methods are doubly significant. The brother of a Harvard student came to Cambridge on a visit. As a boy he could never be made to apply himself to books, because school books did not seem to him to apply to life. Once out of the grip of the compulsory attendance law, he left school and learned the plumb- er's trade. During this visit, he went with his brother to a lecture in a course in ethics called " Philosophy 3," presented by Professor George Herbert Palmer. It was not " Philosophy i," an elementary course; nor yet "Philosophy 2." It was a decidedly advanced course in the midst of which he spent that hour. Knowing the family circumstances, the author was exceedingly curious to learn what would be the effect on such a man's mind of modern Harvard ; and at the close of the lecture asked him how he liked it. His answer was illuminating. "That," he said, "is what I call getting right down to brass tacks! " Harvard is typical of the best, in her aims and in her methods. Individual freedom achieved by cultivation, teaching getting right down to the brass tacks of living, this, to-day, is education at its best. (5) Not a matter of a moment. — Four years in high school, four years in college, and three or four years in a professional school we do not consider too much time for the proper education of him who shows aptitude for a professional career, whether in medicine, divinity, law, engineering, or, more recently, in business administration or in agri- culture. On the whole, we believe that he is best prepared to do the things the world wants done who is longest and most carefully trained. And our pronoun " he " is used in the generic sense, — our belief as to the demands of long and thorough training applies to the develop- ment of talent, without discrimination as to sex. 6 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 2. Vocational Education Vocational education, as defined in Massachusetts, includes all forms of specialized education the controlling purposes of which are to fit for useful occupations. The aims of vocational education here are, therefore, to draw out and develop the vocational capabilities of the individual. There are those who think that for the practical boy, as distinguished from the bookish boy, vocational education might well begin before the fourteenth birthday. In the elementary schools, shop work, gardening, elementary agriculture, and instruction in household arts may render an important service by helping children to test their native abilities and discover their special aptitudes. These elements of the public school curriculum have been found valuable aids to intellectual progress ; and, no doubt, in certain cases, have helped wise choice of the type of schooling later to be followed. They may have strong pre-vocational or vocational guidance values. (i) For those over fourteen. — In Massachusetts, however, there has been no effort, in legislation or in the general policy of the Board of Education, to invade the elementary schools with vocational edu- cation. On the contrary, vocational education addresses itself to those who no longer are thrust into the schoolroom by the strong hand of the compulsory school attendance law, but who are free to go to school longer or to stay away according as they themselves, or their parents, may determine. Vocational education in Massachu- setts, for which state aid has been provided and for which federal aid is now available, is, in short, organized and conducted with direct reference to meeting the requirements of pupils fourteen years of age or older. Vocational education is, moreover, definitely and frankly vocational. It undertakes to train the pupil for farming, for home- making, or for some trade or industrial pursuit. (2) Of less than college grade. — To the extent that a school or college leads to mastery of tools, whether mental or mechanical, re- quired for success in the chosen occupation, its education is vocational. On the outer gate, within a stone's throw of the Lowell memorial above referred to, one reads the ancient inscription that the primary object VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 7 in the founding of Harvard College was to protect the children of the colonists from the legacy of "an illiterate ministry." The first edu- cational undertaking at Harvard was the making of ministers, an undertaking definitely vocational. To the extent that higher institu- tions, including the land-grant colleges, are practical as well as liberal in their aims, equipment, and methods, their education, of course, may be vocational. But the vocational education described in detail in the following pages is intended to be of less than college grade. Its purpose, that is to say, is not to displace other schooling, but to fill a gap in educa- tion for pupils of high school age and to provide short units of training for those in later life who were without this type of training in their high school years. (3) Vocational versus cultural. — High school education of the strongly cultural type, where classical studies, mental dis- cipline, and preparation for college have p^^ ^ _^^.^ ^^^ ^^.p^^^^^t ,3^. engaged the energies of the pupils, has ondary education of the earlier been held in high estimation. We have ^^^""^ ^^ ^ capital " C." It , , , . - _ _, . , prepared for college. Classical looked up to It. Mr. Emerson said, ^^^^.^^ ^^^ mathematics were "Hitch your wagon to a star." Pro- strongly featured. " Mental Dis- ponents and exponents of this type of cipline " was its cry. It was ex- training have said, " Behold the star of education. To this we hitch our wagon. ' ' Because schools of this t^-pe have so greatly multiplied, because our young people have thronged to them in such numbers, because our best high schools are so much better than many of the colleges of earlier days, but also because such a vast majority of these young people end their institutional education on completion of their high school courses, the American high school has been called the " People's College." The cultural high school has had our approval. To prepare for college and to give general education, the cultural high school is e.x- cellent. Indeed, no country in the world has equaled our own in the development of such training. We are now talking in terms of war. Prior to the outbreak of our Civil War, there were not forty 8 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTUR-\L EDUCATION public high schools in the United States. At the outbreak of the war with Germany, we had twelve thousand such high schools. A decade before our war with Spain, the enrollment in these schools was hardly two hundred thousand. At the outbreak of the present war, their enrollment had reached almost one million two hundred thousand, or " a growth that has been at least ten times as fast as that of the popu- lation." Professor W. C. Bagley, who has assembled these figures, has declared this to be " the most significant triumph of American pubKc education during the past half century." And he has added, " Not only is this true, but we have in the public secondary schools of the United States almost as many pupils as there are enrolled in the secondary schools of all the rest of the civilized countries combined, — in spite of the fact that our period of secondary training covers only four years as against six, eight, or nine years in most other countries." ^ A. Limited appeal of cultural educa- tion. — The trouble has been that, of the host of young people of high school age, so few have continued in school. Everybody has noticed the enormous faUing off in school attendance at the fourteenth birthday. Employers have noticed, too, that those who have presented themselves for work at fourteen have neither been prepared for good work, nor possessed of such mental ability as they have thought public school education ought to give before releasing pupils for labor. A result of observations such as these was the appointment in Massachusetts, in 1905, of the so-called Douglas Commission on Industrial Education, of which the late Carroll D. Wright was chair- FiG. 2. — Because so few were at- tracted to the earlier secondary education, or because so many were repelled by it, adventures were made with a new type ot education, called vocational. We may represent this by a capital " V." It aimed to be- gin with the fundamental needs of those who desire to follow practical, as distinguished from professional, pursuits. •"Principles Justifjnng Common Elements in the School Program," an address by Professor W. C. Bagley at University of Illinois, High School Conference, November 19, 1914. For abstract, see December, 1914, number of School and Home Education. VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION man, and which undertook for the Legislature a careful study of the conditions in this state with a view to their improvement. B. Schools of privilege. — Twenty-five thousand boys and girls were found, fourteen to sixteen years of age, who were not in school and who were not at work, or who, if at work, were engaged in tem- porary or " dead end " occupations. Asked why they were not in school, they replied with astonishing unanimity that there was " noth- ing doing " in school for them. They had a feeling that the schools had nothing to give them which would help them to earn a living, and that, in general, the high schools were being " run " for the benefit of those who were to follow clerical or professional careers, not for those who were to enter industrial or agricultural Hfe. Their par- ents agreed with them, and added that it cost a great deal to keep children in school ; that out of school there was a saving on clothing and car fares ; that work, even at odd jobs with ven,^ little pay, still yielded some income toward the support of the family. C. Schools of protest. — The Douglas Commission, therefore, recommended that a permanent commission on industrial education, including agriculture, or at least such a commission to serve for a period of years, be appointed to study the matter further, with power to aid in the establishment of industrial schools for the express benefit of boys and girls fourteen years of age or older who, in the absence of such schools, as experience had shown, would not be in school at all. The Legislature appointed another commission, of which Professor Paul H. Hanus of Harvard was made chairman, and provided state aid for those communities which should establish independent indus- trial or agricultural schools, to the amount of one half the cost of main- tenance, on condition that the new schools must first be approved as to courses, location, and methods of teaching by the Commission. Fig. 3. — There is scarcely a high school to-day of the earlier type. Most large high schools have differentiated their courses, in terms of probable careers of their pupils. No one course is now held to be best for everj'- body. The modern high school, therefore, has vocational characteristics and may be represented by the modified symbol above sug- gested. lO VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION D. An army out of schooL — Almost immediately the new Com- mission found that to the twenty-five thousand out of school reported by the Douglas Commission, thousands more must be added. The following brief statement regarding the situation was made later, after the work of the Commission had been taken over by the new Board of Education, by Mr. C. A. Prosser, then Deputy Commissioner of Education for Massachusetts: Fig. 4. — Moreover, as time has passed, vocational education has developed pronounced cultural values ; so much so, that a bet- ter symbol for the modern vo- cational school or department is needed. Such a symbol is sug- gested above at the right. "A conservative estimate would be that every year in the State of Massachusetts from twenty- five thousand to thirty thousand boys and girls, on reaching the age of fourteen, leave the schools to go to work. This army is four times as large as the group which at approximately the same age one out of six of enters the high school. Only these children of tender years taking up some wage earning occupation has reached the eighth year or grade of the elementary schools ; only one out of every four has attained the seventh year; only one out of every two, the sixth year." In Two States, January, 191 2, a mag- azine pubHshed by the Young Men's Christian Associations of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Mr. William Chandler Smith, Educational Secretary, graphically indicated the trend away from school by means of photographs. Beginning with a group of one hundred pupils entering a public school, he showed fewer than fifty at the fifth grade, thirty-five at the sixth grade, twenty-three entering the seventh grade, fifteen eighth-grade graduates, and three graduates from high school. E. A problem of conservation. — We talk about the conservation of natural resources. Here is a grave problem ; for what can compare Fig. 5. — We shall probably make best headway, therefore, by recognizing distinct fields for two well-defined types of sec- ondary education : the modern high school with some differen- tiation of courses, and the modern vocational school with cultural values. Neither is higher nor lower than the other. They are on a level, but in different fields. This book deals with the type represented by the symbol at the right. VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION II in importance, to the nation or to any commonwealth, with the proper conservation of two or four years in the lives of thousands of boys and girls, hurried forward by the years toward maturity in a mass disordered and unimproved ? Here are thousands on thousands \bun^ America's Opportunity At' 25 Y«r. $12.75 $663 $12.00 $624 $11.75 $611 $930 $7.00 $5.00 $4.00 here we have the Jain of the moment F.*Y-^P^^-. Atf, $1,612 $31 2SYctn $1,196 $23 2* ' $1,040 $20 22 - $15 20 - $10 18 - 16 - 14 " and here we have the gfreater ^atn of the future Of course you can get bigger wages now on account of the war. But the above figures represent the actual experience of hundrecls of New York City pupils who left school during peace times. Peace times will come again and then war wages will drop. Peace times are the long times. Stay in school. THE GUIDE-POST Fiiurn fron Bu rtau of EJuralion Bulletin No. 2i by A. Cmuirll Ellii. Charltd by Butrau of Educalionul Srrvicr , Boifon Unwrriily Fig. 6. — From Vol. i, No. 2, April, 1918, of Young America's Opportunity, published by Bureau of Educational Service, Boston University, Boston, Mass., to create, stimulate, and direct interest in the continuation of educational preparation, and in the molding and stabilizing of American Ideals. The agricultural instructor will find issues of this paper valuable aids in efforts to keep boys from dropping out of school. whom the traditional high schools have either failed to hold or have positively repelled. And no inconsiderable portion of this number consists of farm boys and girls, who, in the absence of education suited to their needs, have dropped out of school on reaching their fourteenth birthdays. " They are a worthless lot. You can't do anything with them ! " Such a statement as the above, which was made in 19 10 by a man in the western part of our state, was impossible of acceptance. Granted 12 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTUR-\L EDUCATION that some on close acquaintance will be found to be incompetent, fit subjects for schools for defectives ; granted, also, that some wall prove to be incorrigible, fit only to be handled by some reformatory or re- straining institution. There still remain the great mass who are neither defective nor incorrigible. For these something can, some- thing must, be done. Nor was it possible, with equanimity, to take the ground assumed at about the same time by another of our citizens, an educator of some prominence, who said he was not so sure, after all, that it is not a good thing for most boys and girls to leave school at fourteen. "In the next two or four years," he said, " they will be doing two good things — growing up, and learning to mind. JMost boys think obedience is a peculiar re- quirement made by parents and schoolmasters. The boj' discharged from one job, then from another, for a few times, on account of carelessness or disobedience, will at last learn that obedience — discipline, ability to take orders and carry them out promptly and exactly — ■ is one of the fundamental necessities of society. Life itself in the workaday world is one of the best teachers of this important fact. Given a boy grown up and taught to mind, and you can do something with him." Advocates of vocational education desire physical fitness and moral tractabihty, but have believed these can best be secured by well- ordered vocational education. Confession is good for the soul. An important confession for us all has been made by the Hon. WilHam C. Redfield, Secretary of Com- merce, in his Introduction to the book by Lapp and Mote on " Learning to Earn " in the following words : "We are just beginning to realize that by the failure of some phases of our educa- tional systems to meet the living needs of li\ing boys and girls, we are permitting them to enter a sort of death in life which is having most hurtful eflFects on our country-. Our complacency over the value of the common school to our people is being rudely disturbed, for many if not most of our young people emerge from that same common school quite without adjustment to the daily life thej^ must hereafter lead, and almost if not altogether without the training fitting them for the workaday world in which they must live. . . . None of us can be satisfied to allow things to remain educationally as they are ; to permit our children to go out into a life which is a blind alley; to reach a mental 'impasse' before maturity is well begun." The serious problem of vocational education, we see, then, is the conservation of the natural resources of childhood, particularly the VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 13 years fourteen to sixteen or eighteen, by educational methods which naturally and effectively appeal to the active, but non-bookish, boy I EVERY DAY SPENT IN SCHOOL PAYS THE CHILD NINE DOLLARS $9.02 $$$$$$$$$ $9.02 HERE iS THE PROOF: UNEDUCATED LABORERS EARN ON THE AVERAGE $500 PER YEAR FOR FORTY YEARS, A TOTAL OF $20,000 HIGH-SCHOOL GRADUATES EARN ON THE AVERAGE $1000 PER YEAR FOR FORTY YEARS, A TOTAL OF $40,000 THIS EDUCATION REQUIRED 12 YEARS OF SCHOOL OF 180 DAYS EACH, A TO- TAL OF 2160 DAYS IN SCHOOL. IF 2160 DAYS AT SCHOOL ADD $20,000 TO THE INCOME FOR LIFE, THEN EACH DAY AT SCHOOL ADDS $9.02. $9.02 $$$$$$$$$ $9.02 THE CHILD THAT STAYS OUT OF SCHOOL TO EARN LESS THAN $9.00 A DAY IS LOSING MONEY, NOT MAKING MONEY $9.02 $$$$$$$$$ $9.02 Fig. 7. — A chart from U. S. Bureau of Education Bulletin, igiy, No. 22, "The Money Value of Education." By A. Caswell Ellis, Professor of the Philosophy of Education, University of Te.xas. and girl. Mr. Frederick P. Fish, Chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Education, has well put the case for what might be termed an irreducible minimum of justification for vocational education. "Sad is the lot," he says, "of the ordinary boy or girl who leaves school and goes to work at fourteen. The skilled employments have no place for such; they are 14 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTUR.\L EDUCATION likely to drift into the very lowest grades of work and stay there for the rest of their lives. If the vocational school were of no value except as a device to keep at school for an additional two years those who would otherwise go to work prematurely, its existence would be justified." F. Individual versus mass. — Vocational education, it is evident, has a massive problem. Its central concern, however, is not with the mass but with the individual. In the rush of school work the class has sometimes blinded both administrator and teacher to the Education and farm income in New York. — Warren and Livermore, of Cornell, made a study of 1303 farmers in four townships of Tompkins County, N. Y. They found that no college graduate had been reduced to the position of a renter, and that only 17 per cent of the renters had more than the district-school education. The average labor income was as follows : Per Year Of 1007 with district-school education $318 Of 280 with high-school education 622 Of 16 with college education 847 Of those with high-school education, 20 per cent were making over $1000 per year, while only 5 per cent of those with district-school education "were making that much. Fig. 8. — From "Education of Farmers," Cornell University Bulletin 295, reprinted in "The Money Value of Education," referred to on page 13. See also Figures 6 and 7, on pages 11 and 13. individual, — fit cause for repentance. He who would enter seriously on vocational education may well be admonished by these memorable words of Edward Howard Griggs, in his preface to " The Stor>' of a Child," by Pierre Loti : "There are always two points of view possible with reference to life. From the standpoint of nature and science, individuals count for little. Nature can waste a thousand acorns to raise one oak, hundreds of children may be sacrificed that a truth may be seen. But from the ethical and human point of view the meaning of all life is in each individual. That one child should be lost is a kind of ruin to the uni- verse." VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Working Conditions In Vocational Schools 15 a A REAL JOB fj Apprentice at work in Fore River Ship Yard witli Sitilled Meclianics Alternate Weelts in Scliool and Yard Worl( under Sucli Conditions Spurs to Competition Fig. g. — -Helping to produce a wholesome and abundant food supply for a locality or for a nation also is a "real job." A chart prepared by Mr. Charles R. Allen for the Massachusetts Vocational Educational Exhibit at the Panama Pacific E.xposition. 1 6 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION And he who would participate in vocational education, whether as pupil or as instructor, might well adopt for his platform of action these recent declarations by Dr. Lyman Abbott : "The object of education should not be to run all pupils into the same mold. The school should not be a foundry. The object should be to give every pupil a chance to grow. The school should be a garden. Education, therefore, should prepare for life, which is itself the larger education. It should be adapted to the present conditions and the prospective needs of the pupil. The growing recogni- tion of this truth has created optionalism in education, has added industrial train- ing to academic education, has provided, as never before, for woman's education. To enjoy an opportunity for education is the right of every individual ; to make that opportunity so varied as to meet the varied needs of the members is the duty of society ; to avail himself of the opportunity to make all of himself that he can make is the duty of every individual." (Knoll Papers, The Outlook, April 17, 1918, p. 616.) (4) Education by action and affairs. — We are likely to overrate books and to underrate affairs as educational forces. At the Atlanta banquet of the association now known as the National Society for Vocational Education, President Elmer Ellsworth Brown, then United States Commissioner of Education, at first gasp took his audience by surprise when he declared : " It was not until the nineteenth century that even one-half of the civilized world had been to school ; that anything like one-half of the civilized world had learned to read and write and had come under the influence of the school. . . . The people of the world, even at the present time, have barely begun to go to school." And yet the world has been getting on, human good added to human good by gradual degrees. Your David Harum may not be long on book learning, but he is not short on wit ; the deacon cannot beat him twice on a horse trade. Men school each other. Honesty is found to be the best policy. Nature, that sometimes kind, sometimes stern teacher, schools all. Life is a labyrinth of educational forces. Vocational education relies heavily on the activities and actualities of the economic world. Its task is to select or to arrange courses of training that shall not be wanting in either human worth or educa- tional efficiency. In short, vocational education turns as much to action and affairs as it does to books and schoolrooms for its teaching materials and VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 17 methods. And in this it does not concede that its task or its pupils are inferior to those of any other branch of education. Some of the brightest boys in school are to be found in vocational classes. In training boys and girls for life, there is no proper Growth in Numbers of Pupils place for snobbery. Vo- (Resident and Non-Resident) cational training is not higher, cultural training is not lower, as such, on the ethical and human scale, nor vice versa. They are different. Each must have its own meth- ods, its own standards, and its own rewards of merit. For a few years, cen- tering about igo8, feel- ing in Massachusetts, as elsewhere, ran high and there was extreme bitter- ness of statement. In education, no less than in politics, there were the stand-pat and the in- surgent. To those who said they had hitched their wagon to the star of the older education, proponents of the newer said, in effect : " Yes ! You have made the star hitch. But you have forgotten the wagon ! You are all up in the air ! We are on the ground. We know what we are doing and where we are going. ' ' Old school men said vocational education, if not a device of the devil for the undoing D U » ^^^ 1 9078 1400 1 908-9 2994 I909J0 3206 1910-1 1 4380 I 9IH2 7164 I9IM3 I9I3H4 10,064 15.575 Fig. 10. — Massachusetts did not stampede toward vo- cational education. From 15,575 in I9i3-igi4 the enrollment had grown in 1916-1917 to 23,073. This and four following statistical charts were prepared by Mr. Chester L. Pepper, .\gent for Industrial Education of the Massachusetts Board of Education, for the Pan- ama Pacific Exposition. Variation' in Enrollment by Types of Vocational Schools Boys' Day Industrial Schools TO" 60 EO 40 30 20 10 10'^' 60 SO 40 30 ZO K) 10'^ 60 50 40 30' 20 10 70" £0 50 «) 20 10 .^^ .^ ^^ "-^.^ Evening Industrial Schools For Men / / L— ~— -, / — " County Agricullural Schoo ,„— -v^ -— ^ ■ " -""■ ^^ ^v. ..^ Agricultural Departments in Hi^h Schools "^^^ ^^v^ __ ' — _ l4tol5 l5tol6 l6tol7 l7tol8 l8to?l 2lto25 0ver25 Fig. II. — Another self-explanatory chart prepared for the Panama Pacific Exposition. It will be noticed that boys at the separate and county schools average somewhat older than those in high school departments. i8 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 19 of centuries of educational progress, was at best another device for exploitation of employee by employer. The vocational school men declared that any man who would make such a statement as the latter was a " public enemy." Thus there came to be sharply defined ap- proval traditions and traditions of protest. Happily all such bitterness is past. There are now two deputy commissioners of education in Massachusetts, one for vocational edu- cation, the other for non-vocational. Both serve under a single commissioner and a single Board of Education, who are equally and impartially responsible for the utmost development of all phases of education, whether for the deaf or the hearing, for the blind or the see- ing, for children of the poor or children of the well-to-do ; whether by schoolrooms and books, or by action and affairs, or by a combination of both ; whether for one or for another useful career. 3. Vocational Agricultural Education (i) Definition and development. — Agricultural education, as a phase of vocational education, has recently been defined, by the sub- committee on agriculture of the Commission of the National Educa- tion Association on the Reorganization of Secondary Education, of which the author is a member, as that education which is of less than college grade, which is designed to meet the needs of pupils over fourteen years of age who intend to follow agricultural pursuits, which gives the skill and knowledge necessary to the control of plant and animal production, to the end of economic profit, and which is so articulated with other education as to promote the most desirable farm community life. Such a definition is in keeping with the requirements of the Smith- Hughes Act,^ which provides federal aid for the promotion of voca- tional education, namely, " that the controlling purpose of such edu- cation shall be to fit for useful employment ; that such education shall be of less than college grade and be designed to meet the needs of persons over fourteen years of age who have entered upon or who are preparing to enter upon the work of the farm . . . ; " and that the * Section 10 of the .\ct (S. 703) passed by the Sixty-fourth Congress and approved February 23, 1917. 20 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Percentage of Attendance by Types of Schools PERCENTAGE ATTENDANCE 5' rn: school giving such education " shall provide for directed or supervised practice in agriculture, either on a farm provided for by the school or other farm, for at least six months per year." Such a definition is consistent, also, with that found in the Massa- chusetts law,^ which reads, " f Agricultural Education' shall mean that form of vocational education which fits for the occupations connected with the tillage of the soil, the care of domestic ani- mals, forestry, and other wage-earning or produc- tive work on the farm." Vocational agricultural education, in short, is one phase of effort to conserve the valuable years of youth for the best uses of both society and the in- dividual. There has been a general movement throughout the country for agricultural education of secondary grade. Even five years ago there probably were not fewer than five hun- dred secondary schools in which agriculture was seri- ously taught. More than five times that number now Hst agriculture among their courses. The training varies from the study of an agricultural textbook in the hands of the general teacher who does not bring to her task any special train- ing, to the out-and-out vocational school which employs men who are specialists in agriculture. Various territorial and political units for 1 Chapter 471 of the Acts of 191 1, Section i. TVP£ Of School Boys' Day Cirls'Oay Evening Mens Evening Womfrft Home Mak. Day Home Mak. Ev Continuation County Agric T~[~l I I I I I Agric. Dept n HijhScfaonis Fig. 12. — In spite of residence at home and the press- ure of farm work at certain seasons, the attendance of agricultural pupils compares favorably with that of other pupils in vocational schools. Chart prepared for Panama Pacific Exposition. VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 21 Pekcentage of Withdrawals Based on Total Entjollment in Different Schools TVee Of School Number Withdrawab in Every Hundred gvoHed O lO lo >« *9 9f V Boys' Day I I I I I I I I I I the development of agricultural schools of outstandingly vocational type have been adopted. A. Agricultural schools at colleges of agriculture. — In some states a single school, located at the State Agricultural College, sufficed a number of years for the entire state. The first, and still perhaps the strongest, school of this kind was the School of Agriculture at St. Anthony Park, Minne- sota. These schools have not been prepar- atory departments to the colleges so much as they have been special finishing schools for those who did not de- sire an agricultural col- lege degree course, but desired the directest and most competent possible training for practical farming that could be had in a course of two to three, and, in some cases, four years, following such prelim- inary preparation as that afforded by the common schools of the rural districts. While the demands for vocational agricul- tural training were sufficiently limited so that a single school could do the work required, it was highly advantageous that the school should be located at the State Agricultural College. DupHcation of expenditures for land, buildings, and equipment could thus be avoided. The stu- dents might be trained in part by assistants ; but, first or last, became acquainted with, and felt at first hand the influence of, the best special- Oirls Day Evening Men's Ev Industrial Women Home Mak- Day HomeMak Ev. Continuation D I I I iiinc. Schools ° County A^ric Depts I 1 1 in High Schools I ^-1 ' Fig. 13. — The percentage of withdrawals is strikingly- favorable to agricultural pupils ; and, it will be noticed, there are e%'en fewer withdrawals from departments than from separate or county schools. 22 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION ists in the state in agricultural research and education. The agricul- tural college teaching staffs generally were the staffs of the schools, and sometimes adapted their instruction to the needs of their school pupils, as distinguished from Percentage of WixmjRAWALS Placed in Industry for Which They Received Training Number Out of Every Hundred Wiltidwols Placed in Industry • K> z» X *o ia to \ — n za Typeof Schcol Boys' Day Giris' Day | | Evening Men's AW in Industry Evening Women's All in Industry floinejviaK Day HomeMak.Ev All in Industry Continuation All in Industry County Agric Schools I I I I r I r Agric. Dept i In High Schools I Fig. 14. — Again strikingly favorable to agricultural training is the percentage of withdrawals placed in the occupation for which education had been sought. Care in canvassing the aptitudes and aims of applicants is amply repaid. Perhaps greater care is possible in the cases of agricultural applicants than in the cases . of other applicants, because of the requirement that facilities for home projects, or approved substitutes, must be provided for prior to admission. the needs of their stu- dents of college grade. Certainly schools so lo- cated have stood high in the estimation of the people. President Nor- thrup once said that there were people in Minnesota — not a few — in whose minds the School of Agriculture stood for the whole Uni- versity. B. Separate agricul- tural schools. — In cer- tain states. New York and Massachusetts among the number, it has been considered in- advisable to maintain vocational agricultural schools on the premises of, and in immediate connection with, the State Colleges of Agri- culture. In these eases the resources of the schools are more or less limited. The courses vary greatly in length and character. Some differ but slightly from the State Agricultural Colleges of earlier days. Others maintain two-year courses of six or eight months each, from which have been omitted such subjects as algebra, geometry, and all VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 23 instruction in languages except English. Some utilize a limited amount of land for demonstration purposes. Others provide for more or less practical farm work on the school farms. In fact, these schools have proved to be most interesting and valuable experiment stations in methods of vocational agricultural education. Perhaps it is not too much to say that out of the very " weakness " of some of these schools in land and equipment has come the best strength of the whole movement for a type of agricultural training which shall be genuinely vocational. That is to say, vocational efficiency at the end of the course of training appears to bear no directly propor- tionate relation to the comparative amounts of money invested in the school plants and in their cost of operation; and, similarly, it appears to depend more on points of view and on methods among the various staffs, than upon relative faculty numbers and salary budgets. Among the most interesting, from a thoroughgoing vocational point of view, are the congressional district agricultural schools in Georgia. The place of these schools in the state system of educa- tion is clearly indicated by the following excerpt from one of the early general announcements.^ " If the students wish a classical education or a purely literary education, they should go elsewhere. If they want a common school education, this is not the place for them. If a boy wants vocational training for a life on the farm, together with a good high school training in English, mathematics, history and the sciences, here is the school designed for him." For girls in these schools there are provided " a good Hterary and scientific high school education, training in the domestic arts and sciences," also training for teaching. The United States Bureau of Education 2 has classified these in- stitutions as " special " schools. Thus it sharply distinguishes them as vocational, from other so-called agricultural schools which do not make definite provision for practice in farming operations, which do not require all students to spend at least one-fourth of the entire time on agriculture (or home economics in the case of girls), which are not > Bulletin of Georgia State College of Agriculture, July, 1914, p. 16. 2 Bulletin No. 513, p. 14. 24 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION distinctively of secondary grade and which, in some cases, require students to take higher mathematics and foreign languages. From evidence of visitors and reports of work done, it appears that these schools in Georgia are not college preparatory schools in any ordinary sense of the term, and that they will well warrant the high hopes inspired by their practical plans. With adequate laboratory Fig. 15. — Some schools have land and tools for tillage. Note three kinds of harrows, manure spreader, and sulky plow. Smith's Agricultural School, Northampton. facilities, at first lacking, and with proper correlation of classroom and farm instruction, they should afford vocational agricultural education of a very high order. C. Agricultural departments in high schools. — Since the origina- tion of the " Home Project " plan in Massachusetts, and its early adoption in somewhat modified forms in New York, Pennsylvania, and Indiana, vocational agricultural departments in high schools have been more and more widely provided for throughout the country. Following are some of the considerations favorable to such depart- ments. a. Fifty departments for the cost of ten schools. — The cost of establishing a vocational agricultural department in a regular high school is comparatively slight, — not a tithe of the cost of construct- VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 25 ing and equipping an independent agricultural school. Fully fifty departments can be maintained for what it would cost to maintain five large, well-equipped, and effective agricultural schools. The pro- vision of agricultural departments strongly commends itself, there- fore, on the grounds of economy. b. Departments should reach the greatest number. — An agri- FiG. i6. — "Related study" recitation and demonstration room. Seats io8. Mothers' meetings held here. Seats comfortable for men and women. Note folding tablet arms. Few mixed classes. As a rule, separate classes for home-making and agriculture. Here a discussion of common interest. Smith School, Northampton. cultural department close at hand, which permits the boy to live at home and help with the farm work morning and night and on Satur- days, appeals to parents in modest circumstances. Practically all parents, however well-to-do or however needy they may be, are rightly reluctant to have their children leave home at fourteen, or even at sixteen or seventeen years of age. Many agricultural departments widely distributed through a state should induce the attendance of the largest number of pupils, and thus provide a system of agricultural education suited to the needs of the greatest number of farm homes. c. An elastic service system. — If the tide of interest turns strongly towards non-agricultural courses and careers, or if for any other social, 26 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION psychological, or practical reason the number, for the moment, who desire agricultural training becomes too small to warrant maintenance of a specialist in agriculture, the instructor, together with state and federal aid, may be transferred elsewhere. Meantime, there is httle or no expensive equipment to he idle or to deteriorate. ^ The service can ba renewed when interest and numbers justify it. d._ Departments demonstrate. — Surrounded by farms, vocational agricultural departments in high schools at once enlist the motor Fig. 17. — Bit of drill in exact obser\-ation, use of metric system, etc. Good type of laboratory table for agricultural physics. Substantial and steady. Acid-proof top. Gas and water on benches along two sides of room. Concrete floor. High basement. Abundant window space and excellent light. Smith School, Northampton. instincts and activities of the boys from these farms in carrying out simultaneously with their school instruction and as vital parts of it, practical farming projects on their own premises. The best methods are told and shown. And most boys, as well as most men, in agriculture as in all other productive pursuits, make their best progress by being told and shown, man to man, what to do, and why and when and how to do it. e. Open doors of opportunity. — Mr. D. J. Crosby, when specialist in agricultural education of the Office of Experiment Stations, Wash- ington, D. C, said that he hoped to see secondary agricultural educa- tion throughout the country " Open at both ends, — open at the VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 27 beginning, so that the farm boy could enter ; and open at the end, so that those farm boys who desired to go on to higher agricultural training should be able to do so." Agricultural departments may admit any farm boy who has reached his fourteenth birthday, without regard to whether or not he can pass entrance examinations for admission to high school, provided he can demonstrate his abiHty to profit from the agricultural instruction offered. This opens the door to the boy who may not be " bookish," but who may be capable of making excellent progress in appHed science as worked out by the home project method. Fuller opportunity, at the same time, may be afforded the boy who is both " bookish " and " practical," to advance in both agricultural Fig. 18. — Household and stable hygiene and sanitation laboratorj'- Balances. Micro- scopes. Sinks. Gas and water connections. Babcock tester. Steam sterilizer. Ovens. Beakers. Filters. Smith School, Northampton. and academic training. If a boy training for farming valued gradua- tion from a strongly cultural course, one that perhaps even included Latin or Greek, and if he were able to cover the ground required for such graduation without detriment to the vocational training in his agricultural course, he, too, should find wide open before him a door of opportunity commensurate with his ambition and his natural powers. More and more, agricultural science is bound to be recognized in units of credit for meeting college entrance requirements ; certainly, for meeting the requirements for admission to colleges of agriculture. 28 VOCATION.\L AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION It must be evident, in short, that agricultural departments in high schools throw open to boys from the farms not limited opportunities only, but opportunities for the most advanced agricultural education of which they may be capable and to which they may aspire. The fact that firm footing for their feet is found at the outset through the immediate application of their science instruction in their home farm projects should certainly be no detriment. f . Avoidance of undue delay. — The establishment of agricultural departments in existing high schools cannot be accompUshed over- night. Their success depends upon picked men for teachers ; and ■■Mli — ^ — r- 1 ^ ■ m ■ ■ 1 i fi' %. W^^*l^mM.^^j^M 1^^ 1 • -Vi ** Ilk. UK. .. mammm'um ■rKi^VnBif^i^^i^^^HBaKL S m -* ( Fig. iq. — Farm and home chemistry studies that never will be forgotten. Earthen- ware sinks, with straight lead-pipes emptying into graded gutters in concrete floor. Only one trap — that at connection of graded gutters with sewer. Pine-top benches, with black, acid-proof finish. Half-inch, rounded bead at edges and ends of benches to keep glass-ware from rolling off. Smith School, Northampton. the selection of such men, or their training, requires time and atten- tion. Some time is required, also, to enable the local committee in consultation with the state authorities to outline the course of train- ing best suited to meet the needs of the farm boys in any given local- ity. Certain special agricultural classroom facilities and equipment require some time for preparation. But the time necessary for the establishment of such departments is comparatively brief. In one, two, or three years it should be possible VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 29 in any agricultural state to have a reasonable number of such depart- ments actively at work, and reaching most of the farm boys in that state who need this form of agricultural education. g. High school strengthened. — Such departments strongly com- mend themselves in localities where farm labor is short, and where school consolidation and the development of strong local high schools are in progress. That they can be made to give vocational agricul- tural education, real and highly efficient, it is part of the purpose of this book to show. (2) A square deal in vocational education. A. General schooling not enough. — Even in Massachusetts, where the school-going habit Fig. 20. Farm shop work. Wagon repairing, saw filing and other tool sharpening, thread cutting and pipe fitting, drilling, soldering, harness mending and rope splicing. Partitions and part of upper floor of old house taken out and shop fitted up by pupils. Replaced later by model shop, including drawing room and room for painting and var- nishing, in new building 40' X 80'. Smith School, Northampton. has been developed among the people at large to at least as favorable proportions as in most parts of the world, school instruction has had almost no direct bearing on the probable life work of a great number of boys and giris ; and until recently it has yielded practically no knowledge or skill to those boys whose severest need is education for efficiency in the work and affairs of modern farming. B. Books and bulletins not enough. — How many of the rank and file of busy farmers have had the time, the opportunity, or the inclina- 30 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION tion to learn even the alphabet of agricultural science, — that difficult alphabet, in which the most valuable bulletins and treatises on modern agriculture are written? The higher the aspirations of the men of agricultural knowledge, and the more conimendable their accomplish- ments in the conquest of agricultural science, the more difficult of comprehension do their pubHshed works become in the hands of the man hard pressed by the daily affairs of farming. The need of the hour is the need of the teacher who can simpHfy language, and help the boys who are to be farmers in a given town or district to understand the practical bearings of the best research in agriculture on their problems ; and who can show the boys, on their own farms and in laboratory and other demonstrations, the best methods which are applicable to local conditions. C. The farm not enough. — It has been said that '' The worst thing about farming in Xew England is that almost any kind of farmer can get a hving on almost any kind of farm." Productive farming, in New England or, anywhere else, properly speaking, is not eking out from the land the nakedest necessities of life. Productive farm- ing, moreover, is farming for the community, not merely for the individual ; it is economic farming, and as such contemplates profit in proportion to the service it renders the community, — in propor- tion to the quantity and the quality of the commodities put upon the market. Such farming demands the highest operative skill, the keen- est scientific insight, and the broadest outlook over the wants and the welfare of the community. jMany men on farms to-day are doing exactly this kind of productive farming. They have built up their ability through hard years of experience. They would be good school- masters for their sons in this skilful work, this scientific insight, and this breadth of outlook. But, just as the lawyer who must practice law is generally unwilling to teach it, so the productive farmer, who must meet the pressing de- mands of economic agricultural operations, and who in most cases must be at once the skilled operative, the scientific observer, and the capable business manager, cannot stop to teach his boy the many things he ought to be taught in the years following his fourteenth birthday. If this is true of the farmer of exceptional ability, it is VOCATIONAL AGRICULTUR.AL EDUCATION 31 even more evident among farmers in general. Each, in any event, would be without certain laboratory facilities necessary to a proper study and comprehension of the ch£8H€al, phiisical, and biological facts and principles which underlie the best farm practice. D. Conclusion. — That there is a decided lack of, and demand for, agricultural training of a scientific and very practical character, suited to the needs of boys, and of some girls, over fourteen years of age, who Fig. 21. — Forge shop. Note portable forges such as some of farm boys have at home. One blacksmith's forge, with electric blower. Wagon ironing, drill sharpening, chain repairing, etc., taught agricultural course boys. . Smith School, Northampton. expect to hve on, and gain their livehhood from, farms, there can be no doubt. The needjs but the more accentuated bv the growinor in- dustrial and commercial schools open to boys and girls fourteen years of age and older, which, with their novelty and attractive equipment, tend to lure away from the land and into congested centers, in the absence of attractive and competent agricultural education, many young people whose natural tastes and aptitudes would make them, if properly trained, better, happier, and more prosperous citizens in the open country. CHAPTER II HOME-PROJECT SCHOOL OR DEPARTMENT VERSUS SELF- CONTAINED SCHOOL Productive work of a high order of efficiency is coming to be con- sidered a vital test of all systems of vocational education of secondary grade. Moreover, in vocational agricultural education, it is coming to be accepted that the training must be such as to develop both skill and managerial ability. The competent farmer must be not only expert in the varied technique of his calling, but also a sound and progressive business manager. I. Spectator versus Participant Neither skill nor business ability can be learned from books alone, nor merely from observation of the work and management of others. Both require active participation, during the learning period, in pro- ductive farming operations of real economic or commercial impor- tance. In general, if there is a defect in the large agricultural schools, which boys must leave home in large numbers to attend, and which, in order to secure attendance adequate to justify their cost, must apparently limit their training to six or eight fall and winter months, it is the defect of putting too great reliance upon books and observa- tion, to the exclusion during the intensive learning periods of active participation in the type or types of productive farming the boys intend to follow after graduation. Too great, in the cases of many of the boys fatal, reliance is put on the ability of the pupils once well grounded in sound theory at the school to put that theory into suc- cessful practice on their own farms, alone and unaided. Even if the large school undertook to put its plant and equipment to the strictest productive farming uses of a profitable commercial character, and to induct its pupils into its aims and to school them in 32 HOME-PROJECT VERSUS SELF-CONTAINED SCHOOL 33 its methods, its efforts would be more than Hkely to break down through sheer weight of numbers. The fifty-man farm is rare, the fifty-boy school is not. School farms at present can hardly claim to be thoroughgoing commercial farming concerns. The most flattering school photo- graphs, where the aims of the school are most emphatically practical, show by far too few participants and by far too many spectators. To see a thing done, however good the demonstration, is not to do it one- self. To participate in carrying out an enterprise planned and ordered Fig. 22. — Boys taught how to make concrete floors, walks, posts, mangers, etc. Real jobs, not mere exercises, for group, no less than for individual, instruction. Permanent im- provements, needed by a school or elsewhere in the neighborhood, provide such jobs. Smith School, Northampton. by another — by even an agricultural instructor — may leave one little better than a gang laborer. The pittance paid per hour, where any pay at all is given, can hardly be considered comparable, as an incentive to keen interest and alert action, to the reward the pupil might hope to realize from an independent enterprise planned and executed by himself and wholly for his own profit or that of his family. It must be feared that however excellent may be its work in selected demonstrations and other operations, school farming, from a strictly commercial point of view, must always remain more or less artificial. Perhaps the best use to which an agricultural school, large or small, 34 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION can put its own land and equipment is that of illustrative operations. Some schools, notably the Northwest School of Agriculture and Branch Experiment Station, Crookston, Minnesota, have adopted this view. It is not clear, however, that any considerable ^umber have adopted Pig. 23. — Boys plan in advance their farm repair and construction woric. Note drawing benches. Home made, cheap, light, rigid. Good drawing boards and instruments. Smith School, Northampton. methods of training calculated to overcome the defects of dormitory, or self-contained, institutions as agencies for graduating young men well proved in the practice, as well as in the theory, of productive farming. Most of the schools are far from confining their activities to their own premises and regular school classes. What may be done supple- mentary to the usual school work was early and admirably set forth by Messrs. D. J. Crosby and B. H. Crockeron in Separate No. 527 from the Year Book of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1910, under the title " Community Work in Rural High Schools.^' But community work, as such, is directly planned for those, princi- pally adults, who are not in school. HOME-PROJECT VERSUS SELF-CONTAINED SCHOOL 35 2. The Fundamental Problem The problem, then, of providing for actual participation, both as manager, on at least a moderate scale, and as worker, in productive farming, simultaneously with his classroom instruction, by the boy in the vocational agricultural school or department, may fairly be looked upon as of fundamental importance. How shall it be solved? Agricultural schools prior to 1908, like agricultural colleges, had been self-contained. The instructors had no first-hand knowledge of the home-farm conditions of those admitted to their classes. Thev Fig. 24. — Agricultural school should have home-making department. Real jobs needed as basis of instruction for girls as well as' for boys. Providing school luncheon, sub- stantial, tempting, cheap, is such a job. Photograph shows lunchroom where noon meal is provided daily at cost. Dishwashing and scrubbing paid for by the hour. Other serv- ice part of class work. Lunchroom self-supporting. Smith School, Northampton. taught, marked, and graduated. All conditions for graduation were met on their own premises. There was no follow-up sys- tem after graduation by which individual pupils -were assisted in applying their training in productive farming. There might be some sort of placement office through which jobs might be secured and in which records of success might be kept. But, for the rest, as a rule, as with law school and most other professional school grad- uates, winning success was a sheer process of individual struggle and survival of the fit. The author had served such an institution for eleven years ; and, 36 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION more and more, had become convinced that a radically different system was more to be desired for boys of high school age, and could be developed. When appointed director of the first vocational agri- cultural school in Massachusetts, he undertook to develop at a school which had land, live-stock, and farming equipment, a plan of teaching agriculture which would be efficient at a school which had neither land nor live-stock. There was to be no dormitory, and there never Fig 2, -Here and in model home kitchen adjacent, school lunches are prepared and principles and methods of cooking, canning, drying, and dietaries are taught Lef folding doors lead to model dining-room, those at right lead to room used part of year for model chamber. Smith School, Northampton. since has been a dormitory in the Massachusetts state-aided system. The home farms of boys living at home, and farms on which other boys were found employment in the vicinity of the school, were to be utilized for productive farm work by the boys admitted to the school ; and such farms have continued to be the principal reliance for such work in the Massachusetts system. To accentuate such re- hance, the trustees of the school authorized the sale of the school herd of cows, in order that from the first moment to the last of their agri- cultural school training the boys and their instructors should study, HOME-PROJECT VERSUS SELF-CONTAINED SCHOOL 37 and pit their powers against, the real problems found on the privately owned property of dairy farmers. The plan of this first school, the Smith's Agricultural School at Northampton, was published in 1908 in its first booklet as follows: " Preparation for certain kinds of work will be the primary aim of this new school. It will provide training in agriculture with a view f & : ih )_ .■-'- \^ '■-' i 1L1 Fig. 20. - Model dinmg-room. Table service is taught. Each girl serves in turn as cook maid, hostess, host, and guest. Walls have since been tinted, and rugs woven for floor' by girls in household art classes. Smith School, Northampton. to practical and profitable farming. . . . Every effort will be made to relate the training of the school intimately and at once to practical affairs off the school premises. . . . Pupils preparing for farming will best serve their own ends and the ends of the school by living at home. While the freshman is studying the elements of soils and plant life, he will have plots of ground at home, preferably parts of the 38 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION kitchen and flower gardens, where he will apply the . . . methods " taught by the school " on soil he may some day own. There his methods may be compared with his father's, and those of his neigh- bors He will be keen to learn from them, perhaps his people may now and then learn something from him. In the sophomore year there will be like training in handling the smaller animals of the farm, the sheep, or swine, or poultry, or bees ; in the junior year, in connec- tion with fruit growing and market gardening ; and in the semor year, in handling the larger farm animals, including dairy cattle. Every farm represented by a pupil will thus become an essential part of the working outfit of the school. There will be no sundering of the ties of home when school ties are formed; on the contrary, a good home farm should become dearer to the boy's heart, more enjoyable and more profitable every day. Each farm will contribute of its best to the training of the school ; it is hoped that the school will prove to be a help to every farm from which a pupil is sent." The boys were supervised throughout the producing season by members of the school staff who called at their homes. Thus began what has been known, since the report of the Massachu- setts Board of Education on " Agricultural Education " published in 191 1 in which the present state-aided system was proposed and wHich the author assisted in preparing, as the "Home-Project" plan In this plan has been found a satisfactory solution of the fundamental problem stated in the first paragraph of this section — the problem of providing, every year, in every agricultural school and department, in the case of every pupil, for participation in productive farm work done in connection with study directly related thereto. 3. Productive Farming as Educational Projects Farming is favorable to the home-project plan, because it resolves itself readily into various more or less independent units of productive work. Units of agricultural experiment station work, under the " Adams Act," which provided federal aid for such work in all states, had been called " projects." Constructing a bridge had been called a ''project." There had been all sorts of business undertakings HOME-PROJECT VERSUS SELF-CONTAINED SCHOOL 39 called " projects." " Project " was a convenient, almost self-explana- tory term for units of farm production. (i) First use of " project " for unit of vocational instruction. — We do not remember who first used the term " project " as applied to units of farm production studied at the school and carried out by the boys at their homes under school supervision such as that pro- posed in the foregoing announcement. Dr. David Snedden became Fig. 27. — Home nursing — changing a bed with patient in it. .\ strong course in home nursmg and emergencies is given. Model chamber for the sick. Smith School Northampton. Commissioner of Education in Massachusetts, November 15, 1909; and Mr. C. A. Prosser, Deputy Commissioner for Vocational Educa- tion in January, 1910. Dr. Snedden remembers using the term " proj- ect " in a committee discussion of the National Education Associa- tion, m 1908-1909, in connection with manual training proposals; thinks he " insensibly carried the word over to discussion of a voca- 40 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION tional school unit of work ;" and in a letter dated April 15, 1918, wrote to the author : " I am quite sure that the use of the words ' project ' and ' home project ' both began in the early days of the work of your- self, Mr. Prosser, and myself in Massachusetts." Certain it is, also, that the home-project plan benefited from the close collabora- tion and stout support of both Mr. Prosser and Dr. Snedden, in the eariier days ; and has benefited since, particularly in administrative matters, from the strong and consistent support of Deputy Commis- sioner R. O. Small and Commissioner Payson Smith, by whom Mr. Prosser and Dr. Snedden were succeeded. (2) " Project " defined and described. A. A farming project is a thing to be done. a. Improvement projects. — The thing done may Fig. 28. — Dressmaking and mUlinery room. Course from plainer under-garments and work dresses to dainty wear, evening gowns, and opera capes. Girls taught to make and remodel their own hats. Garments and fancy articles made for sale. Smith School, Northampton. contribute some element of improvement about the farm, as con- structing a concrete walk leading to the front door, the planting and nurturing of shade trees, the making and maintaining of an attractive lawn. b. Trial projects. — The thing done may be the planting of an untried variety of fruit, the feeding of an untried ration, the testing of an untried spraying mixture, or the testing of one or another of much advertised roofing materials. HOME-PROJECT VERSUS SELF-CONTAINED SCHOOL 41 c. Productive projects. — Finally, the thing done may be of a pro- ductive nature, as the growing of a crop of clover or alfalfa, the growing of a field of potatoes, the growing of a crop of silage corn, or the pro- duction of eggs for the market. B. A farming project is, further, something to be done on a farm, which involves a Umited and definite amount of equipment, materials,' and time, and which is directed toward the accomphshment of a speci- fied and valuable result, a. Improvement. — An improvement project may be limited, for example, to a given length and width of concrete Fig. 20. — Grand Army veteran addressing School at Memorial Day exercises. Desks on cleats and movable. Floor cleared when required for social or community center events, or for exhibitions and sales. Flat-top desk with tier of drawers and one center drawer, better than the largest school desk here shown, and equally movable. Smith School, Northampton. walk, constructed of a given kind of stone, sand, and cement, costing not to exceed a given sum of money, and requiring not to exceed a specified amount of time. b. Trial. — A trial project may be limited, for example, to the planting of a given number of trees of an untried fruit, on a piece of ground which could well be spared for such a hazard, and involving a cost in time and money which it was felt could be afforded at a given time for this risk. 42 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION c Productive. — A productive project may be limited, for example, to the growing of a given area of clover or alfalfa, at a given cost for seed, fertilizer, and labor, and for the securing of a specified quantity and value of feeding stuff or roughage. C. Finally, a farming project, as the term is here used, is a thmg to be done on a farm, which, preparing to do it and carrying it out to a successful result, involves a thoroughgoing educational process, a Improvement.— The improvement project of constructmg a concrete walk to the front door should include such study as the nature Fig- .o - Assembly Room cleared of desks. Thi„ school has a department tor carpentry and inside finish ng. At left exhibition and sale of cabinet work. At end a candy bootrand sale. Ill articles made by pupils. Room has a portable stage for dra- matics. Floor used for dancing. Smith School, Northampton. of cement ; its action on sand and gravel or broken stone ; its resist- ant quaUties to the weather; the seasons at which it could be used; its cost, as compared with other materials, such as boards, plank tar, brick, flagging, and asphalt; the mathematical determmation of the proportions of cement, sand, and stone to be used; the geometrical determination of the sections into which it should be divided and whether it should be crowned or flat ; the geographical sources of the raw material ; and the market conditions for purchasing cement. b Trial - The trial project of planting an untried variety of fruit should include such study as the probable adaptabihty of the HOME-PROJECT VERSUS SELF-CONTAINED SCHOOL 43 variety selected to the soil, the climate and the market demands within reach of the farm. c. Productive. — The productive project of growing a crop of clover or alfalfa should include study of the various varieties of clover ; the comparative adaptability of these varieties to the given field on which the crop was to be grown and to the climate of the locality ; the purity and percentage of germination, and the most reliable places for the purchase of seed ; the best time for seeding ; the best time for Fig. 31. — Plants and fancy articles produced by girls. Exhibition and sale. Assembly Room. Smith School, Northampton. cutting ; the best methods of curing and storing ; the mathematical calculation as to the saving in cost of feeding stuffs which the crop would afford ; the chemical elements it would furnish in the ration ; and the chemical, biological, and mechanical effects on the soil in which it would be grown. D. A complete definition of a " project " as here used has three elements. — Thus, it will be seen that a complete definition of a farm- ing project as here used involves the three elements of something to 44 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION be done: a., on a farm, b., under specified conditions and for a specified valuable result, and, c, requiring a thoroughgoing education. E. Project fields or classes. — There are certain broad, general fields in which numerous projects are found. Among these are : Vegetable gardening Growing of greenhouse crops Flower gardening Production of poultry products Landscape gardening Beekeeping Orcharding Swine husbandry Small fruit growing Sheep raising Growing of general farm crops Horse raising Farm forestry work Dairying Agricultural physics and mechanics as applied in farm building, draining, irrigating, and providing and maintaining farm machinery. (3) Educational analysis of a project. — That productive farming projects may be given strong educational value may be indicated by analysis of a cash crop project suitable for the third or fourth year, namely growing a crop of potatoes. It is true that potato growing has been successfully done by elementary school pupils ; but even a glance over the factors which enter into the project now to be out- lined will show that problems altogether too serious to be compre- hended or undertaken by the younger pupil are here involved. It is to be understood, of course, that the following project is but one of many which might be selected. It is assumed that the boy has chosen for his major project the de- velopment of a plan to increase the profit from the potato crop customarily grown on the home farm. It is further assumed that 5 acres of potatoes are generally grown ; that this year the crop is to be grown on clover sod ; that the variety of potatoes to be grown has been chosen by the father; and that the boy's father is willing that his boy shall have complete control of a given number of rows of the 5-acre field, and shall be furnished the necessary tools and materials for his project. Sub-projects necessary for carrying out the above major project might then be as follows : HOME-PROJECT VERSUS SELF-CONTAINED SCHOOL 45 A. Insuring the most abtmdant crop by : a. A proper seed bed. — The related study here should include knowledge of : (a) Conditions of soil air, texture, temperature, and moisture most favorable to the growth of the potato plant, including methods of reducing an undesirable amount of " free " water, of avoiding too great dilution of plant food, and of securing a desirable amount of other water. (b) Methods of preparing the seed bed, including the comparative advan- tages of fall and spring plowing, and the best treatment of the land in the spring after plowing and prior to planting. Fig. 32. — Assembly Room. Sewing and dressmaking exhibit. Work of girls. Smith School, Northampton. b. Proper fertilizing. — The related study here should include knowledge of : (a) Chemical composition of the potato plant, its osmotic and digestive processes, and the quantity of available fertilizing materials it is capable of assimilating. (b) Complete fertilizers for the production of potatoes, including analyses of standard fertilizers, and the plant-food values for potato growing of chemicals and mixtures offered for purchase. (c) Comparative desirability of muriate and sulphate of potash for pro- ducing a crop to be disposed of in an immature state as new potatoes, or for pro- ducing a crop of late potatoes to be disposed of for winter use ; and the extent to which the " mealy " character of the mature crop should be the determining factor in choosing between these two kinds of potash. (d) Clover sod as a factor in determining the proportion of nitrogen to be supplied. (e) Best formula for a complete fertilizer for this particular crop, taking into account the potato plant, the previous crops and their fertilizer treat- 46 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION ment in the system of crop rotation followed on the home farm, the present soil conditions, and the purpose of the crop. (f) Most liberal amount of fertilizer warranted for use in growing this particular crop, in view of the known condition of the land and the assimilative powers of the potato plant; and the saving in cost by home mixing of the supply to be used. c. Using the best seed. — The related study here should include knowledge of : (a) Botanical characteristics of the potato plant; the difference between a seed and a tuber ; and potato improvement bj- various methods and condi- tions of propagation, taking into account tendencies of the potato plant to " variation " and to " mixing in the hill." (b) Importance of planting " seed " selected in the field from the best- yielding hills, rather than seed selected from the bin merely by size of tubers; Fig. 3S- — V'ista with mansion at ciKi vn prupcrty selected for Esse.\ County .\gricultural School. Real home for the 'Home-making Department ready for work with minimum of delay. Similar buildings found on properties approved for Bristol and Norfolk Agricultural schools. checked by the importance of using potatoes produced under cooler climatic con- ditions than those under which the pupil's crop is to l)e grown. (c) Advantage of using potatoes for planting which have been properlj- stored, and the effects of freezing and of sprouting in the cellar. HOME-PROJECT VERSUS SELF-CONTAINED SCHOOL 47 (d) Conditions under which it maj' be desirable to sprout potatoes to be used for planting, in a warm, well-lighted room, — the temperature, the time, and the care in handling required for such sprouting. (e) Size of piece and number of eyes to the piece, as important factors in starting the crop and in the quantit}- of its yield. d. Proper planting. — The related study here should include knowledge of: (a) Botanical and chemical characteristics of the potato plant, as to its feeding habits, the growth of the tubers, and the effect on the tubers as food products of exposure to the sun during their growth. (b) Distances between rows, and between seed pieces in the row. (c) Depth of planting, in its relation to protection of the tubers from the sun, shielding the crop from possible rot-producing bacteria and spores, and subsequent cultivation, whether by the " level " or by the " hill " method. (d) Best time for planting, whether for " early " or for " late " potatoes. Fig. 34. — Horse stable and carriage house found on property selected for Esse.x County Agricultural School. Ample barn space elsewhere. Quickly converted into school build- ing for the .Agricultural Department with 130 boys. See Fig. 35. e. Proper spraying. — The related study here should include knowledge of: (a) Botanical' characteristics of the potato plant, particularly the relation of health and luxuriance of foliage to tuber production. (b) Insect enemies of the potato plant, and tht-ir entomological character- istics, such as their methods of propagation and their feeding habits. (c) Depredations of insects, and their possible relation to attacks upon the potato plant by plant diseases. 48 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (d) Paris green : its chemical composition ; its protective action against the insect enemies of the potato plant ; dangers attendant upon its use ; its possible combination with Bordeaux mixture ; and the best formula, method of preparation, and periods for its application. Arsenate of lead similarly studied. f. Proper cultivating. — The related study here should include knowledge of: (a) Physical characteristics of the soil, particularly the capillary movement of water to the surface of the soil, and exhaustion of soil moisture by evapora- tion. (b) Surface conditions most favorable for receiving rain water without washing, puddling, or subsequent baking. Fig. 35. — Barn, shown in Fig. 34, remodeled at moderate cost into school building. Part of faculty shown. Steel lockers, shower baths, and lunchroom in basement. Essex County Agricultural School. (c) Value of a " dust mulch," and the most desirable method and frequency of cultivation for maintaining such a mulch. (d) Comparative cost and advantages of " level " and " hill " cultivation, and reasons for the choice of the particular method to be followed in cultivating the present crop. B. Insuring the cleanest crop by : a. Dipping the " seed " potatoes in a formalin solution. The related study here should include knowledge of : HOME-PROJECT VERSUS SELF-CONTAINED SCHOOL 49 (a) Plant parasites which produce " scabby " potatoes, and the biological conditions favorable and antagonistic to their, growth. (b) Formalin solution: its chemical constitution; its chemical action on these damaging potato parasites ; and the proper formula and method for its use in protecting the potato crop. b. Substituting chemical fertilizers for barnyard manure. The related study here should include knowledge of : (a) Dangers of infection from the use of barnyard manure. (b) Dangers of infection, if any, from the use of chemical fertilizers. C. Insuring the sound- est crop by spraying the potato plants with Bor- deaux mixture. The re- lated study here should include knowledge of : a. Bacterial and fun- gous diseases to which the potato plant is subject; evidences of their presence ; and whether or not they are preventable. b. Bordeaux mixture : its chemical composition ; its protective action against potato-plant diseases ; and the best formula, method of preparation, and periods of application for its effec- tive use. D. Other sub-projects should include the most profitable means and meth- ods of harvesting, storing, and marketing the crop. And other study related to these projects should in- clude knowledge of potato implements and machines and their uses; the comparative advantages of cellar and field pit for storage ; principles and means of ventilation, and the temper- ature at which potatoes should be kept ; near and more distant markets, and comparative transportation cost ; prices and the probable tendency of prices, in view of the press and government reports of the potato crop for the state, neighboring states, the country, and the world. Fig. 36. — New classroom, laboratory, and office building now completed to accommodate 200 boys. V^ery com- pact county. Network of steam and electric railways. Large enrollment at central school less objectionable under such conditions. No dormitory here or any- where in the Massachusetts agricultural school system. Boys in foreground studying vegetable seeds they are producing. Essex County Agricultural School. 50 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION The study related to the work of carrying out this potato project embraces, therefore, important matter from several sciences, including botany, chemistry, physics, entomology, bacteriology, and plant pathology. For the calculations, mathematics would be necessary; for keeping the accounts, bookkeeping would be required ; for correct Pj(5 27 — Steel lockers, L-ngth her* shown, ventilated and with shelf in top, preferred. Note dust-proof filing case, open in Director Smith's hands, and closed on top of locker, used by pupils for notebooks, textbooks and bulletins between classes. Essex County Agricultural School. correspondence, there should be training in business English; con- sideration of transportation, markets, and world production would in- volve knowledge of commercial and agricultural geography. The project method of instruction on the side of related study, thus, it will be evident, must insure that the boy, in carr\nng out his proj- ects, shall pass through a thoroughgoing educational process. 4. Projects of Pupils, and Other Farm Work The home-project method of instruction fits nicely into the usual farm activities of the boy. The boy may help with the milking throughout his course, where the object is to get the cows milked as HOME-PROJECT VERSUS SELF-CONTAINED SCHOOL ^i quickly as possible and where no records are kept. During certain months of at least one year, the school should require whatever time may be necessary to keep an accurate record of a part of the herd. This may be limited to the weighing and Babcock testing of milk from a single cow and giving the cow credit for what she produces. It may be part of the boy's business to assist in feeding the cows. During part of his course, sufficient time should be given him to weigh the ration and to charge at least one cow what it costs to keep her. In the original routine to which he has been accustomed in milking, much or little attention may have been paid to the cleanliness of cows, 7 "~ ^WML- ' " ,^-^:m^% ■ 1 - */ Fig. 38. — One of Agricultural Science laboratories in remodeled barn. Pupils testing soils. Part of "project study." (A bam at Bristol County Agricultural School was similarly adapted to immediate classroom use while new main building was being provided, and is now used for farm shop-work and apple packing.) Esse.x County Agricultural School. Utensils, or the person and clothing of the milker. During part of his time in school, the boy should be given whatever time may be neces- sary to milk at least one cow and preserve her milk under absolutely sanitary conditions, and to sample the milk for bacteriological tests at the school. In the original cropping of the farm, much or little attention may have been paid to leguminous crops. During one season at least, 52 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION facilities should be given the pupil to grow a field of clover, and to observe the effect of introducing a large proportion of clover into the ration of the cow. In the ordinary conduct of the farm much or little attention may have been paid to the selection and testing of corn for seed. But, prior to planting, one season at least, the boy should be given what- ever time may be necessary to make germination tests of the corn Fig. 39. — Boys at luncheon in basement recreation room of barn remodeled into school building. Once the pig-pen. Now spotless with concrete floor and white enamel paint. Essex County Agricultural School. which it is proposed to plant ; also during one season the boy should be given control of a portion of the cornfield to make an " ear to row " corn test, to observe the difference in yield between different ears of corn, — all the corn from one ear being planted in one row, and all the corn from another ear being planted in another row. In the ordinary routine of the farm it may be that the boy is re- quired to tend the poultry. During at least one year, he should be given control of at least one pen of poultry, and faciUties for feeding HOME-PROJECT VERSUS SELF-CONTAINED SCHOOL 53 a balanced ration and trap-nesting individual birds for comparison of productivity in laying. It may be part of the usual work of the boy to help cultivate and harvest the potato crop. During one season at least, he should be given facilities for testing the value of the use of formalin for the pre- vention of potato scab, and of the Bordeaux mixture for protection against potato blight. It may be part of the usual work of the boy to assist in the apple harvest. During one season at least, he should be given facilities for pruning at least one tree, spraying it, in winter, if it is at all infested by scale, and at other seasons for protection of foliage and fruit, cul- tivating under it and fertilizing it. During one season, also, he should be given facihties for grading and packing the fruit from at least one tree and for disposing of the product with a view to securing fancy prices for at least part of the crop. If he could be given control of a block of five or more trees, and were a fairly husky boy of sixteen or seventeen, the rewards for his work and incentives to intelligent action would be so much the greater. ;- 5- Parents Like Home Projects Parents like the home-project plan. It obviates the necessity of sending the boys away from home in order to secure the benefits of agricultural training. The cost of living for the boys is less at home than it would be at a boarding school. Parents who need the help of their boys are deprived of their services during only a portion of the day. Cooperative work between the school and the home farm is an ef- fective means of trying out under the conditions of individual farms, over widely scattered areas, methods which have proved to be profit- able elsewhere, as, for example, at the State Agricultural College or Experiment Station. Such cooperation enables a boy to try out the home farm as an agency for producing profits, when treated by the best known methods ; that is to say, the home project is a means whereby the principles and methods taught by the school can be positively, and without delay, adapted by the boy to the economic conditions of the farm on which he may spend his working days. 54 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Home-project work thus gives to agricultural teaching the reality of actual life, as but little school training can give it. Under the home-project plan, the instruction is adapted to the kinds of farming prevalent in the districts surrounding the centers where the work is established. The practical applications of the instruction are thus subject to the obstacles continually encountered under the economic farming conditions found in any given district, just as they Fig. 40. — One of "project study" rooms in remodeled barn. Partitions and ceiling sheathed. Before new building was ready. Essex County Agricultural School. are also aided by all the influences in a commonwealth which make for the improvement of farming. The force of all this is felt by the parents. This struggle with re- alities, especially, wins their admiration and holds their respect. They feel that the agricultural instructors are competent and un- afraid. 6. Young People Respond This method immediately appeals to the motor instincts and activi- ties of boys of secondary school age. The success of boys in the corn growing and other clubs in many states shows that boys instantly respond to help, though ever so little, at home. A schoolboy of sixteen at a Massachusetts Corn Show won the sweep- stakes against all comers, including the man who was the sweep- HOME-PROJECT VERSUS SELF-CONTAINED SCHOOL 55 stakes winner of the previous year at the big New England Corn Show, for the best single ear of corn and also for the best collection of ten ears. He had been given seed by the former winner, and had been told and shown out of school hours what to do, and when and how to Fig. 41. — Electric cars pass the duur. Service frequent. Half-rate fares to and from all parts of county. Special cars sent for pupils at close of school, and for such events as "Farmers Day," when fully 1000 people come to the school. Essex County Agricul- tural School. do it on his father's land. The man who helped him said, " That boy has pumped me all summer ! " Most boys, like most men, learn best by being told and shown on the field of action. It is a new and most delightful experience in teaching when the boys, and not the instructor, do most of the pumping. 7. Counting the Cost of Farming An essential feature of the home-project plan of training is the consideration of cost at all points. The boy by this method learns through his own experience that there can be no product without cost and no profit without excess of receipts over all expenditures. After such an experience, he will not be likely to undertake a new enterprise 56 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION without a serious attempt to estimate accurately his probable profit. The boy is subjected to the prevailing economic conditions under which the home farm must yield a profit or loss at the end of a year of work. The methods by which the boy becomes on a small scale a ' - J - ' -'^^^^Hf; JH^^I HHbir a ^^^^Bft- l^^gSS 1 J vC?^'''' Bl^ ^^^^Z ^gg 1 i ^g i^»ja»cisS'^- •^•^ *•>«««« ^^^^m^ ' ■ ■ ■■•,*-- ^ ■■■ Fig. 42. — Petersham High School, first to provide special equipment for agricultural course. One of first consoUdated rural schools. On a hill-top. Nearest railways, steam or electric, about ten miles distant. All grades. Latest development, a model dental clinic. Built by taxation and subscriptions from pubUc-spirited citizens. Recess time. School has tennis court and ball field, also ten acres of tillable land. farmer or business man for himself give the project which he is carry- ing on, and the school work in which he is participating, a reality not otherwise attainable. It heightens measurably his interest in the work and in the related study of the school. 8. Earning and Learning The emphasis put upon home projects in Massachusetts insures that the agricultural instruction shall not be merely academic. Where agricultural instruction is really scientific, there should be no hesita- tion in putting it to the test of productive work. Of our agricultural instructors and of our boys, it is emphatically true that they are known by their fruits. A tabulation of the agricultural earnings of the boys, HOME-PROJECT VERSUS SELF-CONTAINED SCHOOL 57 year by year since state-aid and supervision were provided, will be found on page 429. From this it will be seen that in 1917, 518 day pupils earned from farm work $111,500.87, of which $63,751.26 was cash and the remainder credit, given by parents, for work and products. From this report it will also be seen that 2549 adults taught by the itinerant method grew agricultural products for home use to the value Fig. 43. — Note greenhouse. Greenhouse may be an advantage, but not required for state aid. No other department has one. School has tools for farm shop-work, and a domestic science teacher. Petersham Agricultural Department. of $45,083.50; and products sold or exchanged, to the value of $28,097.21 ; or a total value of $73,180.71. This plan offers the boy, all too eager to quit school for work on reaching his fourteenth birthday, a strong incentive to continue in school; because it undertakes to make him an earner while still a learner. Boys like to feel that as members of the family they are at last able to pay their own way. 9. Conclusion The author believes that home farm work, studied at school and supervised by the agricultural instructor, where conditions are at all 58 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTUR.AL EDUCATION like those in Massachusetts, might well be substituted everywhere for methods of little work, or no work at all of a combined appren- ticeship and managerial nature, in the development of vocational agricultural education ; and that the project method of bringing agricultural science immediately to bear on actual farm practice, in Fig. 44. — "Project study" room. Note agricultural "atmosphere." Seeds, seed com, germination box, signs used in field demonstrations, etc. Sanderson Academy, Ashfield, Agricultural Department. going commercial agricultural enterprises, conducted by the boys themselves, is a promising solution of the most pressing problem in this field of vocational training. He believes, in short, that the home-project school or department is more to be desired than is the agricultural school which is self-contained. CHAPTER III PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY I. Project Work and Project Study The project plan of vocational agricultural education embodies two distinct features. One is farm work, supervised by a special agricultural instructor, or group of agricultural instructors ; the other 1- IG. 45. — Note reference books, dust-proof tiling cases for orderly arrangement of bulletins, pigeon-holes for notebooks, card-index and agricultural wall charts. . A busy comer of a literary workshop where home projects are carefully planned, thoroughly studied, and financially profitable. North Easton Agricultural Department. is study directly related to that work. Both are essential, and for each careful provision must be made. Of the two, it has proved to be an easier task for the agricultural speciaHst to inspire and to direct competent agricultural production, than to ampHfy and organize the training of his pupils so as to insure thoroughgoing study directly bearing upon their individual enterprises. 2. Project Study Suitable for Vocational Agricultural Schools (i) Range and progress. — Beginning with the boy of fourteen, who, in September, enters a separate or county vocational agricultural -59 6o VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION school in Massachusetts, we may graphically represent his training from year to year by Figures 60, 99, 127, and 183, pages 76, 139, 194, and 261. His training should make him acquainted with farm life and affairs in general, and especially well informed and competent in the Fig. 46. — Concord Agricultural Department requires two specialists in agriculture, due to large enrollment. Has first floor of this building. No land and no live-stock at the school. Best farmers, including market gardeners and greenhouse men, cooperate. Home projects are among the best in the state. particular fields covered by his special projects. No boy, as shown in Chapter VI, is required to carry out projects in every field listed ; but any boy may do so. (2) Studies not on diagram. — Such subjects as agricultural botany, agricultural chemistry, history, civics, and English may occupy other portions of the time of the pupils in a regular four years' course, as shown in Fig. 188, page 264. 3. Project Study Suitable for Vocational Agricultural Departments in Selected High Schools (i) Necessary groupings. — In order to enable one agricultural instructor to direct the project work and related study of each of his pupils during a full half of the school time through a four years' course, groupings by years and projects like those in the following diagrams PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 6i in Figure 47 and Figure 48, are necessary. Certain other studies, like those shown in Figure 189, page 265, should be taken. School Years ending 1912, 1914, and Other Even Years First and Second Year Pupils, One Half School Time Agricultural science and projects ap- plied to a given community : Kitchen gardening : vegetables, small fruits. Ornamental planting : shrubbery, llowering plants, lawns. Farm-shop work : making and re- pairing for home and school use, — hotbeds, cold frames, etc. School Years ending 1914, 1916, and Other Even Years Third and Fourth Year Pupils, One Half School Time Agricultural science and projects ap- plied to a given community : Farm animals : types, breeding, management. Farm buildings : sanitation and con- veniences, plans, construction, up- keep. Farm crops for keeping the animals, rotations, balancing, cultivating, etc. Farm machines and implements, their use and repair. Fig. 47. — Diagram of the high school department instructor's courses with older and younger boys, separated into two groups, in even years. School Years ending 1913, 1915, and Other Odd Years First and Second Year Pupils, One Half School Time Agricultural science and projects ap- plied to a given community : Small animals : poultry, sheep, swine, bees, — types, breeding, management, rations, etc. Buildings and equipment for small animals, — plans, cost, etc. Home-grown crops for small animals, kinds, quantities, seeds, soils, place in farm crop rotation, fer- tilizing, tilling, harvesting, stor- ing. Farm-shop work and other construc- tion. School Years ending 1915, 1917, and Other Odd Years Third and Fourth Year Pupils, One Half School Time Agricultural science and projects ap- plied to a given community : Fruit growing : orcharding and small fruits not before dealt with, prop- agating, cultivating, packing, etc. Market gardening : markets, soils, seeds, fertilizers, tillage. Buildings and appliances, plans, de- vices, implements, and machines, — cost, use, and upkeep. Farm-shop work and other construc- tion. Fig. 48. — Diagram of high school agricultural instructor's courses with separate groups of older and younger boys in odd years. 62 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (2) Agriculture first. — The Massachusetts regulations governing these departments require that when conflict is unavoidable, or when, as at planting or harvesting time, continuous application for a number of consecutive days to his projects becomes necessary, all else must yield to the pupil's proper agricultural instruction, no matter at what cost for the time being to his other studies. Economic returns as direct incentives to competent training are fundamental here as in the training of vocational agricultural schools. If experience shows that instruction in the departments should be limited to first and second year projects, pupils desirous of third and fourth year project training may be provided for in separate or county agricultural schools. 4. Project Study Concentration. Year Limits (i) Pupil. — As shown by the foregoing diagrams, the range of the boy's training is expected to be somewhat extensive, covering typical farm products which are feasible for his neighborhood. It is designed, Fig. 4g. — Project study room. Note rack for best farm papers, apple packing table with "Boston boxes" next at far corner, seed sower on floor at right, triangle for laying out orchard and setting fruit trees. Concord Agricultural Department. PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 63 however, that the training of each year shall be complete in itself; also, whatever other projects he may undertake or continue on his own account, that the pupil's first duty in any given year shall be to carry out certain proj- ects selected from the groups assigned to that year for study. (2) Instructor. — Sim- ilarly, while an agricul- tural instructor may give advice and assist- ance privately to pupils who are carrying on extra projects, the first duty of this instructor in Massachusetts is to the particular groups of projects pubHshed for any given year. (3) Published year groups. — In short, upon the particular project groups published for treatment in any given year in Massachusetts, the attention of both pupils and instructors is concentrated. This Fig. so. — Cart'fully select ctl agricultural books and bulletins required. Note neatness of arrangement, dust-proof filing cases, and card indexes. Concord Agricultural Department. restriction adds to the value of the December and August meetings to which the instructors are called for the purpose of conferring con- cerning the projects they are teaching and supervising. The in- structors have problems in common for discussion. 5. Project Study and Capacity of Pupils (i) Individual versus class. — Careful planning of the project study is necessary on the part of each instructor. The project method 64 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION of education, more, it is believed, than all others, takes into account the aptitudes, requirements, and accomplishments of individual pupils as these are revealed from hour to hour. (2) Varying capacity. — Acquaintance with pupils who enroll for vocational agricultural education reveals wide variation among them in capacity for project study. Since farm results under the project method must be obtained, not directly by the instructor, but indirectly through the individual pupils, the instructor's plan should provide for at least an essential minimum of accomplishment on the part of the least capable ; for a desirable maximum on the part of the most capable; and for a large body of educational values to be grasped by the greatest number, — pupils who are neither the least nor the most capable. 6. Kinds of Project Knowledge There may be distinguished three phases of instruction in agricul- tural projects, suited pretty exactly, in their varying scope and degrees of difficulty, to the three fairly distinct kinds or grades of capacity found among the agricultural pupils. An analysis of project knowl- edge which shows these three gradations will be of direct assistance to the instructor in formulating his project-study program. Following is such an analysis : (i) Rules, or plans and specifications, however simple in outline, and whether on paper or in the mind, are necessary for the intelHgent execution of any piece of productive work. A boy may become a more or less capable farm hand without knowl- edge in advance of the enterprise, as a whole, upon which he enters. An ordinary laborer is capable of taking orders and of doing routine farm work. Project work under capable supervision should produce a skillful farm hand, but one who desired hand training only should hire out to a progressive farmer. Project study, the other fundamental of the project method, should produce managerial ability. Good headwork is required for successful farming no less than good handwork. Project study in the case of even the least capable boy admitted to this training should result in evidence of mental accomplishment. A good form of such evidence PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 65 is a record on paper of the rules by which that boy proposes to be, or has been, governed in the execution of his productive enterprises. Inabihty or disinclination on the part of any pupil to find or for- mulate such rules is evidence of unfitness for this type of training. Mastery, in short, of the simplest rules by which the success of his productive work must be determined should be looked upon as an essential minimum of accomplishment on the part of the least capable boy who is permitted to remain in the class. (2) Reasoning. — Beyond the precise rules necessary for success in any given project, there is the reasoning from experience, or from scientific principles, which is their justification. Most of the members of a class readily penetrate to this reasoning ; or, at the hands of a capable instruc- tor, are penetrated by it. The larger educational efforts of the instructor should be directed toward training his boys, not merely in finding the naked rules by which their project work must be governed, but also in dis- covering the practical experience or the laws of nature which lie back of them. That is to say, he should aim to possess his pupils of rules, not as " rules of thumb," but as rules of reason. Good farm management depends upon good judgment, upon reasoning power, — not on abiHty to find good rules so much as on ability to make them. In the note-books of most of the boys, therefore, there should be recorded the general principles which they have mas- tered and of which their rules have been but particular applications. (3) Broader results. — The third kind of project knowledge may consist of informational materials of many sorts, — statistical, com- mercial, geographical, historical, scientific, social, and the like. Such knowledge cannot be looked upon as a direct tool for carrying Fig. 51. — State prints bibliography of ap- proved reference and textbooks. Libraries are most liberal in lending. Note tag de- vice for putting on state numbers with soft twine tied through middle of book. Cov- ers library number and is reminder that book is borrowed and should be returned. 66 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION out a project. It may directly supply neither a rule nor a reason. It may, nevertheless, consist of many most interesting discoveries, offer much most excellent educational experience, and be of such a nature as to give the young producer what may be termed, in the broader senses of that expression, agricultural horizon. Siich knowledge falls readily within the grasp of the most capable pupil, and may well be considered for him a most desirable maximum of project knowledge. (4) Typical for all projects. — These three kinds of project knowl- edge are typical for all vocational agricultural projects and years. Of Fig. 52. — Poultry appliances for study and comparison. Incubator, brooders and lamps, feeding hoppers, drinking fountains. Better to borrow such equipment. Dealers very wilhng to lend. Always up to date. Reduces "chores" of care-taking between times, and avoids losses through depreciation. Concord Agricultural Department. the three, the first and second are in the strictest sense vocational ; the third has obvious vocational relations, but may be largely cultural. (5) The three R's of the project method. — It may not be altogether amiss to declare at this point, in express terms, that in these divisions of project knowledge, — "Rules," "Reasoning," and " Broader Re- sults," — we have the three fundamentals, — the three R's, — of agricultural study by the project method. PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 67 68 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 7. Project Study Program and Records (i) Of highest importance. — In view of the above discussion, the project study records of the pupils become of the highest importance. In them we may expect to find the results of the instructor's best efforts as both program maker and teacher. Fig. 54. — Note pruning tools, small sprayers, garden and lawn tools, bottles of vegetable seeds, cans of chemicals for fertilizers and sprays, boxes for heads of grains and grasses, mount of good and bad cuts in pruning. School lends tools and sprayers for trial before purchase, and rents at cost where funds are more needed for seeds or fertilizers. (2) A supposed project. — A constituent of kitchen gardening is vegetable growing. Suppose that the boy's main project is providing all, or a part, of the home vegetable supply. Suppose a sub-project to be the production of lettuce. Suppose, finally, we agree that the PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 69 knowledge related to this sub-project should be assembled in a note- book, and in drawings, accounts, and the like to which the notebook will be a guide. The aims of the different divisions of the project study may then be represented graphically by the diagram in Fig. 56. The subject Fig. 55. — Wide-awake instructors keep their bulletin boards up-to-the-minute with sea- sonal matter. Telephones are a necessity. Instructors are continually called upon for advice by parents and other farmers. Concord Agricultural Department. matter below the headings is explanatory of the several kinds of knowledge the pupil would find and record. 8. Apportionment of Project Study Time and Materials (i) Diagram column widths. — The relative widths of the columns in Fig. 56 may be considered indications of an approved apportionment of time among the three kinds of subject matter, for the most capable pupil. The first column represents the least requirement any pupil should be expected to meet in order to justify his retention in the class. The first and second columns represent requirements most of the pupils should be expected to meet. 70 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (2) Faculty Cooperation. — At least three-fourths of the most capable pupil's time should be occupied by the subject matter of Project: Kitchen Gardening Sub- Project : Lettuce Crop I Rules Reasoning 3 Broader Results Namely, the Pre- Namely, Evidence from Science, Derived from cise Plans and Observation and Experience that More General Specifications this Project as planned is Observation and made for this 'thoroughly understood Study Project and can be defended Object: Skill Object: Managerial Ability Object: Outlook Xotes should show Notes should show Notes may show The minimum Knowledge necessary for planning Acquisition of a of knowledge of a successful cropping system for more extensive methods, vegetables, — a system in which the body of knowl- materials, lettuce crop may have a proper place. edge centering equipment, and Mastery of certain principles of around the operations agricultural science which find some lettuce plant and required for of their best illustrations in lettuce crop. History, success this year growing. botanical on the land Principles applicable to lettuce classification, selected for this growing under varied conditions, but utilization, and project. particularly under those which promise success with this project the present year. the like. What to do Why's Knowledge in First and itself Second, etc. Wherefore's Desirable Fig. 56. — Diagram of Project Study Divisions. — The Three R's. columns i and 2. Column 3 may be covered, particularly in the later years of the four years' course, by special exercises given the most capable pupils by other teachers, such as teachers of botany, chem- PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 71 istry, physics, mathematics, drawing, or English.^ Close cooperation between these teachers and the agricultural instructor should further this end. (3) No pupil " held back." — In order to direct the related study of his class in the most competent manner, the instructor must, of course, organize his teaching materials in advance in accordance with two, at least, of the three divisions of knowledge above described. If he can provide materials of all three kinds, he will have the satis- faction of knowing that the same amount of time may be devoted by the entire class to study related to such a sub-project as lettuce production, and yet that no pupil will be " held back " by any other pupil, — a result most devoutly to be desired in all forms of teaching. (4) First column, first in fact. — It should be emphasized, further, that the first concern of the least capable should be equally the first concern of the more or most capable. The movement of project study should begin at the project, — not, as has too often been the case in the study of agriculture, at some point remote from it. (5) High school half-days, spring and fall. — Probably the most difficult school schedule problems will be encountered, not in separate agricultural schools, but in the high school vocational agricultural departments. High school principals, however, have solved these problems and have been amply repaid for their pains. It is seldom necessary for an agricultural pupil to ask to be excused from a non- agricultural class in order to meet the requirements of his agricul- tural course, where half-day assignments to agriculture are made. It will be borne in mind that half the school time during the fall and spring terms is to be spent on agricultural project work and related study. It is necessary that this entire allowance, when spent away from home, shall be spent in the room with, or under the direct supervision of, the agricultural instructor. (6) More mature and less mature minded. — Diagrams showing how the less mature-minded group and the more mature may be > For a suggestive diagram showing possible correlation of elementary school subjects with school gardening, see the insert sheet, opposite page 294, of "Among School Gardens," by M. Louise Greene (Agricultural Project Study Bibliography Entry No. 852). 72 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION worked to good advantage, during the strictly agricultural half days, follow on pages 73, 74, and 75.^ The younger group is assigned to the agricultural instructor fore- noons. Parents of these pupils, or their other teachers, are responsi- ble for their afternoons. In these departments, where the entire en- rollment should not exceed 20, the pupils may generally be divided into two groups of about equal numbers. Since some of the more mature have already been attending high school, and have started on morning studies two of which they may desire to continue, the older pupils have been assigned to the agricultural instructor afternoons. (7) Project study versus agricultural survey. — It will be noticed that most of each half-day, and, when occasion demands it, the entire time, is definitely assigned to project work or to study related thereto. The project work will be continued during the summer, with school supervision. The project study will not be completed in the fall and spring terms, but will be rounded out by observations made and recorded at other seasons during the entire period required for the completion of the project. (8) Class focus. — The horizontal cleavages set off the first and last periods, — periods which have this in common, that for the time being there is in each period some single focus of attention for the entire class. Here the methods are those with which all are familiar in class recitations or discussions. (9) Individual focus. — The vertical cleavages of the middle periods in Fig. 59 both indicate and emphasize the individual study of each pupil, the careful and the exclusive attention given to the in- dividual needs of each pupil by the instructor, the adaptation of gen- eral agricultural principles to the peculiar home farm requirements and facilities of each particular boy in the class. Here the methods are those which have their closest parallels in customary school " lab- oratory " instruction, whether in drawing room, shop, library, or science laboratory. • Continuous half-day time assignments to project study and project work instructors of the classes who work under their supervision are equally desirable at separate or county schools. PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 73 Periods ' 9.00 to 9-4S Q-45 to I to Forenoon Group : First and Second Year Pupils Object . Agricultural Survey (Elementary) : About 75 Periods General Study of Agricultural Production and Rural Life. Textbook : " Beginnings in Agriculture," by Mann.^ Put emphasis on Soils and Plant Life Portions in year for Horticulture ; on Animal Por- tions in year for Animal Husbandry. Give much attention to sug- gested problems. Omit this agricultural survey exercise whenever the entire forenoon should be devoted to productive work, or to library, laboratory, or other in- struction bearing directly upon that work. Project Work or Project Study : A bout 300 Periods Object : Execution of Home or School Productive Projects undertaken by the individual pupils, coupled with laboratory, library, and other study and observation directly bearing upon those projects. Concerted Attack by the entire class on Plant Projects in even years (191 2, 1914, etc.), and on Animal Projects in odd years (1913, 1915, etc.). AnExtraProject in Animal Husbandry may be undertaken in an even year by special arrangement with the instructor; as, also, one in Horti- culture in an odd year. Reference Books and Bulletins, including Agricultural Laboratory Manuals, will here be consulted according to the ability and needs of the indi- vidual pupils. Notebooks, carefully kept, record in order the ideas and plans derived from this individual instruction, for guidance in carrying out individ- ual projects. Method : Minimum of class instruction ; maximum of personal, individual guidance. The instructor goes from pupil to pupil, as does the teacher in shop work, laboratory, or drawing room. Project Work or Project Study (continued) Class Discussion of Individual Projects : About 12s Periods Object : To subject individual ideas and plans to the criticism of the entire class, and thus to clarify principles and intensify impressions. Round-up of Opinion : The value of closing each forenoon with this class discussion grows out of the fact that though each has been working on his particular project, all have been working upon the same sort of proj- ect, at the same time; as, for example, lettuce as a kitchen garden crop. A device for making all acquainted with what each is doing, and showing that general rules must often be modified in order to meet local needs. A means for developing the managerial type of mind. Fig. 57- — Diagram of Agricultural Periods for Selected High Schools in Fall and Spring Terms where sessions are from 9 to 12, and from i to 4 o'clock. ' Periods may be the same length and number as those of any school. Reser\'e the first for the "Survey," the last for the "Round-up," and the body of the morning for individual instruction. Periods on projects in summer are determined by the work undertaken, and are covered by daily time sheets. 2 Other books have been approved. The book best adapted to local needs should be selected. See pages 157 and 158. 74 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (lo) Prime merits of this apportionment. — It is one of the most important merits of this project method that the instructor is thus able Periods • to 1-45 1-45 to 3IS 3-iS to 4.00 Afternoon Group : More Mature-minded Pupils Agricultural Survey (Advanced) : About 75 Periods Object : General Study of Agricultural Production and Rural Life. Textbook : " Elements of Agriculture," by Warren.^ Vary emphasis in alternate years to accord with subject matter of project work. View local conditions in light of text. Omit this survey exercise whenever the entire afternoon should be spent in project work, or in observation or study directly related thereto. Project Work or Project Study : About 300 Periods Object : Execution of Home or School Productive Projects, coupled with library, laboratory, and other study and observation directly related to those projects. Concerted Attack by the whole class upon Animal Projects in even years (1914, 191 6, etc.), and on Plant Projects in odd years (1915, 191 7, etc.) An Extra Project in Horticulture may be carried out by special arrange- ment with the instructor, in an even year; or, in Animal Husbandry, in an odd year. Reference Books and Bulletins, including Agricultural Laboratory Manuals, will here be consulted, according to the ability and needs of the in- dividual pupils. Notebooks are carefully kept, for setting in order the ideas and plans derived from this individual instruction for guidance in executing the projects undertaken for profit by the individual pupils. Method : Same as in forenoon for first and second year pupils. Project Work or Project Study (Continued) Class Discussion of Individual Projects : About 125 Periods Same Purposes to be served here as in corresponding period for less mature group. (See last period of previous diagram.) Fig. 58. — Diagram of Agricultural Periods for Selected High Schools. 1 See footnote on preceding page as to length and number of periods. Same rules to apply to more mature, as to less mature pupils. 2 Other books have been approved. The book best adapted to local needs should be selected. See pages 157 and 158. PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 75 to deal with the particular needs and capacities of individual pupils, and at the same time maintain close, efficient and progressive class organization and control. Both pupil and instructor pass from the " familiar " method of the recitation or laboratory demonstration First Agricultural Survey : Period Single focus of attention for the entire class, viz., the common textbook subject or problem assigned the previous day. Mid- Boy A Boy B BoyC BoyD Etc. Etc. 1 Etc. dle iNDIVIDt] AL AgrJ CULTURi \L PrOJ ECTS. C O ■*-' u example, ^oblems at Tiake con- le class. f the half- up." o O >> C o 1-1 iJ -C +J (LI "bC .S '35 d 5 a ~ o O rG ^1 bC o 4-) o .G ^ m >» ^3 1> 1) >-. o o.o ^ bO ^ 2 C OJ 1^ ^^ s fr per o 3 O C ing his c instruc owever, ut their e. may be value tc the fina id for a will pas middle ys may pe rimer OJ >> Pe- riods ach boy study one, with the 11 the boys, h be working o the same tim herefore each tributions of or this reason day is reserv he instructor during these wo or three bo laboratory ex ight or ten bo group. W <^ H U^ H H H Last Round-up of ideas derived from the individual studv of the Period middle periods. Again, a single focus of attention. Fig. sg. — Another Diagram of the Agricultural Half-day. provided for in the first period, to the " less familiar " seminar or in- dividual study and guidance method of the succeeding periods. Rad- ical changes in attitude of mind are inevitable in passing from the general " survey " of agriculture to the searching for- help toward the solution of pressing local problems in the " project " study periods, and then to comparison of problems with problems, and project with 76 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION project, by the pupils in the " round-up" period. And there are im- portant accompanying changes of physical attitude and activities. Both physiologically and psychologically, therefore, this massing and apportionment of time are not merely defensible ; they are highly desirable. They establish model conditions for achieving the best re- sults now striven for in secondary education by Professor Alfred L. Hall-Quest and others through " supervised study." 9. Vegetable Growing Project Study We have seen that vegetable growing is among the projects assigned for first or second year study. The pupil brought up on a farm is likely to bring to the classroom considerable familiarity with several kinds and varieties of vegetables. It remains for his agricultural L^sual Afije of Bov. f^> 14 or Older Plaxt Projects Elementary Kitchen Gardening and Ornamental Planting Vegetables and Small Fruit for Family or Sale Making Home attractive Fig. 60. — First -year projects focus upon plant production. Preference for such projects for beginners was published first, for state-wide application in Massachusetts, in Septem- ber, 191 1. This applies to Schools in all years; and, as explained in the text, in even years to high school departments. See pages 59-61 . instructor to amplify his knowledge and experience to the fullest possible extent. The following chapter gives suggestive outlines for vegetable grow- ing, together with a brief preliminary discussion of various possible classifications of vegetables and a list of vegetables successfully grown in Massachusetts home gardens. It is therein stated that probably it will be feasible in most cases for the pupils to undertake to grow eleven varieties, illustrative of the eleven groups of vegetables which may be distinguished from the very practical point of view of their methods of cultivation. PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 77 The requirements and tastes of most families make it easy to secure the consent of parents to the growing of this number of varieties in sufficient quantity for the home supply. In addition, each pupil is encouraged to grow at least one variety on such a scale as to provide a surplus for sale as a cash crop. The pupil may be helped at will, in the actual work of his vegetable growing, by members of his family, by exchanging work with fellow pupils, or by hired labor. It is essential, however, that he himself. 1- <* '4 .:ia^^ Fig. 6i. — Boys of fourteen begin with home gardens. Eleven \ arieties of vegetables are generally grown, at least one from each class, such as "root" crop, "cole" crop, "cu- curbitous" crop, etc. Irving McCabe's home project. First year. Clean cultivation. Dust mulch. Concord Agricultural Department. with, of course, the aid of his agricultural instructor, shall plan his project and manage it ; shall be taught, and shall attain proficiency in, every phase of the actual work of his productive enterprise ; and, finally, shall render a written report and an accurate account of all expenditures and receipts in connection with his undertaking. In vocational training the economic aspects of the projects carried out by pupils are of the utmost importance, both as to manipulative skill and as to sagacity in management. Work, use of teams and tools and such materials as stable manure, for which cash is not paid, 78 VOCATION.\L AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION should, therefore, be charged at fair valuations against the projects. There should be proper charges for rent, or for interest on the capital invested and used. And all products, whether furnished Fig. 62. — Field studies are interwoven with field work. Excavation by class. Roots gently washed out. Root systems of different vegetables studied and compared. Object, best tillage for each class of vegetables. Not a boy who made this study had shghtest idea prior to this exercise that turnip roots penetrate into ground a shovel's length. Essex County Agricultural School. the family, given away, or sold, should be credited to the projects at current retail prices. The suggestive outlines in Chapter IV in- clude questions on the economic elements of project study. 10. Small Fruit Growing Project Study The best home gardens are seldom considered complete without an abundant supply of small fruits, such as blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, currants, and strawberries. Grapes, also, are sometimes included. The small fruits are often found in the same inclosure with the garden vegetables. When we add that the garden is generally most convenient if located near the house, and that all of these small fruits, save strawberries, are tall or moderately high growing, we have PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 79 said about all about them that can be said in general for assistance in garden planning. Farm boys are more or less familiar with the above facts. Fol- lowing, therefore, the making of the preliminary garden sketch, which should show intention to grow one or more small fruits, the small fruit project study will best deal with individual varieties, and be guided by outlines like those suggested for varieties of vegetables. II. Beekeeping Project Study Beekeeping is an interesting and profitable side line in well-bal- anced farming. It is particularly important where any considerable attention is given to fruit and vegetable growing. It is, therefore, a worthy project for first or second year pupils. Every agricultural pupil should be taught the importance of bees in their relations to economic plants, and their nature and possibil- FiG. 63. — Identification, comparison, and various laboratory as well as field tests of chem- icals used in home-mi.xing fertilizers. Note folding table. Some of these boys now six-footers and holding good positions as e.\pert gardeners; one of them is an expert dairyman. North Easton .'\gricultural Department. ities as economic animals. So much knowledge is included in the general study of agriculture, by both the younger and the older pupils. 8o VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION during periods set apart in the foregoing diagrams under the designa- tion " Agricultural Survey." Every vocational agricultural school and department should own, work with, or have access to at least one hive of bees. Undoubtedly certain pupils will desire to conduct beekeeping projects. Project study outlines should be prepared for them, and should cover at least the first two of the three kinds of project knowledge before discussed. Fig. 64. — Agricultural classes drilled in judging home-grown potatoes by use of score card. Neither land nor live-stock at thisschool. Marlborough Agricultural Department. Since pupils are not to be required to conduct projects in every field covered by the published course of training, beekeeping may be looked upon as one kind of project from which, at their desire, ori;^t the discretion of the instructor, pupils may be held exempt. 12. Poultry Keeping Project Study It may safely be urged that every pupil should be permitted, and even required, to conduct a poultry project. Poultry keeping is a branch of production found on every farm and at many village homes; yet a branch from which, when con- PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 8l ducted on a strictly business basis, it is very difficult to make a profit. It has to do with farm products which are of very great eco- nomic importance for the advancement of agriculture in a state like Massachusetts, which, while admirably suited to poultry keeping, imports $25,000,000 of poultry and eggs annually, and produces less than $6,000,000 worth per year. Owing to the attention now being given poultry keeping by the agricultural colleges and' experiment stations, materials for teaching Fig. 65. — New kind of high school examination. Naming of vegetable seeds mixed and put on paper plates. Seeds studied for shape, color, plumpness, and percentage of germination. Concord Agricultural Department. the subject scientifically and practically are increasing, and make this one of the most promising lines of project instruction for school use. Poultry keeping affords one of the best projects for transition from the boy's treatment of animals as pet stock, to his treatment of them as vital factors in economic agricultural production. Project study outlines of the sort suggested for vegetable growing will be just as necessary here as elsewhere for the proper guidance of the poultry project pupils. 82 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 13. Sheep and Goat Husbandry Project Study Sheep and goats in some localities are matters of keen interest and economic importance ; in other localities they are not. As to general knowledge and possible exemptions, what was said of beekeeping should apply equally here. Projects should be per- mitted when strongly desired ; and, when permitted, properly guided by appropriate project study outHnes. 14. Swine Husbandry Project Study Swine husbandry should, probably, in most cases, be ranked as nearly equal in importance to poultry keeping, — perhaps midway Fig. 00.— Asparagus growing. ■'School project." Pulling in new plaiUalion. Inttrc:,t- ing study in vegetable growing. A money-making crop in some parts of the state. Smith School, Northampton. as school projects between poultry keeping and beekeeping. Proj- ects in this field should be optional with the individual pupils. Some knowledge of swine husbandry will be had through the agricultural survey study and its attendant trips for observation. Where the home farm conditions are at all favorable, swine projects should be urged, and outlines for their proper study provided. PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY S^ 15. Ornamental Planting Project Study Few good farmers are entirely heedless of the attractive appearance of their farm property as farm homes. Some attention should be given by every agricultural pupil to such ornamental planting as is appropriate under reasonably thrifty farm home conditions. During at least one year of his course, along with his utility projects, every boy should carry a project devoted to the beautif}ang, in at least some slight measure, of his home surroundings.' Some study will have been given farm home attractiveness during the periods devoted to the " agricultural surv^ey." Good home proj- ect work, however, will be as dependent here, as elsewhere, upon project study outlines carefully adapted to each pupil's home condi- tions. 16. Third-year and Fourth-year Project Study The project study method is identical for all years. When, there- fore, pupils have progressed so far in the course as to be prepared for it, third-year and fourth-year project study should be pro\aded for in the manner already indicated. Project study outlines for fruit growing, including orcharding, should be drawn ; outlines, also, for the handling of certain vegetables from the market gardener's point of view, for the production of other important cash crops, and for dealing with the serious problems of dairying. Every advantage in this outline making should be taken of the opportunities thus afforded for the thorough re\aewing of the basal principles of plant production and animal management already dealt with in the project instruction of the two pre\aous years. This re- viewing should insure a consistent and closely knit body of knowledge supported by the practical applications of that knowledge. It should also make it possible for an older boy who has had good farm expe- rience to enter the course to advantage at the beginning of the third, or even of the fourth, year. Particular attention in the senior year should be given to the study and application of the principles and methods of good farm management. 1 List of ornamental plants successfully used at Smith Agricultural School, Northamp- ton, Mass. : (Continued on pages 84-85.) 84 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION The field of study one year, here, as earlier in the course, should be restricted to, and concentrated upon, plant projects ; and the next year centered upon animal projects. The method of procedure is beUeved to have been elucidated with sufiicient clearness in the foregoing discussion and in the following chapter containing suggestive project study outlines for vegetable growing, so that its application to third-year and fourth-year project study need not at this point be further elaborated. 17. Project Study Perspective Looking back, now, over the project plan of vocational agricultural education, as analyzed and expounded in the present discussion, two facts should stand out in clear relief. Certain kinds of projects are elective ; others are prescribed. Marigolds (African). Marigolds (French). Zinnias. Nasturtiums. Calliopsis. Candytuft. Salpiglossis. Berberis Thunbergii, Japanese barberry. Cornus Siberica, Red-twigged dogwood. Forsylhia suspensa, Yellow bells. Ligustrum Regelaniim, Kegel's privet. Lonicera Marram, Morrow's honeysuckle, Lonicera lartarica, Tartarian honeysuckle Philadelphus coronarius, Syringa. Pyrus Japonica, Japanese quince. Rhus typhina, Staghorn sumach. Rhus glabra. Smooth sumach. Annuals Centaurea. Eschscholtzia (California Poppy). Mignonette. Asters (Semple's Branching). Portulaca. Nicotiana. Shrubs Ribcs aurcum, Yellow currant. Rosa rugosa, Japanese rose. Sambucus Canadensis, Elderberry. Spirca Von Houtei. Spirea Thunbergii. Spirea callosa. Physocarpus opulifoliiis, Ninebark. Syringa vulgaris, Lilac. Viburnum opulus. High-bush cranberry. A ralia spinosa, Hercules club. Hard wood : — Spirea Von Houtei. Spirea Thunbergii. Syringa vulgaris. Lilac. Privets. Forsythia. Philadelphus coronarius, Syringa or Mock Orange. For Cuttings Rhus typhina, and glabra. Green : — Geraniums. Salvia. Rex begonias, for leaf cuttings. Cannas, tuber cuttings. PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 85 (i) " Improvement " and " trial " projects desirable. — The proj- ects termed " improvement " and " trial ^' offer excellent incentives to project work and to project study. The first may con- tribute most towards the training as a whole by being confined to projects which appeal to, and tend to de- velop, the pupil's sense of attractive- ness, order, and fit- ness, in farm home appointments and surroundings. These will touch his pride. The second may make its best contri- bution by appealing to, and nurturing, the element of daring, — the tendency of youth, even at some economic risk, to get out of ruts. Appropriate projects Herbs Dill, Thyme, Lavender, etc. Vines Cinnamon, Virginia Creeper, Ampelopsis tricttspida. Bulbs Indoor forcing and outdoor use : Narcissus. Tulip Hyacinth Miss S. M. Weed, instructor in ornamental planting at the Smith School, North- ampton, several years, made the following observations regarding the above lists : "Any of the flowering plants listed are easily grown at home. Choice and range of plants for home gardening depend entirely upon the resources of individual pupils, — amount of land available, location, nature of soil, etc. An assortment of from si.x to ten varieties is about the number most profitably cared for by the majority, but, as I have stated, this number varies greatly. "As an incentive to home work might be mentioned starting plants at school, to be taken home for use later. Asters, cosmos, and pansies are good plants to use in this way. It is also an advantage to have on hand seeds of standard quality and kind which pupils may buy from the school, thus insuring the use of good seed." Fig. 67. — Agricultural instructors demonstrate the handiest ways of doing work, and speed up the work by setting the pace. Forking manure and properly preparing land for a garden. Hadley .\gricultural Department. 86 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION for the second are to be found by following the best leadership in animal and plant feeding, in plant and animal breeding, in selection of plant and animal foundation stock in the light of comparative records of production, and the like. Such projects will arouse his courage. Both will have pronounced values as elements of vocational agri- cultural education, for both will be directly aimed toward a more favorable farm inventory and toward considerably increased farm Fig. 68. — Class exercise. Making their first hotbeds at the school. Agricultural Department. Hadley profits. Both, moreover, may be made to contribute almost as much to community as to private betterment and well-being. (2) Productive projects fundamental. — First and without fail, however, in vocational education, should come the projects termed " productive." The scale of the improvement and trial projects may be modest. The scale of the productive projects must be extended, occupy as much as possible of the time, and engage as much as possible of the energy of the pupil. Entering upon a productive project should be an indi- cation of the pupil's determination to go just as far as he can in any PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 87 given year, not only towards learning how to become a self-respecting and self-supporting producer of farm products, but also toward put- ting that knowledge into practice. Vocational agricultural education, in short, means, if it means anything, the constant interworking of ideas and action. It means the educational unity of two practically simultaneous processes, the processes of earning and learning. The logic of making the productive projects fundamental is the logic of life. First, man must provide his subsistence ; next, a surplus Fig. 69. — Farmers and schools cooperate. Boys made hotbed Inuiu- and sash at the school. Excavated and put frame in place on farm of Mr. Spooner, who paid for all materials. Boys then made their own hotbeds, sash, and straw-mat covers. Brimfield Agricultural Department. for barter, sale, or other use. Then out of his surplus he may right- fully take risks, or make non-productive investments of time or capital. And this holds true no matter how slight the risk, nor how modest the non-productive outlay. Happily, projects primarily productive, involving, as they must do, considerations of quality no less than those of quantity, are not without vital elements of training in attractiveness, order, and fitness. Moreover, the boy's success in his enterprises aimed at profit is more than likely to be directly proportionate to his daring enlistment under the leadership of the newer agriculture. Productive projects alone, 88 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION therefore, may contribute to the education of the pupil something of those elements which are the more direct aims of projects termed " trial " and " improvement." The agricultural instructor, in approving projects to be undertaken by his pupils, will, therefore, make no mistake. His primary concern must be vocational agricultural education through productive proj- ects. Productive projects may, in any given year, and at a pinch in all years, be taught to the exclusion of all others. " Improvement " and " trial " projects, where found feasible, are desirable. "Produc- tive " projects are fundamental. 18. Project Study versus Subject Study Critics, familiar with the curricula and methods of teaching com- mon to most public schools of secondary grade, have remarked a radical difference of method between subject teaching and teaching by projects. Fear has oc- casionally been expressed that the project innovation in educational methods may, apart from the skill it gives, result in putting the pupil in possession of merely a more or less in- coherent collection of knowledge fragments. (i) Subject study. A. Organized knowledge. — Subject study, it is urged, puts the pupil in possession of coherent bodies of organized knowl- edge. Subject study, moreover, it is pointed out, so far, at least, as it is of the more modern type, takes into account the environment of the pupil ; and the practical bearings of his education, so far as it has any, are thus made plain to his understanding. Subject study stops short Fig. 70. — "Pricking out" lettuce. Tricks of the farmer's trade taught in the different operations covered by the agricultural courses. Hadley Agri- cultural Department. PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 89 at this point. For applied knowledge as such it recognizes no responsibility. B. Deferred values. — Having been schooled in terminology and principles, also in orderly and efficient habits of reasoning, and having been led to make certain laboratory and other observations as to the applications of principles in the work-a-day world, the pupil must then be trusted to develop efficiency on his own account in one or another field of applied knowledge. The principal values properly to be expected from subject study, therefore, have been termed " de- ferred values." C. Agriculture and subject study. — Agriculture has generally been taught by the subject method.^ A part of the farm boy's year, usually the summer, has been spent on his home farm ; another part of the year, usually the winter, or the months of the cus- tomary school year, has been spent, in most cases at a considerable distance from his home farm, at the agricultural school or college. In the former, his attention has been de- voted to productive agri- culture ; in the latter, to agriculture as more or less divided bodies of organized knowledge. ' Following is the list of subjects found in the undergraduate course of training once prescribed, by one of the most prominent agricultural colleges, for prospective teachers of agriculture. With the subjects are given the hours required for each. The baleful sig- nificance of this list is found in the tendency for beginners in teaching to be imitative, to try to teach the same subjects by the very same methods by which they themselves have been taught. Thermatology Botany . . Chemistry Entomology Zoology . . Fig. 71. — Rows must be straight and accurately spaced. Sower must be properly adjusted to size and kind of seed. Hadley Agricultural Department. Agronomy 21 Animal husbandry . ... if Dairy husbandry .... f Horticulture .... Secondary school agriculture IS 6 6 15 5 English Rhetoric Economics Education Librarj' science 90 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION D. The unaided farm boy. — To the farm boy himself, alone and unaided by the supervision of his agricultural instructors, has been left the educational task, well-nigh impossible, under such circum- stances, of bringing these elements of his experience — one concrete Fig 72 -Mechanism of farm and garden machines carefully studied. This sower is ' lent to pupils who lack such labor-saving equipment. North Easton Agricultural De- partment. the other abstract — into efficient relations, whether for purposes of intelligent understanding or for purposes of economic returns, with the result that the anticipated values of such subject study have too often been deferred indefinitely. E. Education in forgetting. Judging from the experience of many pupils, and among the number not a few who have gone on to college, much secondary education by the subject method might justly enough be called " education in forgetting." In fact, it has sometimes been argued that the educational process, as a process, as a means of develop- ing mental alertness, acuteness, and power, is the main concern of the subject study method ; that the forgetting is to be expected, is not to be too much deplored. PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 01 The structure and habits of the human mind and brain are such that, following the psychological laws of segmentation, unused knowl- edge tends to be " forgotten." Much, a vast deal, of the subject matter dealt with by the subject study method is of such a nature that in out-of-school hours and in after-school years it remains unused. Fig. 73. — Tank filled with water. Local soils in glass tubes. Rate at which water rises and saturates soil in each tube noted, and rates for the different types compared. Other tests for rates of percolation, water-holding capacity, and evaporation. North Easton Agricultural Department. To the extent that it remains unused, its forgetting, save by minds supported by the most unusual brain substance, is inevitable. Whether to be deplored, therefore, or not, it has over and over again been observed, that examinations once passed and the school year ended, subjects are forgotten. 02 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION F. Subject study merits. — For the training of the so-called " ab- stract-minded " boy, of the boy naturally gifted with a retentive cerebral organism, and of the boy who is to follow a professional as distinguished from a productive career, the subject study method must be conceded appreciable merits ; and these merits become the more pronounced and permanent in proportion as the method, in its dealing with materials and principles, is strongly inductive. Fig. 74. — Project of Joseph Powell, 16, a city boy. Never had hoe in hand until 1914. Note his straight rows and clean cultivation. Best garden at that date seen by state supervisor. City boys can learn farming. Bristol County Agricultural School. (2) Project study. A. Accompanied by subject study. — Merits conceded subject study, however, are not to be subtracted from the total merits of vocational education. The education of the boy who desires a vocational agricultural diploma includes, as we have seen, the subject study of EngUsh, history, civics, botany, chemistry, and general "agricultural survey " study of such subjects as soils, tillage, and crop rotation. That this subject study does not precede, but accompanies, or follows, the boy's project study, directly and decidedly enhances its value. PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 93 B. Organization of common sense. (A) Induction and applica- tion. — But project study has merits peculiarly its ov/n. No more diligent or effective application of the inductive method in education has ever been witnessed than that proposed, and in good measure already practiced, by the project study of agriculture. The educa- tional cycle is not left open, but is here completed. The movement, from observed data of agricultural production to general laws and Fig. 75. — Joseph Powell's project again. Potatoes in bloom. Kept free from bugs and blight by careful spraying. Had never before seen a "potato-bug." Part of § acre garden project at school. Accounts well kept. Valuable experience, plus S174.12 farm earnings. Now a graduate and farming. Bristol County Agricultural School. principles, is followed by the reverse movement, which is embodied in the application of the laws and principles of science, embodied, that is to say, in economic agricultural enterprises conducted by the pupils on their home farms under competent school supervision. (B) Personal economic interest at stake. — Mr. Huxley's favorite definition of science is understood to have been " organized common sense." The project study method consists, not so much of the con- ning of " science " already organized and brought to the bovs in 94 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION IS books, as it consists of the actual organization anew of the common sense required for successfully controlling the personal affairs and eco- nomic fortunes of the pupils themselves. The " career motive '" here dominant, inspiring, compelling. Upon the organization of com- mon sense is put a strong, personal premium. (C) Natural versus artificial units. — The units of project study are not the units of another man's career nor of another man's book. Fig. 76. — Both hand work and horse work taught each boy. Agricultural School. Bristol County They may, nevertheless, consist of findings from many sources, in- cluding picked careers and selected books. Olericulture may be made a subject study ; so, also, may chemistry. Rarely, however, does the subject study of chemistry, for example, include all of chemistry. The limits set are arbitrary. The lettuce crop to be produced by the pupil in a given year is a project study unit. As such it requires mastery of certain portions of both olericulture and chemistry. The requirements for producing the crop under the known home conditions mark the Hmits of this unit. These hmifs are not artificial; they are natural. The kinds of knowledge to be gained have been indicated above by the suggested PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 95 tj _: 96 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION contents of the boy's project study record. The boy's knowledge may be complete for its purpose, — an organized unit, a body well articulated and thoroughly comprehended. The project method deals with natural units. By this method the boy's common sense is focused, clarified, and put directly to important economic tests. (D) Project study units and pure science data. — Project study, moreover, will probably prove to be one of the most effective means of accumulating first-hand data for the successful study of science as science. The lettuce plant, for example, thrives best in almost any garden soil when fed freely one particular kind of plant food, namely, nitrogen. The pupil must, therefore, know this raw material of chem- istry, not at the outset in its every form and use, but in the special form best suited to the needs of the lettuce plant. He may learn to think and speak of it by the symbol the chemist has assigned it. That symbol will, then, have been learned once for all. Later, in other project study, he will learn more about nitrogen in its relations to productive agriculture. One by one, if wisely taught, he will simi- larly come to know other elements of plant or animal food, together with their symbols. He will come to know them in an intimate, per- sonal way, by name and symbol, by appearance and action. " All this will surely be gain, and not loss, if later the boy has opportunity to study these chemicals in their more general relations. (E) Education in remembering. — The knowledge which is the boy's quest in project study is knowledge of which he sees the need. Being needed year by year, it will, year by year, be recalled. Used again and again, added to, modified and exactly applied, it will tend to be distinctly remembered. If unused knowledge tends to be forgotten, the converse is most emphatically true. Used knowledge tends to be remembered. The primary pursuit of project study as the accompaniment of project work is the organization of definite and coherent bodies of knowledge which the recurrent seasons will naturally and of necessity call into use. Forgetting here is a hindrance. If it occurs, it is not a virtue but a fault. In short, the organization of common sense by the project study method is not education in forgetting ; it is education in remembering. PROJECT STUDY VERSUS SUBJECT STUDY 97 (F) Traditions of success versus traditions of defeat. — Educators and public-spirited people in general are gravely concerned over the yearly exodus from school of the army of children whose schooling is halted the moment the fourteenth birthday is reached. But why should they not go out? In a vast proportion of cases their lot in school has been far from happy. The " bookish " boy has been, and may always Fig. 78. — Joseph Powell helping set up corn harvester which had been bought "knocked down." Did gardening largely morning and evening, so eager was he to round out his experience with every seasonal operation on the farm. Not a hired man on this farm. Boys and their instructors make farm practice square with classroom teaching. Bristol County Agricultural School. be, the exception and not the rule. Taught by one sort or another of subject study method, and failing to see, much less to feel, direct relationship between what they have studied and what they are likely to be and do in life, too many have " failed in their studies." Their school traditions have been traditions of defeat. If anything can efface the depressing memory of such traditions, by establishing traditions of school success, it is believed that the 98 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION project method of vocational education can do it. And probably no field for this is more favorable than that of agriculture. Boys, especially farm boys, like the open. They are curious about plants and animals. They readily come to know them. They like to possess them. When school begins in the open and ends there; when in the schoolroom are found undreamed-of guide books to more wonderful and intimate understanding of the already familiar objects of the open ; most of all, when the school teacher meets the boy where his interest is keenest, and shows him how to turn his possessions, or those of his father, to better economic account, — then schooling be- comes a new experience to the boy. It becomes part of his life, not something apart from it. Traditions of success in school become possible of attainment. They become for the majority inevitable. Than this, project study, perhaps, can hope to achieve no finer result. CHAPTER IV ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES APPLIED TO VEGETABLE GROWING I. Project Study Outline Making in Massachusetts Of admirable agricultural textbooks, reference books, bulletins, reports, papers, and periodicals, there is now almost a superabun- dance, and the supply is steadily growing. The principal problems, therefore, of the agricultural instructor, responsible for putting into effect the project plan of vocational Fig. 7g. — Project vicissitudes. Clarence Goodnow, i6, planted J acre muskmelons, May 25-26. Cutworms and dry weather killed them. Replanted June 8. Sept. 8 splendid crop fast maturing. Vines killed by unseasonable frost, Sept. 9. Looked " like a field of cannon balls," he said. Paid for labor but no profit. But like most of the boys he had other projects. His total earnings from farm work that year were S227.75. Peter- sham Agricultural Department. agricultural education, are the problems of making selected portions of this literature available for his particular boys and their particular 99 lOO VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION projects, and of establishing habits of study which make consultation of many authorities both natural and rewarding. The present chapter discusses but one field of agricultural project instruction, and this with special reference to the work and study of first or second year pupils. It suggests outlines following which the pupils may prepare themselves directly for their work and, at the same Fig. 8o. — Orin Butcher, ig. Has curvature of spine. Had been out of school. In best health when much in open. Permitted to take agriculture part time. Worked ^'j acre. Income before taking course, S33 ; first year of course, $59-30. What rate is this per acre ? Continued study. Bought more land, on which he is now a gardener and poultry man. Concord Agricultural Department. time be taught how to gain information from all sorts of reference authorities. These outlines have proved to be useful models. They show the economy in outUne making of using numerals instead of titles for references. The heavy-faced numerals are the numbers assigned to certain titles in the " Agricultural Project Study Bibliography," which was pubhshed by the Board of Education in 191 2 as Bulletin ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES lOl •No. lo, and which, with later accessions, appears here as Chapter V. The numerals in lighter-faced type refer to pages. The numbers assigned the titles were adopted by all the vocational agricultural libraries in the state. This has made all subsequent outlines interchangeable and serviceable throughout the system. Outhnes modeled after those in this chapter and applied to all of the other fields of project study have been prepared by the agricultural instructors in Massachusetts. Most of these are in typewritten or mimeographed form. To accelerate this work among the more ex- perienced men and to forward the work of beginners in teaching, two bulletins containing project study outhnes adapted to first and second year pupils were proposed. There was collaboration and a fine spirit of rivalry. The outlines grew out of day-to-day requirements. They were on the spot products of efforts everywhere in Massachusetts to make project study and project work interlock. Bulletin No. 28, 127 pages, printed in 1913, contained outhnes on growing and stud}dng: Beans Celery Parsnips Rhubarb Beets Cucumbers Peas Spinach Cabbages Melons Potatoes Sweet Corn Carrots Onions Radishes Tomatoes The author edited the outhnes, and at the head of each gave credit to the contributors. Followang is an example of such credit : " In this project study outhne " on potato growing " are incorpo- rated the questions and references prepared by five instructors for their work with vocational agricultural pupils in 191 2-1 91 3, as follows : Mr. Thomas Bradlee, Northampton .... 228 questions, 251 references Mr. J. Coryell, North Easton 174 questions, 220 references Mr. J. G. Powers, North Easton 145 questions, 172 references Mr. L. B. Boston, Petersham 148 questions, 168 references Mr. E. J. Burke, Hadley 74 questions, 81 references " Bulletin No. 36, 139 pages, was prepared in a similar manner and was printed in 1914. It consisted of poultry project study outlines on production and sale of : Chicks Roasters Turkeys Broilers Breeders Ducks Fryers Eggs Geese " I02 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION To it seven agricultural instructors contributed as follows : Mr. L. B. Boston, Petersham 231 questions, 186 references Mr Thomas Bradlee, Northampton .... 249 questions, 204 references Mr. J. Coryell, North Easton 189 questions, 207 references Mr. A. W. Doolittle, Concord 321 questions, 841 references Mr. J. H. Fay, Northborough 402 questions, 349 references Mr. J. G. Powers, North Easton . . . ■• • 566 questions, 514 references Mr. Milton S. Rose, Harwich 357 questions, 870 references 2. Vegetable Growing Project Study Outlines In project study outline making, the agricultural instructor must weigh, balance, and determine many practical and scientific matters. What' number of vegetables may a first or second year boy safely Fig. 81. — Village boy's back yard before studying agriculture in igi4. See Fig. 82. undertake to grow? How, and in what order, should the vegetables he grows be studied? These problems are dealt with in the follow- ing discussion. (i) Project study and vegetable groups. A. Possible classifi- cations. — A careful study of the botanical characteristics, uses, ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES 103 and methods of cultivation of any considerable number of varieties of vegetables will disclose the fact that vegetables naturally fall into different groups, each distinct in important respects from others. Vegetables have been classified by their food parts under such headings as the following : " Roots we eat," " Leaves we eat," " Seeds and seed pods we eat." To these three groups might be added, "Plants we grow for garnishes." Vegetables have been classified, also, according to the date of planting or earliness of maturity in the open, as, " first early," "sec- ond early," " third early," " fourth early," or " late." Again, vegetables have been classified according to certain botanical characteristics. Under this classification "early" and "late " vege- tables may be found in the same group ; also, vegetables in a given Fig. 82. — Same boy's back yard while studying agriculture in 1914. Had 4 acre in vegetables on other land. Now a student at Massachusetts Agricultural College. North Easton Agricultural Department. group, as, for example, those of the parsnip family ( U mbelliferce) , may differ radically as to their food parts, and run from roots we eat to edible leaves and seeds. The parsnip family includes even the I04 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION most important garnish plant. Our garden herbs and vegetables belong to at least seventeen plant families. B. Possible varieties. — The following varieties of vegetables were found to have been successfully grown in Massachusetts home gardens, and are among those which in this state are suitable for project work and related study. The arrangement is alphabetic, and throws no light upon choice of preferred varieties where two or more varieties are given. Asparagus : Giant Argenteuil. Palmetto. Beans, green: Bountiful. Burpee's Stringless. Burpee's Stringless Green-pod. Early Red Valentine. Beans, pole : .\rlington Red Cranberry. Dreer's Improved Pole Lima. Beans, shell : Dwarf Horticultural. Beans, wax : Golden Queen Wax. Refugee. Wardwell's Kidney Wax. Beets : Crosby Egyptian. Detroit Dark Red. Eclipse. Edmand's. Cabbage : All Seasons. Curled Savoj'. Danish Ballhead. Jersey Wakefield. Carrot : Danvers Half Long. Cauliflower : Snowball. Dwarf Erfurt Celery : Giant Pascal. Paris Golden. Corn : Cory. Country Gentleman. Golden Bantam. Quincy Market. Stowell's Evergreen. Cucumber : Arhngton White Spine. Davis Perfect. Dandelion : Improved French Thick leaved. Eggplant : Black Beauty. New York Improved. Endive : Broad-leaved Batavian. Green Curled. Kohl-rabi : Early White Vienna. Leek: Carentan. Lettuce : Black Seeded Simpson. Black Seeded Tennis Ball or Big Boston. Deacon. Salamander. Muskmelon : Emerald Gem. ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES 105 Miller's Cream. Rocky Ford. Onions : Yellow Globe Danvers. Parsley : Arlington Double Curled. Parsnips : Abbott Hollow Crown. Peas : Gradus. Gregory's Excelsior. Surprise. Telephone. Pepper : Ruby King. Sweet Mountain. Potatoes : Green Mountain. Irish Cobbler. Radish : Early Scarlet Globe. . French Breakfast. Rhubarb : Linnaeus. Victoria. Salsify : Mammoth Sandwich Island. Spinach : Long Standing. Round Thick Leaf. Savoy-leaved. Squash : Crookneck. Early Prolific Marrow. Hubbard. Tomato : Bonny Best. Chalk's Early Jewel. Earliana. Stone. Turnip: American Rutabaga. Early Milan. White Egg. C. Classification by methods of cultivation. — The following clas- sification of the foregoing varieties of vegetables is based on essential methods of cultivation and will probably best serve the purposes of project study. ^ Class I. Annual Vegetables. Sub-class I. Crops grown for Subterranean Parts. Group I. Root Crops. Beet, Beta vulgaris. Carrot, Daticus carol a. Parsnip, Pastinaca saliva. Radish, Raphaniis salivus. Salsify, Tragopogon porrifolius . Turnip and rutabaga, Brassica. Group 2. Tuber Crops. Potato, Solanum luhcrosum. • The outlines of this classification had been proposed a decade before in "Principles of Vegetable Gardening," pp. 240-242, by Prof. L. H. Bailey, and had been followed in one of the latest studies of the subject, "Vegetable Gardening," 191 2, pp. 196-109, by Prof. R. L. Watts. lo6 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Group 3. Bulb Crops. Onion, Allium Ccpa, A. fistulosum. Leek, A. Porriim. Sub-class II. Crops grown for Foliage Parts. Group 4. Cole Crops. Cabbage, B. oleracea. Cauliflower, B. oleracea. Kohl-rabi, B. oleracea. Group 5. Pot-herb Crops (used for " Greens "). Spinach, Spinacca dcracca. Beet, Beta vulgaris. Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale.^ Group 6. Salad Crops. Lettuce, Lacluca saliva. Endive, Cichorium Endivia. Celery, Apium graveolens. Parsley, Carunt Petroselinum. Sub-class III. Crops grown for Fruit or Seed Parts. Group 7. Pulse Crops. Bean, Phaseolus, Dolichos, Vicia. Pea, Pisum sativum. Group 8. Solanaceous Crops. Tomato, Lycopcrsicum csculcnlum. Eggplant, Solatium Melongena. Pepper, Capsicum anuuum. Group 9. Cucurbitous or Vine Crops. Cucumber, Cucumis sativus. Melon, C. Mclo. Squash, Cucurbita. Group 10. Corn. Sweet corn, Zea Mays. Class II. Perennial Vegetables. Asparagus, Asparagus officinalis. Rhubarb, Rheum Rhaponticum. D. Varieties of vegetables per pupil. (A) Desirable range. — Glancing over the above list B and classification C, embracing some Seventy-five varieties and eleven groups, it appeared to be desirable that each boy should grow and study at least one variety from each ' This is a perennial, but when grown in a garden does not occupy a given piece of ground more than a year. ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES 107 P"iG. S3. — Wilson Walker, 16. "Improvement" project and "productive" project combined. Grandfather agreed to give him use of this field for vegetable grow- ing if he would clear it of rock. Sold 240 tons to city crusher. Got cash enough to pay for team work and dynamite. See Fig. 84. group. The least num- ber of varieties dealt with would then be eleven ; and, within cer- tain groups, would per- mit of a considerable range of choice to suit the tastes of the boy or the likings of his family. (B) Surplus for sale. — To test his results by the strictest commercial standards, each boy, in addition to growing cer- tain varieties of vegeta- bles in sufficient quantity to supply the summer and winter needs of his family, it was believed should be encouraged, if not required, to grow at least one variety on such an extended scale as to yield a surplus for sale. If his family were in modest circumstances, and could only allow him credit at current prices for vegetables produced for home use, his sur- plus might make his biggest crop his only cash crop. It cannot be doubted that the prospect of cash re- turns has been a most powerful incentive to competent, persistent, and intelligent project work and project study. Fig. 84. — Part of same field shown in Fig. 83 .same year. Spraying potatoes. Carrots and other vegetables on rest of field. Paid himself for labor, at 2off an hour, $93.90. Net profit, $140.11. Total project returns, $244.01. Entire earnings from this and other farm work in 1914, while doing excellent work in high school, $337.11. Marlborough .'Agricultural Department. io8 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (C) Experience as a guide. — Of course there is great variation in capacity for fruitful study and competent garden work; but even children under fourteen have successfully produced in school garden work more than a half-dozen varieties of vegetables; and boys of secondary school age, when giving only part of their time to such work, have produced, with clean culture and profit- able results, fully twice as many. (D) Judgment of the instructor. — It is evident that the number of vari- eties per pupil must be left to the instructor. He must exercise his best judgment in approving the number, as well as the sorts, of vegetables to be grown. ^ Where individuals have little or no preference as to the variety within a given group, one pupil may be assigned one variety, other pupils the other varieties. Where there is school land, varieties not chosen for home growing may be grown at the school. Thus the work, study, and observation by the whole class may be made to cover nearly, if not completely, each entire group. The six-variety boy should not be permitted to undertake twelve Fig. 8s. — Part of Wilson Walker's field the same year it was cleared of rock, planted to market garden vegeta- bles, carrots, parsnips, etc. See Figs. 83, 84, and 86. 1 Mr. J. H. Fay, a teacher of experience in project instruction and home work super- vision, thus summarized the situation as he saw it : "i. The varieties to be chosen should be adapted to the soil, exposure and location of land on the farm. "2. The varieties should be those most easily grown with success. "3. Use varieties serving the most useful economic and instructive purposes. "4. Use those sorts best suited for local sale or home consumption. "5. Aim to have the boy's home gardening supplement and improve the present kitchen garden ; or where such does not exist, or is very inferior, make it of such a nature that its value will be reahzed and permanency secured. 2# "6. If field projects of a commercial nature are the ones in view, then local conditions as to soil, markets, etc., will again determine the varieties to be selected." ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES 109 varieties, nor should the boy capable of completing a twelve or fifteen variety project be permitted to stop short at a six. (2) Project study by vegetable groups. A. A practical approach. — Since productive work on the home farms of the pupils is such a fun- damental feature of the project plan, there are obvious advantages in the above classification of vegetables by methods of cultivation. B. Aid to garden planning. — Familiarity with the general cultural requirements of the various groups is necessary to the first intelligent Fig. 86. — Harvesting cabbages and other bulky vegetables. Wilson Walker at right ; at left, his brother whom he hired to help him. Wilson is now "in the trenches." "To farm is to arm," but he felt he must respond to the call to the colors on the field of battle. Marlborough High Agricultural Department. Steps in home-garden planning. These requirements are given by various authorities, and with them, of course, the agricultural instruc- tor must be familiar. The following notes are from Professor Bailey's " Principles of Vegetable Gardening," pp. 271-433: . Group I. Root Crops require a cool season and deep soiL They are grown in drills, and usually are not transplanted. They are used both as main-season and secondary crops. All are hardy. No special skill is required in growing them. The necessity of deep soil is apparent when one considers that the value of a root depends to a large e.xtent on its straightness or symmetrj'. In hard and shallow soils roots are short and they tend to be branched and irregular. no VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Fine tilth does much to insure quick growth, and quick growth improves the quality. Group 2. Tuber Crops. The Potato. — Deeply pulverized, cool soil, holding much capillary moisture and rich in potash, deep and early planting, level culture, frequent surface tillage to conserve moisture, spraying to insure healthy foliage, — these are requisites of the best potato culture. The potato is propagated by means of tubers. It thrives best in a relatively cool climate ; in the south, it is successful only as a spring and fall crop, for the midsummer season is too continuously hot. In most cases a heavy yield of potatoes is largely a question of moisture. Group 3. Bulb Crops. — All the bulb crops are hardy, require a cool season, and moist, rich soil, with a loose surface. Usually they are not seed-bed crops. They are used both as main-season and secondary crops. They are propagated by both seeds and bulbs. These crops are grown chiefly for * the underground bulbs (but the leaves are often used in stews and season- ings). Gr6up 4. Cole Crops. — All cole crops are hardy and demand a cool season and soil and abundance of moisture at the root. Ex- cept the kales and kohl- rabi, all are seed-bed crops, and even kales are often started in beds. Each plant requires considerable space in order to develop well. Cole crops are grown for the vegetative aerial parts rather than for fruits or roots. Group 5. Pot-herb Crops. — Pot-herb crops, or " greens," are grown for their leaves: therefore they must make quick growth in order to be crisp and tender; the ground must have good surface tilth and much available plant food; the application of soluble nitrogenous substances is usually im- portant, particularly when the growth is nearing completion. Most pot-herb crops demand a cool season ; and nearly all of them are partial-season crops, and are therefore treated as succession or companion crops. Group 6. Salad Crops. — As a general statement, it may be said that Fig. 87. — Farm boy. Le Roy Anderson, 15. One acre gardening project at home. Far from market. Grew bulky crops. Head of cabbage ready for sale. Walks five miles to school. Uses bicycle part of year. One of boys referred to by Dr. Lyman Abbott on p. 459 as putting high estimate on education. ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES III salad plants require cool, moist soil, and a quick, continuous growth if the best results are attained. They are often benefited by a special application of quickly available fertilizers during growth, particularly of nitrogen in those species which are desired chiefly for a quick growth of leaves. Group 7. Pulse Crops. — Botanically peas and beans are very closely related, but they have few points in common from the cultural point of view, since peas are hardy, cool-season plants and beans are tender, warm-season Fig. 88. — Part of squash crop of Le Roy Anderson. Rest sold at date of picture. Project income (his labor plus net profit), .$156.82. Entire farm earnings for this year (1914) amounted to $336.27. Excellent worker and stood well in school. Graduated. Now farming with his father. Ashfield Agricultural Department. plants. Both are leguminous crops, and are therefore capable of using atmos- pheric nitrogen. As garden crops, however, they may need applications of nitrogen in order to secure a quick start, particularly if an earlj' crop is desired. " It is frequently the wiser economy to apply nitrogen, particularl)' if they are raised upon land which has not been previously planted with these crops, and thus may not possess the specific nitrogen-gathering bacteria." (Voorhees.) 112 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Peas. — Peas are a partial-season crop, requiring cool season and a soil not over rich; seed is sown where the plants are to stand; grown in drills; hardy. Beans. — Garden beans represent several species, but all the common kinds are very tender to frost and require a warm season and sunny exposure ; seed is sown where the plants are to grow ; usually grown in drills, except the tall kinds ; the common bush beans are partial-season plants. Group 8. Solanaceous Crops. — Tomatoes, eggplants, and their kin are hot-season plants. They require nearly or quite the entire season in which to Fig. 89. — Alden Wheeler, 16, had home project on this farm. Sign erected after Alden's father had contracted to supply Marston's restaurants with sweet corn and had planted 40 acres to this crop alone. Winter storage for 100 tons of Hubbard squashes. Much space under glass for cucumbers, etc. Concord Agricultural Department. mature. Usually they grow until killed by frost, at least in the north, and the production of a heavy crop depends largely on securing an early start. They are seed-bed crops, and they ne§d abundance of quick-acting fertilizers applied relatively early in their growth. They are grown in hills. Group 9. Cucurbitous or Vine Crops. — Cucurbitous crops are annuals, grown for their fruits ; they are tender to frost ; they require a warm season and a full exposure to sun ; they are long-season crops, and with most of them a quick start is essential in order that they may mature the crop before fall ; they are grown in hills, as a main crop ; they are planted in the field or in frames, depending on the region and the period at which the crop is wanted; ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES 113 they transplant with diflaculty, and if the plants are started in advance of the season they are grown in pots, boxes, or on sods. Group 10. Com. (Other names omitted.) — The plants here mentioned are all warm-weather crops ; they are annuals or grown as such, and they are cultivated for their immature fruits ; they should have quick soil ; usually they are not transplanted ; other than good tillage, no special treatment is required. Group II. Perennial Crops. — The management of perennial crops differs from that of other vegetable-gardening crops, in the fact that they are •*-v '^tW " ' Fig. 90. — Selecting strawberry plants for a new bed. Home projects in gardening should include small fruit growing. Brimfield Agricultural Department. more or less permanent occupants of the ground, and therefore must be given an area to themselves, where they will not interfere with the customary plow- ing and tilling, in the fact that the chief tillage and care are required early and late in the season, and also because the fertilizing is secured chiefly by surface dressings in spring and fall. C. Good but inadequate. — This knowledge of the cultural require- ments by groups above given affords a practical approach to vege- table gardening. It probably will enable a boy to decide what groups are suitable for his land, and, therefore, what he may hope to grow 114 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION for his family or cash crop. It may, consequently, be sufficient foun- dation for the boy's preHminary garden sketch. A careful examina- tion shows, however, that almost everything is yet to be learned as to the individual cultural requirements of the vegetables which the boy selects for his project work. Accordingly, only so much time should be given to the study of veg- etable groups as may be necessary for reasonably intelligent selection i k ^HHHHHHH 1 ■ IJHw^^^hHJIP li W^^^ ^/^.f-^ '^^» ■ ^ ^^^^^^^^^E -k \ ^^^^/ ,My^^^^^^ -'iP^JLe'f^J^^S IP'f-f n - * k _^i^*"*y Kli^ " "* '"^^^ ^^^Hiil^BKflK ' \ i ^S^'' 1 ip^^9|Mrl ^^^m 1^ ' 't-t J^^^i\^ ' M ^,^^^^^^__^'^EJ^»tf^j^tfBBHW in a^ -4^%i^H; ' "^j^- -J ^ >-* . • i ■ — ~- _. ii"jsir-« *,-;^!J^ . .te.i> Fig. 9 1. — This boy's father bought this farm, because a real estate agent told him there was an agricultural department in the high school, that his son could take the agricultural course, and that the instructor would advise him (former N. Y. City man) when invited to do so. Petersham Agricultural Department. of the varieties which are to be grown. In fact, so much knowledge may well be .to a large extent a gift from the instructor to the class as a whole. (3) Project study by vegetable varieties Thoroughgoing project study begins when the individual pupils settle down to the study of the particular vegetables which each has decided he prefers to produce. Such study necessitates the formula- tion of project study outlines for the chosen vegetables. It probably will always be the case that a considerable number of varieties will be selected by the entire class, while other varieties will ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES "5 be selected by but part of the class, perhaps by but a single pupil. Project study would better begin with those varieties with which all are to work. The outline making should, therefore, begin with those varieties which are to be grown by all. Outlines for the remaining varieties may then be made. Elsewhere ^ a project dealing with a staple vegetable, sometimes grown in the garden and grown sometimes as a field crop, has been analyzed for the purpose of showing the character and extent of the project study pertinent to a single crop. Two examples of project study outlines will here be given. These will show project study materials organized for classroom and Fig. 92. — -First-year projects include ornamental planting and care, spot rear of school. Back yards, as well as front, receive attention, forestry. Ashfield Agricultural Department. Creating beauty Bit of landscape individual instruction, in connection with home gardening projects. The first outline determines the precise object of the project ; its scope, whether modest or more ambitious ; and the things to be done in general preparation of the land, etc. The second deals with a particu- lar vegetable. Moreover, since the vegetable elsewhere analyzed is a staple article of food, namely, the potato, the vegetable here chosen is a salad plant. Lettuce, the vegetable selected for the second outline, might serve, it will be seen, a most excellent purpose for introducing the study of * Chapter II, pp. 44-50. ii6 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION vegetable growing. Here are some of its advantages for such study : it is an attractive home crop and a very important cash crop. It may be grown in the house, in a hotbed, cold frame or greenhouse, or in the open ; among the earhest vegetables, among the latest and for a continuous summer supply ; or to keep the land busy as a companion or succession crop in connection with other vegetables. It teaches the importance of abundant feeding and watering as fundamental to both quantity and quality. It naturally singles out for study one of the most important elements of plant food. Since in connection with Fig. 93. — School flower garden sometimes aid to home flower garden. Cut flo.wers sent into hospital next door and taken home by pupils. Smith School, Northampton. it the first labor is Hkely to be performed, the first seeds, fertilizers, and tools used, and the first product disposed of to the family for credit or to the public for cash, it is one of the best vegetables for initiating the keeping of records and accounts. It will be seen that these outlines overlap slightly at certain points. The wise instructor will make a point of such overlapping in his out- line making. He will find therein fruitful opportunities for review- ing important elements of both principle and practice. As aids to similar reviewing, references will be found to the approved textbooks used by the pupils in their " agricultural survey " instruction. ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES 117 If, at first glance, it should be feared that the second outline is too full, it should be understood that no pupil is expected to look up every reference under every question. Further, it should be understood that certain questions of agricultural science which a given instructor intends to treat in connection with the growing of other vegetables may, at that instructor's discretion, be omitted or touched upon but lightly in connection with lettuce. The effort here is to show a good Fig. 94. — Agricultural class potting plants for schoolrooms of all classes. Getting ready for winter. Using dirt from hotbeds. Both beauty and utility in the Massachusetts plan. School projects are preparatory to home projects here as everywhere. Petersham Agricultural Department. form of outline for use, not only by a whole class in any given school or department, but by all classes throughout an entire state vocational agricultural education service like that in Massachusetts. Matter suggested as desirable, particularly for the study of the most capable pupil, under the heading " Broader Results," in Fig. 56, page 70, in Chapter III, has been dealt with in the following outlines in foot- notes. Such questions as those in the footnotes may be omitted by all save the most exceptional pupils. Il8 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION The first outline immediately follows ; the second begins on page 126.^ The open spacing will be noticed. Outlines in this skeleton form invite additions from time to time, make revisions easy; and, particularly, make outlines suited to one locality quickly adaptable to another locality. 1 For explanation of the numbers in heavy faced, and in lighter faced type, see above, page ICX3, last paragraph. ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES 119 (4) Suggestive project study outline — Kitchen gardening Project : Kitchen gardening Object, Scale, and First Steps of Project Giiiding Questions for Planning this Project I.. Shall you grow vegetables ? ' Guiding Questions for Studying and Understanding this Project (i) What are the advantages of a good home garden? 1:187-188 5:325 13:5-6 16:3-6,8,11 25:335- 27:10,12-16 39:3,490 40: iff. (2) Could you sell part or all of your product outside the family? 2. Where shall you grow them ? (1) Where was the home garden last year? A. How well did the vegetables grow in it ? B. Was it large enough to supply the family, or were such vegetables as winter squashes and potatoes grown as field crops? (2) May it be desirable to change the location of a garden, or of the place of growing certain vegetables in an old garden ? A. What is " rotation," and its significance for vegetable growing? 26: 13 39:493 276:32-34 (3) Which way should the garden slope? 26: 7 (4) What soil is best for a garden ? " 1:188-189 26:7-8 27:22 39: 19. 21 f., 25-26, 27 (5) May the garden vegetables be part of a field crop? How? Advantage? 1:188 (6) Is protection from the wind important? Why? 39:14 (7) Is good drainage a necessity? Why? 1:189 5:91-92 13:9 39:26 (8) On the whole, what may be considered the best location for a garden? 1:188 5:23s 11:451 13:6 27:20 39:12-14,491,492-493 •What is "olericulture"? 39: i 276: 1-6. 2 What do you know about "portable soil" and renting contracts among small gardeners near Paris? 874 : 54. I20 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Kitchen gardening — Continued Guiding Questions for Planning this Project 2. Where shall you grow them ? — Continued. Guiding Questions for Studying and Understanding this Project (9) Shall you grow vegetables under glass? 1 A. What are " hotbeds " and " cold-frames" for? Cost of construction and operation? 5:236-237 11:483 13:12-15 25:145 39 : 355-356 276 : 44-79 747 : 250-253 876 : 94-96 B. Shall you use a hotbed ? How? a. What is the best manure for a hotbed? 26:67-68 27:65 39:109-110 276:56 b. How shall you manage the manure to insure heating? (a) What makes manure heat? 26:67 27:65 375:56 (b) How pile it? 27: 65 (c) How moist should it be? 275: 56-57 (d) What may be the result of careless watering? 275:61 (e) How shall you get uniform heating ? 27:65 276:57 (/) What shall you do, if the manure fails to heat? 27:56 c. How thick should be the layer of manure, and ho thick the layer of soil? What consideration should be given the kind of crop, in answering the foregoing question ? 275: 60 d. How soon after riiaking will the hotbed be ready to receive the seed? 276: 61-62 e. Meantime, what treatment does the seed bed require? 26:58 275:61-62 C. Shall you use a " cold frame "? How? (10) In view of the above, where shall you grow your vegeta- bles? 1 Open air v. hothouse returns, according to 12th census? 853 : 194- ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES 121 Kitchen gardening — Continued Guiding Questions for Planning this Project Guiding Questions for Studying and Understanding this Project 3. What kinds shall you grow ? (i) Shall you grow both hardy and tender vegetables? A. What are " hardy " and " tender "? 753 : 159 (2) What is a practical way of grouping vegetables by their cul- tivation requirements? 39 : ig6-2oo, 241 276:240-242, 271, 301, 314, 329, 347, 356, 380, 392, 411, 423, 429, 433 (3) What kinds are liked best by your family ? (4) What kind could you sell best? (5) What kinds or varieties, therefore, shall you grow for A. Family use? a. Summer? b. Winter? B. Sale? 4. What quantities shall you grow ? (i) To what extent shall you undertake to supply your family with the vegetables needed for the entire year? ' A. What kinds of vegetables were used on the home table last year? B. What quantity of each was required? C. What were grown at home and what were purchased? D. About what was the total value of the vegetables used in the last twelve months by your family? E. Shall you work alone or in cooperation with some of your family, a neighbor, or a fellow pupil? 16: 9-10 ' W'hat may comparatively small areas produce under the best methods? 5 '• 234 13:5 33:9-17 276:31.3s 853:69-109,118-121,123,127,407-408. 122 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Kitchen gardening — Continued I Guiding Questions 2 Guiding Questions for Planning this for Studying and Understanding Project this Project 4. What quantities (i) To what extent shall you undertake to supply your family with shall you grow ? the vegetables needed for the entire year ? — Continued. — Continued. F. How large was the garden last year? Sketch outline, give dimensions, and figure area. G. How large a garden will supply a family of five or six? 11:454-455 276:31,35-43 ■ H. In view of the foregoing study, and assuming that a garden should be cultivated carefully about twice a week for the family supply, how large an area shall you undertake to work? (2) Shall you grow a surplus for sale? A. What quantity could be readily sold? B. What would be the cost of marketing? C. In view of the above, what quantity shall you try to pro- duce for sale, and what land allowance shall you make? 5. Shall you map (i) Ad vantages of, and materials for making a garden plan? your garden ? 25: 8, 24-28, 42 27: 21, 23, 25 271: 279-284 753:324 876:61 A. What scale shall you use? a. What is " drawing to scale "? B. Shall you show the points of compass? W^hy? 876:61 C. Which way shall the rows run, lengthwise or crosswise? 276:31-32 D. Shall the rows run north and south? Why? 25:8-11 E. Shall your plan show such double cropping as you have decided upon? a. What is " double cropping "? 39:475-489 F. In what part of the garden shall you put low-growing, and in what part high-growing plants? G. Shall you observe strictly the rules of " rotation " in lo- cating your deep and shallow rooted plants? II. What are some model kitchen garden plans? 11:8-9,451-454 13:7-8 16:2-28 25:11-14 27:21,23,25 31:20-21 276:33. 37. 39. 41 ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES 123 Kitchen gardening — Continued I Guiding Questions 2 Guiding Questions for Planning this for Studying and Understanding Project this Project 6. When, and how (i) What time of year is best for plowing land for gardening? thoroughly, 26:31 39:29 276:88 shall you pre- A. What may be gained by fall plowing? pare your land? 26: 31 39: 29, 30 254: 40, 41 276: 88-89 (2) What is the relation of a thoroughly pulverized seed bed to quick germination and rapid growth? Best tools to use? Best methods of using them? 1:74-76,83-87,96,190 11:87-114 13:9-10,15,21-22 24: XIX 25:35-42 39:28-40 276:155 278:91-130 279:390-392 285:90-92,156-158 767:67-72 770:5-6 876:77-78,88-89 A. What tools shall you use? a. What have you now? Make a list. b. What must you buy? Make a list. B. What will be your expense for these tools? 7. Shall you use (i) Shall you use lime on your vegetable land? lime? A. What is the effect of lime upon the soil? 279 : 304-307 ' B. Effect upon the plant? 279 : 302-304 C. When most beneficial? 279 : 307-309 D. How can you tell when lime is needed ? 5:126 25:7 39:65-66 279:309-310 752 : 98 767 : 95-99 770 : 46-50 E. When, in what forms, and how may lime be applied? 5:127-128 278:70 279:302-311,314 F. Where shall you get your lime, and what will it cost ? 8 How and when (I) Shall you use stable manure? shall you fer- A. Value of stable manure in vegetable growing? Should it tilize your be well rotted? Apply when and how much? land ? ' B. How should stable manure be stored and handled ? C Should it be thoroughly mixed with the soil? Plowed or spaded under? Or raked, or harrowed in? ' What are motives for fair and square treatment of the land? i : 100 876: S7~S8. 124 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Kitchen gardening — Continued I 2 Guiding Questions for Planning this Project Guiding Questions for Studying and Understanding this Project 8. How and when 1:97-100,188 13:11 16:30-31,33-35 shall you ferti- lize your land ? — Continued. 24: XVII 25:4,5,7,112 27:35-38 39 : 41-42, 49-50, 492 271 : 27s 285 : 173-181 616: 5-32, esp. 16-29 697: 113-181 876:56-57 D. What will your manure cost ? (2) Shall you use green manure? A. What is " green manuring "? What are its advantages and disadvantages? i: 100 25: 16-17 39: 53-57 279: 349-370, esp. 349, 370 285: 171, 183, 185, 186, 188, 189, 191 876: 58-59 (3) Shall you use compost ? A. What is " humus "? What does it do? 5 : 95-96 25 : 4, 7, 8, 61, 246, 247, 274, 299, 306 27:22 278:25-26,31,35,67 285 : 27, 38, 41, 43, 44, 62, 67 752 : 108-109 767:33, 38, 48, SI B. What is " compost " ? How made? 25: 17, 18, 34, 61, 112, 113, 152, 306 26: 21 278:242,243 285:171,181 876:59-60 C. What is " short " manure? Should stable manure be composted? 24 : XVIII 27 : 36-38 39 : 47-49 276 : 95-96 D. What will your compost cost? (4) Shall you use commercial fertilizer? A. Most lands usually contain sufficient quantities of all save what elements of plant food? II : III B. What is "commercial fertilizer"? Its uses and its sources ? 1:97-98 5:114-125,131,132,408 13:11-12 24: XX 25:6,32-35,58-71 39:58-65 C. What may be considered an " all-round " fertilizer, or a " basic mixture," for vegetable growing? 25:33 276:104-106 633:267 ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES 125 Kitchen gardening — Continued Guiding Questions for Planning this Project 8. How and when shall you fer- tilize your land? — Continued. Guiding Questions for Studying and Understanding this Project a. Shall you use a basic or all-round mixture? b. If so, what will it cost? D. Shall you use commercial fertilizers separately, and not mixed ? a. Do certain vegetables prefer particular fertilizers, as, for example, celery, beets, peas, lettuce, cabbages, and tomatoes? 5:116-123 25:146 26:225 39: 23s, 250, 270, 312, 356, 411-412, 458-460 276:359 409: 64 633: 277 b. What shall you spend for commercial fertilizers? 9. Plant how ? (i) What are the relative advantages of planting by hand, and with a planter or seed sower? 11:117 16:94 24: xiii, xiv, xix-xx 25:54 39:135.137 276:163-164 A. Shall you use a planter or seed sower? B. What will it cost you? 10. Cultivate how ? (i) What is the relation of " clean culture," and preservation of a thin " earth mulch " to quality and quantity of vege- tables? And shall you use horse or hand tools? 11:95-96,101-107 13:21 16:96-103 25: 31-32, 35-37, 38 27: 18, 52-56, 157-159 39:358 276:360 853:112-113 874:76-81 A. Are weeds ever beneficial? What are weeds? What better "cover crops" are there? 409:88 768:71-73 B. Should care be exercised in weeding and cultivating? 25:37-38 (2) What tools shall you use for cultivating? * (3) What will these tools cost? Compare 25: 32, 36, 37 II. How gather, care for, and dispose of product ? ( I ) The questions as to tools, receptacles, etc., required for gather- ing and disposing of the garden vegetables can be better answered after the individual varieties to be grown have been studied. ' What do you know about the history and kinds of tillage tools? 5 : 82-94 25 : 31-32 371 : 81. 126 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Kitchen gardening — Concluded Guiding Questions for Planning this Project II. How gather, care for, and dispose of product ? — Continued. 12. What accounts shall you keep of your gardening project ? Guiding Questions for Studying and Understanding this Project (2) What means of storage have you, or shall you provide? ' 11:158-161,475 25:113-119 39:193-195 274: 141, 142, 146, 147, 149 276: 214, 224-235 753:162-163 767:31-33,48-79,80,81,86,87,109 (3) What salesmanship principles as to attractiveness of person and products, advertising, etc., shall you put into prac- tice in selling your surplus? 5: 380-383 39: 162-192 276: 214-224 753 : 327-328 761 : 154-160 850 : 33, 35, 41, 42, 69, 72, 74, 77, 79, 87, 88, 92 (i) What are proper elements of cost and the best methods of ac- counting in vegetable production? 5 : 380-383 39 : 162-163 276 : 214-224 465: 109-138, 139-144, 145-197 492: I-2I, 22-41, 82-100 753 : 327-328 761 : 154-160 782 : 157, 159 (2) What account with your family shall you keep? 492 : 143-152 (5) Suggestive project study outune. — Lettuce growing Project : Kitchen gardening Sub-project : Lettuce growing I Guiding Questions for Planning this Project 2 Guiding Questions for Studying and Understanding this Project I. Plant where? (i) Where have you seen good lettuce growing? Of whom may you seek advice ? ' 31 : 15 A. Lettuce belongs to what cultural class, and what are the soil requirements of that class? 276 : 241 B. What soil is best for lettuce? 39 : 355 276 : 356, 358-359 874 : 119 1 What do you know about the canning and preserving of vegetables? 271 : is'7-i77. ^Origin and importance of lettuce? 11:483 26:149 88:361 39:351 276:360. Botanical features and classification? 26:223 276:360-361 286:85-86. ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES 127 Lettuce growing — Continued I I 2 Guiding Questions for Planning this Project Guiding Questions for Studying and Understanding this Project I. Plant where? — Continued. (i) Where have you seen good lettuce growing? Of whom may you seek advice? — Continued. C. At what spot are your soil conditions best for lettuce? How best? (2) 874 : 54-55 Shall you grow lettuce in more than one part of the garden? 1 A. What is companion cropping? 39 : 357-358, 477, 478, 480, 482, 488 276 : 358 747 : 257 B. What is succession cropping? I : 189 25 : 13 31 : 22-23 271 : 105 276 : 358-359 853 : 191-192, 330 876 : 119 C. In view of the above references, what combinations might you make? D. What combinations shall you make? (3) Where shall you start your plants ? A. In the house? 1:190 25:63-68,145 26:47 285:51 767 : 212 876 : 92-93, 119 B. Under glass ?« a. What is a cold frame? A hotbed? 5:236-237 11:483 25:145 39:355-356 276 : 44-79 747 : 250-253 876 : 94-Q6 C. How much time may be gained by starting plants indoors or under glass ? (4) 25:51-52 31:113 39:355 276:49 How large an area needed? ' A. In the garden? • a. Plants per acre? 851 : 329 b. How may thinnings be used ? Relations of such use to area required ? 11 : 483 24 : 152 25 : 146 31 : 33 276 : 359 876 : 91 c. Your estimate of area needed? * Possible returns from double croppings? 853: 329-331. ^ What do you know of experimental lettuce growing and its production under glass by market gardeners? 271: 23-26, 30, 33, 120, 122 747: 248-250 876:93. ' Heads per acre and possible profit? 31: 114 39: 358. 128 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Lettuce growing — Continued I Guiding Questions for Planning this Project 2 Guiding Questions for Studying and Understanding this Project I. Plant where? — Continued. (4) How large an area needed ? — Continued. B. Under glass? a. What is a "sash"? 276 : 46 b. What is a " frame " ? 276 : 46 c. Number of lettuce plants per sash? 31 : 113-114 276 : 46 d. Your estimate of space needed under glass? 2. Plant what? (i) What varieties have you seen or eaten? ' (2) What variety is best liked by the family? (3) What variety sells best where you might sell your surplus? (4) Is there a better all-round variety than Black Seeded Tennis Ball? Why? II : 484 25 : so, 130, 131, 144-145. 147 26 : 225-226 31 : 24, 33, 113 39 : 3SI-3S4 276 : 358 292 : 557-558 876 : ng (5) What is your estimate of the quantity of seed needed? II : 484 26 : 46 39 : 405 3. Plant when? (i) What is a "planting table"? 25 : 327-334. esp. 331 274 : 106 (2) How long does it take lettuce to mature for table use? 25 : 149 31 : 33, 113 (3) How early and how late may lettuce be planted? 25 : 144, 146, 149 26 : 223-225 31 : 21-22 33: 113-114 39: 357-358 (4) Should supply be sought for hot months? I : 191 II : 484 25 : 147-148 39 : 354 276 : 357-359 (s) What is " pricking out " and how is it done? 24 : xxii-xxiii 25 : 145-146 876 : 94 (6) Does transplanting aid heading? Why? 31 : 114 * What are some estimates of the number of known varieties of lettuce? 276 : 361. ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES Lettuce growing — Continued 129 Guiding Questions for Planning this Project Seed, get when and where ? Guiding Questions for Studying and Understanding this Project (1) Shall you use home-grown or purchased seed? 1 (2) Shall you grow your own seed for next year? 26: 51 276: 165-168 292: i7g A. Pound of seed from how many plants? 39:355 B. What is the appearance of lettuce seed as to size, shape, surface, and color or colors? 25: I4Q 38: 361 (3) Shall you get your seed early and test it? 25: 52-53 A. What is the relation of a high sprouting test to high vege- tative power? 276: 149-154, esp. 151 B. What conditions are required for sprouting seeds? 285: 70-75 C. Is lettuce seed naturally strong or weak ? a. How shall you make a test for percentage of germi- nation? 1:230-231 5:49.51 31:25-27 271:280 75:20 876:87-88 b. Make the test for strength, using lettuce seed instead of corn, and otherwise following directions given in ref- erence. 285: 81-82 D. How shall you test your lettuce seed for percentage of im- purities? 5:51-52 876:88 E. What is " longevity " of seeds, and how does lettuce seed compare with other seeds in longevity? 5: 40s 276: 138 F. Do new and old seeds look alike? How do they differ? 25:46 279:388 G. Is large seed better than small? Why? 5:53-54 279:388 876:226-227 H. How may large be separated from small? 25:46 I. What is the cheapest seed ? * 5:52-53 1 What is a seed? 279:381. Why is lettuce called an "annual"? 31:33 38: 361. Most of seed is produced where? 39: 355. Is changing seed ever an advantage? 279 : 384-386. * What are other seed tests which may be made? 767: 202-211. I30 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Lettuce growing — Continued Guiding Questions for Planning this Project 4. Seed, get when and where ? — Continued. Guiding Questions for Studying and Understanding this Project (4) Where can you get the highest grade lettuce seed? (5) When can it be had? (6) At what cost? 5. Fertilize with what, when, and how? (i)'Has your garden been heavily fertilized with stable manure? A. What is heavy manuring for a garden? 31: 17-19 B. How many cords of manure per acre may be used for lettuce? 25: 145-146 31: 113 C. Has your manuring been sufficient for your lettuce? (2) Shall you use a mixture of commercial fertilizers for your garden ? A. What is a " basic mixture " for vegetable growing? 276: 104-106 633: 267 B. How apply? 39:59-65 285:1s (3) What special kind of commercial fertilizer gives the quickest and best growth of lettuce? What are the sources of it and symbol for it ? ' .5:116-123 25:146 26:225 39:356 276:359 633:277 A. What is the relation of the quality of lettuce to rapid and continuous growth? 276: 106 292: 178 B. How, when, and at what rate may nitrate of soda be safely applied? 25:146-147 26:27-28 31:7 39:60-61 292: 178 409: 57 C. How do plants feed? 2 1:96,105,107 5:64-67 285:17-20 750: 16-17 768: 62-66 D. Why is a fertilizer which is readilj' soluble "quick acting "? * What tests or experiments have you made for noting the presence of nitrogen and its action? What can you say of its sources and its relations to plants? 1: 79-80, 98, 100 6: 60, 61, 63, 97, 113, 116, 119, 121, 122, 136, 138, 139, 140, 141 398: 226- 248 409: 10, II, 20, 37, 43, 49, 87, 92, 97, Q9, 105, 108, no, 170, 171, 205, 214, 216, 217 410:26-30, 179-184, 339 747: 24, 34, 35, 37, 38-40 761:28 768: 21-23. 2 What do you know about the nature and growth of roots? 298: 39, 41, 45, 49, 50, 60, 61, 62, 77, 82, 160, 161, 167, 247, 447 768: 62-66 ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES 131 Lettuce growing — Continued I Guiding Questions for Planning this Project 2 Guiding Questions for Studying and Understanding this Project 5 Fertilize with what, when, and how ? — Continued. (4) If your lettuce area is small, may liquid manure be used to advantage ? A. How prepare it? How control its " strength "? Is it a plant food or a " plant tonic "? 24: xix 25: 101-102, 104 39: 61 876: 104 (5) When shall you get your plant food supplies? (6) What will be the cost of your lettuce fertilizer? Compare 25: S3 6. Shall you use lime? (0 Is your land " quick "? A. When island "quick"? 276: 85 . B. How may lime aid quickness? 276: 96 285: 149, 200 876: 230 (2) Should lime be used in vegetable growing? How find out? (3) 5:126 25:7 39:65-66 279:310 752:98 767:95-99 770:46-50 Is lettuce sensitive to soil acidity? 5: 126 (4) When and in what forms may lime be applied? 5:127-128 278; 70 279:302-311,314 (5) What will your lime cost ? 7- Prepare ground for seed with what and how thoroughly ? (0 What is the relation of a thoroughly pulverized seed bed to germination and growth? Best tools to use? Cost? Best method of using them?^ 1:74-76,83-87,96,190 11:87-114 (2) 13:9-10,15,21-22 24: xix 25:35-42 39:28-40 276:155 278:91-122 279:390-392 285:90-92,156-158 767:67-72 770: 5-6 876: 77-78, 88-89 Keep accurate record of cost of preparing ground, including proper proportion of original plowing and harrowing. 8 Plant how? (l) Shall you plant by hand or with a seed-sower? 11:117 16:97 24: xix-xx 39:137 276: 163-164 • What do you know about the history and kinds of tillage tools? 26:31-32 271: 81. 6 : 82-94 132 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Lettuce growing — Continued I Guiding Questions for Planning this Project 2 Guiding Questions for Studying and Understanding this Project 8. Plant how ? — Continued. (i) Shall you plant by hand or with a seed-sower? — Continued. A. How is a seed-sower set for lettuce seed? B. How is lettuce seed planted by hand? 25 : 54-55 39 : i35 (2) Shall you soak your seed? Why? 39 : 134 (3) Shall your rows be straight? Why? 25 : 36 (4) Plant how deep, and how far apart between rows and between plants? To what extent should size of seed, time of year, weather and soil conditions control depth and dis- tances? I : 190 II : 117-118 13 : 47 25 : 53-54, 327, 331 31 : 113 39 : 133-134, 357 285 : 81 747 : 254 753 : i59 874 : 89-93 (5) Keep itemized record of cost of planting. g. Cultivate how ? (i) Shall you cultivate your lettuce with both horse and hand tools? State your plan and reasons. II : 95-96, 101-107 16 : 96-103 25 : 35-37 27 : 18, 52-56, 157-159 39 : 358 276 : 360 853 : 112-113 876 : 76-81 (2) Keep items of cost of cultivation. 10. Shall you water ? ' (i) What is " free " water? How far from the surface is the " free-water " level in your lettuce ground? 285 : 48-49 289 : 45-46 683 : 29 (2) What is " capillary " water? Perform at least one experiment for observing the movement of " capillary water." 25 : 55-56 285 : 44, Fig. 24; 48, Fig. 26, Fig. 27; 49-50, Fig. 28 289 : 41 681 : 40 747 : 14 762 : 80-85 (3) What is " film " water? Howmuch film surface has a cubic foot of clay loam particles? 5 : 80 285 : 50-52 289 : 22-24 581 : 4-S 683:30 747:10-12 762:75-80 (4) Where does all water come from? 5:61 * What part has water played in soil formation? 289 : 7-15 681 : 10-14 683 : 3, 1 1, 15 68S: 74-108. ILLUSTRATIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINES 1 33 Lettuce growing — Continued I Guiding Questions 2 Guiding Questions for Planning this for Studying and Understanding Project this Project 10. Shall you water ? (s) What use does a plant make of water, and how does it take it — Continued. from the soil ? Perform an experiment for observing the process of " osmosis." ^ 5 : 64-67, 73 285 : 39 289 : 42-43 298 : 64 752 : 17-21 768 : 16-19, 24 772 : 201-204 (6) What is the comparative water-absorbing power of different soils, including a good quality of garden soil? 285 : 45, Fig. 25 (7) What quantities of water do different plants require for maturing their crops? 5 : 62-63, 67 285 : 40 (8) Does lettuce require much or little water for the quickest and best growth? 34 : 83 39 : 3S8 (9) What is meant by " watering with the hoe " ? 5 : 85-86 25 : 55-56 876 : 102-103 (10) Under what conditions, if at all, is it advisable to water after sowing lettuce seed? 25: 56 (11) Why " never sprinkle "? When, how, and in what quanti- ties should water be applied? I : igo-igi II : 100 13 : 22-23 25 : 41, 104-107 31 : 114 876 : 104 (12) Keep account of cost in time and equipment for watering. II. Protect from (i) What enemies attack the lettuce plant? what plant A. Indoors or under glass? enemies, and B. In the open? how? 24:123 25:71-72,149 26:226 30:3-16 39 : 3S6, 3S8 274 : 273, 322 276 : 361 292 : 179-180 768 : 102 876 : 119 (2) Which need you fear? (3) What protection against flea-beetle? 25 : 71-72 (4) Mice? 39 : 356 (5) Cutworms? 25 : 73, 76 276 : 38 558 : 47 (6) Keep account of expense for protection in time and materials. 1 What are "plasmolysis" and "wilting" of lettuce? 278: 69, 80, Si. 134 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Lettuce growing — Concluded I 2 Guiding Questions Guiding Questions for Planning this for Studying and Understanding Project this Project 12. How harvest, (i) For family use ? Credit received at market price? dispose of 11:483 13:3s 24:153 26:224-225 product, and 39 : 357 balance the lettuce (2) For sale? Blanched? account ? 1 II : 484 39 : 352, 3S8 (3) What principles of salesmanship and accounting shall you put into practice? 5 : 380-383 39 : 162, 163 276 : 214-224 . 465 : 109-138, 139, 144, 145-197 492 : 1-21, 22-41, 82-100, 143-152 753 : 327-328 761 : 154-160 782 : 157, 159 850 : 33, 35. 41, 42, 69, 72, 74, 77, 79, 87, 88, 92 (4) Shall you keep a separate lettuce account, or include outlay and receipts in the account of the kitchen-gardening project as a whole? 1 How serve lettuce? Its place in an attractive and wholesome diet? 26 : 147-149, 182 874 : 1 19-120. CHAPTER V EXAMPLE OF A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY This chapter sets forth the Massachusetts method of listing agri- cultural project and related study reference materials and their sources. The entry numbers in the first column fit this bibliography into the plan of outline making presented in the foregoing chapter. Fig. 95. — Lessons in lawn making. Boys re-worked and carefully graded front yard at school. Made ornamental planting plan for borders and set out shrubbery. A real job. An improvement project suited to "group instruction." Also a gift of beauty to the public. .\shfield Agricultural Department. This chapter, accordingly, includes the original bibliography, printed in 191 2, with a few revisions; also, entries in italics from the later typewritten supplements. It will be noticed that the entries include no bulletins and no circulars. It was soon found that original bulletins were reap- 13s 136 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION pearing in more or less revised forms under new numbers, with altered paging, and sometimes with titles changed. Announce- ments of such literature are now regularly issued by the btates Relations Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, and may be had gratis by any agricultural instructor on his request. The Specialist in Agricultural Education of that Service also has a good plan for arranging such literature for ready reference which he will send to any instructor who asks for it. The classification of reference materials made in this bibliography was intended to help the agricultural instructor keep his teaching and I. ,0. ,6. - Anticipate future needs when planning. Bird's-eye view of _ P^^^^l grow h o Smith School, Northampton. First building at center. Second, since built by trade department, rear of central building. Sixteen-acre plateau reserved for campus. teaching materials in proper order and perspective. The reader may review this classification by glancing at the table of contents. Chapter V, Section 4- In another state where uniform num- bering, even for the first five-year or ten-year period, did not appear to be desirable, an " expansive " decimal system, such as that which can be found in agricultural college libraries, might be preferred In the absence of books especially adapted to the proj- ect plan of teaching, this classification and this assignment of entry A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 137 numbers for state-wide use have been highly valuable aids to rapid and steady progress. This bibliography and its supplements are not available for general distribution. The lists have been so widely requested and so strongly commended that printing them here is believed to be warranted. Let it only be remembered that needs of Massachusetts were the de- termining factors in both the choice of materials and the plan of their presentation. I. Approved Agricultural Papers and Periodicals Each vocational agricultural library should regularly receive such current literature as that here listed. The pupils should, moreover, be encouraged to subscribe for those publications which promise to Fig. 07. — Landscape planting plan for i6-acrc tract set apart for buildings, lawns, athletic field, walks, and drives has been adopted. Pupils working it out year by year. Assists ornamental planting and care at home. Smith School, Northampton. be most useful in their individual home work. Club rates may gen- erally be secured where several persons subscribe together. In order to place their literature regularly before the entire school or department, these publishers may be wilHng to send the literature gratis to the school or department libraries. This privilege should 138 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION be requested. For Massachusetts purposes, the literature here named is important and has been considered sufficient ; but additions or sub- stitutions may be proposed to the Board of Education for approval. Name of Publication Frequency of Issue Publisher's Address Price PER Year (i) New England Homestead .... Weekly . . . Springfield, Mass. $1 CO Practical questions answered by New England Agricultural Experiment Station officers. Good market reports. (2) Rural New Yorker Weekly . . . New York . . . I 00 Attentiongiven to live-stock, vege- tables, and fruit. By some Mas- sachusetts men esteemed a gen- eral farm paper second to none. (,3) Breeder's Gazette Weekly . . . Chicago .... 2 00 Held to be " the ranking stock paper of the country." (4) Hoard's Dairyman Weekly . . . Fort Atkinson, Wis. I CO " Accepted as the best all-round dairy paper published in this country." (5) Market Growers' Journal .... Weekly . . . Louisville, Ky. . . I 00 A Massachusetts market gardener says of tliis paper : "A strictly trade paper. . . . Not large. but strictly all ' meat ' for vege- table growers." (6) The Garden Magazine Monthly . . Garden City, N. Y. I so Excellent articles on home gar- dening, including ornamental planting. # (7) Gleanings in Bee Culture .... Twice a month Medina, 0., A. I. I 00 Valued very generally by bee- Root Company . keepers. (8) Wareham Courier Weekly. . . Wareham, Mass. . I SO Official organ of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Associa- tion. (g) The Better Fruit Monthly . . Hood River, Ore. . I 00 Held by the best authority on fruit in Massachusetts to be " a fine thing for our eastern grow- ers to take." (10) Park and Cemetery, and Landscape Monthly . . Chicago .... 2 00 Gardening ■ ■ " The best periodical dealing with ornamental planting." A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 139 ^^1 Fig. 98. — Between the Acts — Cutting a melon. Hadley Agricultural Department. ^^ Usual Age of Boy, IS or Older y^ Usual Age of Boy, 14 or Older Plant Projects Elementary Kitchen Gardening and Orna- mental Planting Vegetables and Small Fruit for Family or Sale. Making Home attractive .\nimal Projects Elementar>' Animal Husbandrj', dealing with Smaller Animals, such as Poul- try, Sheep and Goats, Swine, Bees. Working for a Profit. Fig. 99. — Second year projects for schools in all years; and for first and second year boys in high school departments in odd years, focus upon production of smaller farm animals. Boy may continue plant projects, and in them learn independence, — to help himself. Help from the instructor will center upon the animal projects. Investment and re- sponsibility greater than in first year ; but boy is head taller, and bigger in every way. In first or second year, as side-lines of efiFort, with incidental advice and help from his instructor, he may begin keeping records of cows, feeding balanced rations, pruning and spraying. His main school business, however, for each year, is the productive work assigned to that year. See pages 62-63. 140 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 2. Free Bulletins, Circulars, and Reports (i) The Federal Board for Vocational Education. — The "Smith Hughes Act " appropriates funds " for the purpose of making studies, investigations, and reports to aid in the organization and conduct of vocational education." Each school and department should keep a complete file of the literature published pursuant to this Act. Re- quests for this Hterature should be addressed to the Federal Board for Vocational Education, Washington, D. C. (2) The United States Bureau of Education has closely followed the development of vocational agricultural education of secondary Fig. loo. SeL-iiulvLar projeet- wIiilIi deal with smaller farm animals may include sheep. Franklin Johnson's home project. 34 sheep. Sheep raising is receiving increasing at- tention in parts of Massachusetts. Petersham Agricultural Department. grade. The report of the commissioner for 191 1 contains ''a complete summary of the status of secondary agriculture in each State," and " a description of some types of secondary agricultural schools." The agricultural instructors should apply on behalf of their school or department libraries for such of the free publications of the Bureau as bear upon vocational agricultural training in secondary schools. Applications should be addressed to the United States Commissioner of Education, Washington, D. C. (3) The United States Department of Agriculture issues three regular series of bulletins and other documents related to the work of A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 141 di\asions. A. The Farmers^ Bulletins are issued in large editions and may be secured free by either teachers or pupils. B. Professional papers known as Department Bulletins deal with special subjects which interest a hmited group. The free edition is limited, but copies may usually be had at small cost by addressing the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Ofl&ce, Wash- ington, D. C. C. The Journal of Agricultural Research is technical in nature and would be of little value to pupils in high schools. Occasiojial numbers will be of value to indi\ddual instructors. The Division of Publications issues each month a list of the publi- cations of the preceding month. It also issues the Farmers' Bulletin Fig. ioi. — Harold Legare, 17. His first litter from his first pair of pure-breds. ^Mother bit thin, because doing double duty of nursing her young and subduing rough land for cultivation. Now has ninety head. Refused job as herdsman on farm breeding Berk- shires, in order to develop his home projects. Petersham Agricultural Department. list which is revised frequently. Any person may have his name placed on the mailing list to receive these announcements by apply- ing to the Editor-in-Chief, Division of Publications, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 142 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION The division of Agricultural Instruction of the States Relations Serv- ice issues multigraphed Usts of Department pubHcations, classified for the use of teachers, and these are frequently revised. The same divi- sion has documents for secondary schools, lantern slide service Hsts, and other helps which will be mailed as issued to institutions request- ing them. Lists of references for specific problems related to agri- cultural education are prepared and' sent in typewritten form in Fig. I02. — John Chadwick's pig and orchard project at home. Pigs cleaning up windfalls and destroying wormy fruit. Inexpensive cultivation. Growthy condition. Finished off in small pen on home-grown feeds. Essex County Agricultural School. response to special requests. Other divisions of this Service issue club Uterature and other pubHcations which are not listed monthly since they are for limited distribution. The Yearbook of the Department is of much value and may best be obtained from the Members of Congress. Weather maps, crop reports, and other special publications should be obtained from the several bureaus. Of unusual value is a recent " Contribution from Office of Farm Management " entitled " Geography of the World's A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 143 Agriculture." This is profusely illustrated and should be in every agricultural school and department library. (4) The Agricultural Experiment Stations also issue literature of value to progressive farmers, and therefore of value in the project method of training. In Connecticut and in New York there are two such stations ; in every state there is at least one. While many institutions desire to avoid heavy demands from outside their states, sharp lookout should be kept for such Hterature. Such a lookout may be kept by means of the " Card Index of Experi- ment Station Literature," which is pubUshed by the United States Department of Agriculture. Thirty-seven thousand six hundred cards have already been printed.^ Each agricultural school and de- partment library should include partial sets of these index cards. > In order to show the exact nature of the clews to station literature, pertinent in one respect or another to Massachusetts farming projects, which this card index afifords, the subject matter on four cards is here printed. These cards are of uniform size, 2"X 5" Index Card 31806. "Poultry Appliances, Labor saving," — J. E. Rice and C. A. Rogers. "New York Cornell Bui. No. 284, Nov., iQio, pp. 51 "Directions are given for the construction of inexpensive, unpatented labor-sa\- ing devices for poultry raising. They include feeding and watering devices, pedi- gree and egg-collecting appliances, catching and carrying devices, shipping pack- ages, coops for sitting hens, fattening coops, a rack for sprouted oats, a burglar-alarm system, and an improved kilHng and picking box." Index Card 31810. "Milk Pails, Covered, Tests." — H. A. Harding, J. K. Wilson and G. A. Smith. "New York State Bui. No. 326, Dec., iqio, pp. 249-381, pis. 4 "A report of experiments to determine the effect on the germ content of using im- proved milk pails. More than one-half the infection that milk receives during the milking process can be prevented by use of a covered pail. Such a pail, less than I 2 inches high and provided with an elliptical opening 7 by 5 inches, is practically as convenient for milk as the open pail. Such a cover can be placed on an open pail by any tinsmith at very little expense. This pail is inexpensive, durable, easily cleaned, and one of the most efhcicnt in keeping bacteria out of milk." 144 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION No complete sets of these index cards are available, but in- complete sets that are short about ten thousand cards pertaining to the earlier station literature may be purchased through the Office of Experiment Stations at $2.00 per thousand cards, with an addi- tional charge of $1.25 for a set of colored division cards. Cards dealing with certain divisions of this index, as " Poultry," " Fer- tilizers," and the like, may be purchased at the cost of $3.00 per thousand cards. Complete information in reference to the method of purchasing this card index, together with the number of cards available, and a key containing the system of classification will be sent on application to the Office of Experiment Stations, States Relations Service, United States Department of Agricuhure, Washington, D. C. Index Card 31831- 'Vegetable Garden. " — W. H. Wicks. 'Idaho Bill. No. 6q, Aug., 1910, pp. 49,fiss. 10, dgms. 2 "The record for two years is given of a^ acre vegetable garden established in the spring of 1908 on the horticultural grounds of the Idaho station. The value of the products in 1008 was $82.19, with net profits of $5741 ; in 1909, $98.38, with net profits of $79.22. The conclusion is reached that by judicious arrangement of the garden a continuous supply of vegetables may be secured throughout the season. A plan is given of a farmer's vegetable garden, together with cultural suggestions on farm garden crops and recommended varieties." Index Card 3iQ43 "Feeding Experiments with Pigs." — A. L. Stabler. "Maryland Bui. No. 150, Jan., igii, pp. 93-120, fig. i. "Pigs fed silage made faster gains than those fed ground fodder mixed with their feed. Young pigs made faster gains on corn meal and skim milk than on shelled corn and skim milk. Pigs fed mixed grain soaked twenty-four hours made faster and more economical gains than those fed the same mixture dry or fresh soaked. Chopped alfalfa failed to take the place of a part of the middUngs in a ration consisting of shelled corn, wheat middlings, and skim milk. Soft coal in unlimited quantities seemed unharmful for pigs in pent. The use of a tonic mixture, wood charcoal, and soft coal as correctives increased gains. Other feeding tests are reported." A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 145 Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station literature, of course, is covered by the card index above described. Following is a list of the bulletins and circulars now available : Bulletins and their numbers: 133. Green Crops for Summer Soiling. 144. Relation of Light to Greenhouse Culture. 150. Report of Experimental Work in Connection with Cranberries, 1913. 153. Summary of Meteorological Records for Twentj^-five Years (1889-1913). 154. Alfalfa. 158. The Composition, Digestibility and Feeding Value of Molassine Meal, Cottonseed Meal and Hulls, Cocoa Shells, Grain Screenings, Flax Shives, Mellen's Food Refuse and Postum Cereal Residue (CXX Feed). Fig. 103. — Chester White brood sow on good pasture. Essex County School. 160. Report of Cranberry Substation for 1914. 162. Phosphates in Mass. Agriculture; Importance, Selection and Use. 166. Improved Methods for Fat Analysis. 167. I. The Relation of Hydrogen Ion Concentration of Media to the Pro- teolytic Activity of Bacillus Subtilis. II. Proteolysis of Strept. Erysipelatis and Strept. Lacticus Compared under Different Hydrogen Ion Concentration. 168. Report of Cranberry Substation for 1915- 170. Shade Trees, Characteristics, .\daptation. Diseases and Care. 171. A Chemical Study of the Asparagus Plant. 146 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 172. Experiments in Keeping Asparagus after Cutting. 174. The Composition, Digestibility and Feeding \alue of Pumpkins. 175. Mosaic Disease of Tobacco. 176. The Cause of the Injurious Effect of Sulfate of Ammonia when Used as a Fertilizer. <77. Potato Plant Lice and Their Control. £78. The European Corn Borer {Pyraiista nubilalis Hubner), a Recently Es- tablished Pest in Massachusetts. Fig. 104. — -A. vigorous Chester White Htter. Essex County Agricultural School. 179. The Greenhouse Red Spider Attacking Cucumbers, and ^lethods for Its Control. 180. Report of the Cranberry Substation for 1916; and Observations on the Spoilage of Cranberries Due to Lack of Proper Ventilation. 181. Digestion Experiments «Tth Sheep. Control Bulletins: 7. Inspection of Commercial Feedstuffs, 191 7. 8. Inspection of Commercial Fertilizers, 191 7. Circulars and their numbers : 44. Suggestions for Judging Agricultural Adaptation and Value of Land. 45. Chemical Analysis of Soils. 59. The Use of Fertilizers in 1916. 60. Suggestions for the Use of Fertilizers for Tobacco and Onions for 1916. 63. Balanced Rations for Dairy Stock. I A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 147 Applications for these and future publications of like character should be addressed to the Director of the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station, Amherst, Mass. Fig. 105. — Examination of brain of pig that died of unusual disease. Professional veterinarian operating. Instructor Blodgett said, "Of course the farm biologj' teacher was on hand, and several very practical lessons in anatomy and physiology were taught in such a way as not soon to be forgotten." Essex County Agricultural School. (5) The Extension Service of the Massachusetts Agricultural Col- lege publishes at irregular intervals bulletins and circulars on agri- cultural subjects written by specialists of the college faculty. These are issued for residents of Massachusetts and for conditions found within the state. Following is a recent Hst: Extension circulars: 5. The Control of Onion Diseases and Thrips. 7. Control of Diseases and Injurious Insects of Stone Fruits. 8. Control of Diseases and Injurious Insects of Potatoes. 9. Molasses for Farm Stock. 10. The Feeding Value of Apple Pomace. 11. Civic Improvement in \'illage and Country. 12. A Guide to Reading in English Paction. 13. Soils and Fertilizers for Cabbage, Cauliflower and Other Crucifers. 14. Classified List of Available Farmers' Bulletins. 15. How to Grow- More Corn per Acre. 16. Plans for Family Garden. 17. Hogs on Every Farm in 1917. 148 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION I8. 19. 20. 21. 22. 24. 25- 26. Have You a Backyard Poultry Flock? The Farm Poultry Flock in 1917. Mass. Farmers — Raise More Corn in 191 7. Plant Beans in 1917- Planting Table for the Home Vegetable Garden. Farmer's Home Garden. Boys' and Girls' Club Garden. Cropping and Fertilizer Suggestions for 191 7. Present Poultry Situation. Fig. 106. — Half a hundredweight of honey a season may be expected from a single hive of bees. Boys and girls readily learn to handle bees and care for them. In well-planned farming they are important side-lines to vegetable and fruit-growing projects. A group exercise. Smith School, Northampton. 27. 28. 3°- 31- 23- 34- 35- 36. 37- Potato Growing. Importance of Dairy Cow. Seeding Mowings. Cutworms. Fruit Products. The Dairy Problem. Spraying Apparatus — Materials. Bean Diseases and Insects. Substitutes for Milk in Raising Calves. Methods of Saving Fats. A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 149 38. Canning of Fruits and Vegetables. 39. Preparation Wastes. 40. Table Wastes. 41. Storage Wastes. 42. Labor Saving Machinery. 43. Swine Feeding. Fig. 107.— Robert Sweet's home project. "Safety First, " — giving them a little smoke before opening the hive. School projects help home projects, or fail of their funda- mental purpose in Massachusetts. North Easton Agricultural Department. 44 45 46 47 48 49 Do You Xeed a Silo ? The Home V'egetable Storage. Fruit Products. How to Save Wheat Flour. Clover and Lime. Storage for Vegetables, .\n Outdoor Pit. ISO VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 50. Potato and Cornstalk Borer. 51. Winter Rations for Laying Hens (low stock). 52. Marketing Cabbage through Sauerkraut. 53. Poultry Manures, Their Use and Treatment. 54. Control of Weeds by Chemical Treatment. 56. The Soy Bean. 58. Hotbeds and Cold Frames. 59. Poultry Farm Disinfection. Boys atid girls series: 7. A Redirected Rural SchooL 6. Canning and Marketing. II. Primer of Instruction, Home Ec. Club. Extension bulletins 7. The Town Common 9 Farm Management Demonstration Work in Massachusetts. Fig. 108. — Part of poultry plant in winter. Trees in chicken yards. Hot-water brooder house, incubator cellar, room for caponizing, killing, dressing, and packing for market. Colony houses elsewhere. Bristol County Agricultural School. 10. II. 14. 15- 18. 19. Advertising the Apple. Cost of Milk Production. Cost of Milk Distribution. Milk : A Cheap Food. Sterilization of Tobacco Beds. Cost of Milk Production in Massachusetts. Bulletins for farm women : I. Announcement and List of Available Lit. in Home Ec. 3. The Septic Tank. A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 151 4. Our Daily Food (Low stock). Educational and Demonstrational Hog Cholera Work, Hog Cholera and Its Preventive Treatment. The above publications and others as issued may be had by addressing The Director of the Extension Service, Amherst, Mass. (6) The Massachusetts Board of Agriculture publishes agricultural bulletins and reports. In addition to the annual volumes, the Board of Agriculture has printed such special bulletins as the following : 1. Poultry Culture. 3. Grasses and Forage Crops. 2. Apple Growing. 4. Vegetable Growing. It has also published circulars on various agricultural subjects, and nature leaflets. Applications for its publications, or for lists of those available, should be addressed to the Commissioner of Agriculture, State House, Boston, Mass. Copies may be had not only by the libraries, but also by individual agricul- tural pupils in Massa- chusetts. (7) The State Forest- er's work closely con- cerns all farmers who are confronting the problems of protection against brown-tail and gypsy m'oth depreda- tions, of protection against forest fires, and of economically cropping their wood or timber lots, and of disposing of lumber to their best ^^'^- ^°^- — Harold Ashley and his hatch on the school 1 TT V, ■ farm. He is now Club Leader in Farm Bureau Depart- aavantage. L.ach agn- ^^^^ ^f ^^ ^^j^^^j ^^.j^^^, q^^^^^ Agricultural cultural school and de- School. 152 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION partment should keep a complete file of the State Forester's publi- cations. Most of these publications are fully illustrated and may be had by both the libraries and the individual agricultural pupils. Following are the publications now available in Massachusetts : The Older Forest Plantations in Massachusetts. Forestry in Massachusetts. The White Pine in Massachusetts (Log scales; volume tables). Reforestation in Massachusetts. The Chestnut Bark Disease and Chestnut Utilization. Fig. no. — Poultry projects are practically universal among pupils in bolli slIiooIs and departments. WUliam Pierce, Jr., i6. Part of home project. Has two colony houses. Also potato and beet projects. Concord Agricultural Department. Improvement Thinnings (Gypsy Moth Thinning). How to Collect Pine Seed. Forest Taxation Law. Forest Fire Laws. Forests of Worcester County. Forest Fire Notices. Forest Trees of Massachusetts. Study of Trees in our Primary Schools. Forests of Plymouth County (In preparation). The Gypsy Moth. A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 53 Parasites of the Gypsy and Brown-tail Moth. The Brown-tail Moth. The Brown-tail Fungus. Annual Report of the State Forester. Applications for these and future publications should be addressed to the State Forester, State House, Boston, Mass. 3. Text, Exercise, and Reference Books. Copies of the books hereafter listed in this bibliography are on file in the agricultural library of the Board of Education, where they may be examined by school oflScers. Where vocational agricultural school and department work is started, certain copies should be Fig. III. — William Pierce, Jr., again. Houses for mothers and chicks in young orchard. Wire fronts closed at night to keep cats and other enemies out. Fruit trees pruned and sprayed. Concord Agricultural Department. provided at the outset. These are necessary parts of an approved equipment. Others may be added in succeeding years, until an ade- quate working library has been established. (i) Instructor's aid necessary. — It is, of course, understood that the following hsts are for the convenience of the several instructors, 154 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION and for use by classes, with the help, step by step, of their instructors. Reference materials, therefore, suited to minds of different grades of maturity have been included. Some have been successfully used in elementary schools ; others, by secondary schools, and even by col- lege classes. The instructor's intimate knowledge of the needs and mental capabilities of his individual boys will determine his assign- ment of both laboratory exercises and reading matter. (2) Lists subject to revision. — It is to be expected that from time to time additions to these lists will need to be made. Suggestions as Fig. 112. — Part of Clarence Goodnow's pen of layers in poultry club contest. Such con- tests are aids to efficient agricultural teaching. Petersham Agricultural Department. to usable additions are earnestly soHcited. The instructors are es- pecially requested to report which of the entries here included prove best suited to their different classes. The most competent revision of these lists will thus be assured. (3) Prices and estimates. — Postage or express charges must be added where prices are marked " net." For example, " The Country- life Movement," by Prof. L. H. Bailey, listed at $1.25 net, costs by mail, Si. 34. Discounts from prices not marked "net" may usually be expected. Book dealers carry a considerable stock of A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 155 many of the books named in these Hsts, and are very glad to quote prices on books to be dehvered at any given point with postage or express prepaid. It is advisable to secure estimates from the pub- lishers or from reliable dealers before ordering. ^ (4) Student purchases. — Prof. L. H. Bailey, in addressing winter short-course students at the Cornell Agricultural College, is reported to have said that he hoped, if they took nothing else home, they would take home with them ten or twelve dollars' worth of good books deal- ing with the branches of practical agricultural production which they expected to follow. A similar hope might well be expressed on behalf of the boys who seek vocational agricultural training in schools and departments. Fortunately a few most excellent books for home guidance in profit- able farm work are now to be had at moderate cost. The agricultural instructors may properly enough seek to stimulate the boys in their classes to purchase one or more such books every year. Wise guidance may be given by observing which books actually prove to be most useful to the indi\adual boys in carrying out their particular home farm projects. Pubhshers will undoubtedly be very willing to allow the boys their most favorable school discounts, especially if orders are forwarded through the school purchasing agent. (5) Reference numbers — First column. — The Arabic numbers at the left of the entries are for convenience in referring to materials found in this bibliography.- A. Library arrangement. — If these numbers are put on the backs of the books, it is not necessary to consult these printed lists in using the agricultural Hbrary. The pupil or instructor may go directly to the books themselves, on the library shelves. In cases where schools already have libraries and systems of numbering, these special numbers may be added by the price tag device sho\\Ti in Fig. 51 on p. 65 during the time the books are at the disposal of the agricultural department. 1 Prof. G. F. Warren, "Elements of Agriculture," pp. 402, 403 (see below, No. 5), lists a foundation set of secondary school agricultural reference books purchasable for about $50. ' A similar use of numbers for ready reference has been made in " Laboratory Exercises in Farm Management," by Warren and Livermore. 156 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION B. Project outlines. — In the suggestive outlines for project in- struction in the foregoing chapter the following entries are referred 1.-IG. 113. — Home project. Open front house on hillside, near running brook and among large deciduous trees. Shady in summer and sunny in winter. No two home projects alike. Ashfield Agricultural Department. to by number, not by title. Instructors in their own outline mak- ing have found it convenient to use these numbers. C. Library card indexes. — At the pleasure of the school officers, card indexes by authors and by titles may be made. The author A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 57 index may then be arranged alphabetically by names ; and the title index may be alphabetically arranged by subjects, such as " Dairy- ing," " Vegetable Growing," and " Fruit Growing." In such a case, the books themselves would remain in the numerical order here adopted, and each card would bear the num- ber assigned the particular title in these lists. Any book, for example, could thus be found instantly ; and, after use, could be returned to its proper place by simply looking at its number. D. Future entries. — Gaps in the num- bering have been left for the possible addi- tion of future entries.^ Missing numbers, however, will occasion no confusion. The simple numerical order may determine the arrangement, even though now and then a gap may appear between entries. (6) Reference numbers — Fourth col- umn. — The numbers following the title:- refer to the corresponding numbers at the left of the names of the publishers of the respective entries. Needless repetition of the full names and addresses of pubUshers is thus avoided. A complete list of the publishers and their addresses immediately follows the reference lists. (See pages 176-177.) (7) State help and approval. — The State Supervisor of agricultural education will from year to year advise those who need his help in making approved selections from these lists, and in the num bering, indexing, and arrangement of agricultural library materials. Fig. 114. — Neither land nor live-stock at this high school. But note bulletin board kept in "project study" room. Home land and live-stock are worked with. Vincent Hatch has a poultry project. North Easton Agricultural Depart- ment. 'Some of the gaps originally were fdled by numbers assigned pamphlet materials, such as bulletins, circulars, and reports. Only Ijooks have been given entry numbers in the pres- ent chapter. All other mt)re or less ephemeral materials are card indexed and filed for ready references, by the individual instructors. 158 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 4. Agricultural Project Study Bibliography, Arranged for Ready Reference ^ (I )— TEXTBOOKS APPROVED FOR FIRST AND SECOND YEAR AGRICUL- TURAL SURVEY (Choose one or more) Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price I I Mann, A. R. . . . " Beginnings in Agriculture "... 14== $ 60 net 2 3 4 41 Mayne and Hatch . . Waters, H.J. . . . Grim, J. S Benson and Bclt^ . . " High School Agriculture " . . . . " Essentials 0/ A gricultur,'" . . . . " Elementary Agriculture " . . . . " Agriculture " 54 29 107 108 / 00 I 25 I 25 I 25 (2) —TEXTBOOKS APPROVED FOR THIRD AND FOURTH YEAR AGRI- CULTURAL SURVEY (Choose one or more) Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 5 Warren, G. F. . . . " Elements of Agriculture "... 14 $1 10 net 6 7 8 9 Warren,G.F. . . . Harper, M.W. Sampson, H. O. . . " Farm Management " " Animal Husbandry for Schools " . " Effective Farming " 14 14 14 / 40 net I 12 nel I 32 net ^ The entries above the dotted lines are arranged alphabetically by authors, by states or by government divisions, bureaus, or offices. Space below the dotted lines was reserved for additions to the original entries. The additions made are in italics. 2 The numbers in this column are those assigned the various pubH^ers. For the list of publishers and their addresses to which these numbers refe>, see pp. 176-177. A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 159 (3) — FOR FIRST AND SECOND YEAR STUDY OF PROJECTS IN A. Vegetable Growing Refer- ence Num- ber 10 II 16 23 24 25 26 27 29 32 33 34 36 37 38 39 40 Author Allen, C. L. . Bailey, L. H. . Bennett, Ida D. Fraser, Sam'l . French, Allen . Fullerton, E. L. Green, Samuel B Greiner, T. . . Hexamer, F. M. Morse, J. E. Rexford, E. E. Roberts, Harry Sevey, G. C. Sevey, G. C. Vilmorin-Andrieux Watts, R. L. . Wicks, W. H. . Title Cabbages, Cauliflower, etc." . Manual of Gardening " . . The Vegetable Garden " . . The Potato " How to Grow Vegetables " How to Make a Vegetable Garden Vegetable Gardening " . . . How to Make the Garden Pay ' Asparagus " The New Rhubarb Culture " The Home Garden "... The Beginner's Book of Gardening Bean Culture " Peas and Pea Culture " . . The Vegetable Garden " . Vegetable Gardening " . . Vegetable Garden " . Pub- lisher 15 14 i6 15 14 16 17 18 IS 15 19 20 IS IS 21 IS 22 Price » 50 2 00 net 1 50 net 7S 1 7S net 2 00 net I 00 I 00 net 50 net SO I 25 net I 00 net 50 SO net 3 75 net I 75 net 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 Meier, W. U. D. Grubb and Guilford Gregory, J. J. H. Gregory, J. J. 11. Greiner, T. . Tracy, W. W . . Troop, J. Terry, T. B., el al Gilbert, A.W.,etal School and Home Gardens " The Potato " Cabbages and Cauliflowers " Squashes : How to Grow Them NewOnijn Culture " . . Tomato Culture " . . Melon Culture" . . A B C of Potato Culture " The Potato " . . . . 2Q 16 103 103 '5 15 15 23 '4 80 . 30 30 60 60 60 75 I 20 net B. Small Frmt Growing (See also Reference No. 41) Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price SO 56 59 63 64 Card, Fred W. . . Green, S. B. . . . Maynard, S. T. . . Waugh, F. A. . . . White, J. J. . . . " Bush Fruits " " Popular Fruit Growing " . . . . " Successful Fruit Culture "... " Fruit, Harvesting, Storing, and Mar- keting " " Cranberry Culture " 14 17 IS IS IS •Si so net I 00 I 00 I 00 I 00 65 66 67 Wilkinson, A . E. . . Biggie, J Fletcher, S. W. . . " Modern Strawberry Growing" . . . " Biggie Berry Book " " Strawberry Growing " 16 99 J4 50 I 40 net i6o VOCATION.\L AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION C. Beekeeping Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 71 73 Comstock, A. B. . . Root, A. I. and E. R. " How to Keep Bees " " The A B C and X Y Z of Bee Cul- ture " 16 23 Si 00 I 50 net 74 Potter, T.C. ... " Qiiecnie, the Autobiography of an Italian Queen Bee " 112 75 net D. Poultry Keeping Refer- ence Num- ber 80 81 83 84 85 93 96 97 100 lOI 102 104 Author Title American Poultrj' sociation . . Beale, Stephen Boyer, M. K. . Brigham, A. A. Brown, Edward As- Powell, E. C. . Robinson, J. H. Sando, R. B Stoddard, H. H. Valentine, C. S Watson, G. C. Wright. Lewis . The American Standard of Perfec- tion " Profitable Poultry Keeping " . . Money in Broilers and Squabs " Progressive Poultry Culture " . . Poultry Keeping as an Industry for Farmers and Cottagers " . . . Making Poultry Pay " Principles and Practice of Poultry Culture " American Poultry Culture " . . . The New Egg Farm " How to Keep Hens for Profit " . . Farm Poultry " The Practical Poultry Keeper." . . Pub- lisher 24 25 26 27 28 IS 29 91 15 14 14 30 Price Si 00 I so net 6s 1 00 2 00 net I 25 I 00 I 50 net 1 25 net ___87__ 2 50 2 00 I 40 net I 50 net I 50 net I 50 I 00 I 00 I 00 1 35 2 00 2 00 net 105 106 107 108 109 109. 1 109 2 109.3 1094 1095 109 6 109 7 1098 Howard and McGrew Lewis. H. R. Valetitine, C. S. Robinson, J. H. Various A uthors Funis, MUlcr . Kains, M. G. . Laurie, D. F. . Collingwood, H. W. et al. . . . J 00s, Robert Robinson. J. H . Hogan, Walter . Lippincott, W . A. Perfected Poultry "... Productive Poultry Husbandry Beginner in Poultry " . . Poultry Craft " .... The Poultry Book "... Poultry Breeding " . . . Profitable Poultry Production " Poultry Feeds and Feeding " ' The Business Hen " . ' Success with Hens " . ' Domestic Birds " . ■ The Cell of the Hen " ' Poultry Production " 94 IQ 14 95 16 33 '5 30 104 98 2Q III 106 A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY l6l E. Sheep Husbandry Refer- ence Num- ber Author m Title Pub- lisher Price "3 114 Wing, J. E. . . . Wing, J. E., el al. " Sheep Farming in America "... " The Winter Lamb " 31 32 $1 00 "5 116 117 Craig, J. A. Kkinheinz, F. . . . Coffey, W. C. . . . " Sheep Farming " " Sheep Management, Breeds and Judg- ing for Schools " " Productive Sheep Husbandry " . . 14 no 19 I 20 net I 50 net F. Swine Husbandry Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 120 121 122 Coburn, F. D. Craig, R. A. ... Dietrich, Wm. . . -- ■' Swine in America " " Diseases of Swine " " Swine " 15 15 33, S2 so net 75 124 Day, G.E " Produclive'Swine Husbandry " . . 19 J 75 G. Ornamental Planting (See also References No. 34 and 41) Refer- ence Num- ber .\uthor Title Pub- lisher Price 130 134 135 138 139 140 142 144 Bennett, I. D . . . Ely, H. R Fernow, B. E. . . . Kirkgaard, John . . Maynard, S. T. . . Miller, Wilhelm . . Sedgwick, Mabel C. . Waugh, F. A. . . . " The Flower Garden " " The Practical Flower Garden " . . " The Care of Trees in Lawn, Street and Park " " A Guide for the Gardener" . . . " Landscape Gardening as applied to Home Decoration " " What England Can Teach Us about Gardening " " The Garden Month by Month " '. " Landscape Gardening " .... 16 14 34 35 36 16 37 15 $1 10 net 2 00 • 2 00 2 50 net I 50 4 00 net 4 04 net 60 M l62 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (4)— FOR THIRD AND FOURTH YEAR STUDY OF PROJECTS IN A. Animal Husbandry (See also references above, No. 71 f., No. 80 f., No. 113 f., and No. 120 f.) Refer- ence Num- ber 159 162 164 166 175 176 179 182 184 187 189 191 195 196 197 198 199 201 208 209 Author Coburn, F. D. Craig, J. A. . . . Dondlinger, P. T. Gurler, H. B. . . Johnstone, J. H. S. Lane, C. B. . . Lyon & Montgomery Michels, John . Myrick, Herbert . Plumb, C. S. . . Plumb, C. S. . . Roberts, LP.. . Shaw, Thos. Shaw, Thos. Shaw, Thos. Shaw, Thos. Van Norman, H. E. Voorhees, Ed. B. . Harper, M. W. Rose, Laura . . Title Alfalfa" Judging Live Stock " The Book of Wheat " The Farm Dairy " The Horse Book " Business of Dairying " Examining and Grading Grains " Dairy Farming " The Book of Corn "' Indian Corn Culture " Types and Breeds of Farm Animals The Horse " Clovers " Forage Crops Other than Grasses " Grasses and How to Grow Them " . Soiling Crops and the Silo " . . . First Lessons in Dairying "... Forage Crops " Training and Breaking of Horses " Farm Dairying " Pub- lisher 15 38 IS 31 31 IS 29 40 IS 31 29 14 IS IS 17 IS IS 14 14 91 Price $ SO 1 SO 2 00 net 1 00 2 00 I 25 net 48 net I 00 I SO I 00 I 60 net I 25 net I 00 net I 00 I SO I SO 50 net I so net I 7S I 25 210 211 212 213 214 215 •216 217 218 219 219. 1 219.2 2193 219.4 2195 Harper, M. W. Willoughby, T. F. Eccles, C. H. . Sheldon, J. P. . Montgomery, E. G Harper, M. W. Plumb, C. S. Wilson, A.D.,fl al Hunt, T. P., el al. Washburn, R. M. Gay, C.W. . . Curtis, R. S. Eccles and Warren Gay, C.W. . . Montgomery, E. G. Manual of Farm Animals'" ' The Golden Stream " Dairy Cattle and Milk Production " . The Farm and Dairy " ' Corn Crops " ■ Management and Breeding of Horses " Beginnings in Animal Husbandry " Field Crops " Farm Animals " ' Productive Dairying " ' Productive Horse Husbandry " ' Live Stock Judging and Selection " ' Dairy Farming " ' Principles and Practice of Judging Live Stock " ' Productive Farm Crops " . . . . 14 96 14 97 14 15 r? 17 15 19 19 105 14 14 19 I 60 net I 28 net Qo net 1 28 net 2 00 net 125 net I so net I §0 net I 75 r75 8S net 1 20 net 175 A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 163 B. Fruit Growing (See also references under (3), B) Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 220 221 222 232 233 234 Bailey, L.H . . . Bailey, L.H. . . . Bailey, L.H. . . . Thomas, J. J. . . . Waugh, F. A. . . . Wolverton, L. . . . " The Nursery Book " " The Principles of Fruit Growing " " The Pruning Book " " The American Fruit Culturist " " The American Apple Orchard " " The Canadian Apple Grower's Guide" 14 14 14 15 IS 43 $1 50 net I 50 net 1 50 net 2 50 net 1 00 net 2 00 net 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 Waugh, F. A. . . . Beach, S. A., el al. Beach,S.A.,etal. Waugh. F. A. . . . Sears, F.C. ... Favor, E.H. ... Kains, M.G. . . . " Beginner s Guide to Fruil Growing " " The Apples of New York," I . . . •' The Apples of New York," II . . " The American Peach Orchard " . " Productive Orcharding " .... " Fruit Grower's Guide " " Principles and Practice of Pruning " ^5 100 100 15 19 105 15 75 \ net 1 00 175 2 00 C. Market Gardening (See also references under (3) A) Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 250 2SI Bailey, L. H. . . . Beattie, W. R. Rawson, Herbert . . Taft, L. R Taft, L. R. . . . . " The Forcing Book " ... " Celery Culture " 14 15 16 IS IS $1 25 net 254 257 258 " Success in Market Gardening " " Greenhouse Construction " . " Greenhouse Management " . I 10 I SO 259 260 Lloyd, J. W. . . . Corbett. L.C. . . . Yeaw, F. L. ... Watts, R. L. . . . " Productive Vegetable Growing " " Garden Farming " 19 29 36 15 1 75 , 2 00 261 " Market Gardening " 7i net 262 " Vegetable Forcing " 164 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (5)— FOR LABORATORY EXERCISES AND SCIENTIFIC DATA BEARING UPON THE PRODUCTIVE PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN Intended to be supplementary to the entries above given, and to be drawn upon as occa- sion permits or demands A. Agriculture in General Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 270 271 272 273 274 273 276 278 279 280 281 285 286 287 289 290 292 Bailey, L. H. . Bailey, L. II. . Bailey, L. H. . Bailey, L. H. . Bailey, L. II. . Bailey, L. H. . Bailey, L. II. . Brooks, W. P. Brooks, W. P. . Brooks, W. P. Davenport, E. Goodrich, C. L. Hunt, T. F. . Hunt, T. F. . Massey, W. F. Voorhees, E. B. Wilcox, E. V. . " Cyclopedia of American Agricul- ture : Farms," Vol. I . . . . " Cyclopedia of American Agricul- ture : Crops," Vol.11 .... " Cyclopedia of American Agricul- ture : Animals," Vol. Ill . . . " Cyclopedia of American Agricul- ture : Farm and Community," Vol. IV " Farm and Garden Rule Book " . . " Principles of Agriculture "... " Principles of Vegetable Gardening" " Agriculture : Soils," Vol. I . . . " x\griculture : Manures, Fertilizers and Farm Crops," Vol. II . . " .\griculture : Animal Husbandry" "Domesticated Animals and Plants " " The First Book of Farming " . . " The Cereals in America " . . . . " Forage and Fibre Crops in America " " Practical Farming " " First Principles of Agriculture " " Farmers' Cyclopedia of Agricul- ture " 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 44 44 44 2g 16 15 15 Qi 46 15 O5 00 net 5 00 net 5 00 net 5 00 net 2 00 I 25 net I so net I 25 I 25 I 25 I 00 net I 00 net I 75 I 75 I so net 60 net 3 50 294 29s 296 297 298 299 Hopkins, C. G., cl t Bowsfield, C. C Livingstone, G. . Piper, C. V. . Hitchcock, A. S. Snyder, Alva it. . " For Better Crops " " Makins, the Farm Pay " .... '' Field Crop Production" .... " Forage Plants and Their Culture " . " Tk" Text-Book of Grasses " " Fights of the Farmer" .... q6 98 14 14 14 19 / 00 net I 12 net •I 40 net 1 20 net I 25 I A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 165 B. Animal Diseases Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 313 318 323 Mayo, N. S. ... Reynolds, M. H. . . Salmon, D. E. . . . " Diseases of .\nimals " " Veterinary .Studies for Agricultural Students " " Diseases of Poultry " 14 47 $1 50 net I 75 net 60 net 326 Craig, R. A. . . . " Common Diseases of Farm Animals " IQ I 75 C. Animal Foods and Feeding Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 341 344 347 Henry, W. A. . . . Jordan, W. II. . . . Shaw, Thos. . . . " Feeds and Feeding " " The Feeding of Animals " ... " Feeding Farm Animals " . . . . 49 14 IS $2 00 net 1 50 net 2 00 350 351 352 WolLF.W., . . . Burkelt.c'.W. . . . Larson, C. W-, el al. . ''Productive Feeding of Fcrm Ani- mals " . . . '. " First Principles of Feeding Farm Animals " " Dairy Cattle Feeding and Manage- mer.t " 15 36 I 75 1 50 2 50 net D. Animal Life, Propagation and Tests 360 361 363 364 Kellogg, V. L. Jordan, D. S., el al. Punnett, R. C. Shaw, Thos. .■ . Animals "... Animal Studies " Mendelism " . . .•Vnimal Breeding " SI 51 14 IS ii So net I 25 net I 25 I 50 366 367 368 Peabody and Hunt . Marshall, F. R. , Walter, H.E. . . "Elementary Biology — Animal and Human " " Breeding Farm Animals " . . . . " Genetics " 14 31 14 Qo net I 50 I 20 net i66 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION E. Bacteriology, Agricultural (See also references below under J) Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 370 371 372 376 Conn, H. W. . . . Conn, H. W. . . . Conn, H. W. . . . Lipman, J. G. . . . '■ Agricultural Bacteriology " . . " Bacteria in Milk and Its Products " " Practical Dairy Bacteriology " . . " Bacteria in Relation to Country Life" S3 53 IS 14 $2 00 net I 50 net I 25 I 50 net 378 379 Russell, H. L., et al. . Russell, H. L., et al. . " Experimental Dairy Bacteriology " . " Agricultural Bacteriology" .... 29 109 I 23 F. Birds and Agriculture Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title « Pub- lisher Price •387 Forbush, E. H. . . "Useful Birds and Agiiculture " . . . 114 389 394 Washburn, F. L. . '' Itijurious Insects and Useful Birds " . ■ 19 G. Botany and Plant Physiology Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 395 396 397 398 399 400 ■ Andrews, E. F. . . Bergen, J. Y., et al. . Coulter, J. M. . . Duggar, B. M. . . Percival, J Stevens, W. C. . . " Practical Course in Botany " Practical Botany " . . " Plant Structures " . . " Plant Physiology "... " Agricultural Botany " . " Introduction to Botany " T1 S4 29 SI 14 34 SS $1 00 net 1 04 net I 20 net 1 60 net 2 50 net I 50 net 401 .Atkinson, G. F. . . Bailey, L.H. . . . Robbins, W.W. . . " Botany " . . 34 14 53 I 32 402 403 " Botany for Secondary Schools " " Botany of Crop Plants" . . . . 1 00 net 2 00 net A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 167 H. Chemistry and Agriculture Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 405 406 407 408 409 410 Hart, E. B., et al. . . Storer, F. H. . . . Storer, F. H. . . . Storer, F. H. . . . Warington, R. . . Williams, R. P. . . '• General Agricultural Chemistrj' " . ■' Agriculture in Some of Its Relations with Chemistry," Vol. I . . . " Agricidture in Some of Its Relations with Chemistry," Vol. II . . . " Agriculture in Some of Its Relations with Chemistry," Vol. Ill . . . " The Chemistry of the Farm " . . " Elements of Chemistry " . . . . 56 57 57 57 58 29 ■ Si so 5 00 I 13 88 net 411 Kalil::ibsri, L., el al. . Keith, T.E. ... Brownlee, R. B., el al. " Chemistrv and lis Relations Ij Daih Life " '4 I 00 net 412 413 ■' The Chemistry of Farm Practice " . " Chemistry of Common Things " . . 36 107 125 net I 50 I. Construction and Repairs : Plans, Materials, Tests, etc. Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 418 419 422 423 424 425 426 427 429 430 432 Cobleigh, R. . . . Breeders' Gazette Davidson and Chase . Fiske, G. B. ... Fiske, G. B. . . . Hasluck, P. N. . . Hasluck, P. N. . . Hasluck, P. N. . . Holmstrom. J, G. Orange Judd Co. . . Stabler, A. L. . . . " Handy Farm Devices " .... " Farm Buildings " " Farm Buildings " " Poultry .Appliances and Handi- crafts " " Poultry Architecture " " Harness Making " " Knotting and Splicing " . . . . " Saddlery "....' " Standard Blacksmithing, Horse- shoeing and Wagon Making " •• Barn Plans and Out Buildings " " Hog Houses, Description "... 15 33 92 02 92 92 92 92 17 IS S2 $1 so net 2 00 2 00 SO SO 50 I 00 439 Brace, G. M., et al. . " Farm Shop Work " 54 / 00 i68 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION J. Dairy Products, Manufactures, Chemistry, and Bacteriology (See also references above under E) Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 448 451 454 Farrington and Woll . Van Slyke, L. L. . . Wing, H. H. . . . " Testing Milk and Its Products " " Modern Methods of Testing Milk and Milk Products " .... " Milk and Its Products " . . . . 60 IS 14 $1 25 75 I 50 net 455 456 457 458 Snyder. H Bcirlhel, C McKay and Larson Russell, H. L., et al. . " Dairy Chemistry " " Milk and Dairy Products " . . . . " Principles and Practice of Butter Making " " Dairy Bacteriology " 14 i4 36 lOQ 80 net I 80 net I JO net I 00 K. Farm Management, and Rural Economics Accounts, Statistics, etc. Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 465 467 489 492 493 499 500 524 526 527 528 Card, F. W. ... Carver, T. N. . . . Hunt, T. F. ... Roberts, I. P. . . . Roberts, LP.. . . Taylor, H. C. . . . Terry, T. B. ... Warren, G. ¥.,etal. . Wing, J. E Woll, F. W. . . . Green, J. B. ... " Farm Management " " Principles of Rural Economics ". . " How to Choose a Farm " . . . . " The Farmer's Business Handbook " " The Farmstead " " Agricultural Economics " . . . . " Our Farming, or. How We Have Made a Run-down Farm Bring Both Profit and Pleasure " . . " Laboratory Exercises in Farm Man- agement " " Alfalfa Farming in America " . . " Handbook for Farmers and Dairy- men " " Law for the American Farmer " 16 29 14 14 14 14 63 14 36 14 $2 00 net I 04 net 158 I 25 1 SO • I 25 75 80 2 00 I 50 I 50 529 Boss, A " Farm Management " 102 90 A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 69 L. Fruits Refer- ence Num- ber Author ■ Title Pub- lisher Price 540 542 Bailey, L. H. . . . Waugh, F. A. . . . " The Evolution of our Native Fruits" " Systematic Pomology " .... 14 . IS $2 00 I 00 M. Insects (See also references above under F) Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 550 551 558 559 560 562 Chittenden, F. H. . Comstock, J. H., el al. Sanderson, E. D. Saunders, Wm. . . Smith, John . . . Weed, C. M. . . . " Insects Injurious to V'egetables " . " Manual for the Study of Insects " . " Insect Pests of Farm, Garden and Orchard" " Insects Injurious to Fruits "... " Our Insect Friends and Enemies " " Life Histories of American Insects " IS 65 36 19 19 14 $1 50 3 75 net 3 00 2 00 net I so net I So 563 564 Sanderson, E. D., ct al. O'Kane, W. C. "School Entomology " " Injuri^'us Insects " 36 14 I so net I 60 net N. Lime and Liming Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 574 • 575 576 I/O VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION O. Physics of Agriculture Drainage, Irrigation, Machines, Motors, etc. Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 580 581 585 586 588 Davidson, J. B., ct al. Elliott, C. G. . . . King, F. H. ... King, F. H. ... Powell, F.E. . . . " Farm Machinery and Farm Motors" " Practical Farm Drainage "... " Irrigation and Drainage "... " Physics of Agriculture " . . . . " Wind Mills and Wind Motors " IS 36 14 66 92 $2 00 net I SO I SO I 75 SO 590 591 592 Davidson, J. B. . Anderson, F.I. . . Wirt, F. A " Agricultural Engineering" . . . . " Eleilricity on the Farm " .... " Fartn Machinery " 17 14 36 1 50 I 20 net I 25 net P. Plant Diseases (See also Spraying) Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 602 605 Massee, Geo. . . . Stevens, F. L., et al. . " A Text-book of Fungi " . . . . " Diseases of Economic Plants " . . 14 14 $2 00 607 Duggar, B. M. . . "' Fungous Diseases of Plants " . . . ^9 2 00 Q. Plant Foods and Feeding (See also Soils, etc.) Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 615 619 622 623 633 Aikman, CM. . . Cameron, F. K. . . Johnson, S. W., . . Myers, W. S. . . . Voorhees, E. B. . . " Manures and Manuring " . . . . " The Soil Solution " " How Crops Feed " " Food for Plants " " Fertilizers " 67 68 IS 69 14 $2 50 I 25 net I SO I 2S 634 635 636 Ilalligan, J. E. . . Van Slyke, L. L. . . Wheeler, H.J. . . . " Soil Fertility and Fertilizers " . . . " Fertilizers and Crops " " Manures and Fertilizers " . . . . 68 r.5 14 3 50 net 2 50 1 28 net A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 171 R. Plant Life, Propagation and Tests Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher 14 29 SI 54 IS 14 IS 14 IS 72 Price 645 647 649 651 654 658 661 662 667 668 Bailev, L. H. . . . Beal, W. J Coulter, J. M. . . . Gray, Asa .... Johnson, S. W. . . MacDougall, D. T. . Masters, M. T. . . Osterhout, W. J. V. . Spillman, W. J. . . Sutton & Sons * ■' Plant Breeding " " Seed Dispersal " " Plant Studies " " How Plants Grow " " How Crops Grow " " The Nature and Work of Plants " . " Plant Life on the Farm " . . . . " Experiments with Plants "... " Farm Grasses of the United States " " Culture of Vegetables and Flowers from Seeds and Roots "... $1 25 35 I 25 64 net I SO 80 I 00 I 25 I 00 I 25 net 671 672 Peabody and Hiinl Sargent, F. L. . " Elementary Biology. Plants " " Plants and Their Uses " .... 14 34 64 net I 32 S. Soils, Geology, Physical Geography, Soil Fertility Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 681 Burkett, C. W. . . Davis, W. M. . . . Fletcher Gilbert, G. K. . . . King, F. H. ... McCall, A. G. . . . Merrill, G. P. . . . Roberts, LP.. . . Snyder, H Tarr, R. S Vivian, A " Soils " IS 29 16 SI 14 IS 14 14 14 14 15 $1 25 682 683 " Elementary Physical Geography " " Soils " 1 00 net 2 00 net 685 687 688 689 691 692 696 697 " An Introduction to Physical Ge- ography " " The Soil " ■' The Physical Properties of Soils " " Rocks, Rock-weathering and Soils " " The Fertility of the Land "... " Soils and Fertilizers " " Elementary Geology " " First Principles of Soil Fertility " . I 25 net I SO 50 net 400 I SO I 25 I 40 I 00 net 699 Lyon, T. L., et al. Hunt, T. F., et al. Whitson, A. R., et al. Master, J. G., et al. . " Soils " . '4 17 19 / =i2 net 700 701 702 " Soils and Crops " " Soils and Soil Fertility " . . . . •' Soil Physics and Management " . . I 50 125 net 172 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION T. Spraying and Fumigation Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 718 719 732 Johnson, Willis G. Lodeman, E. G. . . Weed, C. M. . . . " Fumigation Methods " .... " The Spraying of Plants " . . . . " Insects and Insecticides " . . . . 15 14 IS Si 00 I 25 I SO U. Textbooks and Manuals for Schools Agricultural Refer- ence Num- ber 745 746 747 749 752 753 754 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 764 767 768 770 772 773 774 775 776 777 .A.uthor Barto, D. A. . . Bricker, G. A., el al. Burkett, Stevens, and Hill Coulter, J. M., el al. Davis, C. W. . . Davis, K. C. . Duggar, J. F. . . Field, Jessie Fisher and Cotton Fream, W. . Goff, E. S., el al. . Halligah, J. E. Hatch and Haselwood Hays, W. M. . . Hodge, C. F. . Jackson and Daugh erty .... James, C. J. . . McLennan, J. . Nolan, A. W. . . Shaw, E. E. . . Shoesmilh, V. M. Soule and Turpin Stevens, F. L., et al. Upham, A. A. . . Title Manual of Agriculture, Soils and Crops " . . . Agricultural Words " Agriculture for Beginners " . . . Practical Nature Study and Ele- mentary Agriculture " . . . . liural School Agriculture " . . . Productive Farming " .\griculture for Southern Schools " Farm Arithmetic " .\griculture for Common School;, " Elementary .\griculture " . . . First Principles of Agriculture " Fundamentals of Agriculture " . Elementary Agriculture " . . . Farm Development " Nature Study and Life " . . . . Agriculture through the Laboratory and School Garden " . . . . ' Practical .Agriculture " . . . . Manual of Practical Farming " . . One HundredLessonsin Agriculture" ■ Gardening " ■ The Study of Corn " ' Agriculture : Its Fundamental Prin- ciples " ' A Practical .Arithmetic ''.... ' An Introduction to .Agriculture " . Pub- lisher Price 55 S 50 net 74 OS 29 60 net SI I 35 IS I 00 19 I 00 14 75 76 IS S7 I 00 21 I 25 net 54 I 64 net 55 25 net 77 so 15 I so net 29 I 20 net 15 I 50 net SI Sonet 14 I 50 77 6.? 16 1 15 SO net 78 75 S7 65 51 75 net ' A volume in the " Library of Work and Play," for sale only as a complete set of ten volumes at $ 17.50. A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 173 U. Textbooks and Manuals for Schools — Continued Refer- ence Num- ber 779 780 781 782 784 Author Weed, C. M. . . Weed, C. M., et al. Wilkinson, J. W. . Wilson, A. D., et al. Comstock, A. B. . Title Farm Friends and Farm Foes ' The School Garden Book " . Practical Agriculture " . . Agriculture for Young Folks " Handbook of Nature Study " Pub- lisher 55 57 54 17 65 Price !> go net I 25 Sonet I 00 3 65 net 784.1 785 7851 785.2 7853 786 786.1 787 788 789 789.1 789.2 Davis, K. C. . . Burkelt, C. W ., ct al. Lewis, C.J. . . S hulls, G. C, el al. Slrallon, W. T., cl al. Budd, J. L., el al. . Budd, J. L., el al. . Call, L. E., el al. . Slebbins, C. A. Caljee, J. E. . . Ross H.E. . . . Nida, W. L. . . Clule, W. N. 7893 789.4 French, A. 789. 5 Weed, C. M., el al. 789.6 .Igee, Alva . . . 789.7 Davis, K.C. . . 789.8 Dadisman. S. H. . 789.9 Gehrs, J. H., et al. ' Productive Plant Husbandry "... Farm Arithmetic ^' Farm Business Arithmetic "... '' Agricultural Arithmetic " . . . . ' Agricultural Arithmetic" . : . . ' American Horticultural Manual," Parti ' American Horticultural Manual," Part II ' A Laboratory Manual oj Agriculture " ' Th: Principles of Agriculture Through the School and Home Garden" . . ' Rural Arithmetic " ' A Dairy Laboratory Guide "... ^Elementary Agriculture." Teacher's Edition with " Appendix: One Thousand Questions Answered " ' Agronomy: A Course in Practical Gardening for High Schools " . . ' Beginner's Garden Book " . . . . ^ Crop Production " , ' Crops and Methods for Soil Im- provement" ' School and Home Gardening "... ' Exercises in Agriculture " . . . . One Hundred Exercisesin Agriculture" 19 15 55 17 14 36 36 14 14 29 '5 I 00 48 80 net 40 net I 50 net I 50 net 72 net 80 net 30 60 net 75 ^9 I 00 '4 80 net 55 88 14 I 20 net 19 1 28 102 60 14 88 net V. Trees and Shrubs Not for Fruit 791 793 Blakeslee, A. F., et al. Gififord, John . . . " Trees in Winter " " Practical Forestry " 14 51 $1 20 807 Levison. J.J. " Studies of Trees " 36 / 60 net 174 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION W. Weeds and Their Eradication Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 821 Pammel, L. H. . . " Weeds of the Farm and Garden " IS $1 50 net 823 Georgia, Ada ... " Manual of Weeds " 14 / 60 net X. Zoology, General and Economic (See also above Reference Numbers 360, 361) Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 850 831 Linville, H. R., et al. Osborne, H. ... " A Text-book in General Zoology " " Economic Zoology " 29 14 $1 20 net 2 00 (6)— FOR BETTERMENT OF COUNTRY LIFE AND EDUCATION Refer- ence Num- ber Author Title Pub- lisher Price 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 84s 846 847 Anderson, W. L. Bailey, L. H. . " The Country Town " " The Country-life Movement in the United States " " The State and the Farmer "... " The Training of Farmers "... " Boy Scouts of America " . . . . " Rural Hygiene " " The Teaching of Agriculture in the High School" " One Woman's Work for Farm Women" " Chapters in Rural Progress " . . "The Country Church and the Rural Problem" " Education for Efficit-ncy "... " Agricultural Ediualion in the Public .Schools " 80 14 14 81 16 10 14 82 83 83 55 83 $1 00 Bailey, L. H. . I 25 net I 25 net I 00 net 30, I 25 I 00 50 net I 00 net I 08 I 00 net I 00 net Bailey, L. H. . Seton, E. T., et al. Brewer, I. W. . Bricker, G. h. . Bucll, Jennie . Butterfield, K. L. Butterfield, K. L. Davenport, E. M. Davis, Bcnj. M. _ A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 75 (6)— FOR BETTERMENT OF COUNTRY LIFE AND EDUCATION — Continued Refer- ence Num- ber 848 850 851 852 853 854 861 862 863 866 867 869 870 871' 873 876 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 884.1 885 886 887 888 889 Author Dodfi, Helen . Fullerton, V,. L. Gerhard, W. P. Greene, M. L. Hall, Bolton Harris, H. T. Kern, O. J. . King, F. H. King, F. H. McKeever, W. A. Miller, M. R. . Plunkett, Sir H. Robertson, J. \V. Robison, C. H. Sncdden, David Williams, Dora Title i -I Htuil, T.F. Saint Maiir, K. Savage, W- G. . . Gilltle, J. M. . . Hummel, W. G., et al Bolte, J. W. . . Crcmwell. A . D. Nclan, A.W. . . Hall-Quest, A. L. . Lapp. J. A., el al. Foghl, n. IP. . . Eaton, T.H. . . Peabodv, F . G. The Young Farmer " A Self -Sup porting Home " ... Milk and the Public Health " . . . Constructive Rural Sociology " Materials and Methods in High School Agriculture " ... The Back Yard Farmer " . . Agriculture and Life " Tlte Teaching of Agriculture " Supervised Study " Learning to Earn '■' The Rural Teacher and His Work " ' A Study of Organization and Methods of the Course of Study in Agriail- lure in Secondary Schools" 'Education for Life " Pub- lisher The Healthful Farmhouse "... 82 The Lure of the Land " . . . . 84 Sanitation, Water Supply and Sew- age Disposal of Country Houses " 85 Among School Gardens " . . . .86 Three Acres and Liberty "... 14 Health on the Farm " 87 Among Country Schools "... 29 Farmers of Forty Centuries " . . 06 Ventilation for Dwellings, Rural Schools and Stables " . . . . 66 Farm Boys and Girls " .... 14 Outdoor Work " 16 The Rural Life Problem of the United States " 14 Macdonald Movement for Rural Education and Other Addresses "' 88 Agricultural Instruction in the Pub- lic High Schools of the United States " 89 The Problem of Vocational Educa- tion " go Gardens and Their Meaning " . . 29 15 14 J4 87 '4 98 19 90 14 108 '4 113 16 Price $60 net 2 00 net I 25 I 75 75 1 00 net 2 so 75 I 50 I 25 35 net Sonet I 50 1 40 net 2 60 net 175 I 00 net I 00 net I 48 I 00 net ' \ volume in the " Library of Work and Play " ; for sale only as a complete set of ten volumes at $ 17.50. I I 176 VOCATION.\L AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 5. Publishers and Their Addresses ^ 14. The Macmillan Company, 64 Filth Avenue, New York City. 15. The Orange Judd Company, 315-321 Fourth Avenue, New York City. 16. Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, New York. 17. Webb Publishing Company, St. Paul. Minn. 18. William Henry Maule, 1707 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19. J. B. Lippincott Company, Washington Square, Philadelphia, Pa. 20. John Lane Company, New York City. 21. John Murray, London, Eng. 23. The A. I. Root Company, Medina, O. 24. .\merican Poultry Association, Morgan Park, 111. 25. David ISIcKay, Philadelphia, Pa. 26. Michael K. Boyer, Hammonton, N. J. 27. The Torch Press, Cedar Rapids, la. 28. Edward Arnold Company, London, Eng. 29. Ginn & Company, 15 Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass. 30. Cassell & Company, Limited, London, Eng., 354-360 Fourth Avenue, New York City. 31. The Breeders' Gazette, Chicago, 111. 32. J. E. Wing, iMechanicsburg, O. 33. Sanders PubUshing Company, 542 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, 111. 34. Henry Holt & Company, 6 Park Street, Boston, Mass. 35. The BuUard Company. 46 Cornhill, Boston, Mass. 36. John Wiley & Sons, New York City. 37. Frederick A. Stokes Company, 443 Fourth Avenue, New York City. 38. J. A. Craig, Omaha, Neb. 40. John ]Michels, West Raleigh, N. C. 43. William Briggs, Toronto, Can. 44. The Home Correspondence School, Springfield, ]\Iass. 45. The Outing Publishing Company, New York City. 46. Silver, Burdett & Co., 221 Columbus Avenue, Boston, Mass. 47. The Feather Publishing Company, Washington, D. C. 49. W. A. Henry, Madison, Wis. 51. D. Appleton & Co., 35 West 32d Street, New York City. 53. P. Blakiston's Son & Co., 1012 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 54. American Book Company, 63 Summer Street, Boston, Mass. 55. D. C. Heath & Company, 50 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 56. State Journal Printing Company, ^Madison, Wis. 57. Charles Scribner's Sons, 153 .Fifth Avenue, New York City. 58. Vinton & Co., London, Eng. 60. Mendota Publishing Company, Madison, Wis. 63. The Farmer Company, Philadelphia, Pa. 65. Comstock Publishing Company, Ithaca, N. Y. 66. Mrs. F. H. Xing, Madison, Wis. 1 Numbers to 13 represented sources of bulletin and circular reference materials listed in this project study bibliography in its original form, but omitted from this chapter owing to doubt as to their present availability. Other missing numbers, — 22, sg, etc., — referred to similar sources. A STATE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT STUDY BIBLIOGRAPHY 177 67. Vvm. Blackwood & Sons, London, Eng. 68. The Chemical Publishing Company, Easton, Pa. 69. Wm. S. Myers, New York City. 72. Simpkin, Marshall & Co., London, Eng. 74. The Ohio Association for the Advancement of Agricultural Education, Columbus, O. 75. Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vt. 76. Henry Field Seed Company, Shenandoah, la. 77. Row, Peterson & Co., Chicago, 111. 78. B. F. Johnson Publishing Company, Richmond, Va. 80. The Baker & Taylor Company, 33 East 17th Street, New York City. 81. The Century Company, Union Square, New York City. 82. Whitcomb & Barrows, Huntington Chambers, Boston, Mass. 83. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 111. 84. Long Island Railroad Company, Medford, Long Island. 85. D. Van Nostrand Company, 25 Park Place, New York City. 86. Charities Publication Committee, 105 East 2 2d Street, New York City. 87. Sturgis & Walton Company, New York Citj-. 88. James W. Robertson, Chairman, Royal Commission on Industrial Train- ing and Technical Education, Bo.x 540, Ottawa, Can. 89. Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City. 90. Houghton ]\IifHin Company, 4 Park Street, Boston, Mass. 91. A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 111. 92. Manual Arts Press, Peoria, 111. 93. Spon & Chamberlain, 123-125 Liberty Street, New York City. 94. Howard Publishing Co., Washington, D. C. ' 95. Farm Poultry Pub. Co., Boston, Mass. 96. International Harvester Co., Harvester Building, Chicago, IlL 97. C. Bell & Sons, Ltd., York House, Portugal St., Kingsway, London, Eng. The Macmillan Company are the American Agents for this house. (See 14 above.) 98. Forbes & Co., 443 So. Dearborn Street, Chicago, 111. 99. Wilmer Atkinson Co., Philadelphia, Pa. 100. Department of Agriculture, Commissioner of Agriculture, .\lbany, N. Y. loi. A. Flanagan Company, 521 Wabash Avenue, Chicago, 111. 102. Lyons & Carnahan, New York City. 103. James J. H. Gregory, Marblehead, Mass. 104. Rural New Yorker, 333 West 30th Street, New York City. 105. The Fruit Grower, St. Joseph, Mo. 106. Lea & Febiger, New York City and Philadelphia. 107. .\llyn & Bacon, Boston, New York, Chicago. 108. Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis, Ind. 109. H. L. Russell, Madison, Wis. no. Frank Kleinheinz, Madison, Wis. ' 111. American School of Poultry Husbandry, Leavenworth, Kan. 112. Moffatt, Yard & Co., New York. 113. Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City. 114. Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, State House, Boston. N CHAPTER VI COUNTY SCHOOLS AND HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENTS IN THE MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SYSTEM COMPARED AS TO REQUIREMENTS AND ADVANTAGES ^ The Massachusetts system of vocational agricultural education includes separate schools and departments in high schools. In the Fig. 115. — Boys are taught various methods of artiticial incubation and brooding. Brooder parts and their purposes. "Related Study" at School. Concord Agricultural Department. case of a school, the state pays one-half the maintenance expenses; in the case of a department, two-thirds the salary of the agricultural ^ Most of this chapter stating features still in force, first appeared in 1Q16, in Bulletin No. 72 of the Massachusetts Board of Education, a bulletin not available for unlimited distribution outside the state. The parallel column plan of presentation was suggested by Deputy Commissioner R. O. Small. 178 MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 179 instructor. The State bears no part of the cost of plant and equip- ment. There is not a dormitory in this system. In all cases, the work centers on productive projects thoroughly studied and care- fully planned at school, but carried out, with supervision throughout the producing season by the agricultural instructors, occasionally Fig. 116. — "School Project. ' Coal stove brooder house built by these boys. Later oper- ated by boys without facilities for home projects. Essex County Agricultural School. at a school or on the farm of an employer, but as a rule on the home farms of the pupils. Each school and department is being developed as a separate unit, suited in its service to the needs of the farming and community life of its particular vicinity. The county schools have, nevertheless, certain characteristics in common ; so, also, have the high school de- partments ; while there are certain factors which are common to both schools and departments. l8o VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION The following statements and comparisons, aided in several instances by parallel columns, are intended to throw into clear relief, for those interested in, or responsible for the administration of, this type of education, certain requirements and advantages of both schools and departments. I . Authorization (i) Chapter 471 of the Acts of 191 1 states the policy of this Common- wealth which governs the establishment and maintenance of state- aided vocational agricultural education. This is the fundamental law upon which subsequent authorizations of this t}^e of training have been based. This law vests approval of schools and depart- •ments in the Board of Education.^ (2) But this act is not sufficient authorization for the entering upon this type of training by a county or a school committee. Further legal procedure is necessary. Following is the procedure which the Board prefers : A. County School B. High School Department (A) State legislation is necessary, (A) No further State legislation is in which provision is made for a necessary. special board of trustees, bond issues The entire cost during the first j^ear to cover first cost of land, buildings, must be met by the town or city, and equipment, and a tax levy to since state aid is restricted to reim- meet the cost of maintenance during bursement for two-thirds of the the first year. amount paid the approved agricul- The entire cost during the first tural instructor or instructors as year must be met by the county, since salary. state aid is restricted to one-half the One thousand five hundred dollars " net maintenance sum," and consists for the first year may be regarded as of reimbursement for approved ex- a moderate estimate, — $1200 or penses. thereabouts for salary and the Seventy-five thousand dollars to balance for special agricultural sup- $roo,ooo for the first cost of establish- plies and equipment. Two thousand ment and $16,000 to $20,000 for the five hundred dollars would not be too first year of maintenance may be . much in some cases, regarded as reasonable estimates. * Chapter 215 of the Acts of igi; accepts the provisions of the "Smith-Hughes" Act applicable to this state and designates the Board of Education as the state board to co- operate with the Federal Board for Vocational Education. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM l8l (B) Local ordinance is required. The Board of Education has ruled that, in the interests of good local government and good school admin- istration, a vote should be passed by the city council or by the town meet- ing authorizing the school committee to undertake the responsibilities of a department. (B) County referendum. — The special acts of the Legislature have made the schools dependent upon favorable referendum votes at the November elections in the counties concerned. Thisfeatureinsuresproper publicity. A favorable vote indicates that public sentiment has been aroused, that public opinion has been informed, and that the school will both meet a public need and receive public support. 2. Control The controlling boards of county schools and departments differ as indicated below, but have this in common, that each must desig- nate an executive officer with whom the Board of Education shall officially communicate. (i) County school A. Board of trustees. — The special acts of the Legislature vest control of schools in boards of trus- tees independent of public schools. Three trustees consist of the county commissioners ex officiis. Four are appointed by the Governor. Each Board thus has seven members. The trustees serve without pay, but are reimbursed for their necessary traveling expenses. B. Director is executive ofl5cer. — The Board of Trustees designates the director of the school as its executive oflBcer. C. Records. — Minutes of all meetings of the trustees are carefully made and kept for future reference. Immediately after each meeting a copy of the minutes is forwarded to the Board of Education. (2) High school department A. School committee. — Chapter 471 of the Acts of 191 1 and local ordi- nances have invariably vested con- trol of departments in school com- mittees. B. Superintendent is executive oflBcer. — The school committee des- ignates the superintendent of schools as its executive officer. C. Records. — The school com- mittee may transact business relating to the agricultural department at meetings where other business re- ceives attention ; but it is required to keep in one place, for convenient reference, a separate and complete record of all its acts which affect the agricultural department. l82 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 3. Organization (i) Cooperation with Educators. — Both schools and departments work in cooperation with the Massachusetts Agricultural College and the United States Department of Agriculture. All joint undertak- ings, such as promotion of club work, making of farm management surveys, demonstrations of improved methods of farming, are covered by written memoranda of agreement with the director of the Extension Service of the College, as the joint representative of the College and the United States Department of Agriculture. Instructors in Fig. 117. — "School" project. Group instruction indoors. Boys building another type of portable poultry house. Anything that can be taken out of a big barn can be taken out of this Arena. Work goes on rain or shine, snow or blow. Smith School, Northampton. departments cooperate closely with the farm bureaus in their coun- ties. Our law provides that there shall not be county-aided farm bureaus in counties where there are county agricultural schools. County schools, themselves, maintain farm bureau departments which are affiliated with the other farm bureaus of the state and the work of which is done in cooperation with the Extension Service. Our schools and departments, also, cooperate with other agencies, private and public, including the Patrons of Husbandry and the state departments of Forestry and Agriculture. Thus, we feel that in Massachusetts we shall soon have a smooth- running and efficient plan of organization of all our various activities MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 1 83 in agricultural educalion, Federal, State, County, and Local. We are undertaking to avoid overlajiping of functions and needless dupli- cation in expenditures of public funds. The author, as State Super- visor of vocational agricultural education, has made it business of the first importance to promote such cooperation. (2) Cooperation with Farmers. — Of course we feel that little could be accomplished through the cooperation of educators without the heartiest and closest possible cooperation between them and practical farmers. Wherever there is a department or a school, our Fig. 118. — "Trial" project. Individual instruction. Frame furnished by boy. Patent covering furnished by Instructor Doolittle. If satisfactory, this covering will be recom- mended to others. Project of Willard Hemenway, 17, on his home farm. Concord Agricultural Department. law requires that an advisory committee of farmers shall be appointed to advise with and assist the administrative officers and the instruc- tors in charge of this work. School projects are important for illus- trating approved methods and providing convenient facilities for group teaching in observational and practice work ; but more and more are we emphasizing home projects, not merely because home 1 84 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION projects are an aid to keeping the study of agriculture from being too bookish, but because each project generally becomes a demonstration in its neighborhood of a better method of farming than is commonly followed in that vicinity, and because things done by farmers on their Fig. iig. — Village boy's second-year project. Made poultry house and yard. In back, yard shown in Figures 8i and 82. Yielded him $35.44. North Easton Agricultural Department. own farms are usually more convincing to farmers as to the value of improved methods than are things done on the premises of a school. Dr. H. J. Waters, in the preface to his recent book, " The Essentials of Agriculture," says: " In no way is it possible for the school to serve the local community more successfully than through instruction in agriculture. This may be best accom- plished through the utilization of the facilities of the neighborhood as a laboratory. The gardens, orchards, and farms, and, indeed, the gardeners and farmers them- selves, should be utilized to the fullest extent. By this means the school and the community are brought into the closest relations, and there is awakened among the farmers a lively interest in the work of the school." There is a superlative in every sentence of this statement. But our experience in Massachusetts since the beginning of our home- MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 185 projects efforts in 1908 leads us to believe that, at every point, his declarations are warranted. (3) The following plan of organization, under the boards of control above named, has the approval of the Board of Education. It pro- vides for the distinctive management of schools and departments, Fig. 120. — This boy also worked during second season as assistant gardener on a large estate near by, thus gaining invaluable experience under best conditions. Work with animals always supplemented by continued work in crop production. This boy now in Massachusetts Agricultural College. North Easton Agricultural Department. with important adaptations to the needs of each. It outlines the work of the advisory committees which the law requires boards of control to appoint " to counsel with and advise " them concerning the efficient training of their agricultural pupils ; and provides for farm bureau work. It also provides for " professional improvement." 1 86 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (4) County school A. Director. — The trustees adopt rules under which a paid officer called director is appointed and made their executive officer for the administra- tion of the school, and not merely for the purpose above stated of official communication between the trustees and the Board of Education. (5) High school department A. Superintendent of schools. — The superintendent of schools is the executive officer of the school com- mittee in the administration of a de- partment, and not merely for the pur- pose above stated of official commu- nication between his committee and the Board of Education. Fig. 121. — William Smith's mangel wurzel beets for his poultry, feeds for poultry are thoroughly studied and crops for them are grown. Concord Agricultural Department. The director's duties include nomi- nation for appointment by the Board of Trustees of all instructors and other subordinate officers. In choosing the director, the Board of Trustees confer with the agricultural representative of the Board of Education, following the plan of " approval in advance." " Approval in advance " means that the Board of Education, having given its approval to the choice of a man, will assume joint responsibility with the trustees for the capable per- formance of his duties. Pending formal notice from I he Board of Edu- The duties of the superintendent of schools include nomination of teachers. The agricultural Instructor is chosen because of his liking for coun- try life, his demonstrated ability in practical farming, his salutary influ- ence upon boys and young men four- teen to twenty-five years of age, and his special qualifications for the teach- ing and supervision of home-farm projects. The superintendent of schools, prior to nominating an agricultural instructor, confers with the agricul- MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 187 cation of withdrawal of approval, it is assumed by the Board of Trustees that final approval at the end of any fiscal year will be granted, and reim- bursement for expenses incurred in the employment of school officers will be tural representative of the Board of Education, following the plan of " approval in advance." The superintendent assumes re- sponsibilit}' for all instruction given, and for making the records and Fig. 122. — William Smith himself. Father is superintendent of a large farm. Besides his projects, which owner permitted, he worked on the farm. Entire farm earnings in 1914, along with good work in school, $699.08. Since, has taken Short Course at Massachusetts Agricultural College. Concord Agricultural Department. recommended to the Legislature by the Board of Education. The director is selected because of special qualifications for service as advisor to the trustees in the adminis- tration of the type of education the school represents ; and instructors are chosen because of their apprecia- tion of the requirements of vocational education and their special qualifica- tions for bringing education to bear in the training of pupils by home-farm projects. reports required by the Board of Education. i88 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION The director, prior to nominating instructors and other subordinates, confers with the agricultural repre- sentative of the Board of Education, following the plan of " approval in advance." Adequate clerical assistance for the director is required. The director is responsible for all instruction given, for the efficient con- duct of the school, and for making the records and reports required by the Board of Education. B. Staff of specialists. — The school employs a staff of specialists, larger or smaller in number, depend- ing upon the enrollment of pupils. One hundred pupils in a school warrant a considerable degree of spe- cialization among instructors. For B. Agricultural instructor or in- structors. — ■ The agricultural instruc- tor is responsible for the conduct and the efficient agricultural training of the pupils in his department. A department may employ more than one special agricultural in- FiG. 123. — Caponizing. Pupil operating. Esse.x County .Agricultural School. example, one instructor may devote his entire time to the teaching of dairying; another, fruit growing; another, poultry keeping; and an- other, gardening. With a small enrollment, instruc- tors who teach the specialties above structor, depending upon the enroll- ment of pupils. An instructor in a department must have an all-round knowledge of farm work and of the sciences appli- cable thereto. If there are two agri- cultural instructors in a department, a MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 189 named may be called upon to teach such subjects as English, current and local history, civics, drawing, agri- cultural chemistry, agricultural physics, agricultural biology and farm-shop work. Where the number of pupils is greater, special teachers for the subjects last named may be degree of specialization is possible and desirable. .\n agricultural instructor is not permitted to teach non-agricultural subjects, but may teach agricultural chemistry, physics, biologj^, or mathe- matics. Ability to cooperate in farm Fig. 124. — Ralph Anderson, brother of Le Roy. shown in Figures 87 and 88, same year younger brother was conducting gardening projects, designed and built this house for his poultrj' project at home. A thoroughly workmanlike job. Ashtield Agricultural Department. employed, thus enabling the agricul- tural instructors to devote themselves to their specialties. Specialists must be capable of co- operation in farm bureau work with adult farmers. C. Advisory committee. (A) Make-up. — The advisory committee of a school generally numbers at least fifteen, including one or two women, of the best practical farmers. bureau work with adult farmers is of fundamental importance. Through such work the instructor comes to know the farming of his vicinity as he could not otherwise hope to do ; and no man can be expected to teach farming in a communitj- unless he knows the farming of that commu- nity. C. Advisory committee. (A) Make-up. — The advisory com- mittee of a department is made up of the best practical farmers, varying 190 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION from five to fifteen in number, from the neighborhoods from which pupils are expected. The committee must be composed of employers and employees. Each committee usually has at least one woman member, if there is a capable woman farmer in the vicinity; and often the secretary of the committee is a woman. The superintendent of schools and the special agricultural instructor are expected to meet with the committee, unless requested not to do so on some particular occasion. The advisory committee members serve without pay, and are generally under no expense for travel since they usually live near the department. The plan of one school provides for a chairman and two other members from each town and city of the county. The committee must be composed of employers and employees. Responsive to the spirit of the times, which is bringing farmers and business men together for the work- ing out of problems of production and distribution of farm products, one school has appointed a supplementary advisory committee of business men to cooperate with the advisory com- mittee of farmers in the management and supervision of its farm bureau department. The director is expected to meet with the advisory committee ; also other members of his staff, when in- vited to do so. Advisory committee members serve without pay, but are reim- bursed for their necessary traveling expenses. (B) Duties of the advisory committee, for either a school or a department, may be of two kinds : a. Formal duties, (a) Organization, officers, committees, minutes. — - An advisory committee usually organizes for business with a chair- man and a secretary. In some cases standing committees are ap- pointed, such as committees on dairying, fruit growing, and the like. Record of the attendance at meetings and of the action taken is kept. (b) Acquaintance with policy and staff of the school. — A com- mittee may meet once a month or once in two months. Members may be assigned to visit the school in turn, and to report their impres- sions of the policy of the school and the efficiency of the individual members of the staff at meetings of the full committee. A director or agricultural instructor may be invited to sit with the whole com- mittee or with a standing committee. The members are busy people and generally without experience in teaching. Perhaps their best service is rendered when directors and instructors take the initiative MASSACHUSETTS XO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEI^I 191 in pointing out problems confronted and difficulties to be overcome. Committee members are urged to visit and pass judgment upon the home project or other agricultural work of the pupils. (c) No reports or recommendations are official until voted by a majority and transmitted in writing by the secretary to the trustees or school committee in charge. b. Informal duties, (a) Friendly consultation with the instructors and the controlling board. (b) Making favorably known the work and aims of the school or department. D. Branches of county schools. — The county school may be so organized that part of its instruction shall be given at a small central ' > ' • V'^IT """^ ""^ Fig. 125. — Glimpses of the poultry plant in which the Essex County School is now con- ducting its third annual egg-laying contest open to birds of various breeds owned by residents of the county. Pupils built the houses and yards and are studying the con- test from all angles. Good for the boys and good for the county. school and part near the homes of the more distant pupils in branches consisting of one- or two-teacher agricultural departments in high schools. E. Farm bureau department. — F. Farm bureau cooperation. — The law authorizing county aid for The agricultural instructors, as they certain corporations, such as farm make their rounds of home-project bureaus or improvement leagues, supervision among the farms of their 5 4 O ^i 10 S" N? '^ CD s s 3 * ^1 IE U ? in r" o cc b. ^ K> S % »: o T> » 915 bo trol !?' til (0 S O ■ -^1 5;^ S 8 4 X o * a D " o <*-> ° a cr 0) = • ^ 1 ■»-» 3 0. Id 1 K c = OS S t s ,^ = SI. ?? J. m •in ■1 «5i .2 o Z 1 O ■£ O -^ u ? -J Ul o ^ II :5 h1 g o 1 1 l S " u Q) •■— » m O Li u > O a o J3 M is ai oo ■o «f 0) o tl , 0) M is _o i-t .4.J 6(1 c < CI 6 -n 01 , <\) ■i-t i-t '*J a Ul 1) -4-J C 01 > & W T3 1-1 ca (Tl m a en -C Q 60 , , tr o S5 Ul 3 r 4-> r 3 u n ■* M- hn j-i 1 -T' a^ o .a Ul 0) s Ul T) rt cd Ul O 0) a 6r dj ^ ^ D 1-4 ^ •S . rt Uh (ij Ul != rn a cd -u) u 1) rn ^ 1> .6 *4^ % 2 a CJ ^ 6 o tn" nj s lU (1 Pi o 't^ 1 ^4-1 3 1 -n J3 o IV a -man. Much poultry kept. Boy's 1914 farm earnings amounted to S266.19. Had home project in market gardening, taught and supervised by agricultural instructor. Boys from best farms in vocational agricultural schools and departments. Concord Agricultural Depart- ment. given to instruction in citizenship, personal hygiene, occupational diseases and accidents. The previous sentence applies to all kinds of state-aided vocational education in Massachusetts. (B) The agricultural department in a high school is required to pro- vide instruction at least forty weeks each year, including the summer supervision of productive farm work. Fifty per cent of the whole school time allotment may be devoted to vocational instruction, and 50 per cent given to regular high school subjects. This time allotment applies to branches of county schools located at high schools. H. Size of classes. — The allowance of pupils to instructor in a county school is 15 to 30, depending upon the radius of travel and the 196 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION degree of specialization. One instructor in a high school department is not permitted to teach or supervise more than 20 pupils. Classes are not permitted to be overloaded in anticipation of drop- ping out pupils. When the maximum class enrollment approved for a school or a department has been reached, a waiting list from which vacancies may be filled is estabhshed. I. Persistency of attendance. — When less than 75 per cent of the original enrollment in any school or department continue as members ssi^--X'>*^,* Other instructor working for a market gardener, because his previous practical experience had been somewhat deficient in this field. A month of such a period has been spent by an instructor in collecting farm management data in territory served by his school, and a second month in working on the school farm, to get a better grasp of the all-round routine of practical farm management in the height of the producing season. Usually a program con- sisting of one month of investigation, at home or at a distance, and one month of preparation of lesson outlines and teaching materials, is to be preferred. This takes the mind of both teacher and direc- tor away, for a specified time annually, from the ordinary " chores " of instruction and admin- istration. This positive limita- tion is imposed that the department instructors and the plant project instructors in a school are not permitted to be away from their teaching and supervision of projects more than one week for vacation, and one week for professional improvement, at a time during the grow- ing and harvesting seasons; and these two weeks must not be consecutive. Fig. 132. — Joseph Jekanowski lathing tobacco. Smaller children big enough to pass him single plants. Hadley Agricultural Department. 4. Location The problem of locating a high school agricultural department is much simpler than is the problem of locating a county agri- cultural school. This will be evident from the following con- siderations : 200 VOCATION.\L AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (i) County school A. On a farm. — The Massachu- setts plan of vocational agricultural education is a no-dormitory plan; that is to say, in the cases of schools, as in those of departments, projects conducted by pupils at their own homes are the fundamental factors in the training' of pupils. All of the (2) High school department A. In a high school building. — A department is generally located in or near the high school building. Those departments have flour- ished best which hav-e been most closely identified with the headquar- ters and spirit of the high school proper. Pupils generally devote one- i'' >^> Fig. 133. — Larger children strong enough to pass lath laden with half-dozen plants. Father's forty-acre farm was bought about twenty years ago as "stump land" for S500. Not for sale now at Si 2,000. Father has paid S300 an acre for more land not so good as this. Father a good citizen. Hadley .Agricultural Department. county schools are, however, located on farms. Perhaps the main justification of the county school is that there are pupils from villages and cities who desire to learn farming, who have no land at home, and who can be given parts of their training on a school farm to good advantage. half their time to regular high school subjects. Because the schedules pro- vide that the high school subjects shall be taught in one half day and the agricultural in the other half day, convenience in getting from one class- room to another is a factor in favor of locating a department on the high school premises. It is immaterial whether or not the high school has land. That is to say, projects of pupils are studied at the school, but are carried out at their MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 20I B. Accessibility. — • For the bene- fit of both boys who have land at home and boys who have none, the school should be located at the most easily accessible spot from the point of view of transportation. Primary consideration should be given to selecting a site for the school which can be easily reached from the most considerable farming area. Boarding or working places can generally be found near the school for the limited number of pupils who are without land at home and need the practice work which the routine operations of the school afford. C. Acreage and variety of soil. — The land selected should be t\'pical of the surrounding farming region, and permit of demonstrating the best methods of farming practicable for that county. D. One- teacher branches in high schools, like the departments, when organized at the more distant points, may teach village boys who have only a small amount of land projects of first and second years, and promote to the county school for third- and fourth- year projects. own homes or at the homes of other practical farmers in the vicinity. Illustrative material and practice work are also found on neighboring farms. One high school has a greenhouse, and the agricultural department has made good use of it. Now and then a high school has land more or less under cultivation. Possession of land is not required for approval and state aid, and has proved to be a doubtful advantage in the cases of more than one department. B. Accessibility has usually been given due consideration in locating the high school buildings. No high school so far has been found so lacking in accessibility as to necessitate the location of an agricul- tural department elsewhere than in, or adjacent to, the high school build- ing. 202 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 5. Equipment There is a radical difference in the equipment requirements of schools and departments. (i) County school A. The farm should consist of well-diversified soils and topography. Land as good as any to be found in the county should be selected, and land suited to the various farm crops and animals which can be produced in (2) High school department A. No farm is required. Farm products, methods of production, farm buildings and equipment are studied on farms in the vicinity and at the homes of the pupils. Though one high school has a greenhouse, and Fig. 134. — Florence Jekanovvski, who has hung the tobacco-laden laths on the wagon rack. Load on way to curing shed. Polish people, no less than the old settlers, are making land pay in health, happiness, and general prosperity. There is a high-priced automobile on this farm. Hadley Agricultural Department. that county should be chosen. Rea- sons for this are obvious. It should be the aim of the school to establish the highest standards of production ; that is, it should undertake to show pupils what farming is at its best. Such a policy fits into the home- its agricultural department has made good use of it, some of the very best instruction is being given by depart- ments which have no greenhouses, but which have established coopera- tive relations with owners of green- houses in sections where market MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 203 project plan ; because boys whose home farms are producing inferior crops and animals will have standards by which their home production may be gauged, and the improvements gardening is a very important branch of farming. Practice work under economic conditions is proving to be better than practice work under school conditions, — provided the Fig. 135. — "Relateil Study. ■ Trial project" in tomato growing. Testing early variety. Planned by instructor, executed and observed by boys. Boys selected and cleaned seed for next trial as part of "school project." Essex County Agricultural School. they make from year to year may be measured. High standards thus may become not discouraging, but en- couraging, factors in the training of the pupils. The farm should not be a fancy practice work in the former case is given proper educational value by study at the school, in the greenhouse, and elsewhere, of all factors involved in the production and marketing of greenhouse crops. 204 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION farm, — a farm where money is spent and not a farm where money is made ; that is to say, the equipment should be modern and varied, but of the kind that the most practical farmer would choose. Such buildings as barns and poultry houses should be of the kind that a farmer with a moderate amount of capital would wish to erect as parts Fig. 136. — Of course the boys everj'- where promptly discover that every plant has its pests, and the battle for protection as promptly begins. See opposite page. of a convenient, sanitary, and practi- cal plant. Quarters for all kinds of live-stock suited to the locality should be provided. The school might or might not own all of the live-stock dealt with in classroom demonstra- tions. The best obtainable speci- mens of the breeds studied should be seen and handled, and proper accom- modations for keeping them should Three high schools have fruit trees on the school premises which are taken care of by the pupils in the agricultural departments. These afford practice work from season to season in connection with the various processes of propagating, pruning, spraying, thinning, picking, packing, and marketing. Fruit growers, however, have been very ready to cooperate with agri- cultural instructors in affording pupils practice work. Several departments have conducted campaigns by pupils for eradication of nests of insects in- jurious to fruit, prizes being offered by local persons or organizations and by' the State Board of Agriculture. Pruning and spraying campaigns have been conducted by pupils, the pupils, after attaining the proper degree of proficiency, being paid for their services by those for whom the work has been done. As many as 1200 trees have been pruned and sprayed annually by the pupils in a single department. While pupils show interest and take pride in work done at a school, they show even greater interest and take greater pride in work they do on the premises of farmers. Moreover, things done on farms tend to extend the influence of better methods throughout the countryside, as the limited demonstrations pos- sible at a high school even under the best conditions cannot be made to do. At one high school there is a pen of poultry. But it is believed that the best work has been done where in- structors have introduced high-pro- ducing birds by keeping them for MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 205 make it easy to borrow or hire animals when needed. When not filled with live-stock these quarters would still be on view as models of their several kinds for housing and caring for the various types of farm animals. A museum for collecting out-of- date farm implements and machines themselves, thus exemplifying meth- ods and standards for the benefit of their pupils and other interested persons; where, for illustrative pur- poses, visits to commercial poultry plants have been made ; and where, in practice work, the boys have been taught to build their own houses and trained in competent methods -I . Fig. 136. Continued. — .\dvisory Committee member, demonstrating mechanism and ad- vantages of his potato sprayer. Best farmers advise with and assist instructors. BrimBeld Agricultural Department. would serve a most excellent informa- tional purpose Visits to fancy farms might be made at will for purposes of observation. But the main object of the school should be to provide the best models of buildings, implements, of poultry keeping at their own homes. .\ poultry instructor's family may relieve him at times of some of the " chores " required by his own birds. It is difficult for an instructor to find 2o6 VOCATION.\L AGRICULTUR.\L EDUCATION machines, and animals for use in eco- nomic and profitable production. B. Classrooms and their equip- ment. — Libraries, laboratories, and other classrooms suitable for the study of agriculture and the various sciences related thereto are required. The school assumes responsibilit}- for the well-rounded education of the pupil in all matters pertaining to agricul- ture and country life. Classrooms are adapted to the special purposes of the school. Equipment for the classrooms is selected because of its adaptability to training in agriculture. Submitted to the test of practical farming, much, for example, of the equipment usually found in high school science labora- tories is omitted, and other e(|uip- ment selected. Water and gas are required. The best books, bulletins, periodi- cals, and card-indexing systems deal- relief from the " chores " required by the maintenance of birds at a high school, and it is observed that a poultry instructor's time can be spent to better advantage in the super- vision of numerous poultry projects at the homes of his pupils than in doing poultry " chores " at the school. Possession of a flock of birds by a high school, therefore, is not advised. It may be an advantage for a high school that has neither land nor live- stock to have a well-rounded farm equipment of hand tools, including tools for pruning, sprayers, seed sowers, wheel hoes, and the like. Pupils hard-pressed for capital may thus borrow or rent tools of the school, and save most of their money for fer- tilizers, spray materials, feeds, and other supplies. B. Classroom and its equipment. — The special agricultural equip- ment of the department may be limited to a suitably appointed room for study. Ordinary school desks are not suitable. In working out a problem in connection with a home project, it is often necessary to consult several books and bulletins. Accounting is required in connection with all proj- ects. That is to say, more elbow room than that afforded bj' the ordi- nary school desk is required. Flat-top desks or table space measuring about 25 by 3 feet per pupil best meet the needs of the agricultural room. .•\n equipment for the study of soils and plants brought from the homes of the pupils is also desirable. There should be a Babcock tester. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 207 ing with agricultural subjects are available. About 20 per cent of the time of the pupil may be devoted to non-agricultural subjects, such as The agricultural classroom generally presents the appearance of a combina- tion of classroom and science labora- tory. Water and gas are highly desirable. Fig. 137. — Vincent Dunn, a city boy with agricultural bent and tillage land in suburbs. Good teamster. Fine judge of live-stock. Second in state championship contest. Won total of S6s in 1914 judging at fairs. Hauling home his potatoes. Marlborough Agricultural Department. English, current history, and civics. Suitable reference materials dealing with these subjects are part of the equipment of the school. L The best books, bulletins, periodi- cals, and card-indexing systems dealing withagricultural subjects areavailable. Fifty per cent of the time of the pupil in the department may be de- voted to non-agricultural subjects. The textbook, reference book, and other supplies required for this in- struction of the agricultural pupils is not estimated as part of the expense of the vocational agricultural depart- ment, but is chargeable to high school work proper. 208 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION C. Examples. Smith Agricul- tural School, Northampton. — The main school building, library facilities, classrooms, laboratories, and farm shops best designed and equipped for vocational agricultural school pur- poses probably are those of the Smith C. Examples. a. Ashfield. — The department in Ashfield is located in Sanderson Academy, which insti- tution serv^es as the local high school. Attractive wooded knolls in the rear afford some opportunity for group instruction in what might be Fig. 138. — Vincent Dunn's potato sorter. Believer in labor saving devices, and all- round hustler. Potatoes yielded at rate of almost even 400 bushels per acre. Entire farm earnings in 1914 when 15 years old, $223.72. Now in Massachusetts Agricul- tural College. Agricultural Instructor Brouson, who taught him stock-judging, etc., at left. Marlborough Agricultural Department. Agricultural School, Northamp- ton. Though not established by the county, this school is of the type of the county school in its location and appointments, and serves the pur- poses of such a school for the greater part of Hampshire County. The soil of the school farm is well diversified, typical of the farming land in its vicinity, and affords prac- tice work and facilities for demonstra- tions in all branches of farming except termed landscape forestry. The lawns afford practice work for group instruction in grading, also in planting and caring for ornamental shrubbery. Ashfield is at the end of a stage line high in the hills to the west of the Connecticut Riv^er. Agricultural pupils are in attendance from several surrounding towns. Pupils furnish their own conveyances or walk dis- tances covering a radius from the school of about five miles. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM log dairying. Dairying at this school is taught by home projects. The Mas- sachusetts Agricultural College, only a few miles away by electric cars, affords abundant dairy equipment, including specimens of the leading dairy breeds, for observation purposes ; and those pupils who plan to special- ize in dairying take the dairy short The farms of the vicinity, supple- mented by occasional trips to farms at a distance, including that of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, r.fford illustrative material for the ob- servational phases of the instruction. The group instruction of pupils in practice work is done on neighboring farms. The instruction centers here. Fig. 139. — ■ George and William Freeman had a partnership project in market gardening on father's large farm. Made hotbed, and made and glazed sash for it. Made cold frame to fit storm window-sash. Wove straw mat in device made for weaving such mats at school. First hotbed on the farm. Brimfield Agricultural Department. course at the college in the winter of the senior year as part of the re- quirement for graduation. This school has an equipment of horses, poultry, swine, and bees. It conducts operations with these ani- mals, and also in vegetable growing, ornamental planting, fruit growing, forestry, and production of general farm crops. * Particularly noteworthy are its farm-shop equipment and its arena for practical demonstrations and public exhibitions, p as everywhere, on the projects of the individual pupils, and these are conducted, almost without ex- ception, on the home farms of the pupils in this very good farming section. Dealers have cooperated by lending tools and machines, even including a power sprayer shipped from a distance at no cost to the department. The initial enrollment was 17. No addition to the academy building was required and no additional land. 2IO VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION It is located on the electric car line at the best transportation center in Hampshire County, has about loo acres of land, accommodates about 150 pupils, of whom about one-third are agricultural, and has cost, for plant and equipment, about Si 10,000. b. Bristol County Agricultural School, Segreganset, is best equipped with live-stock and farm tools for general farming operations. It has a herd of pure-bred and high-grade Ayrshire cattle. It has a plank frame The initial equipment outlay did not exceed $200. b. Hadley. — The department in Hadley is located in Hopkins Acad- emy, which institution serves the town as a high school. The academy has a few acres of land and hired a small, adjacent, Fig. 140. — .An empty wagon but a full pocket. George was the salesman, — "a born salesman," his instructor said. He brought home $368.59 for produce grown by William and himself. Off mare worked all summer and raised good draft colt at left. This was the team used in marketing. Brimfield .Agricultural Department. storage and horse barn and a modern dairy stable with silos and root cellar connected. Besides cows and horses, it has poultry, swine, and bees. It con- ducts operations with these various farm animals ; also, general farming operations, including vegetable grow- rundown orchard. This land has fur- nished opportunity for some group instruction in gardening, fruit grow- ing, poultry-house construction, hot- bed making, and ornamental planting. A dilapidated shed has been repaired and somewhat remodeled by the agri- cultural pupils for a storeroom for MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 21 1 ing, ornamental planting, fruit grow- ing, and forestry. This school is located within a few steps of an electric car line. The Segreganset station of the double- track steam railway line between Taunton and Fall River is at its door. spraj'ing apparatus and materials, mixing of commercial fertilizers, and the like. Here, again, the instruction of the pupils is centered on their home proj- ects. Conditions, of course, are fa- vorable, since the department is in Fig. 141. — "Yes," the boys said they had bank books. One said he had accounts in two banks; the other, in three. George is now married and at home with his father. William has found employment elsewhere. (See, also, Figures 139 and 140.) Brimtield Agricultural Department. It has about 100 acres of land, its new school building will accommo- date 100 pupils, and it has cost, for plant and equipment, $80,000. one of the most fertile parts of the Connecticut valley. Landowners near have cooperated. Notable in- stances have been the employment of pupils for pruning and spraying fruit trees. It is the department at Had- ley that has commonly pruned and sprayed a thousand or more trees in a season. Hopkins .\cadcmy is about halfway between Smith Agricultural School and the Massachusetts Agri- cultural College. Pupils participate in the notable meetings of both of these institutions, and find the illustrative equipment, including all kinds of live-stock, at the College even more convenient of access 212 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION c. Essex County Agricultural School, at first in makeshift quarters, now has a modern vocational school building. It is located on an electric car line and near a steam railway station at a than do the pupils of the Smith School. The department sometimes draws pupils from neighboring towns. In the main the department serves only the town of Hadley. No land in addition to that pos- sessed by the Academy, excepting the leased orchard the income from which will offset its rental, and no additional classroom space were required for the establishment of the agricultural department. It has had an enrollment of 20 pupils. The outlay for special agri- cultural equipment, including the remodeling and repairing of the shed, probably has not exceeded $300. c. Reading. — The department at Reading is located in the high school building. The high school has no land for productive purposes, and only a limited amount of lawn. No addition Fig. 142. — Bloom and Johanson partnership project in their home city of Lyun. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORIMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 213 point readily reached from all parts of the county. Its barns were once used for a model dairy farm with special facili- ties for steam sterilizing of utensils, cooling and bottling milk. Its dairy- ing is taught, however, chiefly through home projects of pupils and obser- vation of high-bred dairy cattle within easy reach of the school. to the high school was necessary in order to accommodate the agricul- tural department. The agricultural classroom is an excellent model as a combination of studj' room and lab- oratory ; and is supplemented by a good roorri for farm-shop work. Here, as elsewhere, instruction is centered upon the home projects of the pupils. Transportation facilities .^ ^i,'-:$>t*ts-. ^ - v.^ -■ >«tE--- *.-.*■ :^^ Fig. 143. — Visited by their classmates. Proud to show their project and to explain thtir methods. Making such statements as, "Here is some lettuce we put in .Aug. ist. Before that, we took off a crop of beans that netted us S30." Essex County School. Its land is well adapted to diversi- fied farming, and it is developing operations in vegetable growing, or- namental planting, fruit growing, and forestry. It also has sheep, swine, bees, and poultry. Just now it is conducting a noteworthy egg-laying contest in model buildings erected by the pupils, with rations and care which are believed to be most economical and efl&cient. are excellent, and the department serves a considerable farming and suburban area. Most of the practice work is done at the homes of the pupils. Trips of observation are made to well-equipped farms. Deal- ers cooperate by lending various agricultural appliances for observa- tion and study. This department owns ver)' little equipment used in productive farm work. It has an 214 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION It has about loo acres of land, before the war accommodated 200 pupils, of whom 170 were agricultural, and has cost, for plant and equipment $185,000. d. Norfolk County Agricultural School has not completed its buildings exceptional agricultural laboratory equipment and has been assigned one of the most attractive ground- floor classrooms in the building. The enrollment is 20, and the ini- tial outlay for equipment was about Si ODD. d. Concord, — The department at Concord occupies the ground floor of EARNINGS REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1917, Messrs. Bloom & Johanaon of the Esses County Ap;rlcultural School These students are partners in Vegetable Gardening, Area 73,100 sq. ft. Ages; Ernest Bloom, 18; Roy Johanson, 17. Time covered by project ; Mar. 1 to Nov. 1, Inventories : Beginning of Projeot -------------| 17.50 End of Project ------------- - 183.75 Paid Selves for labor , 3,024 hours at 15/ per hour, 453.60 of which $150.00 was cash Expenditures and Receipts : Total Expenses (Inventory, all labor, etc.) 1,027.28 Total Receipts ( " , prizes, etc.) 1,327.75 Net Profit ■ 300.47 Gross Profit, including amount paid selves for labor- ---------- 754.07. of which $150.00 was cash, as above stated. Chief source of gain: Tomatoes, Beets, Carrots. No other work than Farm Work. Fig. 144. — Earnings Report for the Year 191 7 of Bloom and Johanson. Such reports for all pupils are filed annually with the State Supervisor of Agricultural Education. and equipment. It has a main school building of modified arena design, and a special poultry building for laboratory and other class instruc- tion. It is located at the geographical center of the county, on an electric car line, on the main automobile road from Boston to Providence, and near a steam railway station. the Ripley Building, a two-story structure adjacent to the high school grounds. Besides a small hallway, there are a large study and laboratory room, a smaller study room, a smaller laboratory and an oflice. The high school has no land for tillage. The school grounds afford a limited amount of practice work in ornamental planting. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 215 I This school is notable for having undertaken to keep the central school small and to support it at dis- tant points in the count}' by one- teacher branches in high schools. The central school at Walpole and Concord is a fertile section suited to diversified farming. Market garden- ing and fruit growing, however, pre- dominate. This is one of the schools that has established noteworthy cooperative Fig. 145. — Two "hired men" at left. Bloom and Johanson in center, ilieir agricultural instructor at right. For the "story" of Bloom and Johanson, see pages 434 to 435. Essex County Agricultural School. the first branch at Weymouth were opened simultaneously. Its land, about forty acres, is well diversified, but especiallj' suited to market gardening, fruit growing, and poultry keeping. It has horses and small animals. The outlay for plant and equipment has been about $80,000. arrangements with owners of green- houses for practice work in growing market-garden crops under glass. Ob- servation trips are made to other types of farms. This department owns con- siderable practical farm equipment, such as pruning tools, hand sprayers, and poultry appliances. Some of the best home-project work in the state is being done by this department. No additional land or classroom space had to be provided by the high school in order to accommodate this department. This has been a two-teacher de- 2l6 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION partment, the enrollment having in- creased the second year from 20 to 36. The outlay for special equipment, including classroom furniture, prob- ably has not exceeded S1500. This amount includes the cost of a Ford touring car purchased by private subscriptions collected by the ad- visory committee of farmers in order that, as the secretary of that com- mittee said, more of the time for ad- ^ visor\' work, which had been found to be of utmost value, might be " spent on farms and less between farms." 6. Courses of Study In both schools and departments, one-half the school day is devoted to project study and project work. The ratio of work to study varies from time to time and from season to season, according to the require- ments of the projects which are in preparation or under way. Except occasional meetings, there is no formal classroom instruction from the time of closing the schools in June until their opening in September. All pupils, however, keep accurate bookkeeping accounts and make written reports on their projects at the end of the season. Stimulated by frequent supervision, they are keen eyed and observant, and, in some ways, the summer, when class work is suspended, is the most important teaching season of the year. Department pupils are encouraged to continue their regular high school studies through the entire school year, from September to June. Pupils in departments of high schools may devote one-half of their time to regular high school subjects. Pupils in the separate or county schools have English every year, and give attention to such subjects as history, civics, agricultural economics, drawing, hygiene, physical training, and music, on one hand ; and, on the other hand, to a con- tinuous line of development in scientific studies, such as biology of farm plants, biology of farm animals, agricultural botany, agricultural chemistry, and farm drawing. Because the staff of the separate or county school is selected with special reference to the purpose of this I ^/l^fuu^. ^^^(iccsL. ^^-e^ k±jf. ^ f.^^ 4-t CJt.U^n^ (Wc^ ^'—'t-^ ¥"■-«*■' ■-•> *ii tm i ^tfthtTt^^ I iff^ tti^ fMtta*, '■■■'■w-t- 1- -^ ^•""^-^ '''■ A?^li ^.-j-^ >g~„ ^^f^ " / ■ -l.^-'i^^-^-.-/' I',fj..,/i.T^- y^ — f.^^. u^uf .^^-^ ':^j^-\\r:;i,A„.M^F^.L, Xf- ST,. C,^ji,rr ~^r^ .^£$S3i»L2_ firt:>Ci^-^ Aitj-.. ?^ ^l~^~'-f- -f^rlJr. I'w^^'i^. S>,'J^\in,^. "^ \H\Tf^f\f''^"' <■"-; '.:*'( fcif- Xdi^-^tiZ, Ajt^jy /^(..yi^ g-*-^->"^<<^ -»^^ ^ — ^^mM^'-^ ^^t-Trii-^ 'iVjn. Yr^i'mimT. ^^^ fac^vXj 37 ■ ^^^:gy "■• / " . / i -rnrWr-i " ^ .^ ■Z^yA-r:.^ A<:^ /7i^y.—> ij-ir — : ll^^^-i-i ^ -r.fi—.. ~ .'^ ^ cv^^i-x v- ^fP-^.' T- .Z — .*^^.^C^.* '^twTv^-j7--;f-,j7 >- T «^^-^ :-A*^ Fig. 146. — Russell Balch had no land at home. His "substitute" fur a project was work for a successful market gardener and study of that work. Six pages of his carefully planned and kept summer notebook are above shown. He intends to be a market gar- dener and was eager for all information and experience he could get. "Mr. Davenport," who called June 6, was one of his instructors. Essex County .\gricultural School. 217 2l8 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION type of school, which is to prepare boys for farming, all subjects, par- ticularly the science subjects just mentioned, are taught so as to show their relationship to the productive work the boys are carrying on and their bearing upon the careers the boys intend to follow. Stated in percentage, the separate or county school reserves about 50 per cent of the time of the boys for project study and project work, about 30 per cent for subjects whose relationships to agriculture are strongly Fig. 147. — Be the cash crop projects what they may, there is constant exploration of books and bulletins, for sound and usable information directly bearing upon the projects in hand. Essex County Agricultural School. emphasized and clearly brought out, and about 20 per cent for non- agricultural subjects, such as good reading, writing, and speaking, duties of citizenship, and wholesome recreation. Pains are taken in the separate and county schools to keep the training of the agricultural pupils in desirable educational balance. This is shown by the diagram on page 264. With due encouragement from their agricultural instructors to devote half the school day to well-chosen high school studies, a desirable balance, as shown by the diagram on page 265, is readily achieved in the education of pupils enrolled in agricultural departments of high schools. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 219 The courses in schools and departments generally cover four years, each year a unit complete in itself. Various adaptations to the needs of all-day pupils who wish to specialize instead of taking all of the major projects, also to the needs of " part-time '' pupils in day classes and to those of adults in " evening classes," are listed below. Assignment of projects to odd and even years, in Fig. 148. ^ Also, there is continuous "related study" in laboratory exercises. Test for comparative rapidity with which water percolates through different types of soil. Water is of paramount importance in market gardening. Concord .Agricultural Department. the case of the high school department, is for the purpose of enabling the one-teacher department to divide its agricultural pupils in the four years' course into two groups of about ten each. This plan en- ables the teacher to devote a full half of the school day to each group, and to cover the entire course without himself teaching projects in more than two fields in any one year. (i) County school A. Agricultural. — The four years of agricultural training of the school (2) High school department A. Agricultural. — For a depart- ment, the four years of agricultural 2 20 VOCATION.\L AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION have been shown in diagrammatic form in Figs. 60, 99, 127, and 183. In- struction in the work of each year is, as a rule, given every year. The plan of alternation followed in the department with one agricultural teacher may be adopted temporarily by a school, if its enrollment is small, as may happen when a school is first opened. It will be noted that the instruc- tion from the first year to the fourth is graded up on the scale of the eco- nomic risks involved in the projects. Projects which involve the smallest risks are taught in the first year; those which involve the heaviest, in the last year; and those involving intermediate risks are assigned to the second and third years. With a staff of specialists it is possi- ble to adapt courses to the needs of pupils who desire to specialize. Gen- erally pupils cover most of the four years' course ; but a plan of major and minor projects is permissible, by which the greater part of the time of the pupil may be devoted in any given year to the projects which will be most helpful to him in the branch of farm- ing chosen for his career. For ex- ample, dairying may be omitted al- together in the last two 3'ears, market gardening may be the major project occupying three-fifths of the time set apart for project instruction, and fruit growing may occupy' the remainder of the project time. Or market gar- dening may be omitted, dairying may occupy three-fifths of the time set apart for the study of projects, and the remainder of the project time may be devoted to fruit growing, continu- training outlined for a school require adaptation such as that suggested in Figs. 47 and 48 above. Each pupil may devote one-half his school time to agriculture. Pupils in a four years' course in a department can be taught by one agricultural instructor only by a plan which enables them to be taught in two separate groups. Accordingly, courses are offered in alternate years so that at no time is an instructor carrying more than the work of two different years. In Figs. 47 and 48 the diagrams show the assignment of courses by odd and even years, and presuppose the grouping of the younger pupils of the first and second years in one class, and the older pupils of the third and fourth years in another class. Less latitude in offering instruc- tion in major and minor projects is found in a department than is prac- ticable for a school. A certain amount of specialization is, neverthe- less, possible where the farming of a locality is itself highly specialized, as, for example, bj- omitting dairying in favor of market gardening, or vice versa. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 221 222 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION ance of a poultry project begun in a previous year, continuance of a pre- viously studied swine-raising project, or continuance of a bee project. The foregoing do not exhaust, but merely illustrate, the variations by which a four years' course may be adapted to the career needs of individual pupils. Following, for the sake of clearness, will be found a more detailed statement, by years, of the distinctively agricultural instruction : (A) For first-year pupils. All years. — Eighty per cent of the pupil's time. Agricultural science and projects applied to a given community. a. Plant projects (elementary). (a) Kitchen-gardening projects (major). — Vegetable and small fruit growing. (A) For first and second year pupils. In even years. — Fifty per cent of the pupil's time. Agricultural science and projects applied to a given community. a. Plant projects (elementary) (School years ending 1916, 191S, etc.). (a) Kitchen-gardening projects (major). — Vegetable and small fruit growing. Fig. 150. — Director ]•". .A. Smith oi Essex County Agricultural School dcN-eloped these plantations. Low-down, handy orchard wagon. Note crossed reaches. Rear axle on circle, like front, swings away from tree when short turn is made. Picking basket lined with burlap. Turner Hill Farm. . MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 223 (b) Ornamental-planting projects (minor). — Caring for shrubbery, flowering plants, and lawns. Home projects are the central con- cern of the school as of the depart- ment, in connection with the two kinds of projects above mentioned. Pupils with no home land, or a small amount, may be provided land for individual projects at the school. Projects of the school itself illus- trate good methods for both adult (b) Ornamental-planting projects (minor). — Caring for shrubbery, flowering plants, and lawns. Properly conducted, the projects are forced into commercial conditions. Realities are dealt with. Home proj- ects predominate. No boys and no instructors are used on school projects and no capital is tied up in them. Most communities have good ex- amples, for purposes of observation, of plant projects of the various kinds Fig. 151. — Director Smith's hoyi haxc dc\ eloped a nursery at the Essex County .Agricul- tural School, but have access also to this on Turner Hill Farm. Two years old ready for planting. Note cover crop, barley and oats, sown three bushels per acre on Aug. 25th. 1 2,000 pounds to acre of green vegetable matter grown in a season. Berry planta- tions similarly cover-cropped. farmers and [)upils. The distance from the classroom to the illustrative project may be shorter in a school than in a department. School proj- ects, moreover, afford convenient opportunities for group instruction dealt with in the projects of the pupils. Most communities furnish some op- portunity for group instruction in preparation for projects of the two kinds above mentioned. .\ny home with land about it will be the better 224 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION of pupils in both observation and practice work. Their nearness to the classroom is a strong advantage in time-saving. It is confessedly diffi- cult to give school projects the push and reality of the enterprise of the farmer who is depending upon his production for his living. Whilg the school, therefore, may gain in con- venience of access to projects for ob- servation and practice work, it may for a good garden and a good lawn. Where the home land is not sufficient for the full employment of a pupil on home projects, he finds other land near, or finds employment on ap- proved farms in his vicinity. The project and other farm earnings of pupils in departments compare favor- ably with those of pupils in schools. More time may sometimes be re- quired to go from a department to an Fig. 152. — Other cover crops valued by Director Smith are cow-horn turnips and dwarf Essex rape. One of young orchards on Turner Hill Farm. Note good " air drainage." lose something of the vitalizing con- tact with the farmer's enterprise which the department affords its pupils. Where school projects are made to approximate most nearly the commercial t\'pe, they afford facilities for drilling pupils unused to farm work in oft-repeated operations, until the requisite skill and speed have been attained. illustrative project, or to a farm for group instruction, than is required to pass from schoolroom to field at a school. This is largely offset, how- ever, by the nearness of the depart- ment to the homes of the pupils. The greater amount of time occasionally required in getting from a depart- ment to a farm may be more than offset by the lesser time required for MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 225 Trial projects may be carried out by a school, thus affording pupils a convenient opportunity to work with plants or animals not commonly produced in the vicinity, and to travel day by day on the road to and from school. There have been no- table instances of practice work, on farms where pupils have been in- spired by their surroundings, where Fig. 153. — Dwarf Wagener six years old. Fruit thinned, but shows need of further thin- ning. For size of fruit, compare Director Smith's watch in tree. For low heading, compare height of head as measured by hat. Dwarf trees used as "fillers," until per- manent trees require the ground . observe their adaptability to local conditions. A school wdth illustrative and trial projects in progress need not ask anybody's permission, but may enter any part of its own premises with its classes at will. .\11 of the foregoing give a school advantage over a department in econ- Q their skill has been enhanced and their operative speed much increased. The independent project of the pupil, with frequent supervision by the instructor, generally more than offsets any limitation of opportunity for group instruction due to the lack of land at a high school. 226 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTUR.\L EDUCATION omizing time and travel of both in- structors and pupils during school hours. • The school grounds maj' be more or less extensive. They need to be kept in order. A school with a large en- rollment may employ a specialist in Home projects rarelj- occupy more than half the working time of the pupils. Generally, supplementary farm practice for which they are paid cash or allowed credit in lieu of cash, at the rates prevailing in their local- ities for boys of their ages, varying Fig. 154. — Ontario, eight years uld. bearing 42 bushels. Note Director Smith's low-headed standard apple-trees. Woman picker straightened up one day and told him she ob- jected to stooping over to pick apples. landscape gardening. In such a case, the school premises offer excellent opportunity for specialization to the pupil who has chosen landscape gar- dening for his career. Boys who require land at a school for projects are the exception. In the few such cases that occur, the individ- ual projects of the pupils are limited sizes, degrees of skill and dependabil- ity, is found on their home farms or on farms near by. The instructors lead their pupils from time to time in their work, thus teaching them the handiest ways of doing things, and setting them a proper pace. They do not merely inspect and mark. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 227 so as not to require more than half of the working time of the pupil during the producing season. Their work on their projects is supplemented by work for pay on the illustrative or trial projects of the school. The rate of pay is determined by the skill of the pupil, the rate being advanced as his skill improves. The instructors participate in the work of the school projects in connec- tion with which their pupils are taught. They show the boys how to do things in the best way and set the pace. They are leaders, not merely overseers. fc) Subprojects in farm-shop work. — Making and repairing, for home and school use, hotbeds, cold- frames, etc. The paraphernalia of the school farm offers an exceptional range, in the form of repairs and additions to buildings and equipment, for group instruction in farm-shop work. A school with a large enrollment may employ a special farm-shop in- structor. The school should have a marked advantage over the depart- ment in the execution of projects in farm-shop work on easily portable farm ecjuipment. b. Related study. — The tend- ency of the project instructors in a school is to deal with the most prac- tical aspects of the training of their '^c) Subprojects in farm-shop work. — Making and repairing, for home and school use, hotbeds, cold- fra'mes, etc. In some departments most of the projects in farm-shop work are carried out in the winter during the special agricultural instructor's vacation, and are taught by the manual training teacher, or by a foreman carpenter who has a slack season in winter. In such cases the projects are planned by the pupils and approved in ad- vance by the agricultural instructor. In other cases the agricultural in- structors themselves teach their boys all necessary projects in farm-shop work. The success of this part of the training of the pupils depends, in no small degree, upon the mechanical skill and ingenuity of the agricultural instructor. b. Related study. — Planning the above projects involves a study of the biology of plants, including consid- erable agricultural botany ; soils and 228 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTUR.\L EDUCATION pupils, in the planning of projects, in the group instruction necessary for giving the pupils skill and speed in the various manipulative processes, and in the supervision of their pupils in the carrying out of the projects. their amendments, and plant foods; injurious insects and their control; implements and their uses. The project instructors deal with the various sciences only so far as they have something which may be Fig. 155. — Point-blank ihul at young Rhodi; Isldml GruL-ning. Xote spray on foliage and faultless fruit. Director Smith believes that selected stock pays in trees no less than in live-stock. He buds imported seedlings with buds from young bearing trees of the finest type. To the extent that they go beyond such instruction, their teaching gen- erally has to do with a historical and descriptive background by which the pupil may see his practical opera- tions in relation to the practical opera- tions of others. " Agricultural sur- vey " is the name given this back- made to contribute to the under- standing or efficiency of the projects. In a department it is generally necessary for the agricultural in- structor himself to search out and teach most of the correlations of the various sciences with agriculture re- quired for an understanding by his MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 229 ground instruction in chapter HI, and its relation to the greater part of the project instructor's teaching is shown on pages 73, 74, and 75, in Figs. 57, 58, and 59. The diagrams referred to are equally applicable to depart- ment and county school schedules. Planning the above projects, how- ever, involves a study of the biology of plants, including considerable agri- cultural botany ; soils and their pupils of their projects. He gives no attention to the teaching of any science as such. All of his teaching of botany, chemistry, physics, biol- ogy, mathematics, and accounting is confined to their applications to the projects of his pupils and the requisite skill and speed of his pupils in work- ing out those applications. That is to say, the project instruc- tor tends to divide his teaching into Fig. 156. — Dwarf Mcintosh, seven years old. Third time fruiting. Mcintosh widely planted in New England. Note size of fruit compared with watch in center. Director Smith used buds from this in nursery propagation at Turner Hill Farm. amendments, and plant foods and feeding; injurious insects and their control; implements and their uses. As a rule, the project instructors two more or less unequal parts. Generally, the larger part is devoted to the training of his pupils in the more practical aspects of their proj- 230 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION control one-half of the time of the pupils. Other teachers are in fre- quent conference with the project teachers, with a view to devising ways and means by which the closest corre- lation may be brought about between their instruction and the practical activities of the pupils. The full 30 per cent of the time allotted to the teachers of science and of other related subjects — such as farm arithmetic ects, and in giving them a historical background for understanding them. The other is devoted to excursions by his pupils into selected sciences and other fields of knowledge for relatable facts and principles. . Team work between the special agricultural instructor and the teacher or teachers of science and other sub- jects in the high school cannot be counted upon. There have been Fig. 157. — First prize box of Mcintosh, grown and exhibited at Massachusetts Fruit Show by Mr. F. A. Smith, then in charge of Turner Hill Farm, now Director of Essex County Agricultural School. Men who themselves have done and can do what they are expected to teach,, are demanded in vocational agricultural education in Massachusetts. and accounts, farm drawing and shop work, farm journal reading, biology of plants, botany and entomology — is agricultural. Laboratory space and apparatus are chosen or arranged primarily be- cause of their adaptability to teaching the correlations of science and other subjects with agriculture.. The project instructors, because of this division of labor, are freer in a encouraging instances of it ; and there is to-day a tendency in all teach- ing toward correlating instruction with the environment of the pupil, which in the case of a rural high school with an agricultural department ought to make team work easy. Few distinctively agricultural pieces of apparatus are to be found in the science laboratories of high schools. A fair statement, therefore, of the pre- MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 231 school than in a department to re- strict their teaching to the economic and skill-producing features of the projects. vailing conditions hardly warrants describing the training of agricultural pupils in high schools as being more than 50 per cent agricultural. All projects are carefully cost-accounted Written records are kept of all (B) For second-year pupils. All years. — Eighty per cent of the pupil's time. Agricultural science and projects applied to a given community. (B) For second and first year pupils, in odd years. — Fifty per cent of the pupil's time. Agricultural science and projects applied to a given community. Fig. 15S. — Snow of MarbkliLad, iS, had no fruil trees at home. Hired this orchard for third-and fourth-year project. Pruned, sprayed, and cultivated. Owner pleased. Boy satisfied. Essex County Agricultural School. a. Animal projects (elementary). (a) Small animal projects. — Poul- try, sheep, swine, bees, — types, breeding, management, rations, etc. a. Animal projects (elementary) (School years ending 1915, 1917, etc.). (a) Small animal projects. — Poul- try, sheep, swine, bees, — types, Generally, opportunity is given for breeding, management, rations, etc. 232 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION carrying major and minor projects, - — for example, a major in poultry and a minor in swine or bee keeping. Illus- trative school projects are convenient for practice work in group instruction. They are subject to the limitations of school projects, as compared with the economic projects on the better farms. There may be a tendency to depend Generally, opportunity is given for carrying major and minor projects, — for example, a major in poultry and a minor in swine or bee keeping. All instruction is subject to the realities of home and commercial conditions. The community generally furnishes a large range of illustrative projects 1 iG. i5y. — AluUQls >huwing guud and bud culs in jj.uniag. Close, smooth cuts at extreniL' right have healed. Other cuts have not healed. Note decay. Such mounts are per- manently useful for classroom instruction. Concord Agricultural Department. upon them to the exclusion of the study of methods and practice work under strictly economic conditions. School projects make the instructors independent of neighboring farmers. The danger is that they may become too independent, — that the problems studied by the pupils will be problems of the school, rather than economic problems of the profitable farm. (b) Subprojects in farm-shop work are recjuired for repairing, alter- ing, or constructing the necessary buildings and equipment for the above small animal projects. The study includes plans, kinds and cost of materials, etc. (c) Subprojects are also required in home-grown crops for the small animals. — Some of these crops may be raised for sale as an offset to feeds and some opportunity for group instruction. (b) Subprojects in farm-shop work are required for repairing, alter- ing, or constructing the necessary buildings and equipment. The study includes plans, kinds and cost of ma- terials, etc. (c) Subprojects are also required in home-grown crops for the small animals. — Some of these crops may be raised for sale as an ofifset to feeds and supplies bought. Kitchen-gar- MASSACHUSETTS NQ-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 233 and supplies bought. Kitchen-gar- dening projects previously studied may be continued in lieu of special cash crops. Other crops may be grown for feeding. (d) Substitutes for home projects. — The pupils without facilities at home may be provided opportunity for individual projects at the school, and may devote part time to work for dening projects previously studied may be continued in lieu of special cash crops. Other crops may be grown for feeding. (d) Substitutes for home projects with small animals may be offered by boys who have no opportunity for such projects at home, and may consist of employment on approved farms where the small animals studied are kept. Fig. 160. — Varieties of apples identified, and compared for quality. Cut lengthwise and across through the core. Drawings of cross-sections made. Boy standing, son of one of largest market gardeners in Eastern Massachusetts. Has both garden and fruit projects at home. Only most desirable varieties should be grown. Concord Agricul- tural Department. pay on illustrative and trial projects with small animals, and subprojects connected therewith, conducted by the school itself. As in the case of plant projects, small animal projects seldom occupy the entire working time of the pupil. Most of the pupils find supplementary farm work at home, on farms nearby, or at the school. The neighborhood generally af- fords excellent illustrative projects for purposes of observation and some opportunity for group instruction. It is seldom that a pupil has no con- veniences at home for at least projects of the first and second years. Small animal projects seldom oc- cupy the entire working time of the pupil. Most of the pupils find supple- mentary work at home or on farms near. 234 VOCATIOI^^AL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION All projects are carefully cost-accounted Written records are kept of all b. Related study. — The tendency to division of labor between other teachers and project instructors, noted in connection with the teaching of plant-project pupils, is equally pronounced in connection with the b. Related study. — Planning any of the above projects involves a study of the biology of animals, including problems of hygiene, sanitation, breeds and breeding, feeds and feed- ing, buildings and equipment, — kinds, Fig. i6i. — Fruit propagaliuii. Root stocks grafted with Baldwin and Mcintosh scions. Set in nursery rows. Transplanted, year to year. "Related Study' botany unit on "cambium layer." Smith School, Northampton. teaching of pupils with small animal projects. Planning any of the above projects involves a study of the biology of ani- mals, including problems of hygiene, sanitation, breeds and breeding, feeds and feeding, buildings and equipment, — kinds, cost, plans, etc. The sub- projects in cropping involve a study of cost, plans, etc. The subprojects in cropping involve a study of kinds, quantities, seeds, soils, place in farm- crop rotation, fertilizing, tillage, har- vesting, and storage. As in the case of gardening and ornamental planting, the project instructors deal with the various sciences related to the keeping of MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 235 kinds, quantities, seeds, soils, place in farm-crop rotation, fertilizing, til- lage, harvesting, and storage. There are important contributions to be had from the sciences of chemis- try and physics to the understanding small animals only so far as they have something which may be made to contribute to the understanding of the projects or their efficient execution. Moreover, just as in the teaching of plant-project pupils in even years, Fig. 162. — Propagation by lop-woiking. Jack Kt-r.-hii.^ ildi/ a.1.1 Ralph Hibbard graft- ing a young apple tree of unknown variety with scions of variety known to be good. Jack first at public prize speaking, tirst prize winner in stock judging, and crack base- ball pitcher of school nine. Such Polish boys an honor to old Connecticut Valley. Hadley Agricultural Department. of small animal projects. This ap- plies particularly to the working out of the problems of feeding and of arti- ficial incubating and brooding. Some- times a veterinarian is employed for special instruction in prevention or treatment of small animal diseases. In the absence of such a specialist, the project instructor himself undertakes to train his boys in such elements of veterinary science as will prepare so in odd years the agricultural in- structor will generally find it neces- sary to search out for himself and to teach most of the correlations of biology, chemistry, physics, and veterinary science required by his pupils for the proper understanding and successful execution of their small animal projects and their sub- projects in crop growing. He will, also, generally find it necessary to 236 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION them for the prevention of disease or its prompt detection, quarantine, or cure. Appropriate farm journals, bulletins, and books are read or studied. As in the first year, the project instructor ought to be more free in a teach the drawing, estimating of costs, etc., required by the subproj- ects in farm-shop work. Of course, here, as elsewhere, the agricultural instructor will do his utmost to make the teachers of chem- istry, physics, biology, English, and Fig. 163. — "School project." Renovation of land. Buckwheat kills weeds and furnishes mass to plow under for humus. Taught as particularly valuable in preparing rough land for orcharding. Essex County .Agricultural School. school than in a department to restrict his teaching to the economic and skill- producing features of the projects of his pupils. mathematics in the high school ac- quainted with the problems involved in the projects of his pupils, and to assist them in efforts to correlate their instruction with the practical activities of the agricultural pupils. Success of such efforts in connection with small animal projects will prob- ably continue to be as variable as success in efforts to bring about corre- lation between teaching of other high school subjects and plant projects. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 237 (C) For third-year pupils. All years. — Eighty per cent of the pupil's time. It is not safe to assume at present that much over 50 per cent of the teaching of the agricultural pupils in high school departments can be re- garded as distinctively agricultural. (C) For third and fourth year pupils. In even years. — Fifty per cent of the pupil's time. mii^i' w : ^* ^ 'ir A*.'" ■^'' -'4.'"'*^' Fig. 164. — Clarence x\lmquist at school. "Related Study" of school project. Cash crop has been followed by cover crop of rape and crimson clover, "to keep land busy." Will be plowed under in spring for "green manure." Boy has several projects at home. Petersham Agricultural Department. Agricultural science and ()roj'ects applied to a given community. a. Plant projects (advanced). -Agricultural science and projects applied to a given community. a. Animal projects (advanced) (School years ending 1916, 1918, etc.) 238 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (a) Fruit-growing projects. — Or- charding and small fruit growing not before dealt with, soils, fertilizers, cover crops, sprays, propagating, cul- tivating, picking, grading, packing, storing, marketing, etc. (b) Market-gardening projects. — Soils, seeds, fertilizers, tillage, har- vesting, storing, marketing, etc. The major projects ma-y be fruit growing, and the minor, market gar- dening, or vice versa. For the village and city boy, the illustrative and trial projects of a school are a marked advantage in connection with such long-time proj- ects as orcharding and such big-scale projects as market gardening. What has been said previously about convenience of access and inde- pendent control by the school of proj- ects on the school premises for obser- vation and practice work applies equally here. Many boys may be able to make adequate provision at home for first and second year proj- ects. A lesser number will be able to make provision at home for projects of the third and fourth years. Herein is an important justification of the possession of a farm and its operation by a school. The combination of market gar- dening, or the growing of cash crops, with fruit growing is desirable. Fruit growing generally is a long-time de- velopment project. This is true if a boy begins with young trees. It is true, also, if a boy begins with old trees that seriously need rcnoxalion. Of course, marki-l gardeners hold that land not previously used for market gardening requires about live years (a) Larger animal projects. — In- cluding dairying and general farm management. Generally, the major project is dairying. Minor projects, consist- ing of the continuance of projects begun in previous years, may be carried. Dairying, however, may be omitted in communities where there is little dairying in favor of speciali- zation in fruit-growing and market- gardening projects, such as those de- scribed for third-year pupils in county schools and those hereafter described for third and fourth year department pupils in odd years. (b) Subprojects, cropping, and farm-shop work. — When dairying is chosen, subprojects in dairying are carried, such as the growing of crops for the larger animals, including such heavy crops as silage corn, clover, and alfalfa for the cattle, and oats for the horses. Other subprojects are car- ried in farm-shop work and construc- tion, dealing with buildings and appli- ances. There are, also, subprojects in the breeding, care, and management of working animals, including horses. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 239 to put it in prime condition for the most profitable vegetable growing. Nevertheless, a quick turnover with a fair profit the first year may gener- ally be expected. Thus from his cash crop or crops the boy derives income during the season or seasons in which he is launching his fruit-growing en- terprise. (c) Subprojects in farm-shop work and other construction are required in connection with keeping tillage tools in order ; making and repairing hotbeds, cold-frames, and flats, also containers for harvesting, storing, and marketing fruit or vegetable products ; and overhauling power sprayers. (d) Substitutes for home projects in fruit growing or market gardening are sometimes accepted, as when a boy finds employment on a fruit or market-garden farm with the privilege of attending the school part time and putting into practice at the place of his employment the leading methods taught by the school. Boys who offer substitutes are visited regularly by their agricultural instructors. Here, as in other years, the instruc- tors lead and set the pace for their pupils from time to time in teaching them the speed and skill requisite for their competent training. As in other years, projects or sub- stitutes for projects rarely occupy all of the working time of the pupils. As the pupils mature and their parents and others gain confidence in their instructors, the scale of their projects tends to increase and to ocLU|>y a larger and larger part of their lime. They generally, however, find time (c) Substitutes for home projects are accepted, such as employment on a dairy farm with the privilege of attending dairy classes, and with responsibility for cost-accounting and record-keeping in connection with one or more cows and one or more crops. Pupils offering substitutes for proj- ects are visited regularly by their instructors, and no pains are spared to give their practical work the ut- most educational value. Here, as in other years, the in- structors lead and set the pace for their pupils from time to time in teaching them the speed and skill requisite for their competent train- ing. Dairy farmers have been found verj' willing to employ boys part time and have them supervised, in consideration of the valuable records 240 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION for other farm work, for which they are paid, or for which they receive credit in lieu of cash, at home or on farms near by. of production thus put in their hands at the end of a year. Dairy projects and substitutes for projects rarely occupy the entire Fig. 165. — -Orchard pruned and sprayed by pupils. Field next to orchard cover cropped with turnips and crimson clover. Boys and instructor looking for nodules on clover roots. Ten acres of tillable land here. But land at school is not required for state aid in Massachusetts. Petersham Agricultural Department. Where a pupil has his project at a school he generally finds employ- ment on the illustrative and trial proj- ects in fruit growing and market gardening at the school itself, for which he is paid wages in proportion to his ability. Home projects and other home farm work are preferred and predomi- nate. working time of the pupils. Most of the pupils do additional farm work for pay, or for credit in lieu of cash, at home or on farms near by. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 241 All projects are carefully cost-accounted Written records are kept of all b. Related study. — Planning the foregoing projects and subprojects in- volves a study of agricultural chemis- try, with special reference to fertilizers and spraj's ; of agricultural physics, with special reference to pumps, air b. Related study. — Planning the above projects and subprojects in- volves a study of the biology of ani- mals, including breeds and breeding, feeds and feeding ; of prevention and cure of animal diseases ; of hygiene Fig. iOO. — "Coming through the rye and vetch." Cover crop for soil improvement. Bristol County Agricultural School. compressors, caring for hose, and keeping the various tools and imple- ments in order ; of economic entomol- ogy; of farm journals; and of mar- kets and accounting. The further remarks regarding re- lated study above, in discussing first and second year projects, apply here. R and sanitation, especially in connec- tion with the planning of buildings and their equipment; of soils and seeds; green manuring, liming, uses of barnyard manures and commer- cial fertilizers; of crop rotations; of balancing of rations ; of tillage and tillage tools; of harvesting and har- 242 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (D) For fourth-year pupils. All years. — Eighty per cent of the pupil's time. Agricultural science and projects applied to a given community. a. Animal projects (advanced). (a) Larger animal projects. — In- cluding dairying and general farm management. Generally the major project of the fourth year is dairying. Pupils who do not intend to follow dairying may, however, omit dairying in favor of specialization on one or more other phases of productive agri- culture. For example, in the cases of those who desire to specialize in fruit growing or market gardening, projects begun in the third year may be con- tinued through the fourth, and their study correspondingly amplified. Pupils who desire to specialize in dairying may begin dairy record- keeping as an incidental activity, even in the first year, and continue it throughout the four years' course, with more or less attention from the special instructor in dairying. As a rule, a well-balanced course, including projects of the third year, is desirable ; vesting devices; of silos and other storage for roughage ; and of imple- ments and machines, their cost, use, and upkeep. The project instructors deal with the various sciences only so far as they have something which may be made to contribute to the understanding and ef3&ciency of the projects. The further remarks regarding re- lated study above, in discussing first and second year projects, apply here. (D) For fourth and third year pu- pils. In odd years. — Fifty per cent of tlie pupil's time. Agricultural science and projects applied to a given community. a. Plant projects (advanced). (School years ending 1915, 1917, etc.) (a) Fruit-growing projects. — Or- charding and small fruit growing not before dealt with, soils, fertilizers, cover crops, sprays, propagating, cul- tivating, picking, packing, storing, marketing, etc. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM "243 and the serious attack upon the prob- lems of dairy farming as such is re- served for the fourth year. Where there is no specialization in fruit growing or market gardening, minor projects in one or both of these fields may be carried during the fourth year, in addition to major projects in dairying. (b) Subprojects, cropping, and farm-shop work. — When dairying is chosen, subprojects in dairying are carried, such as the growing of crops for the larger animals, including such heavy crops as silage corn, clover, and alfalfa for the cattle, and oats for the (b) Market-gardening projects. — Soils, seeds, fertilizers, tillage, har- vesting, storing, marketing, etc. The major projects may be fruit growing, and the minor, market gardening or vice versa. In a section largelv devoted to Fig. 167. — Another type of soil improver, in from the range to produce her litter. After dinner naps. Day-old pig as well as day-old chick receives attention. Bristol County Agricultural School. 244 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM • 245 horses. Other subprojects are carried in farm-shop work and construction, dealing with buildings and appliances. There are, also, subprojects in the breeding, care, and management of working animals, including horses. (c) Substitutes for home projects may be accepted, such as employ- ment on a dairy farm with the privi- lege of attending dairy classes, and dairying, market gardening may be omitted in favor of enabling pupils to specialize during the third and fourth years in dairying. But even where the major projects are dairy- ing, it is in the interest of well-bal- anced farming that the pupils carry at least minor projects during the third and fourth years in fruit grow- ing, including orcharding. (c) Subprojects in farm-shop work and other construction are, of course, required here as elsewhere. Tools must be kept in good working order >_^«.'^ ■>-<^c .V Fig. 169. — Setting out small peach orchard. "Related Study" group exercise another year. Not all related study is study of books and bulletins or exercises in laboratories. This is an orcharding " practicum." Smith School, Northampton. with responsibility for cost-account- ing and record-keeping in connection with one or more cows and one or more crops. Efficiency is held to hinge on avoid- ance of congested numbers. Even if a farm on which a pupil finds a sub- stitute for a home project does not and their use must be mastered. Hotbeds, cold-frames, and flats must be made. Containers for harvesting, storing, and marketing fruit and vege- table products must be provided and kept in repair. Most of the instruc- tors have automobiles, and are pre- pared to teach at least the simpler 246 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION follow the best methods nor attain the highest standards, it will be sur- charged with the realities of an enter- prise struggling forward on its own feet. Supplemented by observation of, and occasional participation in, work of the best farms visited, includ- ing that of the county school, even such a farm will give a boy first-hand knowledge of, and fundamental drill day-to-day repairs and adjustments required by power sprayers and other motor-driven apparatus. (d) Substitutes for home projects. — Most departments are in rural high schools, or in high schools of cities with farming in their suburbs. The departments, therefore, are not perplexed so much as a county school may be by the problem of finding land Fig. 170. — Home project in orcharding. 345 apple trees set out in 1913 by Gordon Nightingale. Intercropped with corn and pumpkins. Water pumptd away from tree roots by turnips sowed along the rows of trees at right time to harden new growth of trees for winter. Baldwins for permanent trees; Mcintosh, for semi-permanent; Wealthy, for fillers. Petersham Agricultural Department. in, the season to season operations of the yearly farm routine. The practical work on substitutes is followed up by the agricultural in- structor as closely as is that of pupils who have projects on their home farms. Here, as in other years, the instruc- tors lead and set the pace for their pupils from time to time in teaching and equipment for home projects. Nevertheless, in the last two years it is harder than in the first two to pro- vide for home projects adequately. In the country, in a village, or in a suburb, as a rule, the smaller boys find little difficulty in providing for the smaller home projects of their first two years. But in not a few cases, when the third or fourth year is MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 247 them the speed and skill requisite for their competent training. Dairying projects and substitutes for projects rarely occupy the entire working time of the pupil. Most of reached, the boys, now bigger, who are genuinely minded to become farmers, live at homes which are with- out land and equipment for the long- time projects of dairying or fruit Fig. 171. — One of trees, not the largest, second summer, 1914, in Gordon's orchard project. Note well-balanced, low head and symmetrical shape. Intercropped as be- fore. Cover-cropped, of course. Rye sowed at last cultivation. Plowed under in following spring. Gordon at right. His instructor at left. Petersham Agricultural Department. the pupils do additional farm work for pa J', or for credit in lieu of cash, either at home, at the school, or on farms near by. The school has the first claim upon the pupil during his course, and the right to determine what he shall do, also how and when he shall do it, in projects agreed upon. It does not monopolize his time, nor does it un- dertake to run the entire home farm or other farm on which the pupil may growing and the big-scale projects of market gardening or cash crop grow- ing. That is to say, substitutes for home projects may be required in the last two j'ears more often than in the first two. Consequently, it has been sug- gested that departments confine their teaching to first and second year proj- ects, and promote their older boys to one or another of the county 248 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 249 be employed. Indeed the sharper the contrast between the pupil's project and less capable farming in its vicin- ity, the clearer the lesson and the more potent the school in the com- munity. Repeatedly methods fol- lowed by boj's on a small scale have schools. Advantage could thus be taken of the illustrative and trial projects at the school for group in- struction in observation and practice work, and some opportunity might be had there for individual projects. This policy would have much in its Fig. 173. — " Pounds of Prevention." Tent caterpillar nest collecting contest. Contests in Hadley and Harwich most notable. Million "tents" kept from multiplying. School Committee and others pay for nests brought to school, or award prizes. Hadley Agri- cultural Department. the ne.xt year been followed by their fathers and others on a big scale. The " gang-labor " type of work is avoided in the fourth year, as in all others, by seeing to it that most of the work of pupils shall exemplify their teaching, and by requiring the ut- most individual initiative and re- sponsibility. favor in a county school which under- took to restrict its enrollment at the central school to a moderate number, consisting mainly of pupils sixteen years of age or older, and to do its work of the first two years mainly through the one-teacher branches elsewhere referred to. The county school itself, however, must be pro- tected against congestion. The prob- lem of providing adequate project and other productive employment for a big number at a school might be insurmountable, whereas providing acceptable substitutes now and then 2;o VOCATIONAL AGRICULTUR.\L EDUCATION for a boy in a department is compara- tively easy. Efficiency is held to hinge on avoid- ance of congested numbers. Even if a farm on which a pupil finds a sub- stitute for a home project does not follow the best methods nor attain the highest standards, it will be sur- charged with the realities of an enter- prise struggling forward on its own feet. Supplemented by observation of, and occasional participation in, work of the best farms visited, in- cluding that of the nearest county school, even such a farm will give a boy first-hand knowledge of, and fundamental drill in, the season to season operations of the yearly farm routine. Acceptable substitutes, when re- quired, are commonly found in the vicinity of a department. The practical work on substitutes is followed up by the agricultural in- structors as closely as is that of pupils who have projects on their home farms. The combination of long-time fruit projects with the annual turn- over found in market garden or other cash crops is as desirable here as in a school, and for the reasons stated in discussing third-year school projects. Here, as in other years, the in- structors lead and set the pace for their pupils from time to time in teaching them the speed and skill requisite for their competent training. As in other years, projects or sub- stitutes for projects rarely occupy all of the working time of the pupils. Projects tend to become larger as the ,-.:P-\'^- i^ Fig. 174. — Spraying peach trees to pre\tnt rot. Learning how to operate a power sprayer. Bristol County Agricultural School. Fig. 175. — Time to cultivate the peach orchard. Boy handling the team. Bristol County Agricultural School. 251 252 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION boys grow up and confidence in them and their instructors increases. Still there is generally about half of the working time available for general farm work for wages, or for credit in lieu of cash, on the home farms or on other farms near. The department has the first claim upon the pupil during his course, and the right to determine what he shall do, also how and when he shall do it, in agreed-upon projects. It does not monopolize his time, nor does it undertake to run the entire home farm or other farm on which the pu- pil may be employed. Indeed the sharper the contrast between the pupil's project and less capable farm- ing in its vicinity, the clearer the lesson and the more potent the de- partment in the community. Re- peatedly methods followed by boys on a small scale have the next year been followed by their fathers and others on a big scale. The " gang-labor " type of work is avoided in the third and fourth years, as in all others, by seeing to it that a fair proportion of the work of pupils shall exemphfy their teaching, and by requiring the utmost individ- ual initiative and responsibility. Home projects, supplemented by other home-farm work, are preferred and predominate All projects are carefully cost-accounted Written records are kept of all b. Related study. — Planning the b. Related study. — Planning the above projects and subprojects in- foregoing projects and subprojects in- volves a study of the biology of ani- volves study of chemistry, with mals, including breeds and breeding, special reference to fertilizers and feeds and feeding ; of prevention and sprays ; physics in its applications MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 253 cure of animal diseases; of hygiene and sanitation, especially in connec- tion with the planning of buildings and their equipment; of soils and seeds; of green manuring, liming, uses of to pumps, air compressors, imple- ments, and motors; farm journals; plant physiology, including plant diseases ; economic entomology ; markets ; accounting ; and business Fig. 176. — Sc1iu.j1 [itujclL. 1judIo:i l,....^ ...c convenient for carrying fruit. Note train- ing in careful habits of picking and handling apples. Essex County School. barn-yard manures and commercial fertilizers ; of crop rotations ; of balanc- ing of rations ; of tillage and tillage tools ; of harvesting and harvesting devices; of silos and other storage for roughage; and of implements and machines, their cost, use, and upkeep. The foregoing study is particularly rich in contributions from chemistry, physics, and veterinary science. At- mcthods in correspondence and filing papers. Particular attention is given to the principles and the best methods of farm management. The project instructors deal with the various sciences only so far as they have something which may be made to contribute to the under- standing and eiliciency of the projects. 254 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION tention is also given to methods of competitive and cooperative buying and selling, to accounting, and to other business methods, including typewriting correspondence and fil- ing papers. Particular attention is given to the principles and tha best methods of farm management. What has been said further re- garding related study in previous j^ears is equally applicable here. (E) Part-time pupils. Any year. — The foregoing four years' plan consists of a series of courses each complete in itself. It is progressive for the pupil who can take the en- tire series. But it has certain age and economic risk adaptations which make it advantageous for a pupil. What has been said further re- garding related study in previous years is equaU}- appUcable here. (E) Part-time pupils. Any year. — The foregoing four years' plan, consisting of a series of courses each complete in itself, and occupying only one-half the school day, has strong attractions for older boys who may have graduated from a regular high school covuse, who are engaged Fig. 177. -^ Training in box iidckiiifc. School project. Bo.x packing not too good for the best. Apple packing table made by the boys. Essex County Agricultural School. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 255 particularly one who has graduated from a high school, to take part of it, and to restrict school attendance to distinctively agricultural classes. Every year pupils are admitted for agreed-upon parts of the four years' course. In each such part-time case, however, project study and project in farm work, and who could devote one-half the school day to project study and project work. The proportion of part-time pupils is greater in departments than in county schools, due, perhaps, to con- venience of access. Rarely does a pupil have to travel more than five miles Fig. 178. — Myron Gale picking apples at home. Year of photo, he earned $154.50 cash from farm work, and got $67.22 from his home projects. Hadley Department. work, like those required of all-day pupils, are required, and carry with them the duties and privileges of home-project supervision, or super- vision of acceptable substitutes for home projects. The project study in- cludes cost-accounting, record keeping, and reporting. to reach a department; the average distance is much shorter than that. The requirements for the part- time pupils while in the course are identical with those of all-day pupils as to project study and project work, including cost-accounting, record keep- ing, and reporting. Home projects or acceptable substitutes therefor are required and are supervised. 256 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION All home projects are cost-accounted Written records are kept of all (F) Evening class. Any year. — Almost any of the short units in the series of courses for all-day pupils can be given adults in evening classes. Demand for such instruction is being met. Home projects, or acceptable sub- stitutes, are required of evening class pupils, and carry with them the duties and privileges of supervision. That is to say, no school wastes time on (F) Evening class. Any year. — Short units of instruction are readilj' selected from the foregoing four years' series which can be taught adults in evening classes. Demand for such instruction is being met. An interesting phase of evening class instruction is the class for grad- uates of the regular course who de- sire to study more thoroughly, and Fig. 179. — Frank Kokoski and his own apples at home. He pruned and sprayed. He also had onion project for cash crop. Helped on other farm work, including large acreage of tobacco. Hadley Agricultural Department. academic agriculture. Each school, in its work with adults, no less than in its work with boys, aims its instruc- tion at better farming, and will not spend count)' or state money on any man who will not put into effect at the first seasonable opportunity certain well-proved principles of better farm- ing, and permit the school to observe in the light of their farm work, certain of the units previously dealt with to some extent in their project study and project work. In connection with all evening class study, home projects, or accept- able substitutes, are required, either concurrently with the study, or at the first seasonable opportunity, and MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 257 ORCHARDING SkiUat Entrance CERTIFICATION SkiU Age Year Certified by *i. Grafting, cleft *2. Grafting, root *3. Budding *4. Setting trees *5. Pruning young apple trees . *6. Pruning mature apple trees . *7. Pruning renovation . . . 8.. Pruning peach trees . . . 9. Pruning pear trees .... 10. Pruning plum trees . . . 11. Pruning cherry trees . . . *i2. jMixing lime-sulphur concen- trate - 1 13. ^Mixing self-boiled lime-sul phur *i4. Tobacco extract Black Leaf-40 *i5. Arsenate of lead, mixing . *t6 Soluble oils, mixinff 1 i ' *i7. Paris green, mixing . . . *i8. Spraying, winter .... *i9. Spraying, spring .... *20. Spraying, summer .... *2i. Spraying, knapsack pump . *22. Spraying, barrel .... *23. Spraying, power .... *24. Thinning apples .... *2$. Picking apples 26. Picking pears 27. Picking peaches .... 28. Picking plums 29. Picking cherries .... *3o. Grading fruit *3i. Packing fancy packages . . *32. Packing bushel box . . . *^^. Packing barrel i ! . 1 1 • ! 1 1 i II 1 1 • ii JS M 'Ji tj H JS 10 is — 'C H ^ CJ ■t~> y Cm 'T. J3 0" H ■a be .2 u a. c« T3 J^ rt •0 U) fcX) > c t-t 1» rt u •a Q. a •u rt P M C OJ rt J2 , r/) X ■q. 3 i: a *j a> CI rn M JS J= -a «.> rn a en 15 PQ ^ .J3 c J3 u -0 .*.j u 3 (S r- rt ^ 0. 1) c JJ in u rn *j C F .*-) cu «-» g &> C. a n1 U T3 •0 b -0 ,r! c 3 4-t cS F. 4-> en c en e en" c a en 4-t 3 , «-) Q. u c < C/5 E 3 C 1 r- T3 10 r ) eg CJ •"I- J3 •0 *^ u k. C c O :« (i u, 258 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION the workability of these principles as applied to his particular farm or the farm on which he is employed. carry with them the duties and privi- leges of supervision. Adaptation of the " evening class " to agriculture sometimes requires exer- cises before sunset ; and sometimes consists of itinerant, home to home teach- ing and supervision, with no classes meeting indoors. The latter type of in- struction has been considerably developed in supervision of war gardening of those over sixteen years of age. Evening classes may be held in the regular classrooms of the school or department, or in selected neighborhoods. Evening class plans are submitted to the Board of Education for " preliminary approval " prior to putting them into effect, and in all cases are such as not to impair the day class instruction. .0 tt&S. ^^&.'' Fig. i8i. — New England is famous for its varied scenery, its clear streams and wooded hills. A glimpse of Ipswich River from an apple orchard on Turner Hill Farm. But Massachusetts slopes are highly favorable to fruit growing, and Massachusetts fruit is famous for color and flavor. Some of the boys on graduation have made a one, two, and, sometimes, even a three or four year start on fine home orchards. Boys begin, — they do not have to wait, under the home project plan of education. All home projects are cost-accounted Written records are kept of all B. Non-agricultural. Required of all-day pupils. — Twenty per cent of the pupil's time. Parallel with the agricultural proj- ect study and project work above B. Non-agricultural. Optional, but advised. — Fifty per cent of the pupil's time. Pupils giving one-half the high school day to agricultural project MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM !59 outlined, the all-day pupils in county schools are required to devote one- fifth of their time to the study of such subjects as the following : (A) English, every year, to give a love for good reading in books, paper?, and magazines ; drill in spelling and composition; also practice in public speaking and debating. (B) History, part of one or more years, with special reference to cur- rent and local history. (C) Citizenship, part of one or more years, with emphasis on rural community conditions. Bulletin No. 650 of the United States Bureau of Education is a suggested guide. (D) Government, part of one or more years, including state and na- studj' and project work are advised to devote the other half to regular high school subjects. Fortunately the tendency in high school administration is to give first place to subjects of greatest value to pupils who complete their schooling with the high school ; and in the first and second years, to subjects of greatest value to pupils who do not remain in high school more than two ■years. Such subjects are becoming avail- able. Agricultural pupils are urged and expected as a rule to take them. Two non-agricultural subjects at a time should run parallel with the agricultural, and now may very gener- ally be selected from such a list as the following : (A) English, every j'ear. apprecia- tion and expression, to de\"elop power in oral and written composition and to give a love for good reading. (B) Social science, including his- tory, two years. Community civics, with some such guide as United States Bureau of Education Bulletin No. 650, may be offered the first or second year, and a good course in civics and economics in the third or fourth; (C) Natiu"al science is generally offered every year about as follows : first year, elementary general science with some reference to the rural en- vironment ; second year, biology of plants, animals, and man ; third and fourth years, generally alternating, physics and chemistr>- with some attention to agricullurc (D) Drawing, mechanical and free- hand, when offered, should be of 26o VOCATION.\L AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION tional government in the United States, but especially the local town or city government and the duties of local administrative officers. (E) Economics, part of one or more years, including economic his- tory, and such problems as those of much value to the agricultural pupil in developing his powers of observa- tion and representation, and some skill in the use and care of drawing instruments. (E) Shop work is sometimes of- fered, and should give good training in the care and use of tools and Fig. 182. — Farm woodlot and reforestatiuu iiici\c attention. Forest tin.- pkuuing, on slopes too steep for orcharding, ended "Arbor Day." Homemaking department in- vited. Everybody in the school planted a tree. Smith School, Northampton. capital, wages, rent, competition, co- operation, credit, transportation, mar- keting, and accounting. (F) Drawing, part of one or more years, freehand and mechanical. Training of both eye and hand. (G) Hygiene and physical train- ing, part of every year, with drills in experience in making and repairing farm equipment. (F) Business courses are some- times offered, including at least an introductory course in penmanship, typewriting, business forms and pro- cedure, filing and farm accounts. Business arithmetic, bookkeeping, commercial geography, and commer- cial law may also be available. Such courses give an agricultural pupil valuable knowledge and skill for the betterment of farming as a business. (G) Physical training is desirable and should be taken by the agricul- MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 26 1 ^ c o 53 60 < 3 ^^ I a 3 v. — c- 1- t< zj ^ c >• 3 5 = "" >. C O . o 3 J^ 1^ a> a^ " rt =3 § .s *s -i ^ _ c •- -^ ^ I fee's tc ;:: 3 C rt ■r; > c c o (T- •ji. c '-* a •■" il o ^ 2 o'*^ _ J t; O i) = "3 ., 3. p :>. rt ■* ® o -^ 5 5 .2 E y c ^ - SJ J£ r *J 3 1- -JJ 1- ?; rt . >, t£ -3 -3 t. C I. ~ -^ :/; U ii s >- o > o 5 rt j2 ■TS ^ 5! '■f- ^ c '"^ 'Z "^ '.^ iill S != " 5 o alH 3 -c ■" c. _ t- "^ 3 C E -S v: l-S-^m -. >. ^."^ >i u c^ ;- 1-^ >- c a ^ — "P Oh - t~ -^ E *^ IJ 3 E ri r S W K^^ S3 g 15 < 3-5 "g -^ > 3 3 C p: i- i> — ^ 1; r r3 _J > C3 E C/l tr, j: 1-1 l- c c L- 'e < rl !i E C c en C b ^ cx T rt C3 .^ r J= C L- I:i: .^^ ti L. ^ > 9^ c « I- o 3 V O < o o a> y 2 >: c 3 .2 _ K tf3 M 3 C £ 3 3 J3 C "-> 3 S O - •£ " - £ g >. C S "" .2 c. >> ^ 3 rt - ^ 3 C M = CS S o - S K "*- o ^ ■ ^ _ o > c! t- o *-■ sc J2 c = -G « o c S ■S ■" -' !:§- « S c/0 .2 >> •^ -a 13 " 2 =* i5 "3 fr. s I s 3 o c c to - s^ tc c 3 ly "• .3 o a u o u 262 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION " first aid " and " setting up " exer- cises. Many farm boys are muscular, but misshapen and in need of sym- metrical development. (H) Music, part of every year, in- cluding class and school songs, school chorus singing, development of quar- tet or glee club, orchestra or band. tural pupil. Gymnastics or calis- thenics should be required of all pupils, except those excused on a physician's certificate that such exer- cises would be injurious. . (H) Music. — The Board of Edu- cation believes that every high school should devote a certain amount of time to singing, and that when the Fig. 184. — Father strong backer ui lladley's Agricultural Deparlnienl because it brings study to bear on home projects. Fig. 185. — Boys who cannot attend full time are not neglected. Homer Greene rides in four miles for advice on feeding dairy cows. Hadley Agricultural Department. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 263 number is large, classes should be formed sufficiently small to secure participation by all pupils. This should apply to agricultural pupils. Fig. 180. — Dairj-ing class studying fine Holstein herd ol neighbor. (.)wner successful alfalfa grower. Admirable farm to watch. Smith School, Northampton. Fig. 187. — Mr. Joseph Cook, member of advisory committee, practical farmer, showing fine points of one of his Holsteins. Helping coach boys for judging contest. Boy won state championship. Hadley Agricultural Department. Many Holstein fanciers in Massachusetts. D. W. Field Farm, Montello, Mass., home of "King Ormsby Jane Rag Apple," the $53,000 bull, a son of "Rag Apple Korndyke 8th" and "Ormsby Jane Segis Aaggie, the Great White Heifer." 264 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTUR.AL EDUCATION CAREER MOTIVE — BETTER FARMING VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AT A COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL For All-day Pupils has Two Parts Part 2. — Gen- Part I . — Vocational Education eral Education 80 Per Cent of Pupil's Time 20 Per Cent of Pupil's Time III 50 per cent in project study and (2) 30 per cent " re- 20 per cent cul- project work, centering on : lated study," con- tural and good sisting of such close citizenship ed- A. Projects of the pupils. correlation with the ucation! n such a. At home, as a rule. project study and subjects as : b. At school, rarely-. project work of the c. Pupil responsible, but super- following activities vised by his instructor. or subjects of in- struction as to war- rant the prefix "farm" or "agri- cultural " : B. Projects of the school. Farm arithmetic English a. Illustrative of well-proved methods, crops, etc. Farm biology b. Trial, as to adaptability of Farm physics History promising methods, crops. etc., to local conditions. Farm chemistry c. School responsible, but uses projects for group instruc- Farm entomology Citizenship tion of pupils in observa- Farm veterinary Government tion and practice work. science C. Substitutes for projects. Farm drawing Economics a. Work on approved farm. with agreed-upon educa- Farm shop work Drawing, free- tional duties as cost-ac- hand and counting one or more cows Farm typewriting mechanical or one or more crops. and filing. b. Work on the school farm. Hygiene and with educational duties Farm accounts physical like the above. training c. Employer chiefly respon- Farm journal reading Music sible, but pupil supervised Agricultural econom- by instructor. ics Recreation Fig. 188. — Diagram of County Agricultural School Education. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 265 CAREER MOTIVE — BETTER FARMING VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN A HIGH SCHOOL AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT For Day Pupils should have Two Parts Part I . — Vocational Education Part 2. — General Education 50 Per Cent of Pupil's Time 50 Per Cent of Pupil's Time Project Study and Project Work, Cultural and Good Citizenship Edu- centering on : cation, selected from one or more of (i) Projects of the pupils. the regular high school courses. A. At home, as a rule. and deahng with such subjects as : B. Near home, occasionally. C. Pupil responsible, but super- English, every year vised by instructor. (2) Projects of the department. Social science, including community A. At the high school, rarely. civics and economics B. Neighborhood demonstra- tions, as of pruning, spray- ing, hotbed making, or Natural science, including elemen- greenhouse work. tary science, biology, physics, and C. Instructor responsible, but chemistry uses projects for group in- struction in observation and practice work. Drawing, freehand and mechanical (3) Substitutes for projects. A. Work on approved farms. with agreed upon educa- Shop work tional duties, as cost-ac- counting one or more cows or one or more crops. Business, including t^qje writing. B. Employer chiefly responsible. business forms and filing, book- but pupil supervised by in- keeping, commercial geography. structor. and commercial law (4) Remark. — The agricultural in- structor must, as a rule. teach his boys the vital Physical training correlations between their projects and such subjects and activities as arithmetic. Music biology, physics, chemistry, entomology, drawing, shop work, accounting, filing, Recreation farm journal reading, and agricultural economics. Fig. 189. — Diagram of High School .Agricultural Department Education. 266 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (I) Recreation, part of every year, with special attention to a wholesome and pleasant country life. There should be supervised interclass athlet- ics; boy-scouting; camera-hunting; minstrel shows and amateur dramat- ics; also pageants portraying memo- rable episodes in local, national, and world history. Music, physical train- ing, and recreation may have much in common. The first two merit places on the regular school program. The last may well be developed coopera- tively b}' staff and pupils; but it should be given serious attention by a committee of the staff, and a place on the regular program of the school. (J) Remarks. — One who exam- ines this list of non-agricultural sub- jects, and notes their limitation to 20 per cent of the pupil's time and the absence of such subjects as chemistry, should bear in mind that in the 30 per cent of time reserved for the " related study " above outlined, a grasp such as is seldom realized in a high school is had of many subjects, some of which might be listed as agricultural arith- metic, accounts, typewriting, draw- ing and shop work, biology of plants, animals, and man, physics and chem- istry. In short, the county school produces notable values in the general education of its pupils. Fig. 188, above, presents in dia- grammatic form the educational aims, requirements and advantages of the four years' course for all-day pupils. (I) Recreation, part of every year, should receive a fair share of the at- tention of the department, as it does of the school. Agricultural pupils have often been the best athletes, speakers, and musicians in their high schools. The agricultural instructor should constitute himself a committee, or cooperate with others in a larger committee, for promotion and super- vision of forms of recreation which will lead to well-rounded, wholesome, and pleasant country life. Fig. 189, above, presents in dia- grammatic form the educational aims, requirements, and advantages of the four years' course for day pupils. 7. Qualifications of Teachers In view of the foregoing discussion of courses of study, it will be evident that the make-up of the teaching staff of a county agricultural MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 267 school will be radically different from the make-up of a high school staff. The high school has a divided aim, in that it admits some pupils whose career motive is farming, and other pupils with various other career motives ; whereas the county agricultural school admits only those who desire to prepare themselves for better farming. The qualifications of the special instructors for agricultural departments Fig. 190. — "Dolly Dimple," "Queen of the Guernsey Milkers." Class studying "dairy type" in 1914 at Longwater Farms. Owner, Mr. F. Lothrop Ames, sold 75 Guernseys at auction, Oct. 10, 1916, for average of $1092; and, at Lake Forest, 111., May 16, 1918, in consignment sale got up by American Guernsey Cattle Club, sold 7 for average of $3400, the average of 5 of this consignment being $4600. North Easton Agricultural Department. are of the same general nature as those of the teachers of agricultural projects and related studies in a county school. At the outset it should be stated that the Board of Education does not appoint instructors nor fix salaries. It should also be stated that under certain conditions aids and assistants are approved, but that candidates for such positions must have the academic training of an instructor, and have had the equiva- lent of three years of experience in approved farm work. ?68 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (i) Fitness for particular position. — The Board of Education does not base its " preliminary approval " of applicants for agricultural instructorships upon any plan of general certification. The Board is on the lookout for good men for this work, and has an extensive Ust of specially quahfied men which may be drawn upon, but directors and superintendents are at liberty to look elsewhere for candidates. Fig. igi . — Favorite of the school herd of pure-bred Ayrshires, " Sweet Marie of Woodside." Good example of "dairy type." Bristol County Agricultural School. Often advisory committees are invited to cooperate in choice among candidates, and, of course, bring to the task exceptional knowledge of the special requirements of local farming. Each applicant is meas- ured by his apparent degree of fitness to meet the requirements of the position for which he may be considered. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 269 (2) Not passed upon once for all. — " Preliminary approval " of qualifications of teachers by the Board of Education is withheld unless there is reasonable assurance that a given applicant is of such steady purpose as to be disposed to remain in the position for which he is considered at least two years, and otherwise qualified to last not less than two years. The qualifications of teachers are subject to con- stant review, and appointments as such carry with them no certainty Fig. 192. — Equipment for sanitary milk production, — tooling, bottling, etc. ; also for making butter and fancy ices. Essex County Agricultural School. of permanent employment. Each instructor's future, however, may fairly be said to be in his own hands. Permanently valuable service should mean permanent tenure of office. (3) Qualifications for improvement. — Fundamental quaUfications are capacity and determination to improve during service. These are the best guarantees of permanent efficiency and consequent tenure of office. Professional improvement is required of every instructor. A. For improvement in farming. — Part of every year each project instructor is required to do such work, apart from his teaching of all- day pupils, as shall give him a better and better mastery of those 270 VOCATION.\L AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION branches of farming which are practiced in, or which are believed by his advisory committee to be possible for, the localities from which his pupils are drawn. Of the annual period set apart for duties of professional improve- ment, one month is generally devoted to betterment in farming. B. For improvement in teaching. — No in- structor can take up his duties prepared once for all to teach the relations of science to practical farming. New relations are constantly being found. Consequently, just as one month, more or less, a year the proj- ect instructor is taken away from boys and put at work \\^th adult farmers, either in his locality or at a distance, so for a like period every year he and the teacher of " related studies " are taken away from boys and put with adult ex- perts in technical and scientific agriculture for the express purpose of enriching the teaching program with carefully selected or prepared exercises of obvious value to their pupils. Men of such maturity and of such thorough training in practical farming are required in Massachusetts, that most of the project in- structors and supervisors have entered on their duties without previous training or experience in teaching. Therefore, profes- Photo. by iTUernalional Film Service Inc. Fig. 193. — Miss Ruth Wood, Essex County Agricultural School, who won second in the dairy-judging class at the National Dairy Show in Springfield, Mass., in competition with ninety-seven boys representing ten northeastern states. She chose this bull-calf for her prize, " Sophie igth's Tormentor loth." See her report on pages 432-434. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 271 sional improvement must generally include study of principles and methods of teaching. In a given case, winter work on technical agricultural subject matter may be combined with a seminar course on teaching as teaching, — on the "tricks of the teacher's trade." Vocational agricultural education is one of the newest fields of education, and one of the most attractive for creative and con^ structive work in preparation for better teaching. Teachers of non-agricultural subjects devote two months in summer to " professional improvement " work, and divide their time between experience in, and agreed-upon studies of, country life, including study of the home conditions of their pupils, on one hand, and, on the Fig. 194. — Comparing weight of cruam wiih wciglil oi milk. CoiK-oriJ Agrii.ulluru.1 Department. Other, enrichment of their teaching programs with materials and exercises for the development of those tastes and aptitudes which make the farmer expert and a gentleman. (4) Agricultural college training is highly desirable. Equivalents have been approved, such as exceptional private study and farm ex- perience, and successful teaching has followed. (5) Lifelong farm experience is almost indispensable. (6) Certain differences between schools and departments may be noted, as follows : 272 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION A. County school (A) Vocational aim. — The Board of Education has a voice in the choice of all teachers for the county school B. High school department (A) Vocational aim. — The Board of Education has a voice in choosing only the teacher of agriculture. Fig. igs. —1 Citing milk for butter fat. Babcock tester of fundamental importance. Cow of boy at right netted him $108, but then nearly ate her head oS within the year. His record exposed her. Note nutritive ratios on blackboard. North Easton Agricultural Department. staff. This insures harmony of aims on the part of the several instructors and a cordial cooperative spirit in the staff. Cordial cooperation between the agri- cultural instructor and other members of the high school staff may, however, be secured through the superintend- ent of schools. With him rests selec- tion of candidates for consideration by the school committee, and nomina- tion for appointment of the preferred candidate or candidates. He may. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 273 (B) Specialization. — Specializa- tion is possible in almost any school. A school with an enrollment as low as 50 or 60 is warranted in employing 4 teachers and in choosing specialists. therefore, provide in advance, through his nomination of candidates, for team work in the high school staff in the interest of the efTiciency of each of the courses offered by the high school, including that in agriculture. (B) General adaptability. — Spe- cialization in a department is only possible where the enrollment is such as to require two or more instructors. Generally, choice among candidates Fig. 196. — Agricultural pupils demonstrating and explaining Babcock test before ele- mentary science class of regular high school course. Such exercises promote interest, eflSciency, and good feeling. North Easton Agricultural Department. In such a case the qualifications of the 4 specialists are such as to safe- guard, not merely the proper execu- tion of school and home projects, but their well-balanced study, with due attention to the non-agricultural, as must rest with a man who is qualified to teach the major projects of the four years' course above outlined. Expe- rience has proved that it is possible to find capable instructors of this all- round type. 274 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION well as the agricultural, education of the pupils. a. Agricultural. — A county school is called upon to serve the agricul- tural interests of the entire county, in- cluding those of suburban residents who must, of necessity, restrict their operations to such projects as poultry keeping and gardening. A suburban- ite who is a graduate of an agricul- tural college, and who has had four calendar years of successful experience in gardening and poultry keeping, may be better qualified than candi- dates of lifelong farm experience for meeting the needs of such people in part-time or evening class instruction. Generally instructors of this type may be hired for considerably lower salaries to begin. The county school, with an enroll- ment of loo or more pupils, may have need of, not merely specialists as heads of departments, but of a con- siderable number of assistants. A man may qualify for an assistantship who could not qualify for an instruc- torship in a high school department, because responsibility will be divided between the assistant and the head of his department for both supervision and instruction. An assistant who proves to be a successful teacher may broaden his field of service year by year, and thus be able to qualify for a position as head of a department or as an agri- cultural instructor in a high school. b. Non-agricultural. — No teacher in such non-agricultural subjects as English is selected who is not qualified by natural leanings, and if possible by some practical experience, to appre- Not " college boys," but men of maturity are generally demanded. Now and then a mature man who is not an agricultural college graduate, but who has developed the right kind of talent, both in the success of his practical farming and in his powers of presenting ideas in connection there- with, has qualified for an instructor- ship. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 275 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OF PROSPECTIVE INSTRUCTORS For County or Separate Agricultural Schools and High School Agricultural Departments 1 Specifications 2 Farm Work Instructor 3 Related Study or Technical Instructor 4 Farm Work and Related Study Instructor 5 Non- agricultural Instructor (1) Age A. Without suc- cessful teaching experience. 21 21 21 No such appli- cant considered. B. With success- ful teaching experience. 21 21 21 21 (2) Farm experience Eight calendar years under farming condi- tions like those in Massachu- setts. Two calendar years, and va- cations during agricultural school or col- lege course. Eight calendar years in farm- ing, if only special agricul- tural courses have been taken ; .j cal- endar years in farming, if 2 years or equiv- alent in agricul- ' tural courses have been taken. Knowledge enough of farm- ing to enatile the instructor to understand the aim of voca- tional agricul- tural education, and a natural inclination toward the bet- terment of country living. i3) Academic education Grammar school graduate High school or agricultural school graduate. High school or agricultural school graduate College or nor- mal school graduate (4) Technical education Special courses in agriculture. Two years or equivalent in agricultural courses. Two years or equivalent in agricultural courses. Courses in sub- jects to be taught. (5) Professional education Approved study of home- project methods of teaching agri- culture. Courses in home-project methods of teaching agri- culture and re- lated studies. Approved study of home- project methods of teaching agri- culture and re- lated studies. Course in ped- agogy, and one year of succes- ful teaching ex- perience. (6) Personality Satisfactory and with presumption of ability to handle pupils (Personal inteniew required.) (7) Physique Good health (attested by physician's certificate) and no deformity. Good health (attested by physician's certificate). Good health (attested by physician's certificate) and no deformity. Good health (attested by physician's certificate). (8) Sex Men only. Men only. Men only. Men only. Frc. ig;. — Diagram of Minimum Qualifications of Candidates for .Agricultural School and Department Instructorships in Massachusetts. 276 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTUR.AL EDUCATION ciate and to contribute through his instruction to wholesome and pleasant country life. (C) Salary expectations. — Sala- ries range from S900 upward. The highest salary now being paid in a separate school to a teacher is $2000 a year. (D) Skill and speed. — No man is qualified to teach agriculture who is not naturally interested in both the study and the practical work involved in the field of his specialty or special- ties, and who is not able and willing to lead his boys in the practical execu- tion of projects, and to conduct prof- itable projects on the school farm. (E) Minimum qualifications for the various instructors in a county school are listed on the preceding dia- gram. Fig. 197. (C) Salary expectations. — Sala- ries of not less than Si 200 a year must generally be offered to begin- ners; $2200 a year is the highest salary now being paid an experienced and successful department teacher. (D) Skill and speed. — No man can be considered qualified for an agricultural instructorship who is not a good teacher, and both able and willing to lead his boys in their practical work for the purpose of setting them a proper pace and giving them proper training for those phases of farming which require special skill. (E) Minimum qualifications for agricultural project instructors are listed in column 4 of the preceding diagram. Fig. 197. Fig. 198.^ Bad shoulder at left. Too straight. Neck always sore in summer. Horse became vicious as result. Bad leg at right not properly cared for. Smith School, Northampton. 8. Methods of Instruction (i) Home-project visitation. — So far as project teaching is con- cerned, the methods of instruction by supervisory visitation of home projects are uniform for both schools and departments. These MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 277 methods have been described in section 6, in setting forth the require- ments and advantages of the courses of study. (2) Lantern slides and charts, prepared by experts and lending them- selves to vivid presentation of facts and principles of vital concern to Fig. 199. — Farm mares keep number good. One of their promising colts at right. Center, perfect shoulder. Excellent farm models. Good horses help good dairying. Smith School, Northampton. practical farming, are now available in great abundance. They may be bought or borrowed, and methods of instruction by which they are brought into use are common to both schools and departments. (3) The following differences should be noted : A. County school (A) Correlation controlled. — The director of the school has control of all teachers, and sees to it that methods of instruction are followed which give each pupil a well-knit body of knowledge by means of the closest possible correlation of the subjects studied with the interests and activi- ties of efficient farming and well- balanced country life. (B) Group instruction and indi- vidual. — The school laboratories and shops offer advantages superior to those of the rural high school for B. High school department (A) Correlation voluntary and variable. — The agricultural instruc- tor has no direct control over methods of instruction other than his own. Though difficult, it is none the less desirable that he and his superin- tendent of schools spare no pains in showing other teachers the advan- tages and methods of correlation, and in persuading them to adopt such methods for the good of the agricul- tural pupils. (B) Individual instruction and group. — Lack of farm land and limited agricultural laboratory and shop equipment at the high school 278 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION group methods of instruction; con- sequently, the tendenc}' is for instruc- tors to teach pupils as groups. The problem of the county school is to adopt such methods as shall se- cure proper attention to the pupils as individuals. The school may be expected to excel principally in the educational benefits which follow group methods. (C) Scientific and practical. — Ex- cellence of laboratory' facilities and congestion of numbers not only accen- tuate the tendency toward adoption of group methods of instruction, but make group teaching difficult in both the laboratory and the practical aspects of the training of agricultural department pupils. The problem of the department is to develop its headquarters into a combined study room and agricul- tural science laboratorj-, and, at school and on neighboring farms, to provide for a fair proportion of group instruction. The department may be expected to excel principally in the educational benefits which follow methods of in- dividual instruction. (C) Practical and scientific. — Lack of good laboratory facilities and limitation of numbers to not more than 20 pupils to the instructor not only accentuate the tendency towards Fig. 200. — 'l'ypi;:> in demand for mounts. Blue-ribbon thoroughljrcd hunter, •'Moun- taineer," at left. Heavy Irish hunter at right. Saddle and draft types contrasted same day. Longwater Farms, North Easton Agricultural Department. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 279 also tend to overemphasize the scien- tific aspects of the education of the pupils. Another problem of the school, therefore, is to see to it that its methods of instruction shall not be .too much scientific and too little practical. (D) School and home farm. — The school farm with its illustrative and trial projects tends to focus the attention and to engross the energies individual methods of instruction, but also tend to overemphasize the practical aspects of the education of the pupils. Another problem of the department, therefore, is to see to it that its methods of instruction shall not be too much practical and too little scientific. (Dj Home farm and department. — The department has no extensive farming operations on its premises, and no congestion of numbers with Fig. 201. — Studying the draft type. Imported Clydesdale stallion. Pure bred " Clyde" colts in background. Note use of score cards. All field trips are carefully planned and results are checked up. Longvvater Farms. North Easton Agricultural Department. of both instructors and pupils on teaching at the school. This tend- ency is further accentuated by con- gestion of numbers, particularly when village and city boys with work pro- vided for them at the school constitute a considerable part of the enrollment. The school cannot evade the rea- sonable expectation of the public that its farm, in all phases of its work, shall be a model of profitable methods, not only for its pupils, but also for the countryside. Distance between the school and the scattered homes of its pupils who live on farms tends to exalt economy a considerable proportion of village and city boys to contend with. Its fundamental requirement is that all applicants prior to their admission must make arrangements for projects, or acceptable substitutes, at or near home. Distances are short for both pupils and instructor. Thus the interest of both instruc- tor and pupils tends to be not centrip- etal, but centrifugal, — not inward toward things done at school so much as outward toward the separate proj- ect and substitute for project respon- sibilities which are being carried by 28o VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION the individual pupils at, or near, their several homes. Methods of instruction in further- ance of this outward and distributive tendency, by which knowledge and skill gained at the department are. put at once to work on home farms by the pupils throughout the farming section tributary to the high school, have the heartiest approval of the Massachusetts Board of Education. For this type of department no methods not in keeping with those just mentioned will be approved by the Board as either efficient or eco- nomical. of supervision above the home farm efficiency of the pupils. The tendency to center study and work on the school farm and to exalt its successes is but natural. Consequently the supreme problem of the school is to adopt methods of instruction which shall insure model farming at the school, but at the same time make this but a means to the best possible farming of its pupils at their several homes. And in worliing out this problem the distant home must have equal consideration, week by week, with the home that is near. No methods of instruction not in keeping with those indicated in the last paragraph will be approved by the Board of Education as either economical or efficient for this type of school in Massachusetts. 9. Conditions of Admission Conditions governing the admission of pupils are uniform for both school and department. (i) Age restrictions. A. Fourteenth birthday. — No pupil may be admitted until he has passed his fourteenth birthday. No pupil " who does not possess such ability to read, write, and spell in the English language as is required for the completion of the fourth grade of the public schools of the city or town in which he resides " may be admitted. (See Revised Laws, chapter 44, section i.) B. Sixteenth birthday in some cases. — No pupil may be admitted to an evening class until after he has passed his sixteenth birthday. C. Twenty-fifth birthday in some cases. — No pupil may attend an all-day or a part-time class after he has reached his twenty-fifth birthday.^ (2) Good character. — Vocational education is not reform schooling. Only pupils of good character are admitted. ' This top limit has been removed by the Legislature for the period of the present war with Germany and for one year thereafter. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 281 (3) Career motive. — Vocational agricultural education fits for the " occupations connected with the tillage of the soil, the care of domestic animals, forestry, or other wage- earning or productive work on the farm." These occupations are held to include productive work on general farms, on highly specialized farms, in market gardens, in green- houses, in parks and cemeteries, in ornamental planting required by larger or smaller estates, and even on restricted areas which permit only of such small operations as the keeping of a pen of poultry or the making of a home garden. Only those who intend to prepare themselves for these occupations are admitted. (4) Physique. — For centuries farming has been, in most cases, a family enterprise, with a multitude of duties and tasks suited to all ages, to both sexes, to the big and to the little, and to varied degrees Fig. 202. — School colt and boy who cared for her. See Fig. 203. Fig. 203. — The same colt as two-year-old, and the boy who trained her to drive. Bristol County Agricultural School. 282 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION of health this side of complete physical incapacity. To-day in Massachusetts farming is, in the main, a calling for men, and is de- pendent for success upon strength and vigor. As a rule, only appli- cants of good health and rugged physique are encouraged to under- take the responsibiUties of a four years' course. (5) Facilities for home projects or acceptable substitutes. — Re- quirements for admission to vocational agricultural courses may be said to be practical rather than academic. Each applicant must, Fig. 204. — New plank frame barn. Construction keenly studied by pupils, bam was built by contract. Bristol County .Agricultural School. But prior to approval for entrance, establish a fair presumption that he will profit from the instruction. To this end it must be shown that he will have opportunities for productive agricultural employment, at home or elsewhere, throughout his proposed period of training. (6) Non-resident Pupils. — A pupil from a town, city, or county that does not maintain an agricultural school or department which gives the type of training desired may, with the approval of the State Board of Education, be admitted to the agricultural school or depart- ment of his choice ; and his tuition, at a rate fijced by the Board of Education, must be paid by his home town or city. His town or city, MASSACHUSETTS NQ-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 283 in turn, is reimbursed by the State to the amount of one-half the sum paid for his tuition. Thus all towns and cities share equitably in both expense and state-aid, and all residents eligible for admission may share and share nearly ahke in the benefits of this kind of education. ID. Employment of Pupils Vocational agricultural education establishes such a vital contact between study and work that it is impossible to approve a pupil's instruction in one without consideration of the other. (i) Approved employment. — Since approval of the employment of pupils rests with the Board of Education, the Board has laid down Fig. 205. — Agricultural pupils erect minor structures. Building a tool and wagon shed. Learning to do by doing. Smith School, Northampton. certain principles and regulations by which it is governed in its ap- proval of employment. A. Agricultural versus non-agricultural employment. — As a check upon the " career motive " of the pupil, instructors are required to report upon the non-agricultural, as well as the agricultural, employ- ment of their pupils. If the non-agricultural employment were to predominate, there would be serious question as to the propriety of retaining a pupil in an agricultural class. As a matter of fact, the ratio, on the average, of agricultural to non-agricultural employment 284 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION has been so much in favor of agriculture as to indicate that proper precautions have been observed in choosing for admission pupils who seriously intend to follow agricultural careers. Fig. 206. — Best systems of crop rotation and farm management are taught. Plans of their own farms and of other farms, like the above, are drawn to scale. Instructor Doolittle has adapted quick and simple military mapping to farm needs. The above plan was drawn by a pupil from a sketch made with a stiff notebook cover, a foot ruler, a pocket compass, a so ft. tape, and squared paper. The farm roads were in red ink. Concord Agricultural Department. B. Routine versus educational agricultural employment. — As a check upon mere farm " chores " or mere " gang labor " in farming, the instructors are required to report not only upon the projects or MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 285 substitutes for projects which the pupils have carefully planned and are studying, but also upon their other farm work. All projects and substitutes for projects are agreed upon in advance. This has been made clear by the foregoing discussion of courses of study. Employment records are the basis of final approval, and are evidence that the educational bargains entered into by pupils and parents, or employers, on one hand, and the school on the other, have been kept. C. Work versus recreation. — The pupil's right to a reasonable amount of time for recreation is recognized. For the light they Fig. 207. — Dairy and cash crop projects go well together. Home projects of this boy, one cow and f acre potatoes. Farm earnings.'from farm work and projects, $220.13. Petersham Agricultural Department. throw on the career motives of the pupils, and for the help they give in balancing up their activities, the instructors are requested to keep records of the amount of time devoted to recreation and of the kinds of recreation followed. Such records are expected to throw some light upon the happy solution of the problem of making the country a pleasant, as well as a profitable, place of abode. The vocational acti\aties of the pupils, however, so far predominate as almost to warrant the inference that playing the man in carrying out produc- tive farm enterprises leaves relatively little time and less desire for such activities as those of the city or village playground. 286 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION D. Pupils on farms versus other farm workers. — The right of pupils to a decent place of employment is recognized. In approving projects away from home, or substitutes for projects, care is taken that the conditions under which the pupils are to work shall be whole- some. The county school, especially, is careful to employ the best farm help obtainable, because of the close association of pupils with other members of the working staff. Boys need to be taught high standards as to farm help no less than as to farm products. Because, t^0^ Fig. 208. — Mangels for succulent winter feed for dairy cows in home project. Grown because boy has no silo yet. Petersham Agricultural Department. however, learning how to work with farm help is not less important for the boy who does not expect always to be a wheelbarrow or a one- horse farmer, than is learning how to handle land or live-stock, boys would better be taught farming shoulder to shoulder, at least part of the time, with average farm laborers, than to be kept too much by themselves. E. Employment adjustments by schools and departments. — There are certain marked differences between the school and the department, with reference to the approved employment of agricul- tural pupils. They may be listed as follows : MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 287 (A) County school (B) High school department a. Fifty-week year. — The school a. Forty - week year. — High farm is in continuous operation school agricultural departments, as Fig. 2og. — Pupil mowing second cutting of alfalfa. Each boy is given a full round of farm training. Bristol County Agricultural School. throughout the calendar year. Where most of the work is done by pupils, there are generally pupils at a rule, have no land and no live-stock. They are in session, from the agricul- tural point of view, only when the Fig. 210. — Curing the second cutting of alfalfa on the school farm. A very successful crop here. A part of the school dairy project. Bristol County Agricultural School. 288 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION the school throughout the calendar year. Certain study time and. vaca- tion divisions, however, from the agricultural instructor is on duty. As a rule, the agricultural instructor is on duty from March i until Fig. 211. — Raking a good crop of limuthy. This city boy from Fall River wants to be a farmer and is learning how to do by doing. Bristol County Agricultural School. point of view of the individual pupil, may be noted, as follows : Thanksgiving, a period of forty weeks. Occasionally, a special instructor is employed during the winter to give a three months' course in farm-shop work or in such subjects as farm arith- metic and accounts. When this in- struction is approved as vocational, the school year of the department is lengthened to approximately fifty weeks. The study time and vocation divi- sions of a department are generally as follows : MASSACHUSETTS NO-DOR^IITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 289 (a) Study time. — The classroom instruction generall)' begins in Sep- tember, ends in June, and covers a period of about thirty-six weeks. The summer is thus left free for the heavy outdoor farming operations in which pupils participate at their homes or elsewhere. In some ways, (a) Study time. — The high school generally opens earlj' in September and closes late in June. Agricultural pupils generally enter in September, are with the agricultural instructor until Thanksgiving, resume work with him March i, and continue to be given class instruction by him until tiG. 212. -- Putling llu- timothy under cover. The shadows are lengthening, and there are no laggards among these boys and their instructors. Bristol County Agricultural School. of course, the summer is the best time for study of the whole year, particu- larly in connection with plant projects. To stimulate non-classroom study, pupils are called together from time to time for obser\-ation and practice work connected with the seasonal progress of field, garden, and orchard projects. Keen observation and care- ful study are further stimulated by u the close of the high school in June. Projects are planned which run throughout the summer and are supervised by the instructor. In some ways the summer is the most profitable study period of the year. Pupils are brought together occasion- ally for group instruction, but for the most part are taught individu- ally. This applies both to their 290 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION the supervisor}' visits of the in- structors to the individual pupils, at their homes or other places of agri- cultural employment. (b) Vacation time. — The study time is divided into three terms, sepa- rated at Christmas and Easter by brief vacations. A total of approxi- mately three weeks a year may be observational training and to their practice work. Thus the school year of the agricultural department pupil generally covers forty weeks, of which the time set apart for agri- cultural study at the school covers about twenty-eight. (b) Vacation time. — Agricultural pupils, as a rule, either take special high school subjects three months during the winter, or are taught vocational agricultural subjects three i'lG. 213. — L se land lor blackboard. Good looking ears, "crib selected," were planted on this test plot. Germination test omitted. Common farm practice. All kernels from one mother ear, in one row ; all from another, in the next ; etc. Cabbages interplanted where corn failed to grow, to keep land working. Smith School, Northampton. said to be reserved for vacations of pupils. Where pupils are employed at the school, vacations must be so adjusted as to safeguard the routine work of the school. months. Thus their vacation time during the school 3'ear generally cor- responds to that of the regular high school pupils. Occasionally a pupil, hard worked at home during the summer, and early and late daily during term time, prefers a half-vacation during the winter absence of his agricultural instructor, and comes to the high school only half the day to continue MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 291 -^ y. ir. Y 2 2 292 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTUR.\L EDUCATION b. Six-hour day. — The home-proj- ect plan which, as has been stated before, is a no-dormitory plan, and which, accordingly, enables pupils, almost without exception, to live at home throughout the year, restricts the amount of time which may be claimed from the pupils for class in- struction at the school. Generally, however, pupils are able to look after their live-stock projects in the morning and arrive at school by 9 o'clock. They are also able to re- main at the school until 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and still reach home in time to attend to their live-stock projects at night. When plant proj- ects require more time at home the entire day is spent there, or a half day, when the instructor in charge of the project of a given pupil so directs. Practice work on projects of the school is done in school hours. without interruption the high school subjects upon which he has entered and which he is desirous of complet- ing with the regular high school pupils. Occasionally, again, graduates of high schools enter the agricultural department as part-time pupils, tak- ing nothing but agriculture. They sometimes prefer to devote their entire time during the winter to farm work. This is not for them, by any means, a three months' vacation in the ordinary sense of the term ; it is time which they are at liberty to spend awa}' from the high school. Pupils sometimes spend these winter months in a short course at Massachusetts Agricultural College, specializing in some department such as the dairy or the greenhouse. b. Three-hour day. — The agri- cultural department does not claim, as does the school, the entire school time of the pupil. It is entitled to only one-half of the regular high school day in the case of any given bo)-. In some high schools there is a single session. The Board of Edu- cation is advising two sessions. An agricultural department cannot count upon more than three hours a day of school time. The younger pupils are usually taught in a group one-half the day, and the older pupils in a group the other half. The depart- ment, therefore, generally is in session six hours a day, but the individual pupil is accountable to it for only three. The nearness of the homes of the pupils to the high school makes it easily possible for the agricultural pupils to do the necessary work with MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 293 c. Supplementary time. — The six-hour day in school is supple- mented by whatever time is required out of school, including the growing and harvesting seasons, for the suc- cessful execution of projects, or sub- stitutes for projects, agreed upon. d. Certain percentages of the en- tire time allotment of pupils men- tioned in the discussion of approved " organization " and " courses of study " are required, as follows: their live-stock projects in the morn ing and still be at school on time, whatever the opening time of the high school may be ; and after the close of the high school day there is ample time for doing the afternoon work on the live-stock projects. When plant projects require more time than that available before and after school, the half day which belongs to the agri- cultural department is spent at home. It is understood that in an emergency the entire day may be spent at home without subjecting the pupil to high school discipline. The group plan of teaching is intended to obviate the necessity, except under the most criti- cal conditions, of taking a boy away from non-agricultural classes. When- ever a crisis arises the agricultural instructor is scrupulous about mak- ing arrangements in advance with other teachers for excusing the boys from high school subjects to work upon their projects. Emergencies rarely arise which cannot be met within the time which properly be- longs to the agricultural department. Where a department has land, practice work on the projects of a department is done in school hours. c. Supplementary time. — The three-hour day in school is supple- mented by whatever time is required out of school, including the growing and harvesting seasons, for the suc- cessful execution of projects, or sub- stitutes for projects, agreed upon. d. Certain percentages of the en- tire time allotment of pupils above mentioned in the discussion of " or- ganization " and " courses of study " are as follows : k 294 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION (a) Fifty per cent of time for proj- ect study and project work. (b) Thirty per cent of time for " re- lated stud}-." (c) Twenty per cent of time for non-agricultural study. (a) Fifty per cent of time for project .studjs "related study" and project work. This is required. (b) Fifty per cent of time for non- agricultural study. This is optional with the pupil. F. School records of employment of the indi\ddual pupils are kept. These are used in part as a basis for the approval of a school or department for state aid. They conform closely to those required in other branches of vocational education, show the kind of experience Fig. 2i6. — "Corn is King" for the Massachusetts dairyman. For class selecting mother ears and preparing germination tests for second season of com improvement project, see Fig. 242. Here checking up germination test. Strong ear, 100%, right. Weak ear, left, will not be used for planting. Concord .Agricultural Department. gained, the " time factor " and the " balance of training," and may be listed as follows : (A) Study records, of course, are kept by the instructors. These include the standing of pupils from day to day in both agricultural and non-agricultural subjects. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 295 (B) Daily and monthly time, temperature, weather, and account sheets are kept by the pupils on forms approved by the Board of Education. The project accounts and reports required by the Board of Education on farm and non-farm earnings are based upon items Hsted daily and summarized at least once a month by each pupil. Column rulings or code devices are adopted which show what items are cash and what are credits for work or products in lieu of cash. (C) Photographic records showing conditions under which their pupils are working and indicating their progress are made by the Fig. 217. — Flint corn, ear-row test. Yields from dilTerent mother ears noted and seed ears selected prior to cutting. Breeding up. Smith School, Northampton. instructors. These records are valuable in all cases, and particularly so in connection with products which are perishable. (D) Farm-practice sheets are kept. These show the kinds of farm work in which the individual pupils have become skilled. A single large sheet has been approved. On this at a glance may be seen the degrees of operative eflEiciency with which the individual pupil has been credited by his various farm- work instructors. When pupils are admitted, they are asked to rate themselves on this sheet, in a column reserved for this purpose, in the kinds of farm work which they claim to have done ; but their ratings by the school or depart- ment are based solely on details of farm work which instructors have reviewed or taught. These sheets meet the general requirement of 296 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION the Board of Education that state-aided schools shall keep " trade or occupational records." (E) Life history cards are part of the general requirements of the Board of Education. The blanks are approved by the Board of Education, and are kept in proper files for ready and per- manent reference. They show statistical facts desired, have ap- propriate sections for annual summaries of the study and work records, spaces for recording reports on schooling before entrance. rrF,%'' ■'' Br" ' w r^ II*- -Oi \HyvaH*/i m* % \ * • ''•*v"V^-''*'.>~._ii, -^ £ Fig. 218. — Corn roots. Excavation near corn hills. Roots gently washed out. Plain enough why cultivation should be level and shallow. "Related Study" exercise. Essex County School. and of employment for five years after withdrawal and place- ment at work, of each pupil who has been trained by a school or department. (2) Employment honors. — To give zest to, and public recognition of, capable agricultural school employment, the following mementos of success are provided : A. Prizes offered by the State through the Board of Agriculture, by local agricultural fairs, and by other interested associations and individuals, may be won by pupils. Some of these are awarded for excellence in judging farm animals or other farm products; others, for farm products grown by the pupils. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 297 B. Certificates are given pupils on creditable completion of short courses. These may be either typewritten or specially printed forms. In either case they show exactly what agricultural training the individual pupil has received. C. Diplomas, which compare favorably with those given by other schools for pupils fourteen years of age and older, are awarded those who complete satisfactorily the regular four-year agricultural courses. These diplomas are not conferred in June, but at Thanksgiving Fig. 219. — Freshmen ridding seed corn breeding plot of smut. Not only land, but corn itself must be kept clean. Hadley Agricultural Department. after the projects of the fourth summer have been completed and reported upon. (3) Agricultural employment bureau service is rendered the agri- cultural pupils b}^ the schools and departments, both during their years of training and after withdrawal or graduation. The demand for them is much greater than can yet be met by the annual output of young men well trained for farming. (4) Supervision of employment by the local agricultural instruc- tors and by the agricultural representative of the Board of Education is thorough and businesslike, both during the courses of training and, where possible, after withdrawal or graduation. Preparation for Fig. 220. — Boys haul the concentrates and fill the silos. A county school with complete farming equipment affords a limited group of city and village boys good farm training. But numbers must be kept small, or drive and efficiency will be lost. Bristol County Agricultural School. 298 MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 299 profitable farming is a lifelong undertaking. Some of the best in- struction is given after a pupil has been rated a graduate, by the local itinerant agricultural teacher. Records kept follow : A. Local triplicate memorandum blanks are used by the instructors in their weekly or more frequent supervision. Observations made and the instruction given are entered by the instructor, and are re- ceipted for by the person visited. One copy is left with the latter, one copy is placed properly indexed in the school file, and the third copy may be retained by the instructor. If the instructor does not care for a personal file, duplicate, instead of triplicate, blanks are ap- proved. Each blank bears the name of the school or department, and the name of the instructor, his address, and his telephone number. See one of these blanks in Fig. 303 on page 427. B. State supervision blanks are provided by the Board of Educa- tion. On these are entered the complete employment responsibilities of the individual pupils for a given year. They are filled out by the local agricultural instructors, are filed with the state supervisor of agricultural education not later than April 15 of each year, and are used by him for recording his impressions of the efficiency of instruction as he inspects the work of the pupils during the growing and harvesting seasons. The front of such a blank is shown on page 453, filled out for a pupil but with the pupil's name omitted. C. Advisory committee supervision. — Advisory committees often feel that their best insight into courses of study, methods of instruc- tion, and qualifications of teachers is gained by accompanying in- structors and the agricultural representative of the Board of Education when they inspect the employment of pupils. And it is certain that some of the most valuable service of advisory committee members has grown out of their personal observation of the pupils when engaged in their farming operations. D. Deputy commissioner's supervision. — The deputy commis- sioner in charge of state-aided vocational education makes an annual inspection of the employment of agricultural pupils, and more fre- quent inspections of schools or departments selected for special atten- tion from time to time. 300 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION E. Commissioner's supervision. — Occasionally the Commissioner of Education makes a tour of inspection, choosing schools or depart- ments which, for one reason or another, he desires to give personal attention. F. Board of Education's supervision. — Committee and individual inspections of the employment of pupils by members of the Board of Education can sometimes be counted upon. (5) Blanks, files, and photographic supplies, proposed or approved by the Board of Education for local records of employment, must be furnished by the school or department which desires state aid. (6) Employment reports to the Board of Education, including the earnings of each pupil separately Hsted, are required annually on November 15. Blanks for these reports are provided by the Board. Fig. 221. — Ernest Hitchcock feeding "balanced ration" and cost-accounting every cow at home. Graduate of academy who returned part-time for agriculture when Agri- cultural Department opened. See Fig. 222. Brimfield Agricultural Department. II. Conclusion There are other requirements and advantages of particular impor- tance to the Board of Education in Massachusetts. Only those which may be suggestive to those responsible for vocational agricultural teaching or supervision elsewhere have been given in this chapter. MASSACHUSETTS NO-DORMITORY SCHOOL SYSTEM 301 Good results have been achieved from the beginning ; better and better results, as the years have passed. It is believed that the close of the first ten-year period may safely be punctuated by the state- ment that the Massachusetts plan of vocational agricultural education Fig. 222. — Hitchcock cost-accounting, at date of these photographs, every cow on this farm, also, — 16 cows in herd. Owner paid for this work. Owner was progressive — note silo ; but for first time knew each cow when Hitchcock gave him figures. Brimfield Agricultural Department. will justify itself from every reasonable point of view, and will prove to possess undeniable merit as a method of training both for farming as a definite calling and for intelligent and vigorous partici- pation in the community life of any commonwealth. CHAPTER VII SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS, SUPERINTENDENTS, AND DIRECTORS, SUPPORTED BY EXPERIENCE IN MASSACHUSETTS The author desires to be definite regarding certain principles and procedures which he believes to be important for the sound, and at the same time reasonably rapid, advance- ment of vocational agricultural educa- tion. He therefore ventures the follow- ing suggestions to those responsible for administration and instruction in this field, and supports them by certain digests of Massachusetts experience where such principles and procedures have been followed. I. Know the Agricultural Resources and Possibilities of the Locality You Serve Some sort of survey of the agricultural resources and possibilities of a state or locality should be made as a basis for any well-considered plan for state or local vocational agricultural education. Before the plan outlined in the fore- going chapters was provided for, the following question was asked and an- swered : " Does farming in Massachusetts offer sufficiently important and attrac- tive careers to warrant the establishment of a system of agricultural schools in this Commonwealth, to train boys and girls who have reached their fourteenth 302 1 \: y ^^^^H Fig. 223. — Russell ISkinner, em- ployed by Chairman of Advi- sory Committee. Substitute for project, cost-accounting entire herd. Owner had pure-bred sire, but had never kept records. Owner a prize winner in clean milk contests. Brimfiekl Agri- cultural Department. SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 303 birthdays for farm life and work? " Briefly stated, the farming incentives and prospects which were found and the conclusions which were drawn were as follows : (i) Incentives to farming in Massachusetts were many. — In a given farm- ing enterprise there might be blended any two or three, or there might be blended all, of the incentives which made farming in this state attractive. A. The stresses and uncertainties of other callings had led many to engage in farming. Severe competition and uncertainty as to the future in business 0^...V \. Fig. 224. — Owner allowed Skinner land for acre of corn as "home project." Skinner, as "rent," cleared up stumpy section. Prize ears in photo. Took "first" at three fairs. Sold single ears at 2^i each. Brimfield Agricultural Department. had resulted in the purchase and development of Massachusetts farm land. Prospects for a profitable investment, a stable occupation, and a lifelong em- ployment at congenial work had been incentives to redirection of effort in such a case. A section of this state was pointed out, during the survey, which was said to have been bought up, one small holding after another, by " broken-down mechanics." It might be fairly considered one of the least promising sections for farming. The operations undertaken were on a small scale; in no in- stance on a large one. Health and vigor, and self-sustaining life for their chil- dren and themselves, free from the severe competition in the trades and in- dustries, were the primary incenti\'cs in these cases. B. Family attractions and associations were strong motives with many. Farm after farm was owned and operated by the same family, in whose ances- 304 VOCATION.\L AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION tral line it had remained for eight or even nine generations ; and never before had been so capably tilled and productive. The author held in his hand the original parchment deed of the Howe Farm in Marlborough, a farm which had never been deeded since assigned in 1684 to thd ancestors of the present owner. The owner was a graduate of the Massachusetts .Agricultural College and a member of its Board of Trustees. He was a past master of the Massa- chusetts State Grange. Coiner of the phrase, " Milk that needs no washing," he was making clean milk and selling it at a profit in a manufacturing town. His oldest son, a graduate of " M. A. C," was at home and in partnership with him, in dairying, fruit growing, and market gardening. Other such instances included Fig. 225. — Clifton .Scoll. Corn projcLt at home j aLrc^. Just seeded to grass at last cultivation. Excellent " catch." Note clean, level cultivation. Cost accounted 5 cows same year. Total farm earnings S598.02. Now in Agricultural College. Ashfield Agricultural Department. the ancestral farm in West Newbury which is the home of the famous Thurlow Nurseries. C. The natiu-al charm of the country had been a motive for the establish- ment of the growing number of more or less magnificent estates in Massachu- setts. The North Shore, the South Shore, and the Berkshires were noted for the men from the great cities and even from distant states who had sought Massachusetts land for its picturesque actualities and possibilities. Most of these estates possessed well-rounded agricultural equipment. They had created a large demand for skilled gardeners, florists, fruit growers, herdsmen, grooms, and trainers. They employed expert farm managers, and supplied their own tables with the cleanest milk and the choicest farm, garden, orchard, and greenhouse products. Their stables sheltered harness horse championship winners in international competitions. The owners had paid SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 305 the highest prices for the best-bred live-stock, and in notable instances had put their farming operations on a strictly economic basis, as object lessons for neighboring farmers. They were proudest of results of their own breeding. Beside and among these more splendid estates there was a multitude of simpler establishments, maintained on a more modest scale, for like purposes. D. A life pursuit to be found in farming had been the compelling incentive of many people who had engaged in agriculture. This state had its misfits and failures on farms, as in every other line of human activity ; but it also had farmers who loved, and were finding profitable, the careers on the land which they had chosen. The suc- cess of the latter appeared to be due to two causes : to a fundamental liking for the land and all the natural accompaniments of its cultivation ; and to the economic status and pros- pects of farming in this Commonwealth, discussed in the following section. The survey yielded abun- dant and convincing evi- dence that Massachusetts farmers believed, not only that farming in general offered a desirable career, but also that those who intended to make farming a life pursuit in this state would find themsehes put to no serious disadvantage because their lot was to be cast in this Commonwealth. Farming in Massachusetts had become increasingly attractive to immi- grants who had left the Old World and come here with the determination to succeed. These immigrants were not so much peasants as they were pioneers. They were thrifty and observant; they were quick to adopt new ideas and methods. Money was saved and invested. Theirs was a program of hope. As their savings and their holdings increased in value, their standards of living Fic. 220. Mr. i;tiu-i Ix - I, Hadley, left,- — first com club member in Massachusetts to win a free trip to Washington, D. C. Graduate of Massachusetts Agricultural College. Now farming on old homestead and agricultual instructor in Smith School, North- ampton. Hadley likes to win. Two from Hadley allowed free trips to Washington in 19 18. 3o6 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION had risen ; thej' had begun to educate their children, and presently were on a level with other good citizens in their communities. (2) Fanning prospects were good, and were steadily improving. The survey included certain facts and figures with regard to the condition of agri- culture in this state. A. The Agricultural Census of Massachusetts for 1905 reported the value of property devoted to agriculture in general in this state as $288,153,000. THE SPRINGFIL-I.D LNION: MONDAY EVENINa NOVEMBER 23 1914 HAMPDEN CO. IMPROVEMENT DEPT. .KEEPm^SOF mmmm li ^S t ^ oiiny Men s! BfimnelJ \ o- caiionai SchiwI Give !n- I srnjctive Report {YIELD OF gL%CH COW Results ot Changing Feed- ing Ration M«o ShovD- BMC r.t^M r*« * IMt tr^oM IMPS iak»g l-nj>ct work in 44ir>lns ai Uw tr-ns- ■■0MUI >«M#*>| ftA« V«>D* to k'I litirv- Bva at i&M '■xHtmtr Ka>-«#4B rvau^- MOM *•»» *—« wi.! f^c !*• pun y'«f «• Uw rafw 'ly^ , -.a -9.^ a*" Mw •(— (T. flt TW, k-A* »3<1p >-«hrt> iK^ir M r«ul l^^'tl IB .■*»* fctrtf uf rt(^! <,-•>»■ IWu (B*J« •T :t lEcda llT'-i: Tbla «BrrlF i> ■ fc^TS fi^ oAnCftrr ot k««^>Rj[ »■ ■ ' urmta ac-nuntx cf |h« Amit cxrv (COM* at. U< ft*lp ^lisimAU tft* tr«tl fA'va. VTk) milk ffvd and (-ar> (.7 aM4lt-Mltta< «i>lir.a) Mhtch At T>« Oif 1^ 'M/ wtll «ti «K C«QU (e« a rv^**! t>r >t• «»•« ■ >«««( ff ntl M •bll# Uh- .Mh«f •MM «0* •(> a tart ik# «•» aiin.ji<- ut ■— IT f vAk* tte «atlv r«o».-« ID Mlh prBtf».~ll9a la U»# wvll t«p«m1 ■bwt. (Ma te kkowl :>■« .^"h •un^kt Mt« L:c B 4 R4C«na k; fftnM-n vbn ma4» • rr«>i tm.o — im t;p«a th* ui- Aa«c*. riwwiM tk« mSwmk* of » ?ur« ktaft-t)«*4 «iT« tv ban) Um itrrd la In ■ fta^iac tna loattE* i-t Ik* »>!« an4 a»pa i i««, 'ka pd«atk)i!ty «« iiKF'aAai&< iM A^iwi^ui (w»d.ifi>OB. «• cun4a ^r taulk. ih* »ci; «l,*f» nKt>r*» ka»- te«« kapt for •**- trvi I'Mfk. Uu taiMi-ria^ flcuna «*ta [■r«lurv4 aa arcrkxa* of llvr aNL'r* twfM :«*, C«SI iMHinA: tK«, e»r fouihij . :m*, yx^ prwads : 1 ita. Ti'iiift ^■-■.ttula l»i;. 4»:« ptMirt^a Itlt rw? Thii^ Tti* krrptBC •-•t nrorda kaa tn muiy tnaca«<-«* <-a<.^a»4 th« [«*d*r o( tS» rto-li fe. ckABy- M» ;a*4ia« ra- il' n» a.-1-vdbts tt> iji* iTijJuniiiB aod ;nJ!ii-i;alJlT of (he cp* Kr«r> tr^S- • r ahv'iiW^ kmjw w^I bta kv^ «ilt do i^at tntb aad tk* .AiB«u»t rattoirvd *t ktf to DrotfwM Ikr malaat pn-4Ca H mr *» ■»!« It r*( ■'ujinAaa alhiuid 4o. hn< * bla A'JMiMwa iboroJclilT aoJ n(i«J'>-l 1: CLs ht kn(.«» h« aboM^T T^ ae- ■vat t> knoWB ^)> «:; Ttm- ilalrrnun atu 'toM aot d.' itil- )t*« ib« b.i -lf !--■ a Urc* axtntt to p»a * f« k-a -vn Kh-T^jkl^r. r till wtTk in i>tt*4a. Tka raaulta e^f^Ttl aa la 1 I'r->r O *. Marton t>t i»ta ftcnrvt- i>tf«) <'aaaia. whs ta :a b nuataai and l^^ <-iaa» Mr as^ eirt mciaau w.H ^ at tbv lanvf linr. pr-i^-Vi-' ■■- ha aataat' a* who rr»(#r*it th* i»»r4 ah«*i >«. finiina Fig. 227. — Three Brimfield boys, Norcross, Hitchcock, and Skinner, reported records, cost, and comparative profits on cows in four herds for a year at a meeting attended by forty farmers. Explained methods and answered questions for two hours. Superin- tendent of schools said exercise would have been creditable "in a seminar course in Columbia University." Both sides of these blackboards were used for records and comparisons. See next page. Newspapers reported the meeting. SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 307 The annual farming output was valued at 873,110,000. Comparisons were made. It was found that, while the value of the manufacturing output of the state was fifteen times as great as that of the agricultural output, the total value of property devoted to manufacturing was only about three times as great as the total value of that devoted to agriculture. Such comparisons were a spur towards efforts to secure for agriculture more nearly equal returns per unit of investment in the general field of vocational efl&ciency. But con- sidering agriculture by itself, there was positive e%adence of advancement which was encouraging. Its growth in importance was shown by the fact Fig. 228. — This young farmer, owner of Holstein herd headed by "Briar Parthenia Komdj'ke de Kol" (i yr. and 10 mo.), was not present at the meeting mentioned in Fig. 227, saw the report and telephoned to ask if adult farmers could not be given similar instruction. A class was formed. Before end of year, more than 400 cows on individual test, where before the department opened not one cow was on test. Norcross may be seen above in Frontispiece, Hitchcock and Skinner in Figures 221, 223, and 224 Brimfield Agricultural Department. that in 1875 the total value of output was $37,073,000; in 1885, $47,756,000; in 1895, 852,880,000; and in 1Q05, $73,110,000. B. Massachusetts farmers said farming prospects were promising. Most of the conferences were personal interviews with Massachusetts farmers on their own premises, — farmers who were regarded by their communities as thoroughly reliable, and who were dependent on their farming for a living. In all sections of the state the prevailing opinion was that no state offered a better opportunity for profitable agriculture and a satisfactory home life on the 3o8 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION farm than did Massachusetts. This was shown by statements such as the following : " We have good land." " We have the best markets in the world." " We have good roads and short hauls." " We have excellent shipping facilities, and the cost of shipment is light when compared with the cost of shipping produce from distant points." " I increase my market garden production a little every ^-ear; the more I produce, the more I can sell." " The cities are growing so much faster than the rate of increase of production from the land, that excessive competi- tion is not to be feared, and prices for prime farm products are bound to continue good and are likely to become better." " The great variety of soils and products is favorable to satisfac- tory farming, taking one year with another, in this state." " .\ keen eye to the markets, and shipment to New York or other out-of-the-state points, when prices rule low here and high there, take care of any temporary surplus or slump in home market prices." " For choice fruit there are almost unbelievable possibili- ties in the home market, with the port of Boston ready for ship- ment of practically unlimited quantities, especially of apples, to foreign markets." " We have good libraries, public schools, and churches." " The Grange in Massachusetts is a splendid organization for getting the farmers together for pleasure and the improvement of their life and work." Such were the things said by the farmers themselves of the advantages of farming in this state. C. Few abandoned farms showed farming prospects to be improving. Secretary Ellsworth of the State Board of Agriculture had in press a report of i6o pages, entitled " Massachusetts, her Agricultural Resources, Advan- tages and Opportunities, with a List of Farms for Sale." In his preface Secretary Ellsworth said that his publication was " issued Fig. 22y. Bicycles help in supervision. Botsford at Petersham. Mr. SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 309 at the beginning of an exceptional era in Massachusetts agriculture."' He then added, " While an effort was made to secure the names of parties owning or controlling strictly abandoned farms, the attempt was ineffectual, and we are forced to confess that in our belief there are few such farms in the state. Nevertheless, reports confirm the opinion that there is an enormous amount of land lying idle or partly deserted, and that many farms are not worked to anywhere near their limit." D. Improved tillage had made farming prospects better. Massachusetts land was remarkably responsive to better farming. Land once tilled but then lying for the moment largely or even entirely neglected was regarded as a sign- post of dormant fertility. Such land was simply resting. Striking examples of this fact came to view during the survey. One instance may suffice for illus- tration, and the fact that this is furnished by the work of a woman whose farm was visited renders it none the less significant. The owner of an intensively tilled farm, with a model dairy and well- developed piggery, poultr\', market-garden, and greenhouse departments, Fig. 230. — Horses are necessary at some SL-asun^ *jii niuuiiiain ruads. Mr. Sussmaiia at Ashfield. desired to increase her output. She therefore bought a 20-acre field. This lay next adjoining her own improved land, but had not been cropped within the memory of the oldest inhabitant of that section, — not for at least sixty years, and probably not for more than a century. It was sparsely strewn with wild grass, gray moss, sweet fern, and bayberry. The former owner had often said that he would keep a yoke of oxen, if he only thought he could grow enough feed for them, but he did not believe he could do it. The summer of the survey, its first season in tillage at the hands of its new owner, this 'field yielded 10 acres of rye, straw, and grain; 250 bushels of splendid potatoes; 80 tons of ensilage, put in the silo; 2 acres of heavy field corn, at the time of the interview standing in the shocks; and 2 tons of sugar 3IO VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION ':ikhA pumpkins ; while at the time the field was visited there were 8 acres in clover, sown in the rye and showing a good " catch," 5 acre in turnips, with the re- mainder of the field laid down to rj-e again. E. Increase of investments in land showed that farming was becoming more attractive as a business enterprise. Keen business sagacity had led a caterer well known in the state to purchase a farm and develop it as an ad- junct to his city business. His farm was a strictly financial proposition. Though model equipment and conditions had been established, he did not use it for a summer residence, and his visits to the farm were for inspection and for conference with his mana- ger. Strict accounts were kept. Waste from the catering kitchens was sold to the piggery depart- ment. Poultry, market- garden, piggery, fruit and dairy products were sold to the catering ends of the combined business. The books showed that the farm was a paying invest- ment. " Golden New Eng- land," by Mr. Sylvester Baxter (The Outlook, Sept. 24, 1910, pages 189-190), was an account of the status and prospects of Fig. 231. Motor cycles are handy on improved roads. Mr. Bronson at Marlborough. farming in this section. Mr. Baxter gave the following somewhat striking instance : " On a certain Essex County place a Boston business man has gone into apples in a way that ranks the undertaking as a great business enterprise. A single place, with something like 50,000 apple trees, not only cuts a large figure in Massachusetts, — even in the great West it would mean ' going some.' " SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 311 F. Little farms, with intensive farming, yielded large returns. — Con- trasted with the western prairies, the smaller fields along and among the hills and streams of Massachusetts had seemed to some impossible of profitable cultivation. By them it had even been asserted that Massachusetts is " not an agricultural state." Such a remark was met by the Massachusetts farmer with a blank look of amazement. He had no doubt that farming in this state was a permanent and would be an increasingly important vocation. He knew that fundamental to advancing agriculture is a market commensurate with its Fig. 232. — Most of the instructors use automobiles. Light touring cars are preferred, because pupils, equipment, and supplies can on occasion be so readily carried. Home- project efficiency depends upon supervision, regular and frequent. Mr. Powers at North Easton. output ; and he saw the manufacturing towns in his neighborhood growing with a rapidity almost beyond belief. Even in the West, not the enormous holding, but the smaller one is now recognized as the more promising basis for the most permanent and profitable agricultural production. Evidence is abundant that the little farm may yield large returns. One of the tidiest bits of farming seen during the survey was on a lo-acre farm, of which part was in pasture and only about 6 acres were under cultivation. Some of the land was tilted on edge, in typical New England fashion. All of the fields were more or less irregular in their boundaries, and from some of them cartloads of stones had been removed, with more to follow. The land was " kept busy." Market gardening was the main feature, but there 312 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION was fruit ; and there were " side lines " of dairying and poultry, to utilize "clip- pings " and unsalable remnants of the principal products. This farm was yielding a profit of $5000 a year. Other farms visited, which to the unaccustomed eye might look small, were yielding net returns of from $2000 to $10,000, and even $25,000 a year. Greater thrift and satisfaction in work well done one could not hope to find in any state. Fig. 233. — Mr. Doolittle at wheel. His advisory committee said he was such a valuable adviser that they desired "more of his time to be spent on farms and less between farms." He had been using a bicycle. A fund was subscribed and this car given his de- partment. The second year, 36 pupils applied, too many for one instructor. Assistant at left was provided. Photograph taken on farm of a Concord pupil in igu. Mr. DooUttle is still at Concord. His work never was so good as now, and he is still growing. Mr. Baxter, in the article above cited, gave the following instances : " A half-acre strawberry patch, . . . yields 5000 quarts, worth $525. Eleven hundred dollars have come from an acre and a half of cantaloupes. There are thousands of acres in asparagus in Massachusetts alone, with profits of $300 or even $600 an acre. An Italian makes from $4000 to $5000 a year off of 4 acres in market gardening. Five acres in peaches have yielded $2500 in one year. Apples 1 That is a story in itself. And flowers ? Well, there is a lady SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 3^3 on Cape Cod who makes $200 or so every summer on a patch of sweet peas little bigger than a city back yard. As for potatoes and corn, there are nu- merous big records." G. Productivity compares favorably with that of other big farming states. — Secretary Ellsworth, in the pamphlet before mentioned, was outspoken and explicit in his estimate of the agricultural prospects of Massachusetts. This Fig. 234. — Farmers are invited to help. Rear seat, three of advisory committee of fifteen farmers. Woman's farmhouse in background. She has been a successful dairy farmer for years on old homestead. Agricultural instructor at left on front seat. State supervisor at wheel. Home projects of 16 pupils visited in an afternoon, with full opportunity to stop at quiet spots on road and talk over what has just been seen or what is about to be seen. Instructors thus learn from farmers, and farmers from in- structors. Photograph taken at Brimfield for Panama Pacific Exposition. has previously been intimated, and will more clearly appear from the follow- ing passage : "... when ratio of aggregate production to aggregate acreage, yield per acre of certain crops and character of tillage are considered, Massachusetts ranks favorably with the leading agricultural states. The following data, gleaned from the latest official statistics, add strength to this statement : "In 1900 Massachusetts had 3,147,064 acres in farms, which j-ielded the previous year $42,298,274 worth of farm products. As compared with the five leading agricultural states, we find California, with nine times this number 314 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION of acres in farms, producing only three times as many dollars' worth of farm products ; Illinois, with ten times the farm acreage, producing eight times as many dollars' worth of farm products ; Iowa, with eleven times the farm acre- age, producing nine times as many dollars' worth of farm products ; Kansas, with thirteen times the farm acreage, producing four and one-half times as many dollars' worth of farm products; and Texas, with forty times the farm acreage, producing five times as many dollars' worth of farm products." (3) Conclusions. — It was believed, in short, that the experience of those who were successfully engaged in farming here, and the economic status atid prospects of farming in this Commonwealth, showed conclusively that. excep- tional success awaited the work of the exceptional man or woman in this field of economic activity ; and that farming was bound to afford a profitable and satisfactory living for the average boy or girl who entered this field with a thrifty, alert, and progressive spirit, and with a proper preliminary education. At the beginning of the survey, the question was raised as to whether a system of agricultural schools would be likely to result in increased valuation of taxable property on farms, and thus return directly to the public treasury at least some portion of its cost. One farmer put the gist of the answers of all his fellows into the succinct reply, that it did not take the assessors long to discover any improvements that he made on his farm as a result of better methods. Finally, it appeared that farming in Massachusetts was a calling the Suc- cessful pursuit of which required knowledge of the sciences that lie back of the practice of agriculture ; that, in order to secure a more widespread, productive, and profitable agriculture, it was necessary that vocational schools and de- partments supported and controlled by the public should train boys, and now and then a girl, in the best methods of farming; and that farming in Massachusetts was a calling of sufficient importance to justify both local and state support of a system of vocational agricultural education such as that set forth in the foregoing pages. (4) Present status. — Findings of one date should be checked up by findings of later surveys. The present Commissioner of Agri- culture has reviewed the original findings above outlined and has approved them as fairly representing the agriculture of Massa- chusetts to-day. All of the conditions then favorable are still favorable. The old New England academy has been called the most efficient device ever contrived for depleting New England country hfe of its best blood and brain and moral fiber. The old New England minister used to glory in the boy he had helped to send away. Everything SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 315 was done that could be done for the boy who was to go, that might directly help him to succeed in his chosen career. Little or nothing was done for the boys who were to stay at home that might help them to succeed in their chosen careers. A radical correction of these faults is now on foot. Knowing the agriculture and the education of Massachusetts, a plan of vocational agricultural education has been established which affords a choice between separate or county school training and that of the high school department. The high school department plan is particularly significant. Due to its very modest cost, it may enable every old rural academy and every new rural high school to serve, not only the distant community, but also the community in which it sits. One does not cease to be an optimist by reflecting that of the ten thou- sand boy babies born a year in farmhouses among the hills, under the trees and by the streams of New England, it is given to few to become great, but it may be given to all to become sound and serv- iceable. Sound and serviceable for farming and country life more and more Massachusetts boys are becoming under the home-project plan of vocational agricultural education. 2. Fit Agricultural Instruction to Local Needs Local needs ought to be surveyed and re-surveyed continually. In Massachusetts there have been found to be several outstanding needs. (i) Needs of sons of well-to-do farmers. — Sons of prosperous farmers desire this education. By prosperous farmers are meant those who have large capital and are farming on a big scale, whether by intensive or extensive methods. Such farmers, or their foremen, will probably continue to be the best possible instructors of their sons in details of skill in practical operations ; and their home farms will provide abundant opportunity for the practical or productive school work of their sons. The chief need of the sons of prosperous farmers is training in cer- tain elements of agricultural science. Those elements should be selected which directly bear upon the home farm operations which the pupil is observing, or in which he is participating. Such a boy 3i6 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION should master a body of scientific facts and principles that will forever free his farming from the rule-of-thumb by bringing it under the rule- of-reason. Few prosperous farmers can fully instruct their sons in j 4^0 'X At' : : BCMLER H)VbZ ; ■ ROOF I IaL_J AuDf'ORion UcruRt •/»' X3X- l/iBORAroBY RoortD Arema JUDGir<6 .DcrAC-M^TF\ATlON3 RccnEADorf : AtgtMBLY . r\oct\ Fig. 235. — Building designed to meet the distinctive needs of an agricultural school. Roofed arena, a mammoth corridor. Stairs in corners. Entire floor space in end sec- tions thus free for class uses. End walls of arena cost no more than if corridor had been only ten feet wide. Four buildings, or five, under one roof. Marvel of low cost for construction per unit of space and convenience. Design sketched by the author. See Fig. 307 for front. Smith School, Northampton. these matters, — they are without laboratory equipment, they are too busy, and in most cases they are frank to say that they have not the necessary scientific knowledge. It is evident that vocational agricultural education may render a real service to those sons of prosperous farmers who will not take the SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 317 longer course of four years in high school and four years in an agri- cultural college, but who desire a shorter course of from one to four years in the scientific aspects of their practical farming. For such boys there can hardly be too much attention given to the kind and quality of scientific training ; always, of course, remembering that the train- ing must be suited to the age and capacity of the boys. (2) Needs of sons of parents without land or live-stock. — There are boys from village and city homes who desire to take up farming. Such boys come with scarcely any farm experience, and are generally destitute of land and live-stock. The chief need of boys from homes which have neither land nor live-stock is adequate facilities at the separate or county school for productive farm work, or employment throughout the year on farms near the high school departments they attend. For such boys, stronger stress should be put not upon the scientific equipment at a county school, but upon its equipment for practical farming. And their needs for training in practical farming may be satisfied best by practical work of two sorts : A. Training for wage-earning. — These boys must learn to take orders. They must show capacity to master the " knack " of doing the thousand and one things in routine farm work which require skill ; and such capacity can only be shown by doing things as they are told or shown how to do them, by doing them repeatedly, by doing some of them regularly and promptly, and by doing them at last better, if possible, than any competitor for a given job on a farm could do them. To meet the needs of such boys, the number of boys admitted should be small and the school should be conducting practical operations on a large scale. Or the school, like the high school department, should find jobs for these boys on prosperous farms, where they might work with the privilege of attending the school, and where they might master the practical elements of their proposed occupation, while mastering at the school its scientific elements. B. Training for independent farming. — For the competent train- ing of these boys, a year or two of wage-earning training should be supplemented by a year or two of experience in planning and carrying 3i8 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION • tpok* 0= T-* K' ■ Fig. 257. — Prominent newspaper space given these conferences. The Massachusetts Agricultural College and the Hampshire County Farm Bureau were among those cooperating. The College employs an Extension Service Specialist to assist in long-term planning. SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 345 project method of teaching teachers how to teach after they get their jobs. From September to the week before Christmas and from March to June, he will go from instructor to instructor among the schools and departments, helping each man as he finds him and where he finds him. In midwinter he will conduct a seminar course for plant project in- structors, and part of June and July a similar course for live-stock project instructors, at Massachusetts Agricultural College. These will be, not for all instructors, but rather for the express benefit of those Fig. 258. — Automobile show in the arena featured April 6-7, 1916, in connection with the county planning conference. Auto-trucks in tent at rear of main building. Only building in the county suited to such an event. Smith School, Northampton. whose most pressing professional improvement need is to be there with him for study of principles and methods of teaching and for prepara- tion of teaching materials and devices. Just as in teaching boys agriculture the project cycle is from job to classroom or laboratory exercise to job, so here, for both trainer and instructor, the professional improvement cycle will be from job to seminar or other study to job. (5) Promotes permanent tenure and increasing efficiency. — Such professional improvement work is of benefit to the individual instruc- tor, of course ; but in Massachusetts it is done on school time, at school expense, and is primarily for the benefit of the school or depart- 346 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION ment itself. Provided for ungrudgingly and with a cordially coopera- tive spirit by both administrator and instructor, it tends toward permanent tenure and constantly increasing efficiency. (6) Require annual reports on " professional improvement." — Following are professional improvement reports from one instructor, Mr. Rudolf Sussmann, for successive years. These, with the ac- companying comment, may be found suggestive. Fig. 259. — Delegates from local organizations assembled for county planning. Group shows president of Massachusetts Agricultural College, superintendents of schools, representatives of selectmen, tree wardens, boards of health, child welfare workers, and others, including state supervisor of vocational agricultural education. Smith School, Northampton. Report dated June 4, 1914 : The following is a report of mj' " professional improvement" work, (i) My winter leave began December 19th, 1913, and ended February 28th, 1914. (2) My vacation for rest began December 19th, 1913, and ended January ist, 1914. During this time, however, I did considerable orchard and general farm work. (3) I spent the time from January 3d to February 28th at the Massachu- setts Agricultural College taking work in the following subjects : Soil Fertility, SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 347 Field Crops, Types and Breeds of Live Stock, Live Stock Feeding, Dairy Bacteriology, Poultry, Fruit Growing, and Beekeeping. (4) The chief reason for my taking this work was to get in touch with the agricultural educators of the state. I am now better acquainted with them and their systems and theories. One of my older boys wanted to take beekeeping as a project, and is now doing so. For that reason I took the work in beekeeping. The work in feeding, dairy bacteriology, and types and breeds has a direct bearing upon my ■ BcxLEfi Howe i i Roof ; Rf SEARCH Fig. 260. — Events, like those previously portrayed, wherein the best products of young and old are brought sharply into comparison, put high premiums upon, and offer strong incentives to, vocational efficiency. Assembling, as previously portrayed, old and young, including representatives of varied county-side interests, for comparison of aims, for long-term planning, and for consideration of practical means and methods of better- ment, has far-reaching values, cultural and civic. In short, into the very heart of its architecture, no less than into its day to day work, the agricultural school may build its fundamental educational philosophy. 348 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION present work. I shall use my added knowledge of fruit growing this fall and of course soil fertility has a direct bearing on all of my work. (5) At the present time I have no definite plans for my " professional im- provement " time for the coming school year. FORMS OF EXTENSION WORK AND CORRELATION OF AGENCIES FOR EXTENSION SERVICE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF /V^CULT\iRE EXPERIMENT STATION Fig. 261. — An institution organized like this may justly claim for its slogan, "I serve." It indicates a preliminary survey of existing agencies, and a, policy, not of displacement or suppression, hut of cooperation. It shows a determination not to overlook and not to overlap, — a px)licy for any institution, large or small, which cannot be too warmly commended. Printed by courtesy of Director C. R. Titlow, Agricultural E.xtension Department, West Virginia University, Morgantown, W. Va. SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 349 Report dated May 3, 1915 : 1 hereby file a report on my " professional improvement " work for 1914- 1915- I spent my time from December gth to March 8th, with the exception of ," conference week " at Amherst (February 23 to 27), in Ashfield, and neigh- boring towns. I gave a great deal of my time to cooperating with the manager of the " Ashfield Cooperative Exchange." Together we visited farmers almost daily, talking and figuring with them on fertilizers, spraying goods, lime, etc. Through our efforts six cars (150 tons) of lime, forty-five tons of fertilizing material for In THE Serviceof Essex County VtCtTABLEGARDCNING^ DAIRYING I SWINEANO SHEEP RAISIN0[ GENERAL FARMING / MOMf MAKING FRUIT GROWING POULTRr RAISING FLORICULTURE I PRACTICA L DEUOMSTRATIONS IV B0Y5 ""GfRLS Ct UBS PHUMIMO. SPRAYING [TC n Tcsr Plots ON Farms 1 1 ME rCRTIUZERSOYBEANScn m COOPCRATION a PUflCHASt Of FAHU SUPPUli fr uahhthk Of fAiti PRooucn t cAimm I cAimiiK, cu/es YH0Ml£C0N0M/CS CAHNWO.Cl/kSStSACHIBS B MiSaUANEOUS exTlMSWM SCHOOLS COMSUVATIOH COUUITTUi (MAS, fOa AOWItU ITC Fig. 262. — The above chart hangs on the walls of the Essex County .Agricultural School. It graphically presents the harmonized and interlocked activities of vocational instruction and farm bureau work. The spirit and methods of the county school in Massachusetts are cooperative, bee pages 357-398. 350 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION home mixing, and one car of lime-sulphur and arsenate of lead were brought into Ashfield. Early in January I prepared a set of fertilizer formulas, which I used as a basis for advising the individual farmers what to order. This set of formulas was worked out with regard to the potash situation this year. We succeeded in getting all the potash we needed (9 per cent) at $61.00 per ton. I feel that this work was of very great value to me in my work. I got into the fertilizer question m'ore deeply and thoroughly than I could have in any other way. Each farm presented a new and different problem. In the near future, I will be able, because of data that I now have^ to show my pupils spe- cific cases of success or failure with lime, fertilizers, and sprays. I believe that, because of our conferences on the matter, the farmers who have ordered fertilizers this year realize more than ever the economic im- portance of knowing just what chemicals they need and using them only. Besides working with the manager of the exchange, I gave considerable attention to poultry breeding (line breeding), dairying, and pruning. Several of my pupils undertook to prune large orchards and I spent consider- able time supervising them. I spent several hours each day in study and preparing lessons and material for the spring class work which began on March 8. As a result of my work here this winter, I feel as though I had a better agricultural grip on the community. I know more about the resources of the farms and the farmer. I know more about the soil, the crops, and the systems of farming used here. All this will be of vast value to me in my work with the boys, for they come from farms where the conditions are the same as, or similar to, those that I have studied this winter. In using the community for a textbook, as it were, I feel that I got the most possible benefit for the time spent in " professional improvement." Though Mr. Sussmann modestly made no mention of it, the fact is that he brought about the organization of the Ashfield Cooperative Exchange. He was helped in this by Dr. Alexander Cance, Professor of Economics at Massachusetts Agricultural College, whose acquaint- ance he made during his first winter professional improvement work. A further fact should be stated. Mr. Sussmann followed up his drive for purchase of spray materials by the carload with a drive to grade all apples from sprayed trees, to employ only impartial and expert packers for the grading and packing, and to sell .the apples under a special Ashfield label ; all of which was done. His next logical step in a sort of project method of professional im- SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 351 provement, therefore, was to undertake the study of markets for fruit so sprayed, graded, and packed. With the definite objective, there- fore, of finding an appreciative market for the Ashfield apples under label then in storage, a study of markets and marketing was approved for his next professional improvement work, the work to be done under the direction of Dr. Cance. A market was found for the apples, — a market so appreciative that the following year the crop similarly prepared for market was instantly contracted for at 15 cents a barrel above the ruling price, provided the fruit opened as well as that of the previous winter. In addition to Mr. Sussmann's apple market study in Springfield, Worcester, Boston, and New York, certain other items of his winter work in 1915-1916 were the following: Dec. 18-23 Attended conference of agricultural instructors, county agents, and college extension workers at Amherst. Jan. 9-10 Attended milk meeting in Boston. Jan. i2-Feb. 3 Practical pruning studies. Feb. 5-8 Demonstrations and lectures for Franklin County f^arm Bureau. Feb. 12-17 Continued work for Franklin County Farm Bureau. March 4 Resumed teaching at Ashfield. March 15 Discussed Massachusetts plan for vocational agricultural teaching in secondary schools before New England Super- intendents at Harvard University. March 22-24 ^lade special drive with adult farmers to get them to use lime and fertilizers in larger quantities. Mr. Sussmann was new to the state ; hence his first winter at the State Agricultural College. He began at Ashfield with salary at $1 200 a year. He is now in his second year in charge of the vocational agricultural department in Reading High School, where his salary is $2220 a year. There are records of admirable professional improve- ment work done by other instructors still in the service. These men are becoming more valuable every year. The foregoing notes and reports may suffice, however, to indicate the aims, spirit, and values of such work, and the desirability of making it a matter of cumula- tive and permanent record. Professional improvement is safe insur- ance against educational dry-rot. WHAT one COmUMITY FOUND ORQANIZATIOMS 5ELr-CENTERED L n. t.T }.,„c. - c^....\, o.^...,.u^ ' This chart is exaggerated to lend emphasis but it gives a true picture of the general tendency among local organizations to put their own selfish interests first and the lack of planning. Fig. 263. — Good community organization is no less important than that of county and state. The above chart and th(> charts in Figures 264 and 265 are from "Mobilizing the Rural Community," Extension Bulletin 23, Sept., 1918, issued by Massachusetts Agricultural College, Amherst, Mass. 352 SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 353 6. Require Teaching by Projects, not by Subjects (i) Require preliminary project surveys and agreements. — There can be little assurance that instruction will be by sound and thorough project teaching, as distinguished from subject teaching, in the absence of evidence that each agricultural instructor has first-hand knowledge of the home farm conditions of each boy in his class. A combined home-farm survey and application and agreement card has been found serviceable in Massachusetts. The front of the card for day class pupils is shown in Fig. 290, page 390 ; and the back of it, in Fig. 291, page 391. This card is a stock size, 4" x 6". It will be noticed that this is a tab-card. A similar card for evening class pupils is shown, front and back, in Figs. 294 and 295, pages 400 and 401. You may make assurance doubly sure that such surveys are made by requiring instructors to file summaries of these preliminary surveys with you at the beginning of each new school year covering all pupils admitted. The first summary of this sort filed in Massachusetts is shown in Fig. 292, page 392. Somewhat better summaries are now on record. (2) Require systematic project inspection and supervision records. — If back of the cards described above are filed copies of proj- ect inspection and instruction slips like that shown in Fig. 303, page 427, reasonable assurance may be had that the agricultural teach- ing is centering on the projects for which the boys are preparing or which they have seasonably undertaken. The slips may be made up in pads to be inserted in covers like that shown in Fig. 303, page 427. Oilcloth covers have been found to be more satisfactory than board covers, because they suffer less damage from sweat and rain. One color is used for the sheet left with the pupil ; and another, for the sheet filed at the school or department. Such inspection and instruction records are invaluable in case of change of instructors. The new man can see at a glance what expe- rience his predecessor has had in dealing with parents and pupils. They are valuable, too, in cases of controversy. If the instruction has been sound, and if the instructor has been particular to ask that each slip be signed before leaving it, his slip becomes a voucher. On a given date he was at a given place and left the commendation, the 2A 354 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION WHAT THIS con nUNITY DID IT MOBILIZED FOR RESULTS TH E riRST COnnUNlTY HEETING THStE TNiNOS ABE CONSIDERED 13 IT POSSIbLE FOR A COnrUNITY TO PLAN FOR ITS FUTUBE DEVeWPMEUT? DO UE CARE TO DO IT? 13 IT UORTM UHILB? IF SO HOUCAN IT -BE DOKE' IF Dtcmori 13 pwoeiBiEconnirrg; »E apfowedto jtoy t3jk amp bepobt cmnnE PBogCTS F<»i the ccnmi \'j^ THE SECOND COnnUNlTY riEETlNG A mm» AfTES THE FI03T HEARS REPORT OF COnniHEES CONCERNINQ PLANS OB PROJECTS FOR THE COMING YEAR THOSE ADOPTED BECOHE THE COnnU.NITlES WORKING PgOGBAM 'n.n.u.' service. His fine animals were seen at "Interlachen," Fall River, Mass., in 1917 by the "Conference on Wheels." he had to work with ; and that he did with it what he said he did. In particular, the achievements of his pupils were judged on the spot. Home projects were visited, school projects were looked over, and calls at notable farms were made en route. Such conferences bring theory down to the bed rock of practice. They make possible the most in- timate and personal exchange of ideas. They promote pleasant fellowship in service. They impress the individual instructor with the feeling that his school or department is not a lone post of solitary endeavor, but part of a movement state-wide in its sweep. And they 366 VOCATIOX.\L AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION tend to elevate educational practice everywhere to the highest level found anywhere. The dominant theme of the 19 17 Summer conference was " Super- vised Study." Discussion of it was opened and conducted by its well- known advocate and exemplar, Professor Alfred L. Hall-Quest. Travel was by automobile, instructors who came without their cars paying 2^ cents a mile. Professor Hall-Quest said that was the first conference of the sort in which he ever had participated. He called Fig. 272. — "Segario," pure-bred Arab stallion, owner, Mr. Spencer Borden, up. Sire of "Scimmeter" and other winners in peace and war. it a " Conference on Wheels," and said he thought that type ought to be adopted for other teachers. Conferences of vocational agricultural instructors, with the domi- nant themes varied from year to year, are indispensable aids to pro- fessional progress. The 1918 conference was held in the west central part of the state, with headquarters at Massachusetts Agricultural College. Thus, in alternate years both the State College projects and the projects of schools and departments are seen. The author is of the opinion that in this field of education, at least, no summer conference can be made so valuable as can the conference that is held on wheels. SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 367 The summer and winter conferences described in this chapter cover together about two weeks, and are the irreducible minimum of pro- fessional improvement activities required annually of all directors and instructors. In them all heartily cooperate both for their own good Fig. 273. — '"Halcyon," three-quarters Arab and one-quarter thoroughbred. Famous long- distance saddle mare. Winner in 1913 of Morgan Horse Club endurance ride, ending at White River Junction Fair Grounds. Carried 180 pounds. Covered 154 miles in 30 hours and 40 minutes. Photograph above taken at finish of this race. At 1913 National Horse Show in New York, she was the only American horse in the ribbons in the broad jump for ofBcers' chargers, covering 18 feet 6 inches and beating 53 horses representing the armies of seven nations, including all those entered by England, Canada, and the United States. Dam of "Kingfisher." Bred and owned by Mr. Spencer Borden. See Figs. 274, 275, and 276. and for the good of the vocational agricultural education service throughout the Commonwealth. (2) Cooperate with farmers. A. Broadsides of criticism. — In the name of, or on behalf of, the farmer, occasional broadsides of criticism are hurled at the older agricultural education system of the 368 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 369 country. In spite of a half-century of effort, it is charged that little of real effect for the improvement of agriculture has been accomplished. In 1916, for example, Messrs. Lapp and Mote, on page 50 of their book, " Learning to Earn," stated the case thus : " . . . after forty years of agricultufal education, such as it has been, we are confronted with worse conditions than when knowledge of agriculture first began to get serious attention. Average yields of farm crops have been either practically at a dead level or are decreasing, the soil is being exhausted at an alarming rate, tenantry is increasing, the rural population is shifting to the city, and the cost of living rises at a rate far in excess of increased capacity to pay. The facts are simply that the data of agricultural science have not been put into the possession of the men who till the soil." There have been others who have even charged that the older system has been all wrong. B. A fair answer to such broadsides, whether against the agricul- tural education system of the country or against that of any state, is not to say that the system has been all right. There are certain in- herent and inescapable defects in long-range service which can only be remedied by service at short range. The state agricultural colleges and experiment stations as a whole adopted this view when they re- quested the United States Department of Agriculture not to do any work of instruction or research in their several states, except through definite projects mutually agreed upon and cooperatively carried out by them and the Department. The United States Department of Agriculture acquiesced in this view when it became a party to a memo- rable " memorandum of agreement " to the foregoing effect. C. The long-distance (educator. — The agricultural educator under the old system had the defects of his virtues. It was important that the investigator should withdraw from the tumult of affairs in order that in working out solutions of certain problems fundamental to improved farming, he might be unhurried and unworried. It was important that the college professor should realize that by his success in the preparation of men trained in certain fundamental details of method and technique for investigation, his professional standing was in no small measure to be judged. But both methods and language became more and more technical, less and less like the methods and 2 B 370 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION the language found on farms. It will be hardly going too far to say that a feeling of caste crept in, that the professor of the book and of the laboratory and the investigator of the laboratory and of the re- search bulletin came to look upon other so-called educators as being not of the elect, as being somehow inferior, in fact pseudo-agricultural scientists, or even panderers to popular favor. Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N. V. Fig. 275. — "Kingfisher" at end of Villa raid. See Figs. 274 and 276. The long-distance man did not speak the language of the farmer. In extreme cases, he hardly so much as set foot on a farm. There came a time, therefore, when administrators of agricultural education themselves said that this condition of things was not all right. D. The middle-distance educator. — Administrators of agricultural education did not, of course, throw away what had been gained. It probably is true that training of agricultural research workers, and that agricultural research itself, profound and unhurried, were never better safeguarded than now. On the contrary, they took steps to remedy the defects of the virtues of the system by training and putting into service the middle-distance man, the man who spoke the language SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 371 of the farmer, who understood the language of the scientist, and who could stand as interpreter between the two. Such middle distance men were the editor of the so-called popular agricultural circular or farmers' bulletin and the itinerant agricultural extension worker. E. The short-distance educator. — Shorter distance men than even the agricultural editor and extension worker were found necessary. % i'" .Jl '^^i_ H L ^JH^*» ^H k # g^^l 15 1 '■■ A ^E ^^^^^ f^ 1^1 1 ^H Hj^^^^k i. \ iiM ] M- r -^ m\ . .WHKM ri ^mi ^^ ^p. ■■*■/.* ...4 \ --' ' '- Fig. 276. — "Kingfisher," Colonel Frank Tompkins up, two years after the Villa raid. Blue ribbon winner in contest for best officer's mount at Camp Devens, Ayer, Mass., in 1918. When Colonel Tompkins was ordered "over there" and directed to leave his horse here, Mr. Borden told him he would take care of "Kingfisher" at "Interlachen." See Figs. 270 to 275. "Interlachen" visited by 1917 "Conference on Wheels." The Congress probably never had had its ear closer to the ground than when it adopted the policy and provided for the program of a county agricultural agent for every county in the country, and, almost simul- taneously, provided federal aid for, next to the farmer himself, the shortest distance man of all — the vocational agricultural instructor. 372 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTUR.\L EDUCATION The vocational agricultural instructor where the home-project plan is in operation finds himself as much on farms as in classroom or labo- ratory. The institution he serves can never become an end in itself. His task is to bring to bear for the benefit of farmers he knows, old or young, and of the farms on which with them he works, the best the agricultural education system of the country has been able at any time and anywhere to develop. In short, it may suffice to say that, if the home-project plan of teaching agriculture is generally adopted. Fic 277. — "Fairholme Footprint," Grand Champion Clydesdale staUion at the In- ternational in 1916 and 1918; Champion with get in 1918. A prepotent sire. Owned by Mr. F. L. Ames of "Langwater Farms," North Easton, Mass. See Fig. 278. and if the right spirit and methods of cooperation prevail, the system of agricultural education in the country as a whole can be put into perfect balance and kept in perfect working order. F. Give farmers a place of honor and influence. — But farmmg cannot be done for farmers, it must be done with them and in the last analysis by them. As vital to the success of vocational agricultural education, therefore, is cooperation with farmers as is cooperation with educators. a. Invite farmers to cooperate as advisers. — If farmers assist in adapting a course of study to local needs, they will understand the SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 373 contemplated values of that course a thousand times better than if it is merely prepared for them ; and their attitude toward it will be radically different from what it would have been if they had felt the course had been thrust upon them. Similarly, if they assist in the selection of an instructor, they will feel that he is their man and that they must do everything possible to help him to succeed, — an attitude toward him devoutly to be desired. b. Invite farmers to cooperate in instruction. — More than one instructor will find farmers in his locality who can teach certain things Fig. 278. — '■ Jess of Craig\villie," jirtd b\ I airli 'Inu- 1 iinipriiu.'' Beside her pure-bred dam. "Langwater Jessica, "yearling, sold for $3000. See Fig. 201. better than he can teach them. He need not announce this from the housetops; but he will be honoring real merit and strengthening the work of his courses, if he will invite, or persuade, if necessary, such farmers to demonstrate for his pupils and the public their ways of doing those things. On the other hand, if he has been well chosen, there will be hardly a farmer in his locality to whom he cannot render val- uable service; and the farmer who feels that he has helped the in- structor is so much the more willing to be helped by the instructor. Agricultural instructors who have neither land nor Hve-stock are most 374 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION fortunately placed for promoting such cooperation. Possession of land or live-stock may hinder, but it ought not to prevent it. c. Invite fanners to examine pupils. — No more valuable super- vision of instruction in Massachusetts has ever been given than that in which advisory committee members have participated. Farmers have visited classes, observed work, asked questions, and made com- ment out of their ripe experience. They have visited projects at F,G ^79 -'•Langwater Steadfast," one of the famous Guernsey sires of Langwater Farms " Mr F. L. Ames, the owner, center, in Home Guard Uniform. Two North Easton Agricultural Department boys working here. Mr. Ames showed his fine Guernseys and Clydesdales to the 1917 "Conference on Wheels," and kept the party of more- than fifty to dinner. See also Figs. 190, 201, 277 and 278. schools and on the home farms of the pupils, and their words of en- couragement or of admonition have been invaluable aids to progress. Public exercises at which pupils have made demonstrations and re- ports have held farmers for two and three hours, have contributed to the interest of the pupils in their work, and, incidentally, have led to requests from farmers present for short units of instruction in one or another of the fields of agricultural science or farm practice dealt with in these exercises. Of course, in a very important sense, every pupil who conducts a home project is under perpetual examination by both SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 375 his parents and his neighbors ; since they are on tiptoe to know what he is doing, how he is doing it, and why he is doing it that way instead of some other way. d. Avoid dormitories as a hindrance to cooperation with farmers. — Recently the author received a request from the superintendent of an agricultural school in another state for information about the home-project plan. Not long after he received an acknowledgment, accompanied by the statement that the superintendent found the plan not adapted to his conditions. There must have been farms and farmers all about him. There must have been farm boys in his classes. One can only surmise that his had become a school of the self-contained Fig. 280. — "Conference on Wheels" at one of its stops. Group photographed on front steps of Bristol County Agricultural School. See pages 364-367. type in which dormitories had come between him and the farms of his locality. Dormitory schools may become good health resorts. Farming has the reputation of being a health-giving or a health-sustaining occupation. If an agricultural school is in a desirable location and has modern sanitary appointments, the tendency is for it to become the mecca of pupils in precarious health whose parents are more in- terested in physical betterment than in vocational agricultural educa- tion. Or, dormitory schools may become good reform schools. Dormitory schools not infrequently include military training in their curricula. Any good dormitory school becomes well known for its strict discipUne, with the result that parents of more or less incorrigible pupils rest 376 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION upon their rights as taxpayers and in their hearts seek the benefits of the school as a disciplinary institution rather than as a school for vocational agricultural education. Of course good health and good discipline are everywhere and always to be desired. But there is the modern axiom in caring for wards of the state that " Almost any home is better for a child than almost any institution." Good health and good discipline can be had without dormitories. Certain it is that vocational agricultural pupils should, from the first moment, be looked upon and treated primarily as farmers. Living and working on farms, preferably not on school farms, throughout the Fig. 281. — All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Athletic field. Convenient and spacious. For indoors recreation space see Arena, Fig. 241. Lockers, shower baths, hot and cold water. Smith School, Northampton. course of training, are regarded by the author as most to be desired. The hours are farm hours ; the food, farm food. Pupils " keep their hands in " on farm work. It is notoriously difficult to " get your hand in " again, once you have got it out of any occupation. If the projects of a school are real farm projects, and if all of the work is done by pupils, then a small percentage of the enrollment may be able to keep their hands in on the manifold operations of farming at a school. Their ability to do this, however, will depend upon keeping the number employed small, too small to justify a dormitory system in any ordinary sense of the term. e. Make school land and live-stock help and not hinder coopera- tion with farmers. — Land and live-stock and attendant operations at a school tend to make a school self-sufi&cient, to absorb the energies SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 377 of the instructors and thus keep them away from farmers. In pro- portion as the farming operations of a school succeed and approach a grand scale, its products compete for a market with the products of private producers. Such competition has been known to create bitter antagonism on the part of farmers. Such competition tends to keep farmers away from the school. The farming of a school is thankless. If it succeeds, the very com- mon feeling is that it does so because back of it is "a. barrel of public money." If now and then the school fails in a project, as the best Fig. 282. — Inter-county school meet. Same boy that won cross-country run had won ^^th acre plowing contest judged by a practical farmer. Other contests included seed identification. Winner separated out and correctly named 4g out of the 50 varieties of grass and weed seeds that had been mixed together on a table. Essex County Agricultural School the host of this meet. farmers themselves sometimes do, the very common feeling is that this is scandalous, — an inexcusable squandering of public funds. In almost any case, possession of land and live-stock by a school makes cordial cooperation with farmers exceedingly difhcult. Except as educator and farmer are able to unite for direct and im- mediate improvement in the farming of farmers, any system of agri- cultural education must be held to be futile, to be of no proper effect as an agency for the public good. All honor to any school with land and live-stock, therefore, if its operations are so ordered that its farm- ing is a means to an end, not an end in itself; that farmers arc not 378 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION alienated and kept away from the school with which they ought to be working ; and that the instructors are not kept away from farmers with whom they ought to be working. (3) Model types of organization for teamwork. A. Vocational agri- cultural education and farm bureau work united in a county agricultural school. — A model organization for teamwork with educators in the author's opinion has been found, as stated on page 193, in the Massa- chusetts type of county agricultural school with its combination of farm bureau work and vocational agricultural education, carried out by its staffs of short-distance men. The author believes that this type Fig. 283. — Baseball game after haying. Bristol County Agricultural School. of school is equally a model of organization for teamwork with farmers, particularly in its latest form in the county of Norfolk. The author, as state supervisor, recommended, and the trustees of the Norfolk County School adopted, the policy of undertaking to keep the central school small, and to supplement its work at' the central point by maintenance of one-teacher branches in high schools at the more distant points in the county. Sixty boys at the central school would warrant the employment of four instructors and make possible a degree of specialization in the staff. The short-distance boy is as much to be desired as is the short-distance educator.- Sixty boys can be recruited within an easy-travel radius of the central school. The SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 379 outlying branches will provide for smaller groups of even shorter dis- tance boys than many of those enrolled at the central school. All boys and instructors can be assembled at the central school on notable county occasions ; and a building of the special arena designs shown in Fig. 236 has been provided for distinctively agricultural events, such as indoor demonstrations of animals, implements, or machines, judging contests, and even contests in athletics. The central school and a branch in the Weymouth High School at the eastern end of Norfolk County were opened simultaneously. Fig. 284. — Rope pull across the school pond. Inter-class annual event. Bristol County Agricultural School. The Weymouth instructor is a member of the school staff and his salary is paid from the funds of the school. The school also provides all of his portable agricultural reference materials and equipment. The course of study of the central school is like that of the other sepa- rate and county schools shown above in Fig. 188. The course of study of the branch is like that of the high school agricultural de- partments shown above in Fig. 189. The Weymouth High School provides a library-laboratory study room and all necessary fi.xtures. It also provides the non-vocational half of the instruction. The Weymouth instructor, except in rare emergencies, represents the school in its farm bureau work with both children and adults. Other branches will be opened as needed. Fig. 285. — George Freeman's trained steers. They did many other tricks. Trained them after supper, he said. Met all comers at fall fairs. Paid himself $2 a day, all expenses, and cleared $83 in prizes, fall of 1914. See also Figs. 139, 140, and 141. Now married and at home with his father. Trained center pair in 1913. Little chaps will be better workers because of their early training. Brimfield Agriculture Department. 380 SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 38 1 The Norfolk County School has but little land and live-stock. Like the other separate and county schools, as elsewhere stated, it has no dormitory. It is more a service system than it is an institution. It is more a distributing agency than it is a monument. Between the school and farmers there is no barrier. It is finding that boys living and working on their home farms are real farmers, and that coopera- tion with their fathers is easy. It is finding that boys found a chance to live and work on farms in the vicinity of a school or department may also be real farmers throughout their courses, and that cooperation with the farmers with whom they live and for whom they work is not difficult. Essex is an extremely compact county, hardly more than twenty miles across in any direction, and is a perfect network of steam and electric railway lines. Need for outlying branches is less felt in this county and such branches may not be established. That its work and farming are united may be inferred from the chart showing its activities and relationships printed above as Fig. 262. Bristol is a shoe-string county, long and narrow. The school has before it a petition to take over as a branch the agricultural depart- ment in the high school at North Easton which was estabhshed in the extreme northern end of the county before the school was opened at the center. There may be need of four branches to complete a well-balanced, short-distance service system in this county. Mean- time this school has both land and live-stock, and yet is able to w^ork well with a gradually growing number of farmers. The field of vocational agricultural education is the field par ex- cellence of short-range service. Its organization should not be that of an agricultural college. Its organization should be for work by short-distance men with short-distance farmers, primarily, including both boys and men ; and, incidentally, for similar short-range serv- ice with families that have land or live-stock, though perhaps not very much, which they desire to make contribute to their support. B. A service system, without publicly owned land or live-stock, in which high school agricultural department work and farm bureau work are unified and harmonized in one office for each county is worth a trial. The author hopes and believes that such an organization may Pillor>'- Smith School boys. Going to church. Townspeople. iJrunkard .> punishment. Smith School boy. Fig. 286. — Glimpses of the Northampton pageant attended by thousands. Smith College presented it. Delightful form 382 -^ !\OBt=MAjV> Stocks. Smith School bovs. Morris dance. Smith School boys and girls. Indian chiefs song to the Great Spirit. Smith College professor, and Smith Agricultural School faculties and students and townspeople, high and low, of community recreation. 383 384 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION sometime be developed in the other counties, an organization for team- work where the short-range service of each will center in an office as headquarters, instead of on a county school farm, where the service will be distributed through the carefully unified and harmonized labors of middle-distance county agricultural agents and short-dis- tance vocational instructors in high school agricultural departments, and where the work will be done with farmers and families wholly on land privately owned and controlled. (4) Fight for service, not for leadership — Too often new move- ments in education are launched in utter disregard for previous ac- complishments and present agencies. An agricultural college presi- dent may alienate not a few who ought to be his closest co-workers by coming into a state with a conception and a program preconceived which appear to assume that either nothing has before been done of value or importance in the general agricultural education of the state, or that what has been done has been done badly or by the wrong people. A farm bureau may solicit support in utter disregard of local agencies for doing some of the things the farm bureau proposes to do. Such mistakes have been made. The besetting sin in such cases is the battle for leadership. The situation becomes but the more difficult, if, as generally hap- pens, the dominant note of the would-be leader is that of the uplifter. Mr. Roosevelt ^ has expressed the instinctive attitude in which most decent people find themselves when confronted by such a person. " There are few more irritating companions," he says, " than the self-conscious uplifter. The way to help others is to join with them in some form of effort or expression to which all contribute for the good of all. Only thus can we foster the two homely virtues which He at the bottom of what is best in Americanism — self-respect and mutuality of respect." Vocational agricultural education should no more be vitiated by the taint of the uplifter, than should be kindergarten education or any other phase of education for normally, gradually developing young people. Ours is not a slumming job. It calls, not for preachers, but for teachers; not for reform so much as for constructive service. ' Metropolitan, April, igi8, p. 8. SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 385 And in the lifelong educational process, adults are but young people grown a little older. Moreover, education, in the nature of the case, calls for division of labor. In fact, civilization has been the achieve- ment of a multitude of educational agencies, — so many that to name them would be to catalogue most of the activities of any hour or year, of any locality or nation. In the author's judgment, the state supervisor, local director, and superintendent ought here to be well warned. Just as in intramural Fig. 287. — "Appreciation" through interpretation. English classrooms may be trans- formed from torture chambers into places of delight by presentation of plays. Some of Miss Metcalf's pupils who played "Hymen," "Rosalind," and "Celia." Smith School, Northampton. activities they require the instructor to make a preliminary survey of the home farm of the boy and win the cooperation of the parent prior to admitting that boy to his class, so there ought to be a survey of the educational agencies of a state, of a county and of a locality prior to launching the first extramural activities of a school or of a department. Then every effort ought to be made to work with and through those agencies. The author reprints above in Fig. 261 a diagram which, in and of itself, well entitles the West Virginia institu- tion it represents to claim for its slogan the motto, " I serve." 2 c 386 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Similar in spirit is the chart in Fig. 262, before referred to, in which are set forth the activities of a vocational agricultural school in Massachusetts. The three self-explanatory charts in Figures 263, 264, and 265 will richly reward study and efforts in the direction they indicate. Fine examples of service are all about us. Three or four examples may serve to illustrate responses to calls for extramural activity. Here is an instance of a response by the superintendent of schools in the city of North Adams, which maintains an itinerant vocational agricultural instructor. Note how he signs this newspaper announce- ment. Note, also, that there is no hint that the school department is to be paramount. " Preliminary Announcement " The food administration has created a Food Production and Conservation Committee in each city and town of our commonwealth as a wartime emer- gency measure. It is the business of this committee to stimulate, encourage, advise, direct, and otherwise assist our citizens in divers waj's and places and at various times, to greatly increase the home production and conservation of foods. ******* It is our expectation and earnest desire to be of real assistance and to fully justify our existence as a committee : First — By organizing, directing, and supervising garden areas in various parts of the city on a community or group basis. Second — By encouraging individual gardens and stimulating individual farmers. Third — By cooperation with school garden projects. Fourth — By providing fertilizers and tested seeds at cost. Fijth — By providing in this department timely information, garden hints, conservation notes, U. S. Department of Agriculture leaflets edited and ar- ranged to meet local conditions, and a question box. Sixth — By arranging local meetings for food and garden talks. Seventh — By proper attention to spra\'ing fruit and vegetables. Eighth — By providing a community kitchen under skilled supervision where surplus or purchased products may be preserved for individuals at a small cost for service. Ninth — By providing some type of public market or exchange for surplus food products. Tenth — By cooperating with all other committees or agencies for public welfare. SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 387 EfSciency Record for Month Ending Perfect Score Winter Summer T De A. B. C. CI A. B. C. D. E. F. He A. B. C. D. nartment — Administration 25 SO Riisinpss ^lanaeement 10 5 10 50 20 1. Pupils — punctual, industrious, effective 2. Tools and equipment — care, condition 3. Production — plans, condition 4. ^Marketing 5. Finance — expenditures, economy, results Neatness 10 1. Orderliness 2. Cleanliness 3. Buildings and equipment at their As Laboratory for Instruction best? 20 JT 1. Approved methods and practices 2. Equipment adequate but not elaborate 3. Laboratory assignments well carried out issroom Condition 5 10 5 5 10 15 25 Facilities for teaching ..... 1. Laboratory materials 2. Illustrative materials 3. Decorations Enrollment Attendance Discioline Instruction III. )me Projects Plans 5° 5 5 5 10 10 SuDervision 10 Records 10 Products, etc 20 100 100 Note. Score about weekly, publish monthly. Fig. 288. — Separate and County schools in Massachusetts are organized departmentally. Director Gilbert of Bristol County School uses the above form of score card in his weekly supervision of departments. He posts the score of each department, or makes it the basis of personal commendation or reproof. The author has seen no better aid to eflScient supervision than this. 388 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION We shall have a place for much volunteer service, so do not wait to be asked. We shall welcome suggestions. We shall strive diligently to have our efforts carry over into results sufficiently to cause this movement to gain momentum as the weeks pass. It is our expectation that when we strike our balance this next fall, it will be evident that North Adams has been very much more self- supporting than previously, that our people have accumulated a cellar food supply in excess of other years, and that we have through it all helped defeat the greedy Hun. Btirr J. Merriam, March 20, 1918. For the Committee." FoUownng is an example of the very exacting scientiiic service an instructor may be able to render. Mr. Swett is vocational agricul- tural instructor in Newton, and this report was to the Newton Com- mittee on Public Safety on a bit of emergency service. " Report on Inspection for the European Com Borer (Pyrausta Nubilalis Htibner) " During the week of April 22 to 27, I personally examined over 1000 speci- mens of corn stubble, standing corn, and stalks piled in gardens. These inspections were made in Newton, Nonantum, Newtonville, West Xewton, .\uburndale, Lower Falls, "Upper Falls, Waban, Newton Highlands, and Newton Center. Also in the outside cities of Watertown, Waltham, Weston, Cochituate, and Framingham. As 1 am personally familiar with the appearance of this borer, I feel sure that, as the result of my examinations was entirely negative, it may be safely taken for granted that the above-named cities are free from this pest. Respectfully submitted, Raymond W. Swett." April 27, 19 1 8. No less interesting is the following example of the unpaid public service an instructor may render, and of the posts of honor and re- sponsibility he may be invited to till. This is the unsigned report dated April 12, 1918, of Mr. A. W. DooHttle, head of the two-teacher vocational agricultural department in Concord High School, who is serving as chairman of the Food Production Committee of the town of Concord. " I. Attended meeting of County Food Supervisors at the State House February i. SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 389 2. Corresponded with the National and State Food Administrations in regard to the order prohibiting the farmer from mixing feed wheat in poultry rations, and secured a modification of the same. 3. Sent two circular letters to farmers giving poultry ration. 4. Sent two circular letters to the farmers in regard to importance of testing seed corn. 5. Purchased a bushel of shelled field corn for seed for the farmers. 6. Sent letters to churches, lodges, clubs, and factories, on the necessity of food production. Name ^yA-cxJi^ci^yz , 1^^^^^'^^^^ Concord Farm Survey- Taken '/f//i> Acreage Z,i7, Address yiv^i,;.^ ^J>onZ Revised -^lijiS Stock: Horse s 6 Cows z;j>|r>^<^7i^ Bull >^ >i/*^^^ y^ /^a^ Asparagus IZ a.. Strawberries ^^ Other email fruits ^ Poultry Hens Breed Apples: Bearing trees zoo-{<5yayttM..^iji^. iO/i,a.v^Tt,^Ze^i^r^-}^^ Young trees /,^>t^7ic^- lL)^Soo Miscellaneous 500 House Barn Si, 500 500 Fig. 292. (Continued department before other lines divert their attention. I have a group of adult gardeners meeting each week. The County School' has furnished special lecturers for some of these meetings. Mr. Gaskill ' has been of great assistance also. Early in the season three large public meetings in the interest of food pro- duction were held. The production committee furnished the hall and I sup- • All new. ' Essex County Agricultural SchooL ' Agricultural County .^gent of the Essex County School. SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 395 Live -STOCK Fruit Trees Horses Cattle Poultry Hogs Remarks on Equipment I 6 60 2 50 apple . . . A small market-garden place 3 8 350 20 50 apple . . . These people have recently taken this farm. — — 42 — 25 pear and apple A large farm, but not worked at present. I — 40 — ISO apple . . . Starting a fruit farm. (A good location) 2 2 70 I 1,000 apple . . Fruit farm. (Very good location) I 2 125 2 75 apple . . . A very good market-garden place 4 10 100 2 40 apple . . . A large hillside farm 4 35 13s 2 250 peach, 50 apple, 25 mis- cellaneous . . A large dairy farm 2 — 30 2 6 apple and pear Small town place — — — 50 apple . . . Farm owned by Clinton milk man from pp. 392-3Q3) plied the speakers, including farm bureau and agricultural college specialists. Now that the work of creating enthusiasm in food production and the securing of supplies is easing up, I shall give mv attention to itinerant work with home gardeners and farmers, will get my file ' in good shape and consolir date my efforts to a definite number. Our business relations with Mr. S. N. Stimson, the Farmer's Cooperative -Association ^ manager, have been very pleasant. > File of project instruction and supervision memo's. * Essex County Cooperative Farming Association, doing a business of over $10,000 a month. 396 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION If you plan a tour ' such as we had last year, I hope you can visit Saugus. We have adult gardening projects of interest, the junior inspectors' plot I have mentioned, a three and one-half acre greenhouse and twenty-five-acre field plant managed by William Sim, champion violet grower of the world ; and we Xk j3 ■HHHr Where cranberries thrive. Propagation and fruiting. Three essentials: Plenty of water under quick control, bog, and sand. Fig. 293. — There is now and then a home project in cranberry growing. The Massa- chusetts cranberry crop from scattered bogs in the area above shown sells for more than a million dollars a year. The above photographs were published by the United Cape Cod Cranberry Company, whose bulletins are valuable aids to the study of cran- berry growing, harvesting, storing, and marketing. Each boy's needs should be studied and the work he needs most should be outlined for him, even though the conditions be must meet may be radically different from those of other members of his class. Responsibility for teaching projects in such specialized fields should not be shirked. have one of the best five-acre, seven-year-old apple orchards in the county owned by Walter Penney. The feeling here is growing in favor of agricultural undertakings and we would certainly feel honored by a visit. I am Yours very truly, Ellery E- Metcalf." • This is a reference to the "Conference on Wheels" above described. SUGGESTIONS TO SUPERVISORS AND DIRECTORS 397 This instructor is a young farmer who lives in the town he is serving. During the crop-growing season of 191 7 he was on salary. But when his salary stopped, there was no interruption of service. This will be evidenced by the following report on his unpaid work during the winter. "At the close of my salaried work in November, 191 7, I sent names and addresses of seventy liome gardeners and farmers to L. Wayne Arny, Super- visor of Correspondence Courses, Massachusetts Agricultural College. These seventy were persons who had evidenced the greatest interest in my itinerant visits and seemed capable of more intensive study. Mr. .\rny sent them each a list of courses, came to Saugus himself, and together we organized a group-study class with the privilege of using a room in the high school each Thursday evening. Twenty took the course in "Vegetable Gardening"; ten, "Soils and Soil Improvement "; and seven, " Manures and Fertilizers." I was elected group leader, and I appointed a secretary for each of the three courses who received the lessons and gave them to me to forward to M. A. C. I took the "Market Gardening" course and conducted a discussion on each lesson in that course, and also assisted the secretaries of the other two courses in discussions for their groups. We had M. A. C. lecturers address the group. When the coal shortage came we met at members' houses. Finally we secured the use of the court room in town hall. In Februarj' we invited Mr. Gaskill, County Agent, to speak to us on collec- tive buying — he gave us prices on car lots. This was too big a proposition for the class to handle so I met the selectmen, asking that a production committee be appointed and all townspeople invited to buy collectively with the class. The selectmen published Mr. Gaskill's prices and appointed a town production committee of three from the study class to take charge in conjunction with me of getting the supplies. As a town committee they called upon the town treas- urer to handle all money. There were no appropriated funds to use, so every- thing was cash deposited in advance, applicant receiving a town receipt with stub attached, stub to be presented to deliverer of supplies. I attended to checking up the supplies as they came in and to directing delivery of same, following up complaints, etc. Through the County .\gent we did our business with Mr. S. N. Stimson, Manager of the Essex County Cooperative Farming Association. I personally am taking charge of getting 2000 pounds of the govern- ment nitrate. Supplies to the amount I stated in my other letter were handled, and the meetings I mentioned conducted shortly after the production com- mittee was appointed. The production campaign was, you see, well under way at the time I again took up my salaried duties. 398 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION I continually kept the local school authorities acquainted with all my plans and made them the' controlling influence. Mr. C. L. Smith, chairman of the production committee, is principal of our high school ; he has allowed the commercial department to be of great assistance to me and to the committee. The pupils volunteered their assistance. We have laid great stress on the importance of patriotic cooperation of town offi- cials and townspeople. . . ." If there must be a fight, in short, let it be a fight, not for leadership, but for service. First, where there is day class instruction, there must be work with growing boys. Since this work, as a rule, includes work at their homes, the service of the vocational agricultural school naturally overflows into and through the community. Let us, therefore, say to our agricultural instructors : Forget leadership. Forget uplift. Be yourself a good follower of the best that has been thought and said and done in the agricultural world. Then, let your labors be like a spring, labors welling up through your grovidng boys, and others whom you teach, and steadily overflowing, not to flood nor to efface, but through pleasantly plotted channels like fresh waters in a thirsty land. CHAPTER VIII SUGGESTIONS TO VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS The author hopes that any vocational agricultural instructor who may be inclined to consider the suggestions in this chapter will first run over the suggestions offered supervisors, directors, and superintendents in the previous chapter. The present chapter, more- over, presupposes familiarity with details of the entire discussion in the foregoing pages. 1. Make Educational Surveys As soon as may be, acquaint yourself with all of the educational agencies in your state, your county, and your locality with whom you ought to work or by whom you may rightly hope to be helped. For efforts in this direction you may justly claim " professional improve- ment" credit. By this means you may prevent needless or unpleasant duplication of effort, and open up avenues for the constant enrich- ment of your service. 2. Make Surveys of Farming Prior to admitting pupils to your classes, make preliminary surveys of the farms on which they live and expect to work. Use some such guide as that shown above in Fig. 291. Extend your preliminary survey to farms where there is a shortage of labor, where good methods are followed and where you may hope to secure employment for the occasional boys who are not from farm homes or who cannot live at home during their agricultural courses. Extend further your study of farms until you have in your card index a complete file of data on the farming resources and activities of your locality. A suggestive guide to such a complete survey may be found in tlic i-xample of a survey card shown in Fig. 289. Surveys which naturally lead 399 400 VOCATION.\L AGRICULTUR.\L EDUCATION to re-surveying may be "farm management " surveys in which help may be had from, and given to, the farm management expert of the State College of Agriculture. Individual instructors in Massachusetts EVENING CLASS ENROLLMENT BLANK VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL 19 . „ Mass. (Date of applicarion) 'Location of School or Dept.) I wish to receive special instruction and supervision from the local agricultural instructor in connection with my agricultural operations this season. In return for this help, I will endeavor to follow directions and keep accurate accounts of cost and income. Only persons over sixteen years ot age may sign below Signed by - __ — Age _ Street and number .Town or city : , State Occupatioa — _ - - - Head of family (Agricultural) (Non-agricultural) (Unemp!oyfd) (Yes or no) Size of garden?.. Number of hens? Number of pigs? Number of cows? Number of fruit trees?., Area in small fruit? Other facilities, *„....™.-, ., ■- When can tbe instructor see yon at your agricultural wnrk? *l»SS«CHUStTT8 BCtRD OF EDUCATION lOvcrl SGRICULTURftL tOUC»TIOH SERVICt Fig. 294. — Front of blank used for enrollment of those not able to attend day classes. Instruction may be given, and generally is given, before dark ; and on the itinerant, individual, or family group, home to home plan. Note data on facilities for farming, gardening, etc. Note, also, that the appUcation is supported by an agreement. Color, buff. Size 4" X 6". have made forty or more such surveys as those last named in a year, and followed them up with subsequent surveys. For this work they have been given " professional improvement " credit. 3. Require Preliminary Project Agreements Of fundamental importance is it to provide for farm work to be done throughout the period of training of each pupil. There is considerable speculation as to why farm boys leave home, sometimes to work on other farms, but, also, perhaps more often, to work in cities. The author has heard more than one successful farmer SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 401 say that he stuck to farming in spite of his father and not because of his father's encouragement. An anonymous writer has put into FINAL SUMMARY OF ACCOUNTING OF EVENING CLASS PROJECT OR PROJECTS Actual — Esllmsfed (Erase cnel RECEIPTS EXPENSES Value of producTs sold for cash Labor (hired) .... or exchanged Seed . • . . . Fertilizer ..... Estimated value of vegetables used or scored . ] Spraying Mijcturea Rent (if rented) Other expenses TOTAL TOTAL Number of hours (approximately) spent on this project? Notes — Instructor will see that citnple records are kept from which Iba ftboTC tummmry at the end of the lealOB eao be entered by him. Instructor will enter the pupil's name on the "tab" and Ttle back of this "tab card" memo, blanks (sec Board of Education Bulletin No. 72. pp. S8.S9> covering all visits for Instruction and superrision. (Over) Fig. 295. — Back of enrollment blank used for those not in day classes. Many employed in non-agricultural pursuits use their out-of-work hours for home-gardening and poultry keeping. But even such persons are expected to study expenses and returns as suggested above. This is used as a tab-card for the instruction and supervision memoranda. rime, of which the following lines are part, the answer of a boy in a city as to why he left the oM homestead : " I left my dad, his farm, his plow, Because my calf became his cow ; I left my dad — 'twas wrong, of course — Because my colt became his horse. I left my dad to sow and reap Because my lamb became his sheep. I dropped my hoe and stuck my fork, Because my pig became his pork. The garden truck that I made grow, 'Twas his to sell, but mine to hoe. It's not the smoke in the atmosphere, Nor the taste for life that brought me here; 2D 402 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Please tell the platform, pulpit, press, No fear of toil or love of dress Is driving off the farmer lads. But just the method of their dads." It cannot be doubted that property rights, on at least a modest scale, are immense aids to interest and earnest endeavor in home-proj- ect work. Most boys will give most of their time to farm work for their fathers, and do it ungrudgingly, if only they can now and then feel that they can earn something which shall be peculiarly their own. Home projects propose property rights for the pupil. The home gar- den may be rented or owned the first year ; a pen of poultry, a pen of pigs, and one hive or more of bees, with a limited amount of land for cropping, the second ; part of the orchard and land for a cash crop, the third ; and one or more cows, with land for one or more crops, the fourth. Responsibility proportionate to such property rights should, of course, be assumed by the pupil and be shared by his instructor. Though school control may sometimes be slightly modified by home control, all misunderstanding may be avoided and preparation for good results may be made by a joint agreement in advance for each year in succession, in which interests are harmonized and responsi- bilities fixed. A form of agreement which may be suggestive is shown above in Fig. 290. The author feels that he cannot too strongly urge you to admit no pupil to your class until you have visited his home, interviewed both him and his parents or guardian, or his employer, and brought about arrangements by which, from the outset, he shall do farm work at his home or elsewhere, coincident with his study, and shall do it in ac- cordance with the methods which you teach or which you are willing to approve for a Hmited trial. (i) Suit project agreements to conditions. — The success of an agricultural course in which the home-project plan is followed will depend upon the tact and common sense of the instructor, and his ability to draw up preliminary agreements which shall hold, not so much by virtue of their formality, legality, or moral obligations, as through the thorough understanding of requirements and contem- SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 403 THEORY LABORATORY OR PRACTICAL WORK < H u Oi <: OS < n m Ed n a u o Id Q a a S H > O o O ft! U n S u H Cb H C/2 a. o c/1 X! c o >1 3 e n^ C m 5) i;-T3 g *- O « rt C"" " -^ O CO - _^ o c ':n w ^ — Oi -J; « 0) S " J3 in " O h:^ i-j 3 rt P r- ':5 S 0. coo 5 .2 "-S ■" --^--i 3 ,=1 T3 C >. T3 I 5 < I M ' £|t.S rt *- O ^ m us ri C - c: S'E- 1) ■*-> tn 3 ■ O =*'o 5j= D-o g 3_C g.2 -25- XJ o "H c s*"" ." s s ■a « >'i^ U3 O 3 -e =3 ■^- o i: g rt , ^ be u O £ «! >>0 rt __ U( O. UiS _ c 0:3 o fU 3 Q, =2 L. U 2 V - •/; Q.in C C 3^ ,2 P U u t/3 — J? 3 O u ^ ^*H *j t- a» — C/i g.N_ O O u*— I3- o o.£ = ^-C O U O (J w 2 o -^ 0) c u > " t8 ■- ~ - - u C o. 5.2 a^ an) M a .E§^ e , «.2 C o =« 61 r; ^ d E "'sa o — 13 o cs in o T3 t/: cT3.— in „ 3 O 3^ 2;-f, c- '•^ 2 0.2 .:i c U w in :4 u CO O 4)-- u X O 3 a in u.^ O O O *j — - 60 > w in G. I c a.v „ I fj'Ec E s.- S o 2 o " -'" d-I o c H C S.E-S^-,-S 4). 2* t 3^ o. pC *j vi; in rt u « o -5^ 3 4) S X i: o O O >.a , •= ^ • JD 3-- •- 1:1. J' flj ra •», •r' <-» >>^ 4J :f > en g 4,— m £•- s o c oj rt to P Ui 1> k. C S-C- 3 *J M o o - »1 <«^ O S 4) 2 c § a ■ O ^ V >-^ in fc- C b£ _c ■ f" 2 4» Ut rt -a rt - ? . = - bo ^ 13 5i J3 30 dj O ;2i.s c i ^ .2 ."o -2 - -o tf^ S in V 3 «-■ tj «3""cMgtxS ri u^ u a>.-^ o^ > a >.- Q a u >^ 3 4j 'E^ S 2 o ■ o S-2-S.2ia '"-S'S £ ^ au- Mw-— -rr ^ m*- ^inguCtn— rtrtCft^in ^ la r; 4. — 4) 13 O a u i/i in in n > S 1> ^ a TJ T l-i 1> 4~l ■*-> a «4-l u J3 , r ■*-» ci lU u V (1) I-J .C . ■4.J W •4-) U 1; Ifl c § a 1/1 >t Ji XI •0 rn 01 Ui t-t m rt H cu "3 > 3 n Ui u s M :3 C >, r! V :3 Tl d f a 3) e Ui u 0. ■s I-I »*^ ^ a rt c a rt Oi ^^ BJ B JJj 7 e< 6 d. 404 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION CO Pi O o O Pi O O CO CO oi H O W Q as u n a > O m a m o H u O CO o •0.2 ° c a - " a d JS 'tj O CI a'" 01 ■-3 i ^ S " pa ■ ■ • HV4 -a ^ 3 O t: in ^.s _ — -o ho « J3 .2^ C a «! -a a az ^ UU >^ i-t^ -- t_> -J <— ' a §a|l 7? be -^ (/) O >> a •4-* CO M O 3 -C c/) . 3 O a b Ph -w a o t^ Pi u Ph z o en o 1> 13 >. Ph CO g. M o O.T3 H C ^ 3 U u O a 5-c C C *^ 3 ^ C Ot3 Si . c a >> "> O. h tn '3 ^ "O 3 -1 H S^£8wa;S.3 ^o 4J Ul a c as 3 C a s a %i O bo QJ a. 3 15 s >"a O O to ly ryi 3 QJ O c c rt t/i S 3 ^ d 1-, U) g ^ J3 O. u .3 b r- "A a S a 8 2 "1 — o hx.a g^ «.2 O 2 ;C .4 3 ^ "3 3 -T3 2 * . a "a. T3 3 .a a a t o a j2 ui "^ >^ tA O. 3 P O C t/i nj t3 4-4 ^ a.2B^s T3 I.' g « u O O. 3 O.-- C» 4-» 3 CO c« pq a=- JO AHOaHX NI MHOAV-SSVIJ aDIXDVHd AHOXVHOaVT CO to d .9 3 p. o en d _o u 9 •O O .9 •o V V V Pi P o o p< ^ CD g o O 2 to apLi W ^- a c« O (fl P5 hrt "O S -M d « S2 "* W "2 o 5t 5 2 5' .9 ■•§ •* fc 4) O C4 » Ma< aDIXDVHJ AHXinOd SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 405 o s < r. •a 3 rt ^ u nt m ?? 0. -0 .a s > 5 E c M bo « Ul C ■5; c 2 ri O n^ o a^ cn-r-.S tH)"I3 lU 6£ C o C r1 CS — E t.'o a E ■" ^ s ^ 3 t; u n! o c^ gSu2 OJ c o to •J c Xi ^ 3 bo n C E § wt; o .2 S ^i 5 o n'g t; c 2 E I' [A c o a ■§ s '^ Si .'2 ;5 1) SO a -o 0--; C) : ^? -a cfl uli C/J o c o > i; bo O -w b£ O '^ i! O 1> O M rt bo m 2 g «J oj E.E gi S-^ E is E E -^ o - " H ■p !^ ■" oj a "O 1- ^ S ,-a _ .H j< 0-0 c ^ J= S t/5 CO i. 2 O E J; <5 e C 4J -S 15 > -S — ■>-' ^ U O O. Q. ID n. §■>>'" E > 3 - O 3 H 2^ t/3 c/2 Q IE I 3 a O! 2 O XdVHD Q JO AHOaHX NIXH0M-SSV13 aDIiDVHd AHOXVHOaVl o 3 go, ■ « Q, ;"" " s ■3 a o ^ a. 4> ca r o o 3 O » >> c« In o< (0 a CS a O a a 1-1 > l-l o ja o c s 1:: H o 2 u o e Ui U a O O bO bo bO a » a O 2 ■3 aoixovad AHXiaOd > tn o -. ? " ^ --1 u O >. M — 45 V) C 13 o 2 ui C^ tfl Q> «i 3 O a => 2 fc "" <-> S ■" S I Tf «d^ ov - "O C4 C ^^ .5 o 4o6 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTUR.\L EDUCATION plated benefits which he is able to give both parents and pupils. The instructor should suit the size of the project, primarily, to the capacity of the pupil ; and then require good work. A. Projects should not be too small. — Pupils vary in strength and other capabilities, not merely from year to year as they grow up, but in any given year as one is compared with another. The size of the projects should be scaled to bring out the utmost endeavor and development of the individual pupil. Speed up the boy's work by making his project big enough to re- quire attack and dispatch for its competent execution. Make it so big as to avoid all tendency toward habits of dawdling and pottering. Let it be big enough to arouse his enthusiasm by making the profit he may reasonably expect to get appeal to him as being a real prize. Make the project big enough so that a competing job shall not get the boy away from school. In short, let each boy's project be such that it shall serve, not an a vocational, but a vocational end of commanding importance. Improvement and trial projects must of necessity be conducted on a relatively small scale, — the first, generally, from lack of capital, the second because of the factors of uncertainty. Improvement projects, however small, should appear somewhere in the pupil's work every year. Productive projects should be as large as possible for the reasons stated in the following paragraphs. a. The big project is a better test of a given method than the small one because it covers more ground. A walk through a hayfield shows the stand to be uneven ; so, also, fields of other crops. A better idea as to average production per acre can be had on the larger area than on the smaller. b. The big project yields the larger return, — a return such as a man could afford to work for. That is to say, a little project tends to be a side line of effort, while the big project tends to be the main effort. The small project tends to be the small source of revenue; the big project, the principal source of revenue of the pupil. The small project may mean division of interest and effort, as between agricultural and some form of non-agricultural employment; the big project is likely to mean concentration of effort, time, and atten- tion upon a distinctively agricultural undertaking. SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 407. c. The big project bulks larger on the home farm than does the small one. It means that the cooperation of the father, or the em- ployer, has been cordially enlisted. It means a better test, under good conditions of tillage, of the home farm, or other farm on which the project is conducted. d. The big project bulks larger in the community than does the little one. Every project ought to be an illustration of better methods than those usually followed in a farming community. A big project embodying better methods ought to be a more potent factor for the betterment of farming than a little one. e. The bigger the project the better. — Experience with super- vised home-farm work since its beginnings in 1 908-1 909 in Massa- chusetts, where projects have been conducted on a gradually increas- ing scale, has conclusively shown that the bigger the productive proj- ect the better, provided always, of course, the pupil does not undertake more than he can carry out in a thoroughly workmanlike and business- like way, and provided he carries it out with due regard to the three main farming factors, — production, marketing, and accounting. (2) Project work should be done in project clothes. — Require that all project work shall be done in working clothes. Provide lockers for the ordinary school clothes and shoes and require a change of dress when project work is to be done on the school premises. Pro- vide, also, conveniences for cleaning up after the work is done. This should be looked upon as a perfectly reasonable rule, the non- enforcement of which would be absurd and must make the project work appear ridiculous. Assignment of half-day blocks of time to each project group, in making up the school program, will be of marked assistance in enforce- ment of this requirement. This should be impressed upon those in charge of making the school program. Parents, also, should understand this requirement and agree to it. (3) Untoward conditions should be accepted as a challenge. — Residence at home should vastly multiply the benefits of vocational agricultural instruction. Bed-rock realities must be dealt with. Pro- vision for the orderly, but immediate, trying out of ideas and methods, feasible for the locality, but new to the particular farm, should be made. 4o8 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION < THEORY c/2 LABORATORY OR PRACTICAL WORK in ^ tn ^ O in u cA c 4) C 2 u 3 "" a-5".s^i5 CA __ •3't5 » o < Bi < Bi n <: a H O M Q 1> 4J ,^ ^.s-g e 2 S 6 c: =* y 1^ —- rt 1/3 — ' o . be*- ^ 3- 2:1 o TOW 4j Mrs "2 C rt »H !? c b « a— o be5 O M aT3 a a c T3 aS £ S-S ^ - e hoi-' (5 -H TO 41 3 a S ,0 m ^ u. C riM-. 1-. ^ Q. c^ > O O > -T3-2i o « o c W Q IJ »^ .^ \^ -J^ \tf t3 rt tso.2Ert;io3°'t;5!-= M C/2 - _ c c o ■" 3 o a a u ±, rt T? -3 u:; 3 O ac S.2 O *J U . 1) 4> M) ° C O u '^ rt C "^ C ■ - V 5 r o cj (« «j ;S u, fcH u m > O oi H n o H fe .y D.'^'' u-n . 3 00 a bO o-o.t; a -i". S 01 ^ ^ U C! ■*-" w c *j S" O 5) 3 C •- = s y- - a jr; 5 ai 2 3 « u (/) O * t5 ° Sou > u yi tn bo M'n-'^ C ' 60 rt.5 3 tsx):> w n ^ O [fl a-— '.S3 Bj +J f^ >T3^ a.2 aS be C cs rt.a; .2 " rt o SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 409 If funds are short, banks or citizens, before reluctant to extend credit, may be induced by the instructor to back any project which promises reasonable returns and which is to be conducted upon terms as to instruction and supervision agreed upon in advance. Notable instances of such extensions of credit which have turned out favorably to all concerned have come under the observation of the author. Habits of postponement are thus avoided. Conditions as they are found, beginnings as they must be made, first steps ahead which are possible, each farm considered by itself, should be accepted by both pupil and instructor as a challenge to action, well-studied, but in- stant and unafraid. (4) Ample school credit for project work should be provided for in the preliminary agreements. — A sharp distinction should, of course, be drawn between work of the ordinary farm routine in which no application of the principles and methods taught by the vocational instructor is made, and the project work of the pupil in which those principles and methods are applied. Generous school credit for the latter should be included in the provisions of the preliminary agree- ments. No school credit should be allowed for the former. 4. Require Preliminary Agreements Covering All Approved Substi- tutes for Projects Substitutes for projects may now and then be best for the training of a pupil who has no land at home, or whose home conditions are so limited or untoward that no adequate arrangements to apply the principles and methods of improved agriculture can there be made. Preliminary agreements providing for the educational phases of the farm work of the pupils should be made at the outset, and to them the employers, pupils, and instructors should jointly become parties. Adequate arrangements can easily be made, if approved employ- ment is restricted to work on farms where the farming is of a high order of efficiency and exemplifies the principles and methods taught by the vocational agricultural instructors. In such cases, the training ■ in practical farming operations almost automatically takes care of itself. It remains only to agree upon the studies to be made by the pupil and the particular responsibilities to be assumed by him. w §■ O t. O r h til in -a a O ^ c 1) T3 P^ -«-) CO t/J ■^ •o -n 2 ;^ 3 -t-t Q 3 Kj rt i*j i> Ml < 5 ^ B o o 5 fi BQ a Z I u CO CO '-I B3 Kind of Work See directions inside Front Cover. Include implements used, number of loads, etc. Field 4-30 — S-oo 5-30— 6.00- 6.30 — Feeding cows and milking. H. proj. 7.00 — 7.30 — Breakfast 8.30 — Mr. Davis came 9 .00 • 9-30— 10.00 10.30 — 1 1 .00- -Cutting wood Hauling stone 11.30- Hauling wood 12.30 — Dinner 10.00 Bookkeeping 1.30- Looking for milk 2.30 3-00 — Getting in oats and peas. H. proj. 3.30 — 4.00 — Nothing done — rained 4-30- 5-00- S-3C3 — Supper 6.00 6.30- Feeding cows and milking. H. proj. 7.00- 7-30- 8.00- Getting ready for milk route Peddling milk. H: proj. 9.00- ToTAL Hours Man Hours iV-. Horse Income. Dr. MILK 07 Outgo. Cr. MILK 36 HOME FARM. Notes on Weather Temperature Morning. Hour. Noon. Night. Hour. Remarks : Reverse carbon and continue remarks on back of white sheet at will. 4T0 No. Hours. 3 i* o S2 ~ 3 4-1 O ^ 3 3 r c 3 fc.4 in C J3 S C3 hH T) s Ji ^ J3 fe 3 4-> r>i -a 3 1-1 a u in ffl 'a 3 a **- 3 4-1 3 in ci s E ^ c; < >, T) o; r! > a rt a g 4-> 3 in 1 3 a bJ I3j a ^ Q. (U XI T) from S.D in IS H t:i M (U J3 Z X *-i 0) in in 00 .4-> 1) «4-l > J3 ■*~* c 4) m M T) n1 C .«-> rn «*-• 3 -r) n JS a M >. l-< C a in OJ U C -1 S Bi 1 t; (1) U n, CD JS 4-> c 'S. U cu a 01 lu •a ci t-t ■^ ^ SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 411 Studies such as a pupil employed by a progressive market gardener or dairyman may undertake are shown above in Fig. 146, and below in Figs. 222 and 223. . 5. Make Project Study Outlines (i) Ask questions. — Support, guide, and check the project work of your pupils by appropriate and directly pertinent project study. In organizing your teaching materials, whether found in books, in labo- ratory experiments or other tests, or in things seen and done outside the classroom, adopt the question method. Avoid, to the fullest extent, however, leading questions, questions which suggest an answer " yes " or " no." Ask questions which require study, thinking, and perfectly explicit written or oral replies. Ask questions to which most of the boys ought to find answers. Include now and then a question for your most capable pupil. Begin with questions vital to the suc- cess of the projects in hand, and appropriate to the season. Ex- amples of seasonal planning of instruction which you may find suggestive are given in Figures 296, 297, and 298. (2) Cover the needs of every boy. — By making the outline of ques- tions full enough to cover the project needs of every boy in the class, certain questions may be marked, and others omitted, for individual pupils. A single outline may thus serve the entire class. Be sure that each boy's project-study record is correct on all points necessary to the success of his particular project. Your questions will thus insure clear thinking, accurate statement, and properly planned work. (3) Include short units of related study. — Do not prepare for your project study by study of books on '' Soils," " Breeds," " Feeds," " Fertilizers," and the like. Apart from your textbooks used, from year to year, in your " Agricultural Survey " instruction, go straight at the study of the projects themselves and their requirements. Then from time to time loop in short units of study from your books, field trips, and the like on soils, fertilizers, feeds, breeds, and the rest. In Massachusetts such short units have been assembled, in some cases a hundred or more, in loose-leaf form. More recently very good models of such short units have been published, one in book form and the 412 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 1-9 O o M u en < O H o > Q t-) n H M M H CO < a a p CO 3 n H o H < Q •J w a 1 W n H O in pi^ P Non- Farm Work o ID ^ ■* Farm Work away from Home Farm Work at Home o 01 z p < W •— ^ o Pi ■S e a. Pi I Si c W 00 O O O 00 >o lo "5 t^ lo ^ 00 (N CO Tj- ^ LO M (N 00 10 .s- Pi "1 ro O O (N lO O 00 00 10 " M t~ M D O K 01 O O) r^iC* •* O a G rt J:i b >> 3 .a t/i >. u ^ J3 C (!) £ SO ^. C T) a> > c a •n u dj 01 N t/i C3 ■q. 3 a 3 ^ >> >, m 0. s o o a o a o SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 413 other in loose-leaf form. These have been listed above in the bibliography given in Chapter V, with the entry numbers 789.8 and 789.9. (4) Make outline overlap outline. — Things frequently and dis- tinctly recalled are best remembered. Study overlapping of refer- ence materials, in your outline making, as aids to thorough reviewing and to facility in statement. Answers composed with much labor and difficulty at first may thus finally be made easily and promptly. Do not overlap your outlines too often, nor too much. (5) Make outline overlap textbook. — Make your outlines not only overlap one another, but also overlap the approved textbooks used for the " Agricultural Survey " instruction. The pupil's knowl- edge will thus become well knit. You can hardly make your outlines and your textbooks excessively overlap. (6) Refer to illustrated matter. — Remember that in most cases your boys are likely to be active and practical in their interests and abilities, rather than " bookish." Therefore, in your outline making refer wherever possible to pages which illustrate the points of the text by diagrams and photographs. You may thus make assurance doubly sure that the pupil will get the fact or principle which you send him to get. (7) Prepare outlines ahead. — Devote one-fourth of the day or week in summer to the preparation of outlines for use during the fall term. The period free from teaching and supervision in winter may be extended to two months in Massachusetts for the express purpose of professional improvement. Until outlines covering the needs of a given school or department have been prepared, the instructor has been counseled to use a large part of his professional improvement time in making or improving outlines for use during the spring term. Thus the labor of outline making during the actual teaching terms may be reduced, and time gained for field, laboratory, and shop prep- arations. The standard form of outline used in Massachusetts has been shown above in Chapter IV, and the project study bibliography, with uniform entry members for the state, to facihtate outline making, has been shown above in Chapter V. 414 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Cow's Number 5 Owner G. W. Norcross, Address Brimfield. Mass. Cow's Name Jutw Weight_ Dropped Last Calf March, igij Dairy Improvement Association lbs. Yield for Month Yield to D ATE Grain and Roughage One 1 ^ 2 Date -^' jJLJi^i (DM. C t LEE. tuCRANCE STREET, MONE PARK. 6651 Acrieultural Instructor ADDRESS „,OH SCHOOl. Of CO ISV 42 WORCtSTtp, viElRCE, Fig. 303. — Agricultural instructor's supervision and in- struction memorandum and the oilcloth cover into which the pad of blanks fits. Sheets 4" x 6", stock size to fit enrollment tab-cards when filed. See page 426. 428 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION served during the progress of each project. The report should, of course, be written with special reference to. the things which the pupil, as a result of his experience, would do, or avoid doing, in future proj- ects of like character. Let the written report, so far as it deals with project management and results, be of exactly the same sort that you yourself file on the completion of a season's project work on school land, if you have con- ducted projects at a school ; and let it be filed at the same time as your own report. Thus, you and your pupil will be turning over in your minds at the same time the same sort of project, and a comparison of observations and conclusions should be doubly interesting and valuable. Occasional reports to bring out the pupil's sense of the educational factors in his course are valuable. Following are excerpts from a leport of a pupil in which he shows that he clearly understands why his instructor has not taught all projects alike. They are from the report prepared by H. C. Norcross of Brimfield, from whose accounts the examples are given to which reference was made in the foregoing section on accounts. After describing his farm experience before and after entering the vocational agricultural course, and reporting upon his five home proj- ects conducted that year, this pupil continued : These three latter projects [soiling crops, corn and potatoes] were taken up in a different manner from the other two [dairying and orchard renovation]. Instead of studying and practicing at the same time, I began my study last fall, and before I had begun to put my knowledge into use a great deal I had practically concluded my study; My experience with this school has taught me that there are two kinds of projects. In the first place, there are those whose practical side the pupil is engaged in every day in the year upon his own farm. There are also those which the pupil can put into practice but once a year. The first case can be illustrated with the project, dairying. Nearly every pupil who studies dairy- ing has a herd of his own. He has not been caring for it in a way to insure him the maximum production at the minimum cost. When he learns that by balancing the ration he can double the milk flow, he naturally is anxious to try it. He may make a few mistakes at the beginning, but by experimenting he finally succeeds in producing the desired effect. Naturally encouraged with the results, he takes added interest in his work ; and, by putting the acquired SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 429 VOCATIONAL AGRI- CULTURAL SCHOOLS OR DEPARTMENTS Schools Northampton . . Bristol County . Essex County Norfolk County . . Weymouth Branch Departments Petersham Hadley .... Harwich .... Easton .... Brimfield .... Ashfield .... Concord .... Marlborough . . . Clinton .... Reading .... Leominster . . . New Salem . . . Newton .... Orange Totals for ipi2 Totals for 1913 Totals for 191 4 Totals for 1915 Totals for 191 6 1917 ENROLLMENT Boys 43 SO 161 42 10 6 21 8 15 10 16 29 10 10 32 14 6 13 IS Totals SI I 66 86 230 413 489 Girls Total EARNINGS Farm Work 43 SO 163 43 10 7 21 II 15 10 16 29 10 10 32 14 6 13 15 SIS' 70 89 23s 418 497 S 9.495-73 10,645.79 36,760.3s 4.136. S3 2,820.20 2,187.53 5,694.40 2,39S-30 3,733-46 4,726.73 3,362.56 9,346-34 2,079.88 3,54409 4,350-64 1 275-53 2,697.44 3,248-37 111,500 87 9,754-28 15,399-90 37,936.67 51,279.89 75.766.53 Other Work Grand Totals ) 217.88 1,422.7c 3,224.03 384.19 101.30 94-05 171.50 554-oS 406.75 17-50 332-94 308.00 345-07 309-77 430.00 1 488.4c 8,808 16 1,345-89 2,582.61 4,1 24,06 4,974.86 8,406.90 Cash Total Cash and Credit $ 2,628.43 8,558.61 23,087.34 3,550.78 2,869.70 ' 391-68 1,048.86 1,562.28 2,962.46 5SS-3C 3,11700 5,004.15 998.78 493-57 2,273.80 2,697.44 1.951.08 63,751.26 25, 229-73 44,977-15 9,713-61 12,068.49 39.984-38 4.520.72 2,921.50 2,281 5,86s 2.949 4,140 4,744 3,695 9,654 2,424 3,853 4,780 1 275 2,697 3,736 58 90 38 21 23 SO 34 95 86 64 53 44 77 120,309.032 11,100.17 17,982.15 42,060.73 56,254.75 84,173-43 Fig. 304. — Earnings of vocational agricultural pupils from farm work and other work during the periods covered by their school attendance and their farming projects. ' Returns not complete. Agricultural instructor drafted. ' In addition to this, 2549 persons over 1 7 years of age who did war garden work under the supervision of vocational agricultural instructors, grew agricultural products for home use and for sale or exchange to the value of: Sold or exchanged, $28,097.21 ; for home use, $45,083.50; total, $73,180.71. This work was done in Falmouth, Holyoke, North Adams, North Attleboro, Norwood, Saugus, Wakefield, and Worcester. 430 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION knowledge into immediate practice, he obtains the benefit at once, instead of in a year or two when he has finished the course. Now let us consider the other kind of projects. These we will illustrate with potatoes. This project is one the profits of which are to be realized only after three to five months of hard work and many expenses. These profits will be influenced by every move on the part of the pupil, according as it be correct or incorrect. Therefore before starting he must be absolutely certain that he is right or the crop will be limited by his mistakes. Consequently the pupil has no time to experiment as with the dairy ; for, while in this case he may decrease the production of one cow for a day or two by his errors, in the second case he will be likely to lose $150 or $200. To be assured that he is correct he must make a thorough study of the subject, — not taking one man's word as infallible, but reading the experiences of different successful potato growers and comparing them. He must do everything possible to extermi- nate the limiting factor which is bound to arise with every mistake. We can readily see, then, that although it is a very good plan to put knowledge into immediate practice, one cannot always afford to do so unless he be sure of the outcome. Therefore in my opinion these two methods of study should be re- tained in the school as two distinct systems, each to be equally important and either one to be applied as the case maj- demand. Now, of course, we have taken great interest in all of our projects, both at home and at school, but I think this interest has been caused to a great extent by the records and accounts which we keep. Each student in the dairy class is furnished with a record book in which he inserts every month the production of each cow separately. This he is able to do by the use of the milk scales and daily milk record sheets. He also weighs the grain and roughage fed the cows each day, and tabulates the total for the month in the record book. The milk of each cow is tested once a month, and in this way it is a very easy matter to find the profit or loss of every cow for the year. We are also given blank sheets on which we keep account of all receipts and ex- penses on our crops. We are enabled to make the entries for labor at any time by the use of the daily time sheets which we make out every night. Therefore we can tell at any time the exact amount put on each crop or cow. In this way our projects are completed, and we have the satisfaction of know- ing that they have been done right. Our interest in our work never wavers for an instant, for we know we are bound to succeed in the end. B. Reports for possible publication. — Miss Maud Amsden was the champion potato grower in 1916 among agricultural club members in this state. Her notes and accounts were important aids to winning. That they were exact and valuable will be evident from the following newspaper account in which the award was announced. SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 43 1 Maud Amsden, an 18-year-old miss from Petersham in Worcester county, is the state champion in the Massa- chusetts boys' and girls' potato club for 1916. On one-eighth of an acre she raised 44.9 bushels, a rate per acre of 359.2 bushels; and this was on land which had been farmed for 100 years. The variety was the Irish Cob- bler, the seed was treated with forma- lin for scab, cut into two-eye pieces, these pieces planted four inches deep in rows two and a half feet apart and the pieces 12 inches apart in the rows. The vines were sprayed four times and were not damaged by insects or disease. Her product was exhibited at Springfield, January 9-12, and was there judged for quality. Her " story of experience," which is required from all club members, ranked very high in- deed. There was a total of 500 in the club, distributed throughout the state, and while there were one or two others whose yields were slightly larger they failed to complete all the requirements of the club. This is the young lady Dr. Lyman Abbott visited in 191 7 and speaks of in the following chapter on page 458. She was in the vocational agricultural course. That club work and vocational agricultural education may be combined to good advantage where the age limits permit will be evident from her following notes on her 1916 expe- rience : "I am sure that my crops would have been less of a success if I had not treated my seed with formalin for scab. . . . He [the agricultural instructor] had advised me several times to do this. . . . I thought it would be all right to use sulphur in its place. ... At the last minute Mr. Edwards called and advised me by all means to use formalin. ... I used it and cannot thank Mr. Edwards enough. ... He advised spraying. It was the last time for doing this and I had decided to leave this spraying out, and thought the field would i^2 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION be all right ; but he said, ' Spray by all means,' . . . and accordingly I gave my field another spraying. ' ' Her notes show that her instructor " measured ofif the eighth acre of land," that " when the crop was harvested, he weighed the potatoes," and that he gave her " more good advice concerning not only the potato project, but poultry, swine, cattle, and sweet pea projects " which she was carrying that summer. Her record includes the remarks, that the potato crop was " greatly improved over preceding years," and that the course in agriculture had helped her " wonderfully " toward keeping her ac- counts, for as she said, " Before, I seemed not to do very well, and now it is all clear to me." After graduation, she wrote to ask if she might continue to be suppUed with account sheets and to turn them in monthly. C. Reports for double credit. — Written reports may be made to serve a double purpose, that of the project teacher and that of the teacher of English or economics. Following is a short paper pre- pared for a teacher of EngUsh in the Essex County Agricultural School. It is a bit introspective, sufficiently so to indicate a well- defined motive for attending a vocational agricultural school, though the only girl in the class ; but it is primarily a story of agricultural aspiration, adjustment, and achievement : The Origin and Development of my Interest in .Agriculture The lonesomeness of a newcomer in a small town was probably responsible for my becoming interested in agricultural activities. Some four years ago we moved a couple of miles from one part of Merrimac to another. In the new neighborhood I found 1 was practically a stranger. The girls of my age were divided into small groups, unwilling to admit strangers or new ideas. Each group of girls kept apart in games and social activities, and if I was to find companionship I found it necessary to form a new grouping. Fortunately I was interested in bird-study, and we soon started a bird club, which rapidly grew to thirty members, from all parts of town and from all classes. It was laughingly said that our Bird Club was the only democratic organization in town. When our Bird Club won third prize in a National Audubon competi- tion open to all Bird Clubs the townspeople were secretly much' pleased. I could see how our Bird Club gave the girls broader interests and made them friendly to each other, and T was anxious to help along a similar move- ment. The state club movement seemed to offer the best chance. SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 433 Among other ideas for community improvement my mother was leader of the Home Garden Club in Merrimac. My younger brother and sisters and myself of course were in the contests. We exhibited freely wherever possible in order to show what children could do. I won over S50 in cash prizes, exhibiting three years at Amesbury P^air and one year at Topsiield. I also sent exhibits to the state fair and to the Eastern States Exposition, and have competed in stock-judging contests at Amesbury, Topsfield, and Springfield. My exhibits included products from my garden, canning done in the Canning Club, pigs raised in the Pig Club, and stories of my club work. I had con- siderable success in winning prizes along these lines, and have also won prizes in story-writing. The greatest pleasure and benefit to me lies in the chance I have had to watch the gradual unfolding of these ideas in the community. For instance, the Merrimac Garden Club members held small local exhibits of their products, and these exhibits attracted such attention and interest, that the Grange in our town was spurred to run an agricultural fair. This fair was the first they had had ih forty years. At my mother's earnest request a table was provided for the children of the Garden Club, and this table was one of the best exhibits in the hall. The Grange found a financial benefit in taking an interest in the general public, and after several of their agricultural fairs, which they have made an annual feature, they have collected a sizable fund towards building a hall of their own. On account of the comparatively cheap land available close to good markets there would seem to be unusual opportunities for one properly trained for Agriculture in New England. Because I liked out-door life and enjoyed civic development of the community, I decided to get an agricultural training. I applied for admission to the Essex County .-Vgricultural School, and because Director Smith was familiar with some of the things I had done, I was admitted as a pupil in the agricultural course, where I am the only girl in the class. To avoid excessive travel in going to school, and to secure better practical experience along agricultural lines taught in the .Agricultural School, we have taken a farm in North .\ndover. This location is near enough to school so that the transportation question is solved, while the farm offers so many problems in different soils and possible crops, orchards, cranberry meadow, woodlot, and sanitation that I should have a wide knowledge of correct farm methods by the time these problems are solved. The school course promises training along the agricultural lines necessary to make farming profitable. I find that girls can do the work thought gener- ally to belong more properly to boys. In contest with Bristol County I got the school letter for winning first in seed identification. Stock-judging is another course offered to more advanced classes. In judging four classes of stock at .\mesbury Fair, I won first prize, so was ad- mitted a member of the school team to receive special instruction in judging 2 F 434 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION at the National Dairy Show in Springfield. Some objection was raised to my competing against the ninety-seven bo3's representing the ten North Eastern States in the dairy-Judging contest. The Essex County and ^Massachusetts state officials made such a vigorous protest that I was finally allowed to com- pete. I won second prize, and chose a bull calf, " Sophie iQth's Tormentor loth," a grandson of " Sophie igth" of Hood Farm, the world's champion long-distance butter cow. The first six of his brothers sold for an average price of S502, while one brother brought S4000. The writer of the foregoing account is shown above in Fig. 193. D. Reports for the " educational manager." — Your state or fed- eral supervisor of vocational agricultural education may at any mo- ment decide to test your knowledge of the spirit and mental attitude of your pupils, of their home conditions, and of details of their battle for agricultural betterment. The general rules in state-aided vocational education in Massachu- setts require that in all schools of over fifty pupils there shall be estab- lished a " function " of some member of the faculty, the purpose of which shall be to promote efficient instruction, to follow the educational and trade progress of each pupil, and to prescribe special work for in- dividual pupils as their needs may require. In 191 7 there were 167 boys in the Essex County Agricultural School, and Mr. Dexter E. Coggeshall was designated the '•' Educational Manager " \nth the foregoing " function." The author, as state supervisor, to test Mr. Coggeshall's intimate knowledge of individual pupils, asked him for brief reports on the four boys mentioned in the three reports which follow. It wih be e\ddent that immediate response would have been impossible in the absence of detailed and reasonably complete records. It should be stated that Mr. Coggeshall is the teacher of English and economics for whom the foregoing account by Miss Ruth Wood was prepared. The Story of the Partnership of Joh.\nson and Bloom Mr. Johanson, the father of one of the boys in this story, wanted to get his son off the streets of Lynn during the long summer vacation. Accordingly, he proposed to his boy and to his boy's playmate that they have a garden together. He hired land for them, — about 8000 square feet. The boys were in the 7th grade of the grammar school at this time. They did not SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 435 relish the idea of giving up their play to ' cuff ' in a garden. However, they managed to grow a fair crop of corn and beans. Mr. Johanson felt that the boys had had a more profitable summer than they would have had on the streets of Lj'nn. The next summer, when they had finished the 8th grade, they added 1500 square feet to their garden, and grew corn and beans as before. By this time they had become interested in their project. It was at the end of this summer's work that they first heard of an agricul- tural school in their own county. They investigated, and found that it was open to them; so they talked it over with their parents and decided that they would try to get into this school at the end of their grammar school course. When they graduated from the grammar school they had fully determined to go to the County .\gricultural School, and to carry on a larger garden, — one that would occupy most of their time. This year's garden had peas, potatoes, cucumbers, as well as corn and beans. They had more than enough for home use, so they sold to neighbors. In the fall they entered the County Agricultural School. They studied Vegetable Gardening, P'arm Accounting, English, and General Science. To their surprise, they learned that they really did not know much about garden- ing, even with their three summers of experience. Their interest in the study of vegetable gardening was most keen ; in fact, they had never be- fore studied anything with such enthusiasm. In the winter months they planned their summer's project. This garden was to be much different from the former gardens; for they had learned something of companion cropping and succession cropping. Also, they had learned the value of a dust mulch. The investment in this garden was $150, and their gross income was $457. This is how they did it : First, they planted spinach and early peas. They harvested 50 bushels of spinach and 20 bushels of peas. In the meantime, they had started lettuce in hotbeds. Next, where they had harvested the spinach, they put in beets and turnips, with lettuce between the rows. Where they had planted the peas they now planted celery, with lettuce between the rows. They also planted potatoes on the newer part of their garden. These boys both smile when they compare this project with their former gardening efforts. Needless to say, they have both decided to take up farming as a vocation. Wise Mr. Johanson believes that his idea of substituting gardening in the summer for playing on city streets with large groups of boys was a good one. These are the two boys whose partnership project and earnings report for 191 7 are shown in Figures 142 to 145. 436 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION The Story of Dequoy's Projects DeQuoy was fifteen j-ears of age when this story begins. He had studied two years at the Haverhill High School with poor results. He was not inter- ested. In the fall of 1913 he heard of the County Agricultural School. He had never been interested in Agriculture, but he decided to enter and to find out, as he says, " If there was anything in it." His mother owned and oper- ated, in a small way, a farm of about seven acres of land. This boy has now carried three successful projects. We will now see what those projects were like. I asked DeQuoy to write me of his first year's project, and this is what he wrote : " As I had land at home, I planned to have my garden there. I planted tomatoes in the house the middle of February, and cabbage for plants in the hotbed in March. I built the hotbed from old lumber and storm sash. From the cabbage plants alone, I made about ten dollars. I also set a few in my garden. I had my garden plowed in the middle of April. It was only ninety feet long and fifty wide, but to me it seemed a big farm. I spaded it over after plowing and put in the early peas. Then other vegetables were planted in season and all sorts of companion and succession schemes were used to keep every bit of land working every minute. On the whole garden, I made about fifteen dollars over and above labor and other expenses." He exhibited some of the products of his garden at the County Fair and won a first and three seconds. It was during this first project season that he did the thing that was to win his interest in Agriculture, and to settle his life's work. He bought two sittings of Single Comb White Leghorn eggs. His second year's farm work was varied in its nature. He had three dis- tinct projects. First, he set out 500 strawberry plants and 100 raspberry plants. Second, he bought a pair of Ohio Improved Chester pigs. At six months of age these pigs dressed 165 lb. apiece. The pigs were entered in the pig club, and he won a premium because of their daily gain in weight. They made an average gain of one pound a day. Third, he raised 200 White Leghorn Pullets from the nine pullets of the previous year. The nine pullets won him the third prize in the Poultry Club. They averaged six and one-half eggs a day during the contest. DeQuoy now decided that his real interest was in the poultry business, so he carefully selected the best of his 200 pullets as breeders for his next season's project. The third year's project was a pronounced success. The first hatch came off March first, and from then until July his two incubators were constantly running. Eighteen hundred eggs were set, twelve hundred chicks were hatched. He sold six hundred baby chicks, and raised to maturity five hundred and ninety-five of the remaining six hundred. SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 437 Again, this year, he entered twelve of his Leghorn Pullets. These birds made a daily average of 9^ eggs for the entire length of the contest. These twelve pullets earned DeQuoy $33.00 net profit during the contest. They won for him the first prize in the Poultry Club, and helped him to win one of the Bauer prizes in the County Agricultural School. In fact, every one who saw this boy's project marveled at his success ; for, to speak truly, his work was done with little capital, and under adverse conditions. His income from his poultry projects for this, his third .\gricultural School year was $218.61 paid himself for labor and $333.16 net profit, or a total of $551.77-" This boy in his fourth year has been employed on an approved substitute for a project, as a helper in the Poultry Department of the Essex County Agricultural School. The Story of Eastwood's Agricultural Interest Eastwood went one year to the high school. On the completion of this first year high school work, he told his parents that he wanted to be a farmer. His father was somewhat surprised but he decided to try his son out. He hired an acre of land and set the boy to work. The garden was a complete success, and Mr. Eastwood was convinced that his son should be given an opportunity to get an agricultural education. It was then decided to send the boy to the County Agricultural School. .\t the county school he was obliged to csLvry an agricultural project each year. We will now see what each year's project was like. His first year's project was carried on at the school farm. He had a half acre vegetable gar- den and one Berkshire pig. When he was not working on his own project, he worked on the school farm at general farm work. His accounts of this, his first project, were particularly good. This young man's second year of farm work was what we call a substitute for a project ; that is, he worked on a general farm that belonged to a gentle- man in Peabody, Massachusetts — Brooksby Farm. On this farm he cared for thirty pigs, ten cows, and about three acres of fruit. He cost-accounted the pigs and the cows. Again, his accounting was most praiseworthy. Also, he won first prize in stock judging at the County Fair. Eastwood's third year of farm work was also a substitute for a project. This was the management of a twenty-acre farm belonging to a Haverhill business man. The work was done entirely by Eastwood, with the help of a small boy working part time. Eastwood worked from early morning until about seven o'clock in the evening. .A-fter seven o'clock he worked on his accounts. His work on this place won him what is known as the Bauer prize — $20.00 in gold. Following is a brief description of the project : It con- sisted of the care of three cows and one heifer; two pigs; one hundred and 438 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION fifty hens ; the raising of three hundred chicks ; ten acres of field crops ; one- half acre of small fruit; one-half acre of large fruit; five acres of vegetables. The noticeable features of his work were the changing of the rations for the cows, pigs, and poultry, so that greater production was experienced ; also, more frequent cultivation of the soil, which resulted in a yield of one hundred twenty-five bushels of potatoes on a half acre of land. Let us now look at his accounts. These accounts show the net income for each department on the farm. The total shows the amount of money he earned for the owner from May the sixth to November first, namely, $898.32. Receipts Poultry $507.27 Dairy . 417-89 Garden 282.79 Field crops 472.20 Swine S3-oo Large fruit 55-^3 Small fruit 57.48 Horse 93-i4 Bees 21.50 Gross receipts $1,960.40 Expenses Poultry $ 297.88 Dairy 236.13 Garden 165.76 Field crops 162.79 Swine 48.89 Large fruit 11.63 Small fruit 31.44 Horse 83.84 Bees 23.72 Total expenses $1,062.08 Gross receipts $1,960.40 Total expenses 1,062.08 Profit $ 898.32 His fourth year finds him back on the farm at Haverhill. He now has four cows, three heifers, and a large beekeeping project. He says that he will practice more intensive cultivation this year, and that he will keep a better set of books. He plans to go to the Agricultural College in the fall. His father says that he believes the boy really wants to be a farmer. SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 439 This boy's employer was well pleased with his second year of work. He is now enrolled for a year or two of further education in the tech- nical and most practical courses at the Massachusetts Agricultural College. E. Reports for the state supervisor. — It may more than once happen that the state supervisor will wish to go straight across to a boy for a test of his ab'lity to make a report in writing. Following is a report to the author as state supervisor made by a vocational agricultural pupil who finished his four years course in 1916, but who continued his projects in 191 7 in connection with taking supplementary high school studies in preparation for further training at an agricul- tural college. My Success with Vocational Agriculture In the fall of 191 2 my father bought me 15 hens. I kept them in the base- ment of the barn. The next spring I had saved money enough to buy 100 eggs for hatching. I had sixty chickens and raised them all; I had ^s good pullets out of the flock. They laid well, making an average per hen of 198 eggs for the year. The next spring and summer I had a hundred pullets hatched, and built two houses. I continued to hatch more chicks each year and build more houses. I sold 2400 hatching eggs in 1915, 2600 in 1916, and 2451 in 1917. I have been well patronized by the State Sanatorium at R. I. for the last two seasons. In 1915 I received an order for 1500 hatching eggs from them. The order was filled. Last spring they asked me to bid on an order for 11 70 eggs and iioo chicks. I did so and received the order for 11 70 eggs. Last fall when my hens were in their winter quarters I had 291 hens and pullets, and 15 Tom Barron cockerels. Every summer for the past four years I have been doing considerable gar- dening. I have had two to three acres of land under cultivation. The fall of 1915 I bought two acres of wood land, had it cleared and set apple and peach trees in the place of the pines. At present I have over two-hundred apple, peach, and pear trees, also 281 raspberry and 35 blackberry bushes. For two years I kept a cow. I bought the cow for $40. During the two years I cleared $232.06 above cost of feed and sold her for beef for S40. I have also kept pigs for two years and though having to buy all the feed have found them profitable. I have been in several of the state contests, winning a second in Poultry and a third in the Pig Club. The prizes of these were a trip over New England and a week at the Camp at .\mherst. 440 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION To sum up my net earnings for the five years : i\Iy personal expenses have been paid from the earnings of my projects. A very promising season is before me with a big flock of hens laying heavily, and a fine opportunity for garden produce. I have at present, by careful inventory, in cash, real estate, houses and equipment and stock, $775. I have prospects of clearing $100 on peas this season. At present I am clearing $17 a week on my hens; and putting it at an average of $10 per week from now to September I shall have $170. I am also planning potato and bean crops. The total of this figures 81045.00. In September, 191 7, just five years after I made my start at 14 years of age, I shall have a balance on the right side of the account of more than $1000. This has been done besides attending school two sessions a day for the entire five years. I have been admitted to the Ontario Agricultural College. I shall enter next fall for a four year course. Very truly yours, Ralph W. WUliartis. You see there is no lack of definiteness in the data from which such a report as this could be immediately made. With such data at hand a report almost writes itself. You see, also, that Ralph's father had given his boy modest property rights. His father told the author that he had not given his boy fifteen dollars in the past five years. Ralph was not disappointed in his expectations for the summer of 191 7, and entered the agricul- tural college of his choice in the fall as he had planned to do. This boy's first big egg order and his photograph are shown above in Fig. 126. 9. Keep in Touch with Graduates Check your instruction by the success of your graduates and of your pupils who, for one reason or another, were not able to complete their courses. You may thus be able to judge of the success of your efforts to restrict enrollment in your vocational classes to pupils who really desire to follow careers of farming. Fig. 14 above shows a chart prepared in 1914 for the Panama Pacific Exposition by Mr. C. L. Pepper, Agent for Industrial Educa- tion in Massachusetts, setting forth results of a comparison of agri- cultural pupils with those admitted to other vocational schools with reference to continuance in the industry for which they had been SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 441 given more or less training in this state. It will be seen that the comparison is strikingly favorable to the agricultural schools and departments. But more interesting than percentages will be the reports of their achievements which your graduates will be very willing to make you abgut once a year, if you will take the trouble to ask for them. The sort of reports the author, as state supervisor, likes to find among the records of instructors may be illustrated by the follo\Ying reports from Stanley Bartlett, who entered the first state-aided voca- tional agricultural class in Massachusetts at the Smith School in Northampton of which the author at that time was director, who lived at home throughout his course, and who conducted one of the first home projects at a school which sold its own herd of cows in order that no time should be lost thinking about school cows, and all possible time gained for work concentrated on the improvement of the home herds of its pupils. Stanley did fair work in his various courses, but some of the courses did not interest him and found him more or less indifferent. He may be seen above in Fig. 106, the first of the boys from left to right in the center. It is evident that he was not so much interested in beekeeping as were other members of the class. His strong work began when he came to the study of dairying. He began to show his pride and real mettle when week after week one of his father's cows headed the list on the blackboard with the highest percentage of butter-fat among the cows represented in the class. Stanley Bartlett's father gave him the right kind of support. When asked if he could get permission to feed one cow at home a balanced ration, he came back with his father's reply, " Better not feed one cow. Better feed them all." He kept the records of the entire herd, and knew the profit or loss in the case of each cow. And he did every- thing possible to produce a perfectly sanitary product. His father and an older brother were able to carry on the home farm without his help. He faced the problem, therefore, on graduation, of finding satisfactory employment elsewhere. The reports from him which follow will speak for themselves as to his education for farming and his satisfaction and progress in his chosen career. 442 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION In February, 1915, he wrote from the Sanatorium of the Metro- politan Life Insurance Co., Wilton, N. Y. : It was through Director Loomis of the Smith School that I secured a position at Hood Farm. I took up my work there on July i, 191 2. My first work for six weeks was taking care of 40 cows and milking 15. After this time, I was changed to fitting cattle for auction. On Sept. 7th, I left Hood Farm with a partner and 40 head of sale cattle for the Dairy Cattle Congress, Waterloo, Iowa, and the Hood Farm, Shoemaker, auction sale. When the auction and show were over, I came back to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a few Fig. 305. — Eight Sophie's Tormentor cows. Owned by Hood Farm, Lowell, Mass. Aver- age yearly records : 14,784 lb. 8 oz., of milk ; 895 lb. 2 oz. of butter. Stanley Bartlett, a Smith School graduate, was proud to be working with such animals. See next page. show cattle to the International Dairy Show. When this show was over. I came back to Lowell with the show cattle after being gone one month from the farm. This month gave me a whole lot of experience in the care, handling, and showing of cattle. From that time until January i, 1913, I was taking care of the high record cows and milking. The great amount of practical experience I had gained thus far through Mr. Dodge just gave me the right start, so I then took the ten weeks' course at the Massachusetts Agricultural College in dairying and allied subjects. When I finished my course at M. A. C, I accepted a position as herdsman and dairyman on the farm of H. A. Moses at Woronoake Heights. The herd C. Stanley Bartlett. i I i : home and cows that were in his home project. Fig. 306. — His present place ol employment in charge of more than 100 head ol Ayrshire cattle and an equal number of pure-bred Berkshire swine. See, also, Fig. 305, and his reports on pages 442-446. Stanley Bartlett was one of the first boys to conduct a home project. 443 444 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION _ consisted of 50 head of Ayrshires. I had two men under mj- direction. This was a very sanitary, modern dairy barn with cement floors and walls and equipped with litter carriers. In April of 1914 I decided to take the position as assistant herdsman which Mr. Dodge had offered me at Hood Farm. I took up my work there on May 11, 19 14. The herd consisted of 200 head of the very highest class of Jerseys in the world. I had 9 and 10 men under my direction at that time. Along in August, I started out with a partner and 20 head of show cattle. I went out to the Forest City Fair near Cleveland, Ohio ; then came back to New York State Fair at Syracuse ; and then to the Worcester Fair at Worcester, Mass. We got back to Lowell about the middle of Sept. The highest price at which a Hood Farm cow has sold is $3500.00. The highest price at which one has sold that I have fitted for sale is $1500.00. The highest record made by a Hood Farm cow which I have cared for is a senior three year old record of 17,793 lbs. 8 ozs. of milk and 107 1 lbs. 4 ozs. of butter. The Hood Farm doesn't keep any imported Jerseys. They are all of their own breeding. I had about 20 head of pure-bred Jerseys at home. My best record at home (on one cow) was a profit of $54.26 in 7 months. It was through Mr. Dodge that I secured this position which I took on October 20, 1914. This is the most modern, most sanitary, and finest set of farm buildings in the country, I believe. I have full charge of barns, cattle, and dairy. The stock consists of 30 cows, one bull, and nine calves, all Ayrshires. I am making 450 quarts of milk from the 30 cows. All of this milk is used at the Sanatorium. As the Sanatorium grows, the dairy will have to grow, so I expect to have 100 head of cattle. I have four men at present. Now my wages the first year at the Hood Farm were $30.00 per month, board and room. When I started work at Woronoake Heights, I got $35.00 per month with board, room and laundry, but was soon raised to $40. My last year at Hood Farm, I got $40.00 per month, board and room. My wages here are $900 per year and all my expenses. In April, 1916, he wrote again from Wilton, N. Y. : Since writing you, I have taken charge of the herd of Berkshire swine. I have 48 head beside the spring litters which number 32 thus far and I expect that number will double when they have all farrowed. We keep nothing but pure-bred Berkshires. I attended the meeting of the American Berkshire Congress which was held in New Brunswick, N. J., in February. Mr. Dodge of Hood Farm sold a boar at the Congress auction for $1100. My herd of cattle has increased until I now have 65 head and am milking 42. These 42 cows are making about 625 qts. of milk per day now. An extension for 40 cows is nearly completed which I expect to fill with more cows SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 445 this summer and fall. Of all the yearly records, 25 in number, or all the cows which have worked here one year, I got an average of 9800 lbs. per cow for the year. My best yearly record was 13,000 lbs. of milk from one cow. Most of these have freshened this spring and have started out extremely good. I now have 6 men under my charge. I expect to get married this coming June and I will live here on the Farm. My salary has not changed as yet, but I expect it will when the herd gets larger. I am to have my house rent, fuel, vegetables and milk and cream with my present salary of $900 per year. I am very well satisfied with my position here and expect to make it more or less a permanent position. His latest report dated April 9, 1918, follows : My present salary is $1020 per year with house rent, fuel, milk and cream, vegetables and fruit. My family has increased of late. We have a fine little girl born March 30, 1918. I am sorry to say that I haven't taken a photograph since we were married but hope to take some soon and will gladly send any worth while ones to you which you may use in any way you may want to. The best record completed here thus far was finished on April 7, 1918. The record was made under advanced registry rules and by "Old Home Lilly" " 28630," namety 16,011 lbs. milk and 586.42 lbs. butter-fat. All milk records or lactation periods finished during 191 7, numbering 34, average 8,342.6 lbs. milk and 333.8 lbs. butterfat. We produced during the year 191 7, 123,260 qts. whole milk, 4051^ qts. heavy cream and 35,514 qts. skim milk. Our herd of AjTshires consists of 105 head at present, .\bout 55 of these are pure breds and we have about 58 of the 105 head milking cows. Our average production is not near as high as I would like, but we need every bit of milk I can produce so that I ha\e not culled the herd as I should have done. Our Berkshires are doing first rate. We dressed 98 hogs during 191 7 which weighed 25,7465 lbs. We have nearly doubled our brood sows for the coming year and hope to sell a lot of pure bred pigs. We are planning to put our Berk- shire business on a better basis this year by mo\'ing to a large tract of light dry ground and putting up modern, sanitary buildings. I now have 7 men under my charge. We have a tractor. But of course thus far I have had nothing to do with the outside farm work. My work is exclusively witii the li\e-stock here. Such records are abundant evidence that vocational agricultural education is worth while, that it is doing what it ought to do. They steady the instructor in hours of uncertainty and hearten him in moments of discouragement. They show that pupils, though not 446 VOCATIONAL -AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION always equally interested and successful in everything covered by a course, are pretty certain to discover their special bents and develop unusual skill in certain directions. Best of all, perhaps, is the effect of such records of modest, but gradual and steadily growing achieve- ment, upon pupils still in school. Pictures of Stanley Bartlett's home farm and herd, of Hood Farm cows with which he worked, and of a barn at his present place of employment may be seen in Figs. 305 and 306, on pages 442 and 443. 10. Help Educate Gentlemen of the Old School and Farmers of the New As a sort of resume of certain factors important for the success of vocational agricultural education, and as an aid to keeping educational sympathies and efforts in desirable balance and perspective, the author ventures to offer these concluding suggestions. (i) Help train farmers of the new school. — Spare no pains in efforts to work with agricultural educators and with farmers in your efforts to give boys adequate training for farming careers. Suggestions in the foregoing chapter may be of some assistance to you, if you are at all at a loss as to ways and means of close cooperation. Do not try to do the whole job yourself. Persuade farmers to participate in your teaching program. In- vite them to visit projects and to examine pupils. By assisting the farm bureau, or the grange, or any other board or organization whose duty it is to promote agriculture, in arranging for field meetings and demonstrations on farms, help farmers to teach each other. By arranging field trips and trips to their home farms, and by encouraging boys to take at least short courses at the agricul- tural college, help to bring other agricultural educators and your pupils together ; and help your pupils to teach each other, by showing each other what they have learned, discovered, or been able to do. Assist the College Extension Service and the Farm Bureau in plan- ning and giving dull-season, short courses for farmers and for others who have land or live-stock which they desire to make contribute to SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 447 their support; and help those who take such short courses to get lasting benefit from them, by systematic, but not meddlesome, visita- tion throughout the producing season. Remember the boy that needs a friend. Be particularly careful to help boys who may not be able to attend school full-time, but who, on your invitation, and with your cordial encouragement, may be able to attend your classes part-time and to conduct projects of considerable educational and economic importance under your patient and pains- taking supervision. Let them drop in for study, or for advice, rainy days, or at any other time they may find convenient. Bear in mind that, in any case, the best teacher is the man who knows his subject, but lets his pupils do the work. The project plan will enable you to set any boy at work at any time. Serve as local leader of agricultural club-work. Thus you may come to know most of the children in your locahty, — and they may come to know you. Pay particular attention to boys twelve and thir- teen years old. Though instruction in your classes must be suited to the needs of boys over fourteen years of age, there is nothing magical about the fourteenth birthday. There are boys of fifteen and sixteen who are but thirteen and twelve in all physical, mental and moral essentials to education; and vice versa. From your work with men, you will know how older boys look at things. Since, under normal conditions, your work will usually begin with the boy who is fourteen, it is of the utmost importance that you should know how boys of about that age look at things and can best be taught. Previous work with a boy in out-of-school hours in club activities will help to prepare you for efficient work with him afterwards in agricultural education in school hours. Moreover, leading agricultural club-work will help you to admit pupils to your classes with better judgment as to their natural aptitudes for farming careers. All of the foregoing should help you to measure up to the require- ments and opportunities of the vocational instructor, as an agricultural " trouble-man " for the adults in his community, as a " big brother " to boys out of school, and as an educator of boys in classes to become farmers, alert, capable, progressive. And in all of this, you may gain an enviable reputation as a man upon whom all, who are in any way 443 VOCATION.\L AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION interested in better farming, can depend as a cooperator, a program maker, and, in the best sense of that term, a promoter. (2) Help educate "gentlemen of the old school." — But do not let your influence stop here. Do not become a narrow-minded crank. There is danger, for it is hard to determine just where the enthusiast stops and crank begins. We admire the former, and like to work with him ; we abominate, or laugh at, the latter, and try to avoid him. Do not permit " old home week " to be chiefly a matter of roast chicken or roast pork and plum pudding, of pumpkin pie and big apples, yellow or green or russet or red ; and of agricultural exhibits. Help with all this. But remember the village improvement club. Rake and remove your share of the litter, and hang your share of the decorations. When you are showing your classroom, do not fail to show the rest of the school and have a worthy word for its all around good work. Encourage your boys not to neglect the opportunities for general education provided for in such complete programs for both schools and departments as those discussed in Chapter \T, and shown in Figs. 188 and 189. Impress upon them the values of education for better farming, but equally urge the values it may have for better living. Avail yourself in this of such aids as those shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8. Remember the community center recreational activities which are, or ought to be, contributing to the public welfare of the locality you serve. All work and no play makes the community a dull community. Be a pioneer, if necessary, in efforts to bring the whole community together, the past and the present together. Music, pageants, and games, — all manner of wholesome and whole-souled recreation, — should have your help and that of your pupils. Figures 281 to 287 show a few examples of kinds of recreation in which vocational agricultural instructors and pupils have participated with very great profit. Remember the public library, the hospital, and the church. Try to forget, and to permit your pupils to forget, no worthy cause Be no more a rural economist than vou are an economist. Be a sociol- SUGGESTIONS TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTORS 449 ogist, not merely a rural sociologist. Your first responsibility, as a specialist, is for education in arts that are practical. But have a place in your life for the arts that are liberal. As the years pass, be better and better able, in the happy phrase of a recent writer,^ " to see life steadily and see it whole." In a word, be a helper of all that is best in human welfare and progress. Strong and gentle spirits, the poet and the philosopher, the states- man and the man of affairs, have sung and otherwise happily expressed their appreciation of agriculture as a fundamental occupation and of farming as a delightful mode of living. Farmers have not so often nor so happily voiced their appreciation of other fundamental occupa- tions and of the graces and refinements of other modes of living. What is needed to-day, as never before, are not less diversity of talents and training, but more unity of spirit, greater community of under- standing, more joining of hands in common causes. We have inherited an expression which we somehow cling to as precious, namely, " gentleman of the old school." A farmer to whom we might apply it would be no less successful than the most progressive of his fellows. The term rings of prosperity. But it savors nothing of the narrow, nor of the envious, nor of the uncouth. It savors of a spirit of broad, human understanding, of sympathy at once gentle and strong. Education is a Ufe-long enterprise. Covet for your boys such balance and perspective and such a quality in their educa- tion, both durir^g the periods of their formal schooUng and in after years, that, proudly and affectionately, it may be said of them, " They are gentlemen of the old school." • Mr. David A. Pottiiiger in Harvard Alumni Bullelin for Feb. 6, igig, page 370. 2G 45° VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION CHAPTER IX THE NEW EDUCATION! MAKING FARMERS Editorial Correspondence by Lyman Abbott Last March I met at Hampton Institute a delegation of educational experts who had been selected by the Rockefeller Foundation to study the methods of what is probably the most efficient vocational school in the United States, if not in the world, and report on them. The immediate object of this investigation was to get at the truth ; but its ultimate object, I do not doubt, was to get the advantage of this truth in promoting a better tx^pe of vocational training throughout the United States. Among this delegation I had the good fortune to fall in with Mr. Rufus W. Stimson, one of the educational inspectors of the State of Massachusetts especially intrusted with the supervision of the agricultural schools of that state. I very gladly accepted an invitation from him to take, under his guidance and direction, a four days' automobile trip through the state, visiting some of those agri- cultural schools. There is in ^Massachusetts an agricultural college, situated at Amherst. Like other similar colleges, it is not exclusively agri- cultural. In addition to such practical courses as dairying, farm management, market gardening, poultry husbandry, and the like, it also furnishes scientific instruction in cognate branches, including not only botany, general and agricultural chemistry, and microbiology, but also such subjects as modern languages, rural sociology, and civil engineering. The practical tendency in education in our time is in- dicated by the fact that in the last ten years the enrollment of stu- dents of college grade has increased from 219 to 680. 1 Reprinted with Dr. Abbott's permission from The Outlook, July 25, 1917, pp. 473-475- 451 452 VOCATION.\L AGRICULTUR.\L EDUCATION There are also four agricultural secondary schools devoted wholly to agriculture and cognate arts, including the art of home-making, which, in spite of the scorn of some pseudo-reformers, I hold to be the most fundamental and the most important of all our arts. One of these agricultural schools is endowed; the others have been estab- lished under permissive laws of the state by the counties in which they are severally situated. There are fourteen local high schools provided with agricultural departments equipped to furnish training to such boys and girls as desire to take a course to fit them for practical farming. Not many of the graduates of the college become farmers, though they meet the increasing demand for farm superintendents, who enable some gentle- men of wealth to play at farming, an expensive and losing game when conducted by those ignorant of the science of agriculture, and other gentlemen to combine their money with the intelligence of their super- intendents in a quasi-partnership which gives the farm what all large farms need, both adequate capital and scientific supervision. But the agricultural schools and departments of the high schools are organized and conducted especially for the purpose of preparing boys and girls to conduct farm industries of profit to themselves and to the community. In addition to the fourteen high schools with agricultural departments, there are eight others which hope to open an agricultural course in the fall. It is not unreasonable to anticipate that when the scores of boys who have enlisted for the summer in the present agricultural campaign return to their schools in the fall many of them will wish to continue the work. I passed in my trip one camp of these agricultural soldiers from cultured city homes. They were living in tents, and were earning from one dollar and a half to two dol- lars a day from the farmers in the neighborhood. The success of their work had silenced the skeptics, and I was told that another score of boys could find employment on the same terms in the same neighbor- hood if the boys could be obtained. The most immediately striking feature of the educational work in the agricultural departments of these high schools is its practical character. The Board of Education requires that each apphcant before admission shall be visited at his home by his prospective proj- THE NEW EDUCATION 453 ect teacher, and that a written agreement shall be entered into by both the parent and the pupil by which the pupil agrees to do his best to carry out the teacher's course, including project work, and the parent approves the pupil's application and promises his support and co- operation, pledging himself that the pupil " shall have the time and land, equipment and supplies, required for properly carrying out his home project work." Subsequently the project work of the pupil is more specifically defined. He agrees, for example, with the approval of his parent or guardian, to cultivate a quarter of an acre of vegetable garden, or an acre of corn, or six rows of potatoes, or a dozen fruit trees, or to take care of a cow or a couple of pigs or a score of hens. I can best illustrate this by reprinting here his project card : MASSACHUSETTS BOARD OF EDUCATION VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL PUPIL'S EMPLOYMENT STATE INSPECTION RECORD Location of A^hfipld School Year j 5^ School or Depf. ASflJieiXL F.nHing 7 M»g ^^ ^^^ 7 16 Pupil's Name Age_ Home Address Cummington, Mass. q^^ ^^.^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ (if working out) Home Projects (Breeds, Varieties, Extent, etc.) cJ- I A. Mangels (Norbition long red). 3 Dairy Cows to June 1st School Projects do. Other Farm Work Crops—Teaming— Haying— Milking— Horses None Non-Agricultural Work Project Work Instructor and Supervisor. H. L. Whittemore (name of) I have filled up the blanks from an actual card in my possession, leaving out only the name of the pupil. The teacher visits the pupil at his home and rates him according to the skill and industry which his home project indicates. The condition and yielding of his hens or his corn or his cow or his fruit trees constitute his weekly or bi-weekly 454 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION examination, and the pupil never knows when his teacher is coming. The teacher is not allowed to take more pupils than he can visit, as a rule, weekly, at their homes, and at least as often as every two weeks. The maximum number of pupils allowed to any teacher is twenty. It is not enough that the teacher possess a scientific knowledge of agriculture. That is perhaps the least important of his qualifications. He must have a practical knowledge of the farm and the farmer's hfe ; must be able to see the farmer's problems as a farmer sees them ; must have had extensive practical experience on a farm ; and must have tact, force, and a vital interest, not only in raising crops, but in raising boys and girls. Perhaps the easiest way to put this problem before the reader is to portray a not wholly imaginary case. The Massachusetts law requires that the cliildren of the state shall be kept in school until they are fourteen years of age. At four- teen the child may be taken out of school and set to work as a money- getter. The father has been looking forward to the time when his boy, hitherto only an expense, shall become profitable to him. He has a poor opinion of " book learning " and an exaggerated opinion of his own ability to teach his boy better than the school can teach him. But the boy has no inchnation to abandon his school life and his school- mates and go to the drudgery and the lonely life of the farm. He tells his teacher of his desire to go on with his school work ; but he cannot go on with his school work without his father's consent. Now is the teacher's opportunity and the teacher's problem. Opportunities are always problems and problems are generally opportunities. The teacher goes to see the father. For this interview he is equipped by his practical familiarity with farm life and farm problems. He may find a father eager for the better education of his child. Then the teacher's problem is simple. He may find the father indifferent or even hostile. Then the teacher's problem is difficult. He succeeds, however, in getting the farmer to talk the matter over with him. What farm work does the boy do? The work for the boy to do is outUned by the father. What would the father have to pay a boy from outside to do that work? The material for an answer is right at hand. Other farmers are paying two dollars a day for the work of boys who have had no experience on a farm, and therefore are pre- THE NEW EDUCATION 455 sumptively worth less than his boy. How much do the food and clothing of his boy cost ? At this period of the interview the mother is called in. The mother is generally more eager than the father for her son's education. Together they figure up the cost in dollars and cents of the boy's keep, estimating at market prices for all the farm food which he consumes. > The boy never before realized that he was paid anything for his work. To him it was unpaid drudgery. The father never before realized that he was making money out of his boy. Perhaps never before in their Uves did the father, mother, and son sit down to dis- cuss together the problem of their common life. The father sees a Httle light and is ready to hsten to a practical proposition. It comes from the teacher in some such form as this : Let your boy do as much of the farm work as will fairly pay the cost of his keep. Let him have some hens or a cow or a piece of ground as his own and make what he can out of this, his home project. Let him come to the school in such time as he has left and get what we can give to him. And I will come once a week or once a fortnight, will supervise his work and give him my counsel, not only on his home project, but on his farm work. This will cost you nothing. The boy's work will pay you for his keep ; the education in school and at home will benefit him and increase his earning capacity ; you can try the experiment for a year, and then bring it to an end if it does not succeed. Often the father accedes cordially to the proposal when thus put before him ; if not, he finds it difficult to stand out against the influence of the teacher, the desires of the boy, and the persuasions of the mother. The boy is entered in the agricultural department of the high school. He lives at home ; pays for his living by his work ; has a minute farm assigned to him for himself ; and has a teacher whose wise friendship is a guarantee against failure. Not the least advantage of this arrangement is the new relation- ship established between father, mother, and son — a relationship of mutual regard. The son reahzes what his parents are doing for him, because he pays them by his work the recognized market price. The father recognizes the value of his boy because the profit earned by his boy's work has been estimated in conference with him by an impartial 456 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTUR.AL EDUCATION outsider. The husband and wife get at least a glimpse, which they had not before, of their economic value to each other and of their boy's economic value to them. They thought that he was a burden ; they discover that he is an asset. And the boy gains a new self-re- spect as a valuable member of the household and finds an inspiration in his work which makes it no longer drudgery. The whole household becomes naturally a profit-sharing concern, which before they did not know themselves to be. What if the father refuses his consent? In one such case the boy lost his chance for further education. In another case the boy, after working a year or two for his father, gave him notice that he would leave the home and shift for himself unless he was permitted to resume his schooling with a home project as a part of his schooling. Then the father surrendered. But in most cases the father's affection for the boy is stronger than ignorance and prejudice combined, and, after the advantages of the plan have been clearly and simply put before him, he consents that his boy go on with an education which the home and the school combine to give him. Generally one year of this experiment is sufficient to win for its continuance the father's cordial approbation. The teacher's instruc- tion to the boy is in turn imparted to or picked up by the father. He finds that " book learning " is not useless when it is understood by a practical farmer and appHed in the practical treatment of the farm. Thus in one case a boy had as his home project six rows of potatoes in his father's potato field. The father sprayed the potatoes with arsenate of lead, which protected them from insects ; but arsenate of lead does not protect from blight. The boy learned this fact at school, and, coming home, asked permission to spray the potatoes also with Bordeaux mixture. The father thought this a needless expense, and declined. Then the boy asked permission to make enough Bor- deaux mixture to spray his own Home Project, and the father assented. In the fall the boy's potato vines were flourishing, the father's potato vines were dead. The next spring the father told the boy to prepare the necessary amount of Bordeaux mixture for the protection of the next year's crop and bought a barrel and pump sprayer. In another case the boy learned in school the relative cost of purchasing a fer- THE NEW EDUCATION 457 tilizer compared with the cost of purchasing the materials and making a fertihzer, and learned that the farmer is at a disadvantage in buying his fertilizers at retail prices and selling his products at wholesale prices. He learned from the school that by combining with other farmers his father can buy fertilizers by the carload, and by selective packing of his fruit can secure a higher price for the better grades. The result was an enrichment of the entire community. I went into one orchard where the schoolboy had half a dozen apple trees as a part of his Home Project. Even with my unpracticed eyes I could see the advantage to the trees from his scientific pruning. In another part of this same farm the boy, as a part of his home project, was starting new trees from grafted cuttings from his father's orchard, thus saving the expense of a purchase from the nursery. Where sympa- thetic relations are estabhshed between the boy and his father, and also between the teacher and the boy, sympathetic relations between the school and the farm follow naturally and almost inevitably. The public appreciation of the boy's success adds to the boy's new standing in the family. The boy is not without honor save in his own household, and when the honors which he has won outside are reported to the household his father and mother share in the pride of his achieve- ment. The boy's examinations are conducted partly, at least, on the farm or in connection with his farm work. The boys are taught how to judge cattle and other farm products. These boy judges are them- selves judged in turn by a committee of experts. On one farm which I visited the boy had won a prize for the wisdom of his judgment. The prize was a young Jersey bull — pure bred and registered — and we went out to the pasture to see it. The boy's pride in showing us his prize was delightful to witness. It needs no great imagination to enable one to reahze what the possession of that bull meant, not only to him, but to his father and his mother. Another boy had earned as his prize a trip to Washington, D. C. Can any one doubt that this journey to the capital of his country, which the father and mother had never visited, gave him a new standing, not only in the home, but in the farms in the immediate vicinity ? Farming is a much mo^e intricate operation than the average city- bred person imagines. We shall all know a little more about it after 458 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION the experience in farming which the country is getting this year. I heard on this trip of one enthusiastic lady who to prepare her potatoes for planting cut them in slices, as she would for frying. I wonder what harvest she will get? I heard of an enthusiastic gentleman who to prepare his field for potatoes plowed just deeply enough to turn the sod over and give it a fresh chance to grow. There are only eleven girls in Massachusetts who are taking the agricultural course, though there are hundreds who are taking the course in home-making. 1 visited one of these eleven girls on her farm. I had been told before that her health was so poor and her intellectual equipment so inade- quate that the teacher and the doctor combined to advise that she be taken out of school. She was, however, allowed to enter the agricul- tural department. She came out to our automobile. A brighter and more intelligent face, healthier color, more vigorous action, no one would ask to see. She brought us her account-sheets, in which she had carefully kept all the expenses for food for her animals and seed for her ground, and in which she had credited herself with the market . value of all her products. She knew exactly what the profit of her agricultural ventures had been. This girl, who the teacher and the doctor thought must leave the school, won last year the first prize in potato-growing in competition with not only the ten other girls but also the five hundred boys pursuing agricultural education. There is evidently no sex prejudice in this agricultural education. A second prize in judging live-stock at the Eastern States Exposition last Octo- ber was won by a girl in competition with a hundred boys from the Northeastern States, including all of New England, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Her prize was a pure-bred Jersey bull calf of the finest lineage — a calf for which she has refused fancy prices. The total value of the prizes won in Massachusetts agricultural schools in 1916 was $1491.80. It was a delight to see the pride which these young farmers took in their work, the smiling welcome which they gave to their teacher, the fellowship between the two — born of common interest in the soil and its products — their freedom from all self-consciousness in talk- ing with us strangers, and the exactitude of their knowledge in report- ing the results of their work. They knew just how many eggs they THE NEW EDUCATIOX 459 had gathered from their hen yards, how much profit they had made from the pigs, how many quarts of milk they got from their cow. There was never any guesswork. Not less inspiring was it to see the estimate they put upon education. One boy went every day five miles to his school and five miles to his home in return. He had, it is true, a bicycle, but the road was so hilly that the bicycle carried him only one-half of the distance, while he, so to speak, carried the bicycle the other half. Another boy lived ten miles from his school, going back and forth once a week, yet contriving to keep up his home project successfully. The interest of these pupils is not purely an industrial interest. The education is not merely an education in soils and crops. It in- cludes not only a practical acquaintance with simple bookkeeping, but a practical habit of so keeping the books as to insure wise econ- omies and wise expenditures. To be a really successful farmer one needs to know, not only something concerning soils and fertilizers and crops, but also something concerning markets. These school boys and girls are required as part of their education to do very careful bookkeeping. There lie before me copies of the account-sheets kept by some of these pupils. One of them, for example, " a pupil's ap- proved individual cow account," gives in tabulated form the pounds of milk furnished by the cow each month, a statement of the cost of feed so itemized as to show the cost of each article, the proceeds re- ceived from the sale of the milk, and the profit or loss of the cow for each month. Another table gives a summary of all the other earnings of the boy, including playing the violin for an evening entertainment, the boy being a capable musician. A third table is a condensed finan- cial statement for a year on a dairy project covering five cows, and was accompanied by an individual record of these five cows. This par- ticular table I transfer to these pages (substituting only the boy's initials for his name), at the top of the next column ; it shows better than words could do how the boys learn to render condensed and sim- plified accounts, how to handle their figures, how to think straight, and how to boil the results down so that at a glance they or their parents or instructors may perceive the result in dollars and cents of the year's industry. 4-60 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Nor is this all. These agricultural departments in the high schools include cultural as well as vocational training. Roughly speaking, about one-half the pupil's time is devoted to his farm work and the scientific education required to make that farm work of the best quaUty. The other half of the pupil's time is devoted to study in the school of such topics as English ; social science, including com- munity civics and economics; natural science, including biology, physics, and chemistry; drawing; shop work; some of the more elementary commercial themes; physical training; and the oppor- tunity for music and recreation. Table No. 13. — Copy of a Pupil's Approved A Dairy Project Financial Statement " on H. C. N. Date Transactions 1914 Financial Statement My labor at $ .25 Other man labor ... at .20 Miscellaneous expenses .... Net profit , . Manure, 55 tons . . . at 1.50 5 calves at 4.00 31,342 lb. milk .... .022 Stock bought Inventory, 1913 1914 Feed Totals Hours Man Horse Dairy Receipts S 82 20 689 336 1,128 so 00 52 75 77 Expenses 161 90 6S 144 25 243 398 1,12 60 S8 64 80 00 00 24 77 Some tragedies this farm work has averted. In one farm which we visited the father had died, leaving a boy of seventeen the sole support of his widowed mother. Their means were hmited. He had one cow and no horses. To get his field plowed he swapped work with his neighbor. But he found time to attend the school, and it was clear that the friendly fellowship of his teacher saved him from the loneliness of what would otherwise have been a most pathetic life and enabled him to feel that he was really an appreciated member of a great industrial community. Another boy with curvature of the spine THE NEW EDUCATION 46 1 had cultivated a little plot of ground adjoining his village home and sold the products from a pushcart until he had made enough to buy, I think it was, two acres of land, where he was cheerfully working as we passed by, and from which he came to us with beaming face to greet his friend the teacher. In still another case we found two pioneer boys who were redeeming a plot of ground from a forest. They had lived one year in a tent while they were building the not uncomfortable-looking shack which is now their home. How the half-dozen forest trees had been felled I do not know, but they had rooted out the stumps and dug up the plot of ground which constituted the beginning of their farm. My companion expressed her admira-. tion for their grit by remarking to one of the boys : " I should not Hke to do that hard plowing." His reply was : " I like it, and that is the difference between you and me." This development of pride in hard work struck me as one of the most notable benefits of this farm education. One of the pupils whom I visited had taken, with his brother, a large home project, and he told us with evident pleasure, not as a matter of boasting, but in re- sponse to our inquiry as to his hours of labor, that the day before he had risen at half-past five in the morning to do his chores, including the milking of twelve cows before breakfast, and at a quarter past nine at night had been putting some seed into the ground by lantern light because he wanted to get the job done that day. The home project, planned at the school, studied at both school and home, executed by the pupil, and sympathetically supervised by the expert agricultural instructor traveUng from farm to farm, is the dominant feature of the Massachusetts system of vocational agri- cultural education. There are no school dormitories in this system. The home project is no less characteristic of the four separate and county agricultural schools than it is of the one-teacher or two-teacher departments in high schools. Everywhere it is a system of "earning and learning " ; and the earnings are of considerable economic im- portance, amounting for five hundred pupils in 1916 to $7S^7(^^-S3- I am not so much interested in what these boys and girls are doing for the soil as I am with what the soil is doing for these boys and girls. This form of agricultural education seems to me to throw no little 462 VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION light on some of the perplexing problems of our American life. It is a great unifier. It brings the school and the home together; the teacher and the parents together ; education and life together ; and, what is perhaps best of all, fulfills the promise of the Hebrew prophet and turns the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to the fathers. INDEX Abbott, Dr. Lyman, i6, 431, 451 Accounts and accounting, 55-57, 77-78, 231, 234, 241, 252, 256, 258, 295, 340, 410, 412, 414-415, 420 ff., 439, 458-461 Adams Act, 38 Admission of pupils, 280 ff. Advisory Committee, 183, 189 Agreement, .\pplication and, 282-285, 353. 390, 400-409, 454-457 Agricultural departments in high schools, 24, 25, 26, 29, 178-301, 315 Agricultural Education, Vocational, Needs of, 315-322 Agricultural Schools, 9, 21, 22, 178-301, 315- 322 "Agricultural Survey" instruction, 72-76, 158 Agricultural textbooks, general, 164, 172, 173 Allen, C. R., 15 American Association for the .Advancement of Agricultural Teaching, 338 Ames, F. L. See Langwater Farms Amsden, Maude, 431 Animal Diseases, Books on, 165 Feeds and Feeding, Books on, 165 Life, Propagation and Tests, Books on, 165 Husbandrj', Books on, 162 Arab Horses, 364-371 Ashfield Agricultural Department, 58, no, III, 115, 135, 156, 189, 208, 304, 309, 346-351.429. 453 B Bacteriology, Agricultural, Books on, 166, 168 Bagley, W. C, 8 Bailey, L. H., 105, 109, 154, 155, 159, 163, 164, 166, 169, 171, 174 Balch, Russell, 217 Bartlett, C. S., 441-445 Baxter, Sylvester, 310-313 Bee Projects, 79, 160, 231 Benson and Betts, 158 Belkr Fruit, 138 Bibliographv, entry numbers, etc., loo-ioi, 135 ff. Birds and Agriculture, Books on, 166 Bitterness, Early, between .\dvocates of Cultural and Vocational Education, 17, 19 Blakeslee and Jarvis, 173 Bloom and Johanson, 212-215, 434-435 Borden, Spencer, 364-371 Boston, Survey regarding Agricultural In- struction for Families in, 325 ff. Boston, L. B., loi, 102, 420 Boston Universitj% Bureau of Educational Service, 11 Botany and Plant Physiology, Books on, 166 Bradlee, T., loi, 102 Branches of County Agricultural Schools in Massachusetts, 191, 201 Breeder's Gazette, 138 Bricker, G. A., 172, 174 Brimfield Agricultural Department, 87, 113, 205, 209-211, 300-303, 306, 307, 313, 320, 428, 429 Bristol County Agricultural School, 92,93- 95, 97, 150, 151, 210, 241, 243, 251, 268, 281, 282, 287-289, 298, 338, 339, 363, 378, 379. 381, 387. 422, 429 Brooks, W. P., 164 Brown, E. E., 16 Bureau of Education, U. S., 11, 13, 14, 23, 140, 357 Burke, E. J., loi, 358 Burkett, C. W., 165, 171-173 Butterfield, K. L., 174. See also Massachusetts Agricultural College Cance, .\lexander, 350, 351 Career Motive, 264, 265, 281 Carver, T. N., 168 Certification Records, 425 Chemistry and .\griculture, Books on, 167 Chicago, Evening Agricultural Instruction in, 323 46J 464 INDEX Chipchase, George, 363 Citizenship Education, 258 S., 446-449 City Tenement Families, Agricultural In- struction for, 322-337 Clinton Agricultural Department, 429 Clydesdales at Langwater Farms, 279, 372, 373 Coggeshall, D. E., 434 College, Short Courses in Agriculture as Winter Stop-gaps, 343 CoUingwood, H. W., 160 Commissioner of Agriculture in Massachusetts, 308, 314 Commissions on Industrial Education in Massachusetts, 8-10 Common Sense. Organization of, 93-94 Community Organization, 352, 354, 356 Concord Agricultural Department. 60, 62, 63, 66-69, 77> 81. 100, 112, 152, IS3, 178, 183, 186, 187, 19s, 214, 219, 232, 233, 271, 284, 294, 312, 388, 389, 403-405, 408, 429 Concrete mixing and use, S3 "Conference on WTieels,'' 360, 364-367, 374 Connecticut River Stock Farm, 332 Conservation, A Problem of, 10-14 Construction and Repairs, Books on, 167 Cooperation, 182, 183, 357-381 Coryell, J., loi, 102 Cost Accounting. See Accounts Country Life, Books on Betterment of, 174- 175 County Organizations, Model, 378-381, 384 County Planning Conferences. 344-347 County Agricultural Schools Compared with High School Agricultural Departments, 178 flf. See Table of Contents for out- line. Courses in Schools and Departments Com- pared, 216 ff. Cow Account for a year, 414-415 Cranberry Growng, 396 Crocheron, B. H., 34 Crosby, D. J., 26, 34 Cultural Education, 7, 8, 9, 10, 446-449 D Dairy Products and Manufactures, Books on, 168 Dairy Projects, 83, 238, 242 Davenport, Eugene, 164, 174 Davis, I. G., 87, 205, 411 Davis, Philip. 325 Day, G. E., i6i Day, Length of Pupil's, 292 Defeat, Traditions of, 97 "Deferred Values," 89, 90 Departments, Agricultural, 24-29, 178 S., 31S De Quoy, 436-437 Dickinson, W. H., 333 Doolittle, A. W., 102, 284, 312, 388, 389, 405, 421, 422 Dormitories, Avoid, 375-376 Douglas Commission on Industrial Edu- cation, 8-9 Duggar, B. M., 166, 170 Duggar, J. F., 172 Dunham, Austin, 323-324 E Earning and Learning, 56, 87, 429 Eastern States Exposition, 433, 434, 458 Eastwood, 437-439 Eaton, T. H., 175 Economics, Rural, Books on, 168 Education, i. See analysis of Chapter I, in Contents Education, Money Values of, 11, 13, 14 Education, Rural, Books on Betterment of, 174-175 " Educational Manager," 197 Educators, Cooperation with, 183 Edwards, F. L., 431 ElUs, A. C, "Money Value of Education," II, 13, 14 Ellsworth, J. L., 308, 313 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 7 Employment of Pupils, 383 S. Enrollment Cards, 390, 391, 400, 401 Essex County Agricultural School, 46-52, 54, 55, 78, 142, 145, 147, 188, 191, 196, 203, 212, 213, 215, 217, 218, 221-226, 228-231, 236, 253, 254, 258, 269, 270, 296, 338, 349, 363, 365, 381, 394, 429. 432 ff. Evening Classes, 256 Falmouth, Mass.. 429 FamiUes. Tenement. Agricultural Instruction for, ,U2-337, 384 Farley, G. L., 336 Farm Bureau Departments and Cooperation, igr, 362-364, 384 Farm Income and Education in New York, 14 Farm Management, Books on, 168 Farm Management Projects, 83, 238, 342 INDEX 465 Farm Practice Sheets, 257, 295, 425 Farm Shop Work, 227, 238, 239, 243, 343 Farmers, Cooperation with, 183, 372-378 Farming in Massachusetts, 303-315 • Fay, J. H., 102, 108 Federal Board for Vocational Education, 140, 34i> 357-358 Feeds and Feeding, Books on, 165 Fertilizers, Books on, 170 Field Crop Projects, 238, 243 Fish, F. P., 13-14 Forgetting, Education in, 90 Franklin County Farm Bureau, 351 Fruit Growing, 78, 83, 159, 163, 169, 221-230, 238, 242, 408 Fumigation, Books on, 172 Garden City, Aiding Movement toward, 322-337 Gardening and Games, 336-337 Garden Magazine, 138 Gaskill, R. H., 394, 397 General Education Subjects, 258 ff. "Gentlemen of the Old School," 446-449 Geology, Books on, 170 Georgia Agricultural Schools, 23 Gilbert, G. H., 339, 387, 422 Gleanings in Bee Culture, 138 Graduates, Keeping in Touch with, 440 ff . Grange, The, 182 Greene, M.Louis?, 71 Griggs, Edward Howard, 14 H Hackneys, 362, 363 Hadley Agricultural Department, 85, 86, 88, 89, 139, 197-202, 210, 235, 249, 255, 256, 262, 263, 297, 305, 358, 429 Half-day Blocks of Time for Project Study and Project Work, 71-76, 341 ff. Hall-Quest, A. L., 76, 175, 342, 366 HaU, WeUs A., 422 Hampton Institute, 451 Hanus, Paul H., 9 Harper, M. W'., 158, 162 Harris, Abram, 4 Harvard College, i, 5, 7 Harwich Agricultural Department, 192, 429 Hatch and Hazlewood, 172 Hatch, Mayne and, 158 Hawkins, L. S., Chief. See Federal Board for Vocational Education Henry, W'. A., 165 High School Agricultural Departments com- pared with County Agricultural Schools, 178 ff. High School, the People's College, 7 Hoard's Dairyman, 138 Holyoke Agricultural Department, Evening, 429 Home-Making Departments of Agricultural Schools, 35-37. 39-45. 452 Home Project Origination of, 35-40 Defined and described, 40-44 Cost accounting essential to, 55 No-dormitor>' plan, 36, 375-376 Parents like home projects, 53, 454-457, 462 Pupils like home projects, 54, 98, 454-462 Substitutes for, 22, 233, 239, 245, 246, 255, 256 Universally applicable, 58 Homestead Commission, Massachusetts, 330, 337 Hood Farm, Lowell, Mass., 442, 444 Horses, Management of, 238, 245 Hummel, W. G., 175 Hunt, T. F., 164, 168, 171, 17s Huxley, 93 Improvement Projects, 40, 41, 42, 85 Insects, Books on, 169 "Interlachen." 5ee Borden, Spencer International Film Service Inc., 270 Itinerant Agricultural Instruction for Fam- ilies, 322-337 Jarvis, Blakeslee and, 173 Johanson and Bloom, 212-215, 434-435 Jordan, W. H., 165 K King, Mrs. W. A., 360 Kitchen Gardening, 76, 1 19-126, 139, 159, 194, 222, 261, 403 Langwater Farms, 267, 278, 279, 372-374 Lapp and Mote, 1 2, 175, 369 Leadership versus Service, 384 ff. 2U 466 INDEX Lee, C. E., 403, 408, 427 Leominster Agricultural Department, 429 Lettuce Growing, 96, 126-134 Lewis, H. R., 160 Library Bureau, 417 Lincoln, Abraham, 4 Lipman, J. G., 166 Lippincott, W. A., 160 Long Distance Educator, 369-370 Long Term Planning, 352, 354, 356 Loti, Pierre, 14 Lowell, James Russell, 2 M Mann, A. R., 73, 158 Market Gardening Books, 163 Market Gardening Projects, 61, 83, 194, 238, 243, 261 Market Growers^ Journal, 138 Marlborough Agricultural Department, 80, 107-109, 207, 208, 310, 429 Massachusetts. See Needs, and Surveys Massachusetts Agricultural College, 304, 346, 350,, 351, 352, 354, 3s6, 359-361, 364, 397, 442,451 Massachusetts Agricultural (College) Ex- periment Station, 145 Massachusetts Agricultural College Extension Service, 147, 397, 446 Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, 151, 308, 314, 361-362 Massachusetts Board of Education, 13, 19, 38, 323 ff. Massachusetts Farming, 303-315 Massachusetts High School Masters Club, 342 Massachusetts Homestead Commission, 330, 337 Massachusetts State Forester, 151, 362 Mayne and Hatch, 158 Mayo, N. S., 165 Meier, W. H. D, 159 Mental Discipline, 7 Merriam, B. J., 386-388 Metcalf, E. E., 396 £f. Metcalf, Miss Julia, 385 Methods of Instruction, 276 ff. Middle Distance Educator, 370-371, 384 Minnesota Northwest School of Agriculture and Branch Experiment Station, Crook- ston, 34, 338 Minnesota School of Agriculture, St. Anthony Park, 21, 338 Moore, Judge W. H., 362, 363 Morrill Act, 4 Morrill, Justin S., 4 Moses, H. A"., 442 Music, 262, 264, 265, 448 Myrick, Herbert, 162 N National Dairy Show, 434 National Education Association, 19 Needs for, or in. Vocational Agricultural Education, 30, 31, 315-322 New England Homestead, 138 New Salem Agricultural Department, 429 Newton Agricultural Department, 388, 429 New York, Education and farm income, 14 Nolan, A. W , 172, 175 Non-resident Pupils, 282 Norcross, H. C, Frontispiece and 410, 412, 414-415. 418, 420 Norfolk County Agricultural School, 193, 214, 318, 319, 363, 378-381, 429 North Adams Agricultural Department, 386, 429 North Attleborough Agricultural Depart- ment, 429 North Easton Agricultural Department, 59, 79, 90, 91, 102, 103, 157, 185, 193, 267, 272, 273, 278, 279, 311, 374, 381, 429 Northrup, Cyrus, 22 Northwest School of Agriculture, Crookston, Minn., 34, 338 Norwood Agricultural Department, 429 O "Open Doors of Opportunity," 26 Orange Agricultural Department, 429 Ornamental Planting, 61, 83-85, 161, 223 Outline Making, 76-85, 99 &., 355, 410 ff. Outlook, The, 310, 451 Pageants, 382-383, 448 Palmer, George Herbert, 5 Panama Pacific Exposition, Massachusetts Exhibit at, 15, 17, 18, 20-22, 440. See author's Preface Park and Cemetery, 138 Part-time Pupils, 254, 300, 302, 447 Patrons of Husbandry, 182 Pepper, C. L., Statistical Charts Prepared by, 17-22,440 INDEX 467 Petersham Agricultural Department, 56, 57, gg, 114, 117, 140, 141. 154. 237, 240, 246, 247, 285, 286, 308, 429, 431 Pet-stock, Transition from, 81 Physical Geography, Books on, 171 Physical Training, 260 ff. Physics of Agriculture, Books on, 170 Plant Diseases, Books on, 170 Plant Foods and Feeding, Books on, 1 70 Plant Life, Propagation and Tests, Books on, 171 Pottinger, D. T., 449 Poultry Projects, 61, 80, loi, 139, 160, 194, 231, -261, 404-405 Powell, E. C, 160 Powers, J. G., loi, 102 Pratt Experiment Farms, 358 Prizes, 154, 249, 270, 296, 305, 430-431, 436, 437, 439. 457. 458 Productive Projects, 41, 42, 43, 86-88, 406 Productive Work, Vital Test, 32 "Professional Improvement," ig7, 26g, 342- 3SI ■Profita, Francesco, 325 Project Agreements, 353, 3go, 400, 409, 454-457 Project, Educational Analysis of a, 44-50 Project Fields or Classes, 44 Projects and Other Farm Work, 50, 454 fi. Projects, Kinds of, 64-66 Projects, School Farming as, 338 ff. Projects, Size of, 406 ff. Project Study Adapted to Individuals, 63-64, 71-75. 454-457 Project Study, Grouping of Pupils for, 60-63 Project Study, Natural versus Artificial Units, 94 Project Study, Organization of Common Sense, 93-94 Project Study, Range and Progress of, 59 Project Study versus Subject Study, 88-98 Projects, Substitutes for, 22, 217, 233, 239, 24s, 246, 250, 25s, 256, 264, 265, 303, 390, 408-410, 437 Project, Surveys of Facilities for, 353 Project Vicissitudes, 99 Project Work, School Credit for, 409 Prosser, C. A., 10, 39-40 Publishers, List of, 176-177 Q Qualifications of Agricultural Instructors, 266 ff., 454 R Reading Agricultural Department, 212, 351, 429 Records, 231, 234, 241, 252, 256, 258, 294 ff., 342-351. 353. 355. 418 ff. Recreation, 264, 265, 266, 285, 385, 448 Redfield, W. C, 12 Reference Books, List of, 158 ff. "Related Study," 227, 234, 241, 252 Remembering, Education in, 96 Reports, 300, 340, 427 ff. See also Accounts Rice, J. E., 143 Robertson, J. W., 175 Robinson, J. H., 160 Robison, C. H., 175 Roosevelt, Theodore, 384 Rose, M. S., 102 Rural Nrw Yorker, 138 Russell, H. L., 166, 168 Salaries of Agricultural Instructors, 276 Sampson, H. O., 158 .Sanderson. E. D., i6g Saugus Agricultural Department, 3gi, 429 School and Home Education, 8 School Farms, Limitations of, 32 ff., 178 ff., 375 ff- Schools of Privilege, 9 Schools of Protest, 9 School Year, 287 ff. Sears, F. C, 163 Seasonal Planning of Instruction, 355-357. 403, 404-405, 408 Service, Fight for, 384 ff. Service System, A Model, 378-381 Sevey, G. C, 159 Sheep Projects, 61, 82, 139, 140, 161, 194, 231, 261 Shetland Pony Breeding, 360 Short Distance Educator, 371-372, 384 Shrubs, List of, 83 ff. Small, R. O., 40, 178 Smith, F. A., 222-230 "Smith-Hughes Act," ig, 322, 342, 344 Smith, Payson, 40 . Smith, W. C, 10 Smith .\gricultural School, 24-31, 37, 82, 116, 136, 137. 148, 140, 182, 208, 234, 244, 245, 248, 260, 263, 276, 277, 283, 290. 291, 295. 316, 322-330, 334, 3.36-338, 340-347. 382-385, 429, 450 Snedden, David, 39-40, 175 468 INDEX Spectator versus Participant, 33-34 Spencer, Herbert, 3 Soils and Soil Fertility, Books on, 171 Soule and Turpin, 172 Spra\'ing, Books on, 172 Sterling, Henry, 330, 337 Stimson, R. W., 451 Stimson, S. N., 395, 397 Sub-projects, 232, 238. 239, 243, 245 Substitutes for Home Projects, 22, 217, 233, 239> 245- 246, 250, 255, 256, 264, 265, 303, 390. 408-410, 437 Success, Traditions of, 97 Supervised Study, 342 Supervision, Spirit and Methods of, 297-300, 353, 426, 455, 457. 458- 460, 461 Surv^eys, 302-31S. 323-337. 392-395. 399 Sussmann, Rudolf, 346-351 Swett, R. W., 388 Swine Projects, 61, 82, 139. 141. 142, i45. U?. 161, 194, 231, 243, 261 Teachers, Qualifications of Agricultural, 266 fi-. 454 Teacher-Training, Agriculttiral, Itinerant, Project Plan, 344-345 Team-Work, 357-381 Tenement Families, Agricultural Instruction for, 322-337 Terms, Length of, 287 5. Textbooks, Lists of, 158 ff. Three R's of the Project Method, The, 66, 70 Tidow, C. R., 348 Tompkins, Col. Frank, 368-371 Trees not for Fruit, Books on, 173 "Trial" Projects, 40, 41, 42. 85 Turner Hill Farm, 221-230 Two States, 10 U Underwood and Underwood, N. Y., 36S, 370 United Cape Cod Cranberry Co., 396 United States Department of Agriculture, 26, 34, 140-142, 143-144. 357-359. 369, 421 Vacations, 290 Vegetable Growing Projects, 61, 76 ff., 99 ff., 139, 159, 161, 194, 222 ff., 232-233, 238 ff., 243 ff., 250, 261 Vivian, Alfred, 171 Vocational Agricultural Education, 19 ff. See Table of Contents for topics Vocational Education, 6-10. See Table of Contents for topics W Wakefield Agricultural Department, 429 Wareham Courier, 138 Warren, G. F., 14, 74. i55. 158, 168 Waters, H. J., 158, 184 Watts, R. L., 105, 159. 163 Waugh. F. A., 159. 161, 163, ,169 Weed, Miss S. M., 83-85 Weed, C. M., 169, 172, 173 Weeds, Books on, 174 West Virginia University, 348, 385 Weymouth Branch of Norfolk County Agricultural School, 379, 429 Wheeler, H. J., 170 \Mieeler, Wilfred, 314 Williams, R. W., 439-440 Wing, H. H., 168 Wing, J. E., 161, 168 Wood, Miss Ruth, 270, 432-434 Worcester Agricultural Department, 427, 429 Wright, Carroll D., 8 "Young America's Opportunity," 11 Zoology, Books on, 174 Printed in the United States of America. BOOKS ON AGRICULTURE ON TILLAGE: Bailey's Principles of Agriculture Si. 40 King's The Soil 1.75 King's Irrigation and Drainage 1.75 Lyon, Fippin and Buckman's Soils : Their Properties and Management 1.90 Roberts's The Fertility of the Land 1.50 Snyder's Soils and Fertilizers 1.25 Voorhees's Fertilizers 1.60 Wheeler's Manures and Fertilizers 1.75 Widtsoe's Dry Farming 2.00 ON GARDEN-MAKING: Bailey's Garden-Making -. . 1.75 Bailey's Vegetable Gardening 1.75 French's How to Grow Vegetables 1.75 ON FRUIT GROWING, ETC.: Bailey's Fruit Growing 2.00 Bailey's Pruning Manual 2.50 Card's Bush Fruits i-75 Lodeman's Spraying of Plants i.75 ON THE CARE OF LIVE STOCK: Jordan's The Feeding of Animals 1.75 Lyon's How to Keep Bees for Profit 1.50 Mayo's Diseases of Animals 1.75 Phillips's Beekeeping 2.00 Valentine's How to Keep Hens for Profit 1.50 Watson's Farm Poultry 1.60 ON DAIRY WORK: Eckles's Dairy Cattle and Milk Production 1.60 Snj'der's Dairy Chemistry- 1.50 Wing's Milk and Its Products 1.60 ON PLANT DISEASES: O'Kane's Injurious Insects 2.00 Slingerland and Crosby's Fruit Insects 2.50 Stevens and Hall's Diseases of Economic Plants 2.00 ON ECONOMICS AND ORGANIZATION: Fairchild's Rural Wealth and Welfare 1.50 Green's Law for the American Farmer 1.75 Hunt's How to Choose a Farm 1.50 Ogden's Rural Hygiene i-6o Roberts's The Farmer's Business Handbook 1.50 Weld's Marketing of Farm Products 1.60 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 64-66 Fifth Avenue, New York BOSTON CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO ATLANTA DALLAS HIGH SCHOOL TEXTS ON FARM ANIMALS Eckles and Warren's Dairy Farming jog pages, $1.20 The aim of this book is to discuss the points that are of most importance to the farmer; that is, to answer the farmer's questions, and to put these answers in the form of underlying principles rather than as rules. It aims to give the basic principles of the subject without being superficial. It aims to teach underlying principles so that a farmer will know how to change his practice to meet everchanging conditions. The chapters of the book indicate its scope : Importance of the Dairy Industry; Breeds of Cattle; Selection and Improvement of Dairy Cattle; Management of Dairy Cattle; Feeding Dairy Cattle ; The Dairy Barn ; Common Ailments of Cattle; Milk and Its Products; Conditions Affecting the Development of Dairying ; Systems of Farm- ing on Dairy Farms ; Methods of Renting Dairy Farms ; Cost of Production and Methods of Marketing; Other Important Factors for Success. Harper's Animal Husbandry ^ 4og pages, $1.40 In the five parts into which the book is divided the author treats of horses, cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry, and each is discussed with reference to breeds, judging the anunal, feeding, and care and management. There is also a chapter on the general principles of feeding. Practical questions and numerous laboratory exercises supplement the text and compel the student to think through each subject as he proceeds. The book is extensively illustrated. De- signed for use as a textbook, it is also well suited for use as a reference book in schools in which time limitations make it impossible to use it as a text. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 64-66 Fifth Avenue, New York BOSTON CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO ATLANTA DALLAS HIGH SCHOOL TEXTS ON CROPS AND TILLAGE Livingston's Field Crop Production 424pages, $i^o The book is simple and non-technical in style and intensely- practical, the topics treated being those of immediate interest and profit to students who expect to become actual farmers. It points out the "better way" of raising farm crops, of selecting the field, of preparing the soil, of sowing the seed, of cultivating the plant, of harvesting the crop. After an introductory view of the whole field of plant life and crop rotation, there are twenty chapters on different crops, for example, corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, rice, buckwheat, perennial grasses, annual grasses, clovers, alfalfa, root crops, fibre crops, etc. There is a chapter also on marketing grain. Harris and Stewart's Principles of Agronomy 430 pages, $1.40 Deals with the practice that underlies success in crop pro- duction and will be welcomed by those schools that emphasize, in the agriculture course, the field crop studies. The student is introduced in this book to the four elements that will affect his success in raising crops for market. First, the nature of the plant and its activities ; then, the composition of soils ; next, the characteristics of the principal field crops and details re- garding their cultivation and care ; finally, the principles of farm management. When one has surveyed the subject from these four points of view he has a clear idea of what is involved in the practical problem of crop production. He sees that results are determined by the character of the plant, by the soil, and by the management as well as by the crops themselves. Lyon's Soils and Fertilizers 2^3 pages, $1.20 The subject matter is presented in simple non-technical style and presents first, ten chapters on soil, covering such topics as Soil Formations, Texture and Structure of Soil, Organic Matter, Soil Water, Plant Food Materials, Acid and Alkali Soils. There are nine chapters on fertilizers. First the four or five general types are discussed and then such applied practice as The Purchase and Mixing, and The Use of Fertilizers, Farm Manures and Green Manures and Crop Rotation. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 64-66 Fifth Avenue, New York BOSTON CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO ATLANTA DALLAS Chemistry and Its Relations to Daily Life By LOUIS KAHLENBERG, Professor of Chemistry, and EDWIN B. HART, Professor of Agricultural Chemistry, University of Wisconsin. Cloth, i2mo, III., jgj pages,, $i.2j This book outlines a year's work for students of agriculture and home economics in secondary schools. The subject matter is thoroughly practical in character and it is presented in a simple, interesting manner. Chemical formulas are introduced, but merely as an aid in expressing facts in simple, compact and convenient form. Questions follow each chapter, and in a chapter at the close of the book are definite suggestions for about a hundred and fifty practical laboratory experiments. These include besides the usual chemical experiments of the elementary course, several problems not usually attempted, such as the bleaching action of various acids, the preparation of soap, the absorbing power of carbon, antidotes for many poisons, etc. The practical character of the book and its adaptability to meet the needs of the home and the farm are indicated by the chapter headings, among which are : The Composition and Use of Water ; Carbon and Its Compounds ; The Metals of the Alkalies and the Alkaline Earths ; Paints, Oils and Var- nishes ; Leather, Silk, Wool, Cotton and Rubber ; The Soil ; Commercial Fertilizers ; Farm Manures ; The Animal and Its Feed ; Human and Animal Foods ; Milk and Its Products ; Poisons for Farm and Orchard Pests. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO ATLANTA CHICAGO BOSTON DALLAS This l300k is DUE on tne last aa^e b.ctmp^.. ^11. 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