f-f/6 7 2. 
 
 
 Bulletin No. 72. y 
 
 U. S. pEPART^UA 1 OF AGRICWL 
 
 OF FICE *5F EXPERIMENT ^STATION 
 VO V AC TRUE, Director. 
 
 FARMERS' READING COURSES. 
 
 BY 
 
 
 
 L. H. BAILEY, M. 8., 
 
 Professor of Horticulture, Cornell University. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 
 1899. 
 
 
M 
 
Bulletin No. 72. 
 
 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 
 
 OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS, 
 A. C. TRUE, Director. 
 
 310 
 
 FARMERS' READING COURSES 
 
 BY 
 
 L. H. BAILEY, M. S., 
 
 Professor of Horticulture, Cornell University. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 1899. 
 
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 
 
 U. s. Department of Agriculture, 
 Office of Experiment Statu 
 Washington, D. C, October 16, 1 
 Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith an article hy Prof. 
 L. H. Bailey. M. S., professor of horticulture in Cornell University. 
 on farmers* reading courses in the United States. Professor Bailey 
 is prominently identified with the university extension work in agri- 
 culture connected with the College of Agriculture of Cornell Uni- 
 versity, one of the most successful features of which is a farmers' 
 reading course, and has had occasion to study this interesting work in 
 other States. As an important phase of the general movement among 
 our agricultural colleges to go outside of their class rooms and pro- 
 mote the education of our farmers along the lines of their art. the 
 farmers* reading courses are now attracting widespread attention, and 
 I feel sure that a bulletin showing the scope and methods of this work 
 will be cordially welcomed. I therefore recommend the publication 
 of Professor Bailey's article as Bulletin No. 72 of this Office. 
 Respectfully. 
 
 A. C. True, 
 
 Din ctor, 
 Hon. James Wilson, 
 
 v , r , tary of Agrieultitri . 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I 'age. 
 
 Introduce try and historical 5 
 
 Existing reading-course systems 8 
 
 Pennsylvania 8 
 
 Michigan 10 
 
 New Hampshire 11 
 
 Connecticut 13 
 
 New York 1 (i 
 
 West Virginia 18 
 
 South Dakota 19 
 
 ( >ther ventures 20 
 
 Reflectii nis upon the reading c< airses 21 
 
 Appendix 25 
 
 Z 
 
FARMERS' READING COURSES. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY AND HISTORICAL. 
 
 Among the agencies for diffusing knowledge and developing enthu- 
 siasm among farmers the reading course has come to be an important 
 factor. In the movement for the education of the people the estab- 
 lishing of colleges for farmers was important and far-reaching. We 
 are now feeling, however, that it is not enough that colleges be main- 
 tained for those who desire to patronize them. Those who can not or 
 will not come to the college must be reached. Education is seized of 
 the missionary spirit; and this spirit is that impulse which passes under 
 the general name of university extension. 
 
 No apology is needed for the extension movement; yet there are 
 those who say that persons who will not make the effort to learn of 
 their own volition should be left in ignorance. There are certainly 
 two considerations which make it imperative that such persons shall 
 be taught — the consideration of altruism, or regard for one's neighbors; 
 the consideration or the desire that the State shall prosper. If prog- 
 ress is desirable, then the extension movement must abide. Every 
 farmer should be awakened. 
 
 I suppose that it will never be possible to discover which was the 
 very first reading-course movement for farmers. One can not read far 
 in the history of the agricultural colleges without finding germs of the 
 idea — the desire that farmers be given more and better reading matter. 
 This idea was expressed before any of the agricultural colleges came 
 into being. It was thought, however, that the normal work of the 
 college would spread sufficiently the reading habit. But so many 
 farmers do not go to college and are not touched by it, and so much 
 new knowledge has come into the farmer's horizon, that some special 
 machinery is needed to carry something of the college influence to the 
 farm. This machinery embraces itinerant lectures and experiment 
 station bulletins and reading courses. 
 
 As early as 1882 President James Mills, of the Agricultural College 
 of Ontario, outlined a reading course for farmers. The council of 
 agriculture and arts for the province cooperated in the enterprise. 
 Certificates were offered to those completing required courses of 
 
 5 
 
6 
 
 reading. These certificates were of first, second, and third class: and 
 six libera] prizes or scholarships were offered, one for the first class, 
 
 two for tlic second class, three for the third class. A few persons 
 look iij) the reading and passed creditable examinations upon questions 
 which were submitted to them; but the prizes went mostly to ex- 
 students of the college, and the Dumber became ><> small after a time 
 that the whole enterprise was dropped. Commenting recently upon 
 this early experiment. President Mills says: "I think that a simpler 
 course, with some instruction at convenient centers by one or two per- 
 sons competent to talk on elementary science in its relation to agricul- 
 ture and on agriculture proper in its various branches, would be more 
 generally acceptable and might reach a considerable number." At 
 present the Canadian provinces do not have farmers' reading courses. 
 To show the character and scope of this early Canadian venture I 
 transcribe the "Course of reading for the second-cla>s certificates," as 
 printed in the report of the college for 1882: 
 
 1. The plant. — Relations of the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms to each 
 other; nature and sources of plant food; composition of the most important crops 
 grown in Ontario; period of highest nutritive value; chemical changes in the ripen- 
 ing of fruit, grain, and fodder crops; influence of climate on perfection of growth. 
 
 2. The soil. — Physical and chemical properties of soils; classification of soils as 
 determined by these properties; comparative fertility of different varieties of soil: 
 active and dormant ingredients of soils; best means of converting dormant into 
 active. 
 
 Chemical and physical conditions affecting the barrenness and fertility of soils: 
 causes of unproductiveness; power of different soils to hold manures; influence of 
 frost, aspect, elevation, and climate on the productiveness of soils. 
 
 3. Manures. — Production, management, and application of farm-yard manure; con- 
 ditions which influence its quality; comparative values of cattle, sheep, and horse 
 manures; green-crop manuring; composts. 
 
 Properties and uses of artificial manures; lime, plaster, salt, bone dust, and min- 
 eral superphosphates as manures; circumstances under which each should and should 
 not be used; times and modes of application; how to avoid the waste of such ma- 
 nure-; in the soil: their action on seeds and young plants; favorable and unfavorable 
 action at different stages in the growth of crops; action of nitrates and ammoniacal 
 manures on cereals, roots, and grasses; special action of salt when used alone, and 
 also in connection with other manures. 
 
 Night soil and animal manures; combinations of manures for certain purposes; 
 manures which impoverish the soil; quantities of manures to be used on various 
 soils with different crops; general principles regulating the selection of manun 
 
 4. Tillage operations. — Deep and shallow plowing, fall and spring plowing, subsoil- 
 rolling, fallowing, etc.; advantages and disadvantages of each: preparation of 
 
 land for different crops, as fall wheat, spring wheat, barley, oats, peas, and maize; 
 differences in cultivation of light and heavy soils. 
 
 5. Seed and sowing. — Quality of seed; importance of using clean and pure seed: 
 effect of age on the character of crop, its rapidity of growth, and liability to disease: 
 quantity of seed per acre: methods and depth of sowing: change of seed, why 
 necessary. 
 
 (i. Roots. — Cultivation of roots and tubers — turnips, mangolds, carrots, beets, and 
 potal 
 
7. Green fodders. — Oats and peas, tares, lucern, sainfoin, prickly comfrey, clovers, 
 etc.; their comparative values; the management mosi appropriate for each; manage- 
 ment of pastures. 
 
 8. Rotation of crops. — Crops which each kind of soil is adapted to produce; suc- 
 cession or rotation of crops; importance and necessity of rotation; principles under- 
 lying it; rotations suitable to different soils, climates, and Bystems of forming in 
 Ontario; their effects on the land. 
 
 9. Drainage. — Principles of drainage; effects on soil and subsoil; laying out and 
 construction of drains. 
 
 10. Exhausted lands.— Cawee of exhaustion; how avoided: best means of restoring 
 and enriching impoverished land. 
 
 11. Breeding of animals. — Principles for guidance in stock breeding; reproductive 
 powers — how strengthened or weakened; pedigree influence — how intensified or 
 reduced; loss of size in pedigree stock; how to control good or bad qualities; main- 
 tenance of constitutional vigor; common causes of barrenness in male and in female : 
 special aptitudes of certain breeds for different conditions of soil and climate; prin- 
 ciples which regulate special peculiarities, such as early maturity, rapid production 
 of flesh, production of milk, growth of wool, etc. 
 
 Horses. — Most valuable breeds of horses for this province; the leading characteris- 
 tics of each; type of horse required for farm work; breeding, feeding, and general 
 management ; common diseases and their treatment. 
 
 Cattle. — Characteristic points — merits and demerits of Shorthorns, Herefords, Polled 
 Angus, Ayrshires, Jerseys, Devons, Galloways, and Holsteins; in and* in breeding; 
 breeding in the line; results of each system; grade cattle; milch cows — points of a 
 good milch cow; general management; economy of good management; conditions 
 affecting quantity and quality of milk. Common diseases and remedies. 
 
 Sheep. — Characteristics of different breeds; long-wooled, medium-wooled, and 
 short- wooled sheep; crosses between different breeds compared; influence of breed, 
 climate, food, soil and shelter on the quantity and quality of wool — evenness, luster, 
 yolk, fineness of fiber, felting power, etc.; feeding; winter and summer management; 
 management of ewes before, during, and after lambing season; rearing of lambs. 
 
 Swine. — Characteristics of the most important breeds of pigs; management of sows 
 and stores; bacon curing, etc. 
 
 12. Food and feeding. — Composition and properties of the most important varieties 
 of feed and fodder available to the Ontario farmer; classification of foods; chemical 
 results in the use of different foods; "heat-producing" and "flesh-forming" ingre- 
 dients of food; best methods of combining these in feeding, so as to secure desired 
 results; points to be observed in order to obtain the full value of natural and artificial 
 foods; increase of value by preparation of food; shelter and warmth as means of 
 economizing food; chemical changes produced in malting of barley; its action and 
 value as a feeding material; "good and bad systems of feeding." 
 
 13. Diseases of crops. — When plants are most liable to disease; causes of disease; 
 chlorosis; fungoid diseases, as bunt, smut, rust, and mildew; remedies. 
 
 14. Orchards. — Planting, cultivation, pruning, grafting, etc.; best varieties of fruit 
 trees for different soils and climates of Ontario; diseases and insect pests. 
 
 15. Forestry. — Planting and cultivation of forest trees, shade and ornamental 
 trees, etc. 
 
 16. Entomology. — Common insects injurious to vegetation; their habits and the best 
 means of checking and preventing their ravages. 
 
 Books of reference. — Hand Book of Agriculture, embracing soils, manures, rotation 
 of crops and live stock, Wrightson; First Principles of Agriculture, Lawson and 
 Tanner; Report of the Ontario Agricultural Commission; The Canadian Fanner's 
 Manual of Agriculture, Whitcombe; Xew American Farm Book, Allen; Farming for 
 Profit, Read; Talks on Manures, Harris; Elements of Agricultural Chemistry and 
 
8 
 
 Geology, Johnston and Cameron: The Chemistry of Common Life, Johnston and 
 Church; Ilnw Crops Feed, Johnson; Bow Grope Grow, Johnson; stuck Breeding, 
 Miles; The Complete Grazier, Yonatt and Born; The Livestock of the Farm, Prin- 
 gle; Illustrated stock Doctor and Live stock Encyclopaedia, Manning; Manual of 
 Cattle Feeding, Armsby; The Shepherd's Own Book, Youatt, Skinner, and Randall; 
 American Shepherd, Morrell; The Horse in the Stable and the Field, Stonehenge; 
 Harris on the Pig; Annual reports of the Entomological Society of Ontario; Harris's 
 Insects Injurious to Vegetation. 
 
 Without making further excursion into the history of the subject, 
 I take up 11 review of all the existing farmers' reading courses in North 
 America, arranging them chronologically. This account is intended 
 to be complete up to September 1, 1899. 
 
 EXISTING READING-COURSE SYSTEMS. 
 PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 The director of the experiment station, in his report to the presi- 
 dent of the college in 1891, suggested a reading course as a means of 
 popularizing station work. In July, 1892. a reading course was estab- 
 lished in connection with the Pennsylvania State College: and this 
 course is the most famous single venture of its kind. 
 
 The- Pennsylvania reading course was modeled upon the Chautauqua 
 plan. It was first known as the "Chautauqua Course of Home Read- 
 ing in Agriculture. " The college provided books, and gave the readers 
 examinations whenever the participants were ready to take them. 
 Man} T of the students found it difficult to read the books understand- 
 ing^, and a modification of the plan seemed to be desirable. 
 
 The next move was to give assistance, through correspondence, to 
 Students who found the books to be difficult. The name of the enter- 
 prise was changed to the " Chautauqua Course of Home Study in 
 Agriculture. " More than 3,000 students were registered in this course. 
 This plan also had its faults: (1) It was impossible to secure suitable 
 text-books: (2) it was found to be a very difficult matter for most stu- 
 dents to pursue the study of books by themselves and to sift out the 
 essential from the nonessential parts. 
 
 The next movement was to send out printed lessons on particular 
 subjects treated in the books. These lessons were first issued in Novem- 
 ber, 1897, covering seven text-books. The lessons were designed to 
 bring the subject-matter of the books up to date, to describe simple 
 experiments, to illustrate the subject, to suggest the important or 
 fundamental matters. The experiment was successful, and in the win- 
 ter of 1898-99 Lessons were issued on sixteen books and on farm book- 
 keeping, making seventeen subjects. In L898, the name of the enter- 
 prise became "Correspondence Courses in Agriculture," and this title 
 it now hear-. 
 
 The lessons are Bent to the reader one at a time. Accompanying 
 
each lesson is a list of questions to be answered. The replies are sent 
 to the superintendent of the reading course at the State college, and 
 another lesson is then mailed to the reader. In this way the superin- 
 tendent keeps in touch with the student. He can also exercise some 
 control over the student by withholding lessons when the questions are 
 not faithfully answered. Three of the lessons are reprinted in Exhibits 
 A, B, and C, at the end of this paper. 
 
 In 1898-99, the Pennsylvania correspondence courses are five in 
 number: (1) Crop production; (2) live stock production; (3) horticul- 
 ture and floriculture; (1) dairying, and (5) domestic econonty. 
 
 Each course consists of seven distinct subjects or books, making 
 thirty-five books in all. 
 
 On March 1, 1899, the total enrollment, including the Chautauqua 
 students, was 3,116, of which number 460 have received instruction by 
 means of the lessons. To these more than 1,800 lessons have been 
 sent. Over 1,100 examination papers had been graded during the pre- 
 ceding fifteen months. During the past college jeav the time of the 
 superintendent and others aiding in the work of the courses was so 
 fully occupied with college work that practically no effort was made 
 to further increase the membership or to extend the usefulness of the 
 correspondence courses. Notwithstanding this, many applications for 
 enrollment are constantly being received, showing that the practical 
 agriculturists appreciate this method of instruction. There are stu- 
 dents in most of the States, and there are. some in foreign countries. 
 A large proportion of the students are men of mature years, the ages 
 ranging' from 15 to 75, the average of recent enrollments being about 
 33 years. The course is under the management of George C. Watson, 
 professor of agriculture, State College, Pennsylvania. 
 
 The books which are used in the various courses in Pennsylvania are 
 as follows: 
 
 1. Crop product ion. — Plant Life on the Farm, Masters; Soils and 
 Crops, Morrow and Hunt; Manures and Manuring, Aikman; Fertility 
 of the Land, Roberts; Tile Drainage, Chamberlain; The Soil, King; 
 Farm Bookkeeping (no text). 
 
 2. Live-stock production, — Stock Breeding, Miles; Horse Breeding, 
 Sanders; Swine Husbandry, Coburn; The Domestic Sheep, Stewart; 
 Poultry Culture, Felch; Feeds and Feeding, Henry; A Book on Silage, 
 Woll. 
 
 3. Horticulture and floriculture. — Propagation of Plants, Fuller; 
 Principles of Fruit-Growing, Bailey; Plant Life, Masters; Greenhouse 
 Management, Taft; Manures and Manuring, Aikman; Insects and 
 Insecticides, Weed; The Spraying of Plants, Lodeman. 
 
 4. Dairying. — Milk and its Products, Wing; Dairy Bacteriology, 
 Russell; Milk: Nature and Composition, Aikman; Cheddar Cheese 
 Making, Decker; Feeds and Feeding, Henry; Testing Milk and Its 
 Products, Woll and Farrington; A Book on Silage, Woll. 
 
10 
 
 5. Domestic economy. — The Souse Comfortable, Ormsbee; Disposal 
 of Household Wastes, Gerhard; ( Ihemistry of ( lommon Life, Johnston; 
 Chemistry of Cookery, Williams; Boston Cook Book, Mrs. Lincoln; 
 What to Eat and How to Serve it, Herrick; Gardening for Pleasure. 
 Henderson. 
 
 The following supplementary list is suggested: 
 
 Cattle Breeding, Warfield; Capons for Profit, Greiner; Practical 
 Poultry Keeping, Wright; An Egg Farm, Stoddard; The Horticultur- 
 ist's Rule-Book, Bailey; Handbook for Farmers and Dairymen, Woll; 
 Breeds of Live Stock, Sanders; American Standard of Perfection 
 (Poultry); Land Draining, Miles; Ornamental Gardening, Long; 
 Farmer's Veterinary Adviser, Law; House Plans for Everybody, 
 Reed. 
 
 MICHIGAN. 
 
 The Michigan Farm Home Reading Circle follows the earlier system 
 inaugurated in Pennsylvania. It was started in December, 1892. There 
 are five classes; (1) Soils and crops; (2) live stock; (3) garden and 
 orchard; (4) woman's course; and (5) political science. Any three of 
 these classes constitute a course. The readers are regularly enrolled as 
 members. (See enrollment cards, etc., in Exhibits F to J.) Enroll- 
 ment is free for Michigan readers, but $1 is charged to nonresidents. 
 
 When a member has completed the reading of a book he may send 
 to the secretary for questions, which have been prepared to aid him in 
 making a report to the secretary on that book. If the report is satis- 
 factory, a certificate signed by the president of the college and secretary 
 of the farm home reading circle will be issued, showing that he has com- 
 pleted that book. A certificate is sent upon completion of each book, and 
 also upon the completion of the class. When a member has completed 
 any three of the classes, and has sent in a satisfactory report on the 
 same, he is considered to have completed a course and then will receive 
 a suitable diploma. (Exhibit K. ) The reports or examinations, as they 
 may be called, are not necessaiy unless the reader desires credit for 
 his reading, but they help to fix in the mind the most prominent truths 
 brought out in each book. A large majority of the members take 
 advantage of this feature of sending reports for examination. 
 
 The work is confined mostty to Michigan, but there are members in 
 several States and provinces. On March 1, 1899, there were 302 mem- 
 bers. This figure does not represent the total number of readers, 
 however, since the course is being taken by many granges, farmers* 
 clubs, and organizations instituted for the particular purpose 4 of under- 
 taking the reading. In many eases several members of the family are 
 taking the reading, but only one person maybe enrolled as member. 
 For the first three or four years the reading circle met with only indif- 
 ferent success, but by persistent advertising and careful attention 
 

 11 
 
 to correspondence it has grown steadily, and is now in a prosperous 
 condition and is doing much good. The circle is in charge of Prof. 
 II. W. Mumford, Agricultural College, Michigan. 
 
 The books in use in the Michigan Farm I Ionic Reading Circle are as 
 
 follows: 
 
 1. Soils and crops. — First Principles of Agriculture, Voorhees; 
 Soils and Crops, Morrow and Hunt; Fertility of the Land, Roberts; 
 The Silo and Silage, Cook; Tile Drainage, Chamberlain, or The Soil, 
 
 Kino-. 
 
 2. Live stock. — Principles of Agriculture, Bailey; Horses, Cattle, 
 Sheep and Swine, Curtis; Stock Breeding, Miles; Feeds and Feeding, 
 Henry; American Dairying, Curler; Cattle Breeding, Warfield; The 
 Domestic Sheep, Stewart; Swine Husbandry, Coburn; Horse Breed- 
 ing. Sanders; Guide to Successful Poultry Keeping, Sewell and Tilson; 
 or Farm News Poultry Book, Purvis. 
 
 3. Garden and orchard.- — American Fruit Culturist, Thomas; 
 How to Make the Garden Pay, Greiner; Ornamental Gardening, 
 Long; Insects and Insecticides, Weed; Gardening for Pleasure, Hen- 
 derson; Propagation of Plants, Fuller; Home Floriculture, Rexford; 
 or Practical Floriculture, Henderson. 
 
 4. Woman's course. — Practical Sanitary and Economic Cooking, 
 Abel; Home Economics, Parloa; The Boston Cooking School Book, 
 Farmer; Chemistry of Cooking and Cleaning, Richards and Elliott; 
 A Study of Child Nature, Harrison. 
 
 5. Political science. — Elements of Political Economy, Ely; Political 
 Economy, Walker; American Commonwealth (1 vol.) Bryce. 
 
 The following a book shelf," a supplementary list, is recommended; 
 
 Agriculture and horticulture. — Farmer's Veterinary Adviser, Law; 
 Grasses of North America, Beal; How the Farm Pays, Henderson 
 and Crozier; Storer's Agriculture (3 vols.); Plant Life on the Farm, 
 Masters; Land Drainage, Miles; Facts for Horse Owners, Magner. 
 
 Political science.— Jevon's Money and Mechanism of Exchange; 
 Epochs of American History (3 vols.); Small Talks About Business, 
 Rice; Farmer's Tariff Manual, Strange; The Sophisms of Free Trade, 
 Byles; The Sophisms of Protection, Bastiat. 
 
 Miscellaneous. — Letters to a Daughter, Starrat; Common Sense in 
 the Household, Harlan; Amenities of Home; Timothy Titcomb's Let- 
 ters, Holland; Emerson's Essays (2 vols.); Scott's Poems; The Fair 
 Maid of Perth, Scott; Julius Caesar, Shakespeare; Scarlet Letter, 
 Hawthorne; Longfellow's Poems (complete). 
 
 NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
 
 In January, 1894, the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and 
 the Mechanic Arts established a nonresident course in agriculture. 
 The course is designed primarily to meet the needs of those farmers' 
 
12 
 
 Bona who are unable to leave home to attend college, but who feel the 
 need of the fuller knowledge of their work which the college offers. 
 It has enrolled a considerable Dumber of such students, and also has 
 
 attracted many young men in cities who intend to become farmer.-. 
 
 The course is conducted as a correspondence course, books and bulle- 
 tins being sent the student, who studies them and returns answers to 
 examination questions. 
 
 This nonresident course is free to all. without examination. Stu- 
 dents may work for a certificate or not. Those who work for a certifi- 
 cate send answers to examination questions as fast a- studies are 
 completed. Those who do not work for a certificate submit a state- 
 ment that the requisite reading has been carefully done. The work is 
 divided into exercises, and an exercise is estimated at ten pages of 
 reading matter in book or bulletin. The satisfactory completion of 
 600 exercises entitles the student to a certificate. Under general con- 
 ditions it is estimated that the completion of these exercises will require 
 about two years. Each student working for a certificate is required to 
 take given general studies, and then to select at least three special 
 studies. The required general studies are soils, tillage, noxious insects, 
 fungus diseases, meteorology, laws of plant growth, farm and house- 
 hold chemistry, and fertilizers. Special studies are dairying and stock 
 feeding, poultry keeping, orchard fruits, small fruits, commercial horti- 
 culture and market gardening, vegetables, floriculture, plant propaga- 
 tion, and forestry. Students not working for a certificate may select 
 any of the above subjects, but it is recommended that they pursue the 
 prescribed lines of general reading in connection with special subjects. 
 The course is in charge of Prof. C. W. Burkett. Durham. X. H. 
 
 The last circular of instructions was issued December, 1895. The 
 bulletins and books recommended in that circular are herein tran- 
 scribed. It will be seen that the New Hampshire course is very rich 
 in literature. "In addition to the books used for general studies in 
 the course, the college furnishes free bulletins of its own experiment 
 station as well as those of some other stations: also, through the courtesy 
 of the United States Department of Agriculture, the valuable series of 
 Farmers' Bulletins issued by that Department. Through the courtesy 
 of the Cornell University Experiment Station this college has been 
 able to furnish nonresident students with the important bulletins on 
 horticulture and kindred subjects issued by that station." 
 
 1. General studies. — Soils and Crops. Morrow and Hunt: Talks 
 Afield, Bailey: Fruit Culture. Strong: Agriculture. Wallace: Spraying 
 ( Jrops, Weed: Fertilizer-. Gregory: The Poultry Yard. Burpee: Orna- 
 mental Gardening, Long: Fungi and Fungicides, Weed: Chemicals 
 and (lover. Collingwood: Potato Culture. Terry: The Nursery-Book, 
 Bailey; The Soil, King: Land Draining. Miles; The Beautiful 
 Flower Garden, Mathews; Insects and Insecticides. Weed. 
 
13 
 
 2. Dairying and stochfeedmg.- American Dairying, Gurler; Dairy 
 Science, Woll; Cattle Breeding, Warfield; Cattle Feeding, Stewart; 
 Root Cropa for Stock Feeding, Burpee. 
 
 3. Poultry keeping. — Poultry Culture, Felch; The Business Hen, 
 
 Collingwood; The Poultry Yard. Burpee; Capons for Profit, Greiner; 
 Natural and Artificial Duck Culture, Rankin. 
 1. Commercial horticulturi and market gardening. — Gardening for 
 
 Profit, Henderson; Success in Market Gardening, Rawson; How to 
 Grow Mushrooms, Falconer: Selection in Seed (Trowing. Burpee; 
 Greenhouse Construction, Tat't. 
 
 5. Orchard fruits. — Practical Fruit Grower, Maynard; Field Notes 
 on Apple Culture, Bailey; Fruit Culturist, Thomas; Amateur Fruit 
 Growing, Green; Pear Culture for Profit, Quinn; Quince Culture, 
 Meech; Peach Culture, Fulton. 
 
 6. SmaU fruits. — Success with Small Fruits, Roe; A B C of 
 Strawberry Culture, Terry; Grape Culturist, Fuller; American Grape 
 Training, Bailey. 
 
 7. Vegetables. — How to Grow Squashes, Gregory; Onion Raising 
 Gregory; Onions for Profit, Greiner; Cabbages and Cauliflowers, 
 Gregory; How to Grow Cabbages and Cauliflowers, Gregory; Celery 
 for Profit, Greiner; A Kitchen Garden of One Acre; How to Grow 
 Melons for Market, Burpee; Potatoes for Profit, Van Ornam; My 
 Handkerchief Garden, Barnard. 
 
 8. blowers. — Practical Floriculture, Henderson; The Rose, Ell- 
 wanger; All About Sweet Peas, Hutchins; Pansies, Poppies, and 
 Sweet Peas, Hutchins; Chrysanthemum Culture, Morton; American 
 Carnation Culture, Lamborn; Bulbs and Tuberous-rooted Plants, 
 Allen; Window Gardening. 
 
 9. Plant propagation. — The Propagation of Plants, Fuller; Cross- 
 breeding and Hybridizing, Bailey. 
 
 10. Forestry. — Forest Planting, Jarchow; Studies in Forestry, 
 Hasten. 
 
 CONNECTICUT. 
 
 The Storrs Agricultural College inaugurated correspondence instruc- 
 tion in October. 1896. The work is more nearly a correspondence 
 school idea than a reading course. It is definite college extension of 
 the best order. The extension work is a department of Storrs Agri- 
 cultural College (now called the Connecticut Agricultural College). 
 
 A two years' course is given, and the student who completes the 
 course satisfactorily attends the commencement exercises at Storrs and 
 receives a diploma of graduation. The course comprises two parte, 
 one for men and one for women. The object of the course is to pro- 
 vide home study as nearly as possible like that prosecuted at college. 
 Ain' resident of Connecticut may enroll, upon the payment of 25 cents 
 
14 
 
 and agreement to give three hours a week to the prescribed subjects. 
 Examinations arc conducted through correspondence. The ten stu- 
 dents who pass the most satisfactory examination on the entire course 
 of study, are invited to prepare essays. From these essays the best 
 live are selected to be read by I heir authors at the commencement 
 exercises of the extension department at Storrs. At the commence- 
 ment, certificates or diplomas arc awarded to all who have completed 
 the course, and persons' who are unable to attend receive their diplomas 
 by mail. 
 
 The two years* term of study is divided into four periods in each 
 year: October and November, December and January, February and 
 March. April and May. Commencement for extension students occurs 
 during the regular college commencement week. 
 
 Each subject in the course is under the special supervision of one of 
 the college staff, and this officer prepares syllabuses and questions cov- 
 ering his subjects and conducts the examinations therein. When any 
 rural organization has a membership of ten pursuing the course the 
 college agrees, so far as practicable, to furnish one or more lectures. 
 
 Persons who have completed the regular two years* course may 
 organize into circles of ten or more and apply for further instruction 
 in "subject studies." The college places in the hands of the circle a 
 library of 50 or 100 volumes. By a system of reference cards several 
 courses are outlined, sufficient for a year's reading. One examination 
 paper is forwarded by the department at the end of the year, covering- 
 each subject studied. Courses are provided in general agriculture, 
 fruit culture, market gardening, poultry raising, floriculture, botany, 
 agricultural chemistry, veterinary, foods, sanitation, geology, forestry. 
 English literature, history, and political economy. The first year saw 
 an enrollment of 216 members, and 561 volumes were circulated. The 
 work is growing. In June, 1898, 25 persons received certificates. Two 
 circles of ten or more had completed the course, and to these were sent 
 the first traveling library. The books are kept one year, and they are 
 then sent to the circles which complete the work in the following year. 
 At the present time fully 275 persons are regularly enrolled. 
 
 The traveling library idea has been very successful. It is a kind of 
 post-graduate course. The readers often receive more benefit from 
 these libraries than from the two years' preliminary reading. The 
 extension work is in the hands of Prof. A. B. Peebles, Storrs. 
 Connecticut. 
 
 The books used in the Connecticut course are as follows: 
 
 1. First year. — {a) For women. — Home Floriculture, Bexford; Easi- 
 est Ways in Housekeeping and Cooking. Campbell; Realm of Nature. 
 Mill; Story of the Plants. Allen. 
 
 (h) For men. — First Principles of Agriculture. Voorhees; Practical 
 Farm Chemistry, Greiner; Mill and Allen as above. 
 
15 
 
 2. Second yeanr. (a) For women, — Household Economics, Campbell, 
 or The Way We Did at Cooking School, Reed; Hygiene and Physical 
 Culture for Women, Galbraith, or Physical Development and Exer- 
 cise for Women. Bissel; Realm of Nature parti, Mill: The Story of 
 Germ Life, Conn. 
 
 (//) For men. -The Principles of Fruit-Growing, Bailey, or Milk 
 and its Products, Wing; The Spraying of Plants, Lodeman, or Farm- 
 ers' Bulletins of the United States Department of Agriculture on the 
 Dairy Herd, Feeding, etc.; Mill and Conn as above. 
 
 Five Farmers' Bulletins (Nos. 16, 22, 32, 55, and 58), issued by the 
 Cnited States Department of Agriculture, have been bound in one 
 volume, and make a serviceable treatise on dairy work and stock feeding. 
 
 Two traveling libraries are now in circulation, as follows: 
 
 Lihra/ry JVo 1. — Yearbook, 1897, United States Department of Agri- 
 culture: Principles of Modern Dairy Practice, Woll; Horticulturist's 
 Rule- Book, Bailey; Pruning-Book, Bailey; Agriculture (3 volumes), 
 Storer; How to Make the Garden Pay, Greiner; Domesticated Ani- 
 mals, Shaler; Faith and Doubt in Poets, Armstrong; American Com- 
 monwealth, Bryce; Labor Copartnership, Lloyd; Boston Cook Book, 
 Lincoln; Household Art, Wheeler; According to Season, Dana; 
 Familiar Flowers, Mathews; Lessons with Plants, Bailey; Ten New 
 England Blossoms, Weed; Birds of Village and Field, Merriam; Drink- 
 ing Water and Ice Supplies, Prudden: Charles Darwin, Poulton; Justus 
 Von Liebig, Shenstone; Eye Spy, Gibson; With Feet to the Earth, 
 Skinner: Chemistry of Common Life, Johnstone; Sea and Land, Sha- 
 ler; Feeds and Feeding, Henry; Hero and Homespun, Barton: Light 
 Side of Science, Wilson; Good Cooking, Rorer; Hugh Wynne (2 vol- 
 umes), Mitchell: How to Judge a Horse, Bach: Riverby, Burroughs; 
 American Ideals, Roosevelt; Economic Entomology, Smith: House 
 Plants, Hillhouse; Story of the Stars, Chambers: Testing Milk and 
 Products, Farrington and Woll; Beauty of Form, Steele and Adams: 
 First Crossing of Greenland, Nansen; Customs and Fashions in Old 
 New England, Earle; Art Out of Doors, Van Rensselaer; History of 
 Connecticut (2 volumes), Trumbull; The Soil, King: American Liter- 
 ature, Bates; Modern Dairy Practice, Grotenfelt; Milk, Its Nature 
 and Composition, Aikman. 
 
 Library No. 2. — Yearbook 1897, United States Department of Agri- 
 culture; Horses and Stables, Fitzwy grain; Our Farming. Terry: Pro- 
 ceedings of First Annual Session. National Congress of Mothers; 
 Studio Neighbors, Gibson; American Fruit Culturist. Thomas: Milch 
 Cows and Dairy Farming, Flint: Stock Breeding. Miles: Boston Cook- 
 ing School Book, Farmer: How to Know the Wild Flowers, Dana: Out- 
 lines of Earth's History, Shaler: Window and Parlor Gardening, Jon- 
 son: Eating and Drinking, Hoy: The Business Hen, Collingwood: 
 Poultry Culture, Felch; Social Evolution, Kidd; Chemistry of Cook- 
 
16 
 
 Lng, Williams; A-Birding on a Broncho, Merriam; Life Histories of 
 American Insects. Weed; Year in the Fields, Burroughs; Ye Gentle- 
 woman's Housewifery, Hooker; Insect Life, Corns tock; Bulbs and 
 Tuberous-Rooted Plants, Allen; Woman's Work in America, Meyer; 
 This Country of Ours, Harrison; Chats with Girls, Chester; Chemistry 
 of Daily Life, Lassar-Cohn; American Highways, Shaler; Practical 
 Poultry Keeping, Wright; Insects Injurious to Farm and Garden, 
 Treat; Philip's Experiments, Trowbridge; The Horse. Flower; Twen- 
 tieth Century City, Strong; Procession of the Flowers, Higginson; 
 Standish of Standish, Austin; Betty Alden, Austin; Fertility of the 
 Land, Roberts; Rescue of an Old Place, Bobbins; Vegetable Garden- 
 ing, Green; Evolution of Horticulture in New England, Slade; Plant- 
 Breeding, Baile} T ; Garden-Making, Baile} T ; Bird Ways, Miller; Chem- 
 istry of Dairying, Snyder; Dust and its Dangers, Prudden; Story of 
 the Solar System, Chambers; Story of the Earth in Past Ages, Seeley; 
 Citizens in Training, Wells; Flowers: How to Grow Them, Rexford; 
 Biggie Poultry Book, Biggie. 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 In connection with its extension work in agriculture, Cornell Uni- 
 versity made a beginning at a reading course in November, 1896. The 
 reading was confined to horticultural subjects, because the extension 
 work was at that time confined to that field, and the reading was to be 
 a corollary of the itinerant schools of horticulture which were held in 
 various parts of the State. The motives of the movement were set forth 
 as follows: 
 
 Most of the reading of farmers is of such a scattered and haphazard character that 
 the reader is unable to obtain any consecutive or fundamental ideas upon the various 
 subjects. It is suggested that each local farmers' club, grange, or horticultural 
 society — or a neighborhood gathering, when other organizations do not exist — take 
 up a prescribed line of reading and thinking for the coming winter. The company 
 which desires to take up such a course should be thoroughly organized, and each 
 reader should secure and own the various bulletins and books which are to be read. 
 At each meeting a prescribed number of pages is laid out to be read before the next 
 gathering. Upon coming together the leader asks a member to read the first para- 
 graph of the exercise or lesson, and to give his opinion of the same. Discussion is 
 then called for. Each paragraph is treated in similar manner. It is obvious that 
 one of the best subjects to select for the first readings is the soil and its management. 
 Three or four meetings could be very profitably spent upon this general topic. From 
 this it would be well to pass to the fertilizing of the land. After this, various special 
 topics could be taken up, depending upon the interests in the locality. 
 
 Books and bulletins were recommended in (1) soils and tillage; (2) 
 manures and fertilizers; (3) fruits and their cultivation; (4) spraying, 
 insects, diseases; (5) the making of home grounds; and (6) helps for 
 teachers. 
 
17 
 
 The mere recommendation of hooks and bulletins to be read was 
 hardly worth the while. A reading' course will not go of itself. Some 
 one must furnish the steam. At this juncture the detail of the work 
 fell to the hands of John W. Spencer, who is a farmer and not college 
 
 bred. He saw the problem as tanners see it, and he took up the work 
 with tact and enthusiasm. Of the bulletins recommended, two had 
 been prepared with special reference to use in itinerant schools and 
 reading courses, although they were founded upon experiments made 
 at the experiment station. These are "The Texture of the Soil" and 
 "The Conservation of Moisture" (Nos. 119, 120). These bulletins 
 were sent to farmers who Avere likely to be interested in a readi no- 
 course, and correspondence was opened on the subjects which they 
 suggested. As a result of this undertaking, there were 1,500 readers 
 at the close of the reading season, April, 1897. 
 
 In the winter of 1897-98 the effort was continued with the same bul- 
 letins, and a short essay on the soil was prepared and used as a basis 
 of study and correspondence. Thus arose the Cornell Reading Lesson, 
 w T hich is now the basis of the New York Reading Course. This lesson 
 is a treatise in itself, not a commentary on a book. 
 
 At the close of the reading season of 1897-98 the list of actual 
 readers or members had been increased to nearly 5,000. This increase 
 was secured wholly by means of the single topic of physical conditions 
 of soils. In the winter of 1898-99 the same plan was continued, but 
 five successive topics or lessons were used, and in this season the 
 actual enrolled readers were increased to 8,605. Of these persons 
 8,169 reside in New York State, 411 in other States, and 25 in foreign 
 countries. It is confidently expected that the number will be doubled 
 in the next reading season. 
 
 The gist of the New York plan is to give the farmer a short spe- 
 cially prepared lesson, and then to quiz him on it. The motive is to 
 reach the many, not the few. The farmer who can and will read books 
 can take care of himself, but the one who can not or will not needs 
 help, whether he wants it or not. The idea is to get the rank and 
 file to read books by first interesting them in simple, short, and 
 easily digested matter. When the farmer is once interested it needs 
 only good administrative machinery to keep him interested and to lead 
 him on. 
 
 The operation of the Cornell plan as now prosecuted comprises: (1) 
 Securing the farmers name; (2) sending him a lesson, with an inclosure 
 containing questions (called a quiz); (3) the active organization of 
 reading clubs; and (4) the sending of special inspectors and lecturers 
 to these clubs. 
 
 There are many ways of securing the farmer's name. The best one 
 has been the paragraphing of the local newspapers. A paragraph 
 calling attention to the reading course has been sent to the country 
 8087— No. 72 2 
 
18 
 
 papers of the State. Public-spirited men have been asked to furnish 
 names. Granges, horticultural societies, and other organizations have 
 aided. When the farmer receives the lesson he is informed that a con- 
 tinuance of the favor is conditioned upon his answering the questions. 
 He is not a member of the reading course until he makes a personal 
 application therefor. Every inducement is offered to persuade readers 
 to organize themselves into small clubs, jmd one of the strongest 
 inducements is the promise of a speaker from the university to those 
 clubs which do the best work. In the past winter three fanners were 
 hired to organize clubs in their respective counties, and the experi- 
 ment was successful. Small clubs are preferred — those of six to 
 twelve persons who meet at the homes of the various members. It is 
 the purpose to send an inspector to the clubs once during the winter, 
 to see how they are getting on. The New York course is free and is 
 maintained from a State appropriation for the extension of agricultural 
 knowledge. The course is in charge of L. H. Bailey, Ithaca, N. Y. 
 
 Every effort is made to cause the farmer to get the most out of each 
 lesson. The work can not be done hastily nor loosely. After having 
 had a fair trial, the shiftless reader is cut off. In the winter of 1898-99 
 five illustrated lessons were issued, as follows: (1) The soil, what it is; 
 (2) tillage and underdrainage, reasons why; (3) fertility of the soil, 
 what it is; (4) how the plant gets its food from the soil, and (5) how the 
 plant gets its food from the air. These lessons attempt to state prin- 
 ciples, not directions for practice. At the end of the reading-course 
 season a round-up lesson is published, giving answers to all quizzes. 
 In the coming Avinter these lessons will be used again for the recruits; 
 but others will be prepared for the veterans. Books are recommended 
 for special clubs and special readers. Samples of the lessons are shown 
 in Exhibits D and E. 
 
 WEST VIRGINIA. 
 
 Late in the fall of 1897 a u home reading course in agriculture" 
 was offered to the farmers of West Virginia. At the close of the first 
 year, June, 1898, 89 students had been enrolled. Although the course 
 has been in operation little more than a year, 132 readers are enrolled, 
 most of whom are doing good and enthusiastic work. 
 
 The work in the course is founded upon the reading of books. The 
 course runs in four divisions — crop production, live-stock production, 
 horticulture and floriculture, and rural economy. A regular course 
 consists of any two of the four divisions; or the student may elect any 
 ten books out of the twenty offered. Any student who has completed 
 a subject will, upon notifying the college, receive an examination 
 paper on that subject, to which written answers are to be returned, 
 accompanied with a statement upon honor that the answers are the 
 unaided work of the person sending them. These answers will be 
 
19 
 
 graded, and anyone receiving a grade of 75 per cent or more in fche 
 studies of any two divisions will receive a suitable certificate signed by 
 the president of the board of regents and the dean of the college. For 
 this certificate a charge of $1 will be made, which is only sufficient to 
 
 cover the actual cost of material and engraving. 
 
 The course is open to any applicant, without fees. The subjects may 
 be taken up in any order desired by the reader. The work is in charge 
 of Prof. T. C. Atkeson, dean of the College of Agriculture, Morgan- 
 town, W. Va. 
 
 The books used in the West Virginia course are the following: 
 
 1. Crop production. — Plant Life on the Farm, Masters; Soils and 
 Crops, Morrow and Hunt; Manures and Manuring, Aikman; The Soil, 
 King; Tile Drainage, Chamberlain. 
 
 2. Live-stock production. — Manual of Cattle Feeding, Armsby; 
 Stock Breeding, Miles; Swine Husbandry, Coburn; American Dairy- 
 ing, Gurler; Poultry Culture, Felch. 
 
 3. Horticulture and floricidture. — The Propagation of Plants, Fuller; 
 The Fruit Garden, Barry; Practical Floriculture, Henderson; Insects 
 and Insecticides, Weed; Spraying, Lodeman. 
 
 4. Rural economy. — Bookkeeping for Farmers, Atkeson; Farm Law, 
 Bennett; How to Cooperate, Myrick; The House Comfortable, Orms- 
 bee; Chemistry of Cookery, Williams. 
 
 SOUTH DAKOTA. 
 
 South Dakota uses the Pennsylvania system. The work was founded 
 on the opening of 1899. Five courses are offered, any or all of which 
 may be pursued. Each series or course contains five books on related 
 subjects which are usually so arranged as to develop the subject natu- 
 rally, leading from simpler to more complex problems. In special 
 cases options are offered in the supplemental list, thus varying the 
 course to meet the special needs of the reader. The superintendent 
 endeavors to arrange such courses to meet special needs. 
 
 When beginning a book the student receives from the college a 
 printed lesson of instruction covering certain parts of the work and 
 making prominent the most salient points. Upon the completion of 
 this section the reader fills out answers to questions asked and mails 
 them to the superintendent, who, upon examination, makes needful 
 suggestions or corrects erroneous impressions when necessary. When 
 the work of one section is satisfactorily completed the instructions for 
 the next section are sent, until the book is completed. The work is in 
 charge of Prof. Edgar A Burnett, Brookings, S. Dak. 
 
 The courses and the books are these: 
 
 1. Crop production. — Plant Life on the Farm, Masters; Fertility of 
 the Land, Roberts; The Soil, King; Manures and Manuring, Aikman; 
 Irrigation Farming, Wilcox. 
 
 
20 
 
 l\ Livestock production. — Stock Breeding, Miles; The Domestic 
 Sheep, Stewart; Feeds and Feeding, Henry; Swine Husbandry, Coburn; 
 Manual of Veterinary Hygiene, Smith. 
 
 3. Horticulturi <md floriculture. Principles of Plant Culture, Goff; 
 Amateur Fruit Growing, Green; Vegetable Gardening, Green: Vick's 
 Home Floriculture, Rexford; Irrigation Farming, Wilcox. 
 
 4. Dairying. — Milk and its Products, Wing; Chemistry of Dairy- 
 ing. Snyder; Feeds and Feeding. Henry: Cattle Breeding, Warfield; 
 Silos. Ensilage, and Silage. Miles. 
 
 5. Do//' momy. — The House Comfortable. Ormsbee; Home 
 Sanitation, Richards and Talbot: Chemistry of Cooking and Cleaning:, 
 Richards and Elliott; Boston Cooking School Book. Farmer; Food 
 Products of the World, Green. 
 
 The following supplementary books are recommended: 
 Cattle Breeding. Warfield; Horse Breeding, Sanders; American 
 Dairying, Gurler; Cheddar Cheese Making, Decker; Hand Book for 
 Farmers and Dairymen, Woll; Farmers' Veterinary Adviser, Law; 
 Poultry Culture. Felch; American Standard of Perfection (Poultry); 
 How Crops Grow, Johnson: How Crops Feed, Johnson; Agriculture 
 in Some of its Relations with Chemistry, Storer; The Chemistry of 
 Common Life, Johnson; The Great World's Farm, Gave: Living Plants 
 and their Properties, Arthur and McDougal; Garden-Making, Bailey: 
 Greenhouse Construction. Taft; Greenhouse Management, Taft; The 
 Nursery-Book, Bailey; Lessons with Plants. Bailey; Principles of Fruit- 
 Growing. Bailey; Plant-Breeding. Bailey; Cottage Houses, Reed: Barn 
 Plans and Outbuildings: Testing Milk and Its Products, Farrington 
 and Woll; Manual of Veterinary Hygiene, Smith. 
 
 OTHER VENTTJRES. 
 
 In some of the other States something has been done toward the 
 establishing of reading courses for farmers, and these efforts may be 
 reviewed, 
 
 In Indiana a movement was begun six or eight years ago to organ- 
 ize farmers' reading circles. A few local circles were organized and 
 did good work for a time, but from lack of funds and help the enter- 
 prise had to be dropped. The plan was to choose two books that 
 might be read during the winter, and to urge the readers to organize 
 themselves into circles which should convene about once in two weeks. 
 It was dt sired that one book pertain to general literature or science 
 and the other specifically to agriculture. One year Bailey's Talks 
 Afield and Warington's Chemistry of the Farm were used. 
 
 In Rhode Island a reading course, or college extension, was estab- 
 lished in connection with the agricultural college, and thirty or forty 
 >ns were enrolled. After having been in operation four years, 
 the enterprise i- in abeyance, owing to lack of help for pushing it. 
 
21 
 
 The Texas Agricultural College offered ;t farmers' reading course 
 for several years, but the announcement has been removed from the 
 college catalogue because of lack of interest on the partof the farmers. 
 Three or four courses were provided, based upon individual needs. 
 
 In Missouri an effort was made at the Stale University two or 
 three years ago to organize reading courses in agriculture, but it met 
 with insufficient cooperation. However, for the past two years the 
 students in the short winter courses in agriculture and horticulture 
 have organized reading courses, and these have stimulated interest 
 after the students have left college. Through these organizations the 
 University has been enabled to conduct cooperative experimental work. 
 
 In Tennessee the institute officers take an exhibit illustrating some 
 of the work of the experiment station. Part of this exhibit is a small 
 collection of books called a "Model Farmer's Library." Farmers are 
 asked to look over the books and are encouraged to order them. 
 
 In Virginia the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute sends 
 circulating libraries to a number of the colored public schools of the 
 State. Each of these libraries contains two or three agricultural 
 books. Back numbers of agricultural papers are distributed from the 
 library of the institute to colored farmers. 
 
 In Massachusetts catalogues of the best books on subjects connected 
 with agriculture have been issued from time to time. Some }^ears ago 
 an offer was made to the farmers to organize reading courses, but so 
 few availed themselves of the opportunity that the matter was dropped. 
 
 REFLECTIONS UPON THE READING COURSES. 
 
 Two distinct ideas are represented in the reading courses outlined in 
 the preceding pages. The older or Chautauqua-Pennsylvania idea is 
 that of a definite, prescribed, self-limited, technical correspondence 
 curriculum, the. completion of which is signalized by a certificate or 
 diploma. The other, or Cornell idea, is that of a flexible, nonlimited, 
 untechnical reading course in which there is no system of counts, and 
 which does not lead to certificatory honors. The former is intensive: 
 it is adapted to the few. The latter is elementary: it is adapted to 
 the many. Each is incomplete. 
 
 The ideal reading-course system is that which joins the two ideas. 
 Its general work is to touch and awaken every farmer, particularly 
 every poor farmer; it searches out the man who has small opportuni- 
 ties. 'Its special work is to aid the few who are already successful; it 
 accepts the man of fair or large opportunities. If the primary object 
 of a reading course is a mission, the Cornell system would seem to be 
 the better; if the object is technical education, the Pennsylvania or 
 curriculum system is the better. But since the complete reading 
 course is both a missionary and a schoolmaster, it is evident that the 
 two systems should be conjoined. 
 
22 
 
 A giveo amount of money will reach more persons in the elementary 
 or Cornell system. If hinds are not at hand for the publication of 
 Lessons, existing bulletins may be utilized, or the reader may be asked 
 
 to luiy the Lesson, and the expense of it would be Less than the buying 
 of books. The Lessons or the bulletins have more local and personal 
 
 application than books do. There i-. or should he. Less. of detail in 
 them. But every effort should be made to lead the reader into the 
 Larger horizon of book reading. As fast a- persons arc ready for 
 books, supply the lists and suggest graded courses. For those who 
 go far enough in the reading and study of books a certificate or 
 diploma may be provided: but this diploma should never carry with 
 it an academic decree. 
 
 Organization of the readers is a prime requisite. This is the expe- 
 rience of every reading-course movement. The flame of interest is 
 kept burning if there is more than one person to tend the tire. Small 
 circles or clubs are relatively more effective than large one-. Twenty 
 person- ; - perhaps an outside number for greatest efficiency. If a 
 grange or other society takes the reading course, and its members are 
 many, it is well to consider the dividing of the membership into two 
 or more clubs or subcircles. Several small clubs in a community 
 engender emulation. In a small circle every member takes a part in 
 the discussions. 
 
 The literature must be distributed promptly at the appointed time. 
 This is particularly important if independent lessons are used, for the 
 circle depends upon a lesson for new subject matter at the session. 
 The reading matter should be promised for a definite time, and with- 
 held until that time. The circle may devote as many sessions as it 
 desires to each lesson. 
 
 It is of the greatest importance that these reading courses avoid the 
 discussion of question- of mere practice. They should teach the rea- 
 sons why — the general or underlying truths. The superintendent of a 
 reading course cannot know the local and personal conditions which 
 underlie methods of practice, and the greater part of his energies 
 would be dissipated if he attempted to discuss them. But the members 
 of the circle- or club- should be encouraged to make applications for 
 themselves of the principles under discussion. It is far better to eluci- 
 date a very few underlying principles and to encourage the application 
 and illustration of them on each farm than to cram the mind with any 
 amount of mere information and advice. We often attempt to teach 
 too much. 
 
 A promise of a visit from some person officially connected with the 
 reading course act- a- a powerful stimulus. Such visit should be 
 regarded a- a premium on efficient work, not a- a matter of course. 
 One visit each winter will be sufficient to keep up the interest, particu- 
 larly if it is made rather late in the winter, when enthusiasm usually 
 
23 
 
 begins to lag. The reading course La an excellenj supplement to the 
 farmers' institute. The ideal Legacy of an institute is a reading course. 
 ( me or two of the speakers might be delegated to organize Buch courses, 
 
 and also to visit and inspect clubs or circles in the neighborhood. The 
 questions which are Left over from the institute 4 may form the basis of 
 discussions at the clubs, and the clubs may keep the spark of interest 
 and inquiry alive until the next institute. 
 
 Finally, it should be said again that the reading course must be pushed. 
 It will not run itself, unless it runs into the ground. It is not enough 
 to offer the people the privilege. The movement must be kept alive. 
 It must be made attractive and useful. In justice, every farmers' read- 
 ing course should be run by a person whose head and heart and hands 
 are not full of college or experiment-station work; but in every case 
 so far the fact has been just the reverse, and it will be some years yet, 
 no doubt, before the movement reaches that influence and standing 
 which call for specially trained men. The men who have labored with 
 the reading-course movement are all doing full work without it. The}' 
 take it up gladly and hopefully, without remuneration. This spirit is 
 one of the distinguishing marks of the agricultural colleges and experi- 
 ment stations, and it is one of the most hopeful things in our agri- 
 cultural status. 
 

APPENDIX 
 
 In order to still further exhibit the work and methods of the reading 
 courses, representative documents used in various States have been 
 selected and are presented herewith. 
 
 Exhibit A. 
 
 THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE COLLEGE. 
 
 Correspondence Courses in Agriculture. 
 
 Chamberlain' 1 s " Tile Drainage" Lesson No. 1. 
 
 tiie theory. 
 
 The practice of removing surplus water from the land was practiced at a very early 
 time, but not until comparatively recent times do we have records of anything like 
 systematic drainage. The early drainage was undoubtedly for the improvement of 
 sanitary conditions and for the removal of surface water. 
 
 About one hundred years ago systematic drainage was attempted in England for 
 the removal of both surface water and stagnant water within the soil. This met with 
 success and general favor, and may be said to mark the beginning of modern drainage. 
 
 While many good effects of drainage have been known for a long time, yet many 
 important results were wholly overlooked by those who may well be called pioneers 
 in modern drainage. That surplus water should be removed to make the soil mel- 
 low, to make the soil warm, to make the soil fertile, to lengthen the season of culti- 
 vation, to enable plants to better withstand drought, are some of the phases of drain- 
 age that have been studied most in recent times. 
 
 A superabundance of water in the soil is detrimental to plant growth for the follow- 
 ing reasons: 
 
 (1) It excludes air. 
 
 (2) It absorbs heat. 
 
 (3) It prevents chemical action from making the plant food available. 
 
 (4) It delays cultivation. 
 
 (5) It causes winterkilling or heaving of crops. 
 
 (6) It increases the ill effects of drought. 
 
 (1) A certain amount of water is necessary for the germination of seeds. Seeds in 
 germination use or absorb oxygen and generate considerable heat. Soil from which 
 the air is excluded can not furnish the necessary oxygen for germination. (See Plant 
 Life on the Farm, p. 77.) Roots of plants need air. (See Tile Drainage, pp. 9, 10.) 
 
 (2) A wet soil is a cold soil. The only means of warming a wet soil is by applying 
 heat at the surface. This heat applied at the surface will evaporate water, which, in 
 turn, is a cooling process. To remove surplus water by evaporation is not only a slow 
 process, but uses up a vast amount of heat that should be utilized by growing crops. 
 (See Tile Drainage, pp. 17, 18.) 
 
 25 
 
26 
 
 (:->) In nearly all arable soils there is a large amount of plant Eood that can be made 
 available by cultivation and the admission of heat and air. Through the agency of 
 chemical action a considerable portion of tins plant food may be made available that 
 
 otherwise would lie inert. 
 
 (4) A superabundance of water necessarily shortens the period of cultivation. 
 Soils can not be cultivated profitably while they are wet. The period of cultivation, 
 then, can not extend through the season of drying. This frequently seriously inter- 
 feres with the period of growth of ordinary crops. 
 
 (5) Each year much damage is done throughout the country by winterkilling, or 
 " heaving out," of wheat, clover, grass, etc. This can only take place when the soil 
 contains a considerable amount of moisture. Dry soils do not heave. (See Tile 
 Drainage, p. 22.) 
 
 (6) Land that suffers from excessive moisture during a portion of the year usually 
 suffers most through drought. Drainage not only prevents the ill effects of excessive 
 moisture, but also modifies the ill effects of drought. (See Tile Drainage, p. 25.) 
 
 In studying drainage, water may be studied under four heads: 
 
 (1) Water flowing over the surface. 
 
 (2) Hydrostatic water. 
 
 (3) Water held by capillarity. 
 
 (4) Hygroscopic water. 
 
 (1) Flowing water, if in small quantity, should be removed by drainage after pass- 
 ing slowly through the soil. Streams of water should not be allowed to How con- 
 tinually over the soil, except in permanent water courses. 
 
 (2) Hydrostatic water, or stagnant water, is that which is held in the soil by 
 impervious subsoil, and naturally escapes by evaporation. This may be removed by 
 drainage* if a proper outlet be provided. The surface of the stagnant water is spoken 
 of as the w T ater table. When the soil has an impervious subsoil without artificial 
 drainage the water table may be at or even above the surface of the soil, if the 
 precipitation is greater than the evaporation. In time of drought the water table is 
 lowered, but that does not fit the land for the growth of crops. Loam or clay soils, 
 under these conditions, become too compact for plant growth. (See Tile Drainage, 
 pp. 10, 11.) 
 
 (3) Water held by capillarity is that held in a porous soil by virtue of the power 
 of water to raise itself in small tubes. This action is very similar to the rise of water 
 in a sponge, blotting paper, or oil in a lampwick. The amount of water held in this 
 manner is not detrimental to plant growth, and would not be removed by drainage. 
 (See Tile Drainage, pp. 9, 10.) 
 
 It has been found by actual trial that ordinary arable soils have the power of 
 absorbing by capillarity from 35 to 70 per cent of their weight of water. It is also 
 well known that thoroughly drained soils have much greater capacity for holding 
 capillary water than those that are undrained. (See Tile Drainage, p. 25.) 
 
 The average of a large number of tests of drained and undrained soils shows that 
 drained soils will hold about 12 per cent more water by capillarity. Ordinary soils 
 weigh from 3,000,000 to 4,500,000 pounds per acre for the first foot. Bearing" in 
 mind that 1 inch of rainfall weighs about 113 tons per acre, some idea of the vast 
 amount of water stored in the soil by capillarity for the use of the plant may be 
 obtained. 
 
 The question of supplying water for growing crops is each year receiving more 
 attention than ever before. 
 
 (4) Hygroscopic; water is water absorbed by fine, dry soil from the atmosphere. 
 The moist condition of the dust in the road, or a fine, fallow field in the morning, is 
 due to this moisture. Plants may use water so absorbed from the atmosphere. 
 

 ■21 
 THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE C0LLEG1 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE C0UBSK8 i\ A.GRICULTURE. 
 
 "Tile Drainage" Question Paper No. I. 
 
 students will discuss freely the following topics, nol confining themselves to the 
 lesson, but use information gained from other sources. Write freely on the questions 
 
 as topics for discussion rather than questions to be answered briefly. All answers \<> 
 be written without direct aid of the hook or the lesson. 
 
 Send answers to the superintendent as soon as completed, when other lessons will 
 bo forwarded. In no case will a succeeding lesson be sent until the questions of tl it- 
 previous lesson are answered. 
 
 (1) Discuss the history and development of drainage. 
 
 (2) Explain how the removal of surplus water tends to make the soil mellow. 
 
 (3) What effect does the removal of the water have on the temperature of the soil ? 
 Discuss fully. 
 
 (4) In what way does the removal of w r ater by drainage furnish growing crops 
 with water in time of drought? 
 
 (5) How may drainage increase the fertility ? 
 
 (6) In what way is an excess of moisture injurious to germination ? 
 
 (7) Compare hydrostatic water with that held by capillarity. 
 
 (8) Of what use is hygroscopic water? 
 
 (9) Of flowing, hydrostatic, hygroscopic water, or water of capillarity, which is of 
 the greatest importance to field crops ? 
 
 (10) How may drainage lessen the ill effects of winterkilling of wheat, clover, 
 grasses, etc.? 
 
 Exhibit B. 
 
 THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE COLLEGE. 
 
 The Chautauqua Course op Home Study ix Agriculture. 
 
 Miles' " Stock Breeding " Lesson No. 2. — Heredity. 
 
 The ability of parents to transmit to their offspring the characteristics of the parents 
 has for a long time been generally admitted. Although there are many exceptions 
 to this law, yet facts show that it is not only constant in its action but extends to 
 every feature of the organization. Within certain limits the progeny always resemble 
 their parents. If this were not so there would be no constancy of species, and stock 
 breeders would have no assurance that the progeny would be adapted to the same 
 uses as their parents. The young of the sheep might more nearly resemble the dog 
 than its parents, the pig resemble the lamb, etc. 
 
 That the young always resemble their parents, within certain limits, is evident to 
 everyone, and we need only to recall familiar illustrations to remind us that in cer- 
 tain classes or breeds the close resemblance of the progeny to the parents is very 
 marked. Almost any species of wild animal will nicely illustrate this point. Their 
 characteristics are well fixed and change slowly with changed conditions. The dis- 
 tinguishing characteristics are transmitted from parent to offspring. While the early 
 breeders used the old adage "like produces like," modern breeders use the word 
 heredity to mean essentially the same thing. (See Stock Breeding, pp. 11, 12.) 
 
 The law of transmission or heredity is by far the most important law recognized by 
 stock breeders, and its importance is more likely to be underestimated than to have 
 
28 
 
 too greal importance placed upon it. Practical breeders depend upon this law more 
 than any other, and probably more than all others, for the improvement of their 
 flocks and herds. The best animals of the besl breeds are used for breeding purposes, 
 however these may have acquired their special excellence. (See Stock Breeding, 
 
 pp. 1:5-18.) 
 
 Any character, whether good or bad, possessed by an animal, may be transmitted 
 to its descendants wholly or in part. Not only may those characters inherited from 
 ancestors be transmitted, but those developing with the individual through a change 
 oi food, climate, habit, or other causes may influence the progeny. (See Stock Breed- 
 ing, pp. 11. 22, 23.) 
 
 Ancestral characters are more likely to be transmitted than those acquired by 
 the animal due to laws of variation or unusual conditions. (See Stock Breeding, 
 Chap. II.) Traits and acquired characters may be transmitted with a fair degree of 
 certainty. Illustrations of this kind are familiar to nearly everyone. The training 
 horses to trot, dogs trained to hunt a particular kind of game, the increased disposi- 
 tion of cocks to fight are illustrations of this kind. (See Stock Breeding, pp. 14, 15, 59.) 
 
 Mutilations are rarely transmitted, but with more frequency when the mutilated 
 part becomes diseased. Docking lambs and cutting off the tails of pigs for many 
 generations has not produced tailless or short-tailed breeds. However, many authen- 
 tic cases are on record where blemishes or defects caused by mutilation have been 
 transmitted. (See Stock Breeding, pp. 58, 60, 61.) 
 
 Certain diseases become hereditary and present characteristics that may be sum- 
 marized as follows: 
 
 (1) They are transmitted by the male as well as the female parent, and are doubly 
 severe in the offspring if both parents are affected by the same disease. 
 
 (2) They may be developed in immediate progeny and in subsequent generations 
 as well. (See Stock Breeding, pp. 32, 71.) 
 
 (3) They may not appear in the same form in each generation, but in analogous 
 diseases. (See Stock Breeding, pp. 25, 26.) 
 
 (4) Hereditary diseases appear to a certain extent to be independent of external 
 conditions and the causes that tend to produce nonhereditary diseases. (See Stock 
 Breeding, pp. 26, 27.) 
 
 (5) They develop most readily at critical periods of life and under circumstances 
 conducive to impaired health or when the vital powers are unusually low. (See 
 Stock Breeding, pp. 23, 26.) 
 
 (6) As a rule they are less effectually treated by ordinary remedies than other 
 diseases. 
 
 THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE COLLEGE. 
 Chautauqua Course of Home Study in Agriculture. 
 " Stock Breeding," Question Paper No. 
 
 Students will discuss freely the following topics, not confining themselves to the 
 lesson sheet, but use information gained from other sources. Write freely on the ques- 
 tions as topics for discussion rather than questions to be answered briefly. 
 
 Send answers to the superintendent as soon as completed, when other lesson sheets 
 will be forwarded. In no case will a succeeding lesson sheet be sent until the ques- 
 tions of the previous lesson are answered. 
 
 (1) Explain how constancy of species depends on heredity. 
 
 2 Why is the law of heredity of more importance to the stock breeder than 
 other laws? 
 
29 
 
 (3) (Jive illustrations of acquired characters that have Keen transmitted, and dis- 
 cuss the way in which this change has been brought about. 
 
 (4) Discuss fully the law governing the transmission of mutilations. Give 
 illustrations. 
 
 Why do certain diseases tend to become hereditary more than others? 
 (6) Explain why hereditary diseases develop most readily at critical periods of life. 
 7 How may characters produced l.y food he transmitted ? Give illustrations. 
 (8) Give illustrations of heredity appearing In succeeding generations in analo- 
 gous diseases. 
 
 Explain why ancestral characters are more likely to be transmitted than 
 acquired characters. 
 
 Exhibit C. 
 
 THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE COLLEGE. 
 
 Correspondence Courses in Agriculture. 
 
 Ormsbee's " The House Comfortable" Question Paper No. 3. 
 
 Students will discuss freely the following topics, not confining themselves to the 
 lessons, but use information gained from other sources. Write freely on the questions 
 as topics for discussion rather than questions to be answered briefly. All answers to 
 be written without direct aid of the book or the lesson. 
 
 Send answers to the superintendent as soon as completed, when other lessons will 
 be forwarded. In no case wdll a succeeding lesson be sent until the questions of the 
 previous lessons are answered. 
 
 (1) Give size of convenient kitchen for farmhouse. Discuss advantages and dis- 
 advantages. 
 
 (2) If the floor is painted, give a good preparation to use, and describe method of 
 applying. 
 
 (3) How can dishwashing be made easiest ? If the dishes are drained by any device 
 for the purpose, give a plan of the drainer and describe subsequent treatment. 
 
 (4) Give the best method of keeping the kitchen range black and clean. 
 
 (5) How would you have the walls and ceiling of your kitchen finished, if you 
 could choose ? Give reasons. 
 
 (6) What schemes have you for making the work of your kitchen easier? 
 
 (7) How do you keep your kitchen free from flies in summer? 
 
 (8) Discuss means for removing the odor from cooking from the kitchen. 
 
 Exhibit D. 
 
 CORNELL READING COURSE FOR FARMERS. 
 
 Reading Lesson No. 1, November, 1898, bv L. H. Bailey. 
 
 The Soil: What it is. 
 
 1. The basis of soil is fragments of rock. — As the earth cooled, the surface solidified 
 into rock. The processes of nature have been constantly at work in breaking up this 
 rock and making it into soil. 
 
 2. Weathering is the great agency in making rocks into soil. — Rain, snow, ice, frost have 
 worn away the mountains and deposited the fragments as soil. Probably as much 
 
30 
 
 material has been worn away from the Alps as still remains, and this material now 
 forms much of the soil of Italy, < rermany, Prance, and Holland. Ourown mountains 
 and hills have worn away in like manner. 
 
 :;. Weathering is stUl active. — All exposed rocks are wearing away. Stones are grow- 
 ing smaller. The soil is pulverized by fall plowing. 
 
 4. The particles of soil "/•< worn <m<l transported by waJU r. — Every stream carries away 
 great quantities-of soil and deposits it in the shallows and the hays. Alter every 
 rain tin' streams and ponds are muddy or roily. Observe the sediment or fine 
 mud which remains when a " mud puddle" dries up. The rivulet may carry away 
 tons of earth every year and this is deposited BOmewhere, and some time it may, 
 
 perhaps, come into use again for the growing of plants. Many of our best and 
 richest farm lands are the deposits of former streams and lakes. Such lands are fine 
 and siltlike. Most lowlands belong to this category, and even some of our higher 
 lands are formed from deposits from water. The mixed and varied character of soils 
 is largely due to the fact that they are the results of transportation from different 
 places. 
 
 Observe the flat lands about lakes. These flats are formed by the deposition of 
 material from the surrounding highlands; but they are often exposed before their 
 natural time by the lowering of the water level in the lake. All lakes and ponds 
 are filling up. Nearly every stream makes a delta at its mouth; but if the stream 
 into which it empties is swift, the delta may be carried away. 
 
 Observe, also, the broad, rounded hillocks and knolls in valleys and ravines. Many 
 of them have attained their present form from the action of moving water. 
 
 Every farmer knows that overflowed lands are rich. He has heard of the won- 
 derful fertility of the Nile. He should explain these facts. 
 
 5. All productive soils also contain organic matter. — Organic matter is the remains of 
 plants and animals. As found in soils in a decaying condition, it is called humus. 
 It is the humus which gives the soil its dark or " rich " look. It also tends to make 
 soils loose, warm, and mellow. It holds moisture. The addition of humus makes 
 soils loamy. A sandy loam may be defined as a soil of which the original mineral 
 matter is sand, and a clayey loam is one of which the basis is clay. Soils which 
 have no humus are hard, ''dead " and unproductive. 
 
 6. Humus is supplied by mearn of roots and stubble, green crops, and barn manures. — If 
 the farmer practices a rotation of which meadow and pasture are a part, the supply 
 of humus will be maintained. In such cases, green manuring is unnecessary except 
 now and then upon lands which are very hard or poor. The roots and the stubble, 
 with the droppings of the animals on the pasture, and manure applied with one of 
 the crops in the rotation, keep the land well supplied with vegetable matter. When- 
 ever possible, it is better to feed the crop to stock and return the manure to the land 
 than to plow the crop under, for one will get back the greater part of the fertilizing 
 value of the crops and maintain the animal at the same time. In western New York, 
 there are hundreds o£ acres of refuse cabbage lands, and at this day there are thou- 
 sands of tons of herbage on the ground and no stock to eat it. It is wasteful. 
 
 Many soils which are said to be worn out are robbed of their humus rather than 
 of their plant food; others have been injured in their texture by careless or faulty 
 management. In supplying humus, it is better to add small quantities often. Lands 
 which are under constant tillage, in corn, wheat, oats, potatoes, may be supplied 
 with humus if catch crops are sown with the crop, now and then, late in the season. 
 Rye, Canada peas, crimson clover, and the like may be used for this purpose. Plow 
 them under as soon as the land is ready in the spring, even if the plants are not 
 large. 
 
 I Ibserve how the forest supplies its humus. Year by year the leaves add to the soil 
 cover, which slowly passes into vegetable mold or humus. The trunks finally decay 
 and pass into the soil. The work is effectively done, hut it consumes time, and man 
 
31 
 
 is in a hurry. When the forest is removed the land is very productive. It is called 
 •• virgin soil." notwithstanding the fact that an enormous crop of trees has just been 
 taken from it. and that it may have grown hundreds of such crops. The real virgin 
 soil is the barren soil. But however rich this Eoresl soil may he when the timber is 
 first removed, it generally soon loses its exuberant fertility. The pigmy crops of tin- 
 farmer seem to he harder on the soil than the gigantic crops of nature. Some of this; 
 loss of productivity is due to the loss of humus. 
 
 A rotation prevents the exhaustion of plant-food, supplies nitrogen in leguminous 
 crops, one crop leaves the land in better condition for another, the roots and stubble 
 improve the texture of the soil, it keeps weeds in check, provides for continuous 
 labor because stock is kept. 
 
 The rotation should differ with the kind of soil and general style of farming. The 
 Cornell rotation is: 
 
 Wheat. 
 
 Clover and timothy, one year. 
 
 Maize (corn) . 
 
 Oats. 
 A good rotation for weed-infested land is: 
 
 Sod, one year. 
 
 Maize. 
 
 Potatoes, or some other tilled crop. 
 
 Oats or barley. 
 On fruit farms rotations are not so practicable as on grain farms, but the fields 
 which are not in fruit can often be worked in rotation to great advantage. The gen- 
 eral tendency of fruit farmers is to keep too little stock. If stock can not be kept, the 
 humus can be maintained by catch crops and cover crops. 
 
 7. The fertility of the land is Us power to produce crops. It is determined by three things — 
 the texture of the soil, its richness in plant food, and its (tradable moisture. — The texture of 
 the soil is its physical condition, as to whether it is mellow, loose, leachy, cloddy, 
 hard, and the like. A rock or a board will not raise corn, and yet it may contain an 
 abundance of plant food. The plant can not get a foothold, and it would do no good 
 to apply fertilizers. Spreading potash on a lump of clay is not farming; it is the 
 wasting of potash. A cow will not appreciate the fanciest ration if she is uncomfor- 
 table; neither will a plant. It is only on land which is in good tilth that fertilizers 
 pay. The better the farming the more it will pay, as a rule, to buy plant food, but 
 poor farming can not make it pay. 
 
 8. Nature secures good texture in soil by growing plants in it. — Roots make the soil 
 finer, and plants supply it with humus. Plants break down the soil by sending their 
 roots into the crevices of the particles, and the root acids dissolve some of it. Observe 
 nature working at this problem. First the "moss" or lichen attacks the rock, the 
 weather cracks it and wears it away, a little soil is gathered here and there in the 
 hollows, a fern or some other lowly plant gains a foothold, year by year and century 
 by century the pocket of soil grows deeper and larger, and finally the rock is worn 
 away and crumbled and is ready to support potatoes and smart weed. Or the rock 
 may be hard and bare and you can not see any such process going on; yet, even 
 then, every rain washes something away from it, and the soil beneath it is constantly 
 receiving additions. Some soils may be said to be completed; the rock is all broken 
 down and fined. Other soils are still in process of manufacture; they are full of 
 stones and pebbles which are slowly disintegrating and adding their substance to the 
 soil. Did you ever see a " rotten stone? ' ' 
 
 The longer plants are grown on any soil and returned to it the richer the soil 
 becomes. But nature has centuries at her disposal; man' has but a few short years 
 and must work rapidly, and he can not afford to make mistakes. 
 
 9. The texture of tin soil may h, improved (1) by underdrawing, (2) by tilling, (3) by 
 
32 
 
 \ (4) by adding ceri >J ( angethe 
 
 b. — The reader will say that nature does not practice tile-drain- 
 
 Perhapsnot; but thenahe has more kinds of crops to grow than the farmer has, 
 
 and if she can not raise oaks on a certain piece of land she can put in water lilies. 
 
 We shall have an entire less. >n dev< >ted to drainage and tillage, and also one to manures 
 
 and fertilizers. It is for the present to say that the roots which are left in 
 
 and after the crop is harvested are very valuable in improving the soil. This 
 
 icularly true if they are tap roots — if they run deep into the soil. Clover 
 
 - holes into the soil, letting in air. draining it. warming it. and bringing up its 
 plant food. Roberts reports v Fertility of the Land. p. 345 that a second growth of 
 clover, two years fr - gave a yield of air-dried I 417 ponn 
 
 and of air-dried roots _ - pounds in the first 8 inches of Boil Add to this 
 latter figure the weight of roots below S inches and the stubble and waste, and it is 
 seen that the amount of herbage left on the clover field is not greatly less than that 
 taken off. In this instance the roots contained a greater percentage of nitrogen and 
 phosphoric acid than the tope, and about the same percentage of potash. 
 
 Make an estimate of what proportion of the plant growth you raise is actually 
 taken off the field. Figure up, as accurately as you can. the part left in 
 stubble, leaves, and refuse. Even of maize, you do not remove all from the field. 
 This calculation will bring up the whole question of the kind of root system which 
 each sort of plant has. Have you ever ma - examination of the roots of 
 
 potatoes, maize, wheat, clover, cabbages, buckwheat, strawberries. Canada thistles, 
 or other crops? From what part of the soil do these plants secure their nourish- 
 ment? What power have they of going deep for water? What proportion of them 
 ■:? Because the roots are hidden, we have neglected to examine them. 
 
 10. Tht soil is or available slowly. — Roberts 
 s mpiled the analyses of 49 representative s oils made by American chemists 
 
 the following is the result: "The tables reveal the fact that even the poorer soils 
 have an abundance of plant food for several crops, while the richer soils in tome 
 
 - - have sufficient for 200 to 300 crops of wheat or maize. The average of 34 
 analyses gives to each acre of land. S inches deep. 3.217 pounds of nitrogen. 3.936 
 pounds of phosphoric acid, and 17.597 pounds of potash, and this does not include 
 that which is contained in the stones, gravel, and sand of the soil which will not 
 pass through meshes of one-fiftieth of an inch, which, by weathering and tillage, 
 slowly give up their valuable constituents." Roberts, Fertility of the Land, p. 16. | 
 
 Fortunately, this great store of plant food is locked up. else it would have leached 
 
 from the soil or have been used up long ago. By careful husbandry a little of it is 
 
 made usable year by year, and the better the management of the land the more of this 
 
 is available to the plant. When the farmer has done his best to get out of the 
 
 land all that it will give him. then he may add fertilizers for larger results. 
 
 Plant food is available when it is in such condition that the plant can use it. It 
 must be both soluble and in such chemical form that the plant likes it. Plant food 
 which is not soluble in rain water may still be soluble in soil water | which contains 
 
 - Lerived from the humus > , and the acid excretions from the roots may render it 
 soluble. But solubility is not necessarily availability, for, a- we have said, the mate- 
 rials must be in such combination that the plant will take them. Thus, nitrate of 
 soda (NaNQg is available because it is both soluble and in the form in which the 
 plant wants it. But nitrite of soda >~a>~0_ is not available, although it is soluble — 
 the plant does not like nitrites. 
 
 11. A • mat probably be in (he form most 
 
 _ :i is abundant. It is approximately four-fifths of the atmosphere and 
 it is an important content of every plant and animal: yet. it is the element which is 
 
 lifficult t<> secure and to keep and the I - - to buy. Thi~ - 
 
 the greater part of it is not in a form to be available and because, when it is available, 
 
33 
 
 it tends t«> leach from the soil. It is available when it is in the form of a nitrate 
 one pari of nitrogen, three parts of oxygen, united with, one part of some other ele- 
 ment (NaNOj, nitrate of soda; KX<>.. nitrate of potash or saltpeter; Il\<>. nitric 
 acid, etc.) . The process <A changing nitrogen into nitrates is called nitrification. This 
 process is the work of germs or microbes in the soil, and these germs work most effi- 
 ciently when the soil is not water-logged and when it is well tilled. The farmer 
 should make his available nitrogen supply as he goes along; and he makes it with 
 tile-drains, plows, harrows, and cultivators. 
 
 But there are some plants which have the power of using the nitrogen which is in 
 the air in the soil. These are Leguminous plants — clover-. peaS, beans, vetch, alfalfa. 
 If. therefore, the farmer can not secure sufficient nitrogen by other means, he may 
 use these plants as green manures. If his system of farming will not allow him to 
 use these plants, or if he does not secure sufficient nitrogen when he does use them, 
 then he can go to the warehouse and huy nitrogen. 
 
 12. The soil is not a mere inert mass; it is a scene of life and activity. — This is the new 
 and true teaching. Soil which is wholly inactive is unproductive. Movements of 
 air and water, actions of heat and evaporation, life rounds of countless microscopic 
 organisms, decay and disintegration of plants and soil particles — these are some of 
 the activities of the fertile soil. If our ears were delicate enough we could hear the 
 shuffle of the workers, the beating of the hammers, and the roll of the tiny machin- 
 ery. All things begin with the soil and at last all things come back to it. The soil 
 is the cemetery of all the ages and the resurrection of all life. If the soil is not idle, 
 neither should the farmer be. 
 
 Note. — Persons who desire to pursue this subject further should procure King's 
 book The Soil, and Roberts's Fertility of the Land. 
 
 Exhibit E. 
 
 CORNELL READING COURSE FOR FARMERS. 
 
 Quiz on Reading Lesson No. 1. November, 1898, by John W. Spencer. 
 
 These questions constitute a supplement to peading lesson No. 1 (The soil; What 
 it is). Its purpose is to induce the reader to think carefully about what he reads. 
 Answer the questions as best you can and return this sheet to us (2 cents postage). 
 We want these answers in order that we may know what interest you are taking in 
 the reading course and how much good you are getting from it; and we want to help 
 you when you do not understand the problems involved. We are after results, and 
 do not care about the handwriting nor the grammar. These answers are for our \ >wn 
 examination and are not to be made public. 
 
 We should be glad of any comments on these lessons. 
 
 It is hoped that readers will form themselves into little clubs, to meet once or twice 
 a month, to discuss the problems raised by the lessons. 
 
 Those who answer the questions will receive future lessons. 
 
 Have you ever observed the influence of weather upon soft, slaty rock jutting out 
 on embankments and railroad cuts? 
 
 Have you ever taken a glass of muddy water from a flowing stream and allowed it 
 to stand until the sediment had settled? What is this sediment? 
 
 Imagine a branch of this stream bringing rotted slate rock and another bringing 
 fine sand. When mixed in the main stream and deposited on some bar or over- 
 flowed field, what kind of soil would the mixture make? 
 
 What is inorganic matter? 
 
 What is organic matter? 
 8087— No. 72 3 
 
34 
 
 Why are soils from which a thrifty forest growth has been removed capable at once 
 of producing good farm crops? 
 
 Have you ever .observed lichen (sometimes called "moss") growing on bare rock 
 or on a tombstone? 
 
 If any great amount of lichen should become mixed with the disintegrated rock, 
 would it be humus and form a weak soil that might produce an order of plants a little 
 larger and stronger than lichen ? 
 
 As the higher order of plant- come in and die down and mix with the soil, would 
 the process increase the productive power of the -oil? 
 
 In instances in which soil has been removed by grading, could a new soil be well 
 made by adding commercial fertilizer alone? What would you apply first to such 
 land'? 
 
 If humus in soil under cultivation is perishable, ought it not to be the farmer's 
 first care to keep g 1 the quantity first found in the virgin soil? 
 
 In addition to the humus returned to the soil in manure, from forage fed to stock. 
 and by plowing under stubble and roots, do you think it a good plan to sow some 
 cover crop in corn rows at last cultivation, and on oat and wheat stubble as soon as 
 the crop is off, for plowing under the following spring ? 
 
 What are good crops for this purpose? 
 
 Which of these are leguminous plants? Name all the kinds of leguminous plants 
 you know. 
 
 Why is it advised to plow under the green crops as soon as the land can be worked 
 in the spring? 
 
 Do you think a rotation of crops helps the soil to bear the strain of successive 
 cropping? If so, why? 
 
 Are you aware that plant food exists in the soil in both available and unavailable 
 forms, and that when plants have used up most of the available part we call the 
 soil worn out ? 
 
 Is it true that your soil is capable of being made an active laboratory in which 
 changes will take place and some of this unavailable plant food be made usable ? 
 
 Are you aware that when the texture of your soil is poor, or, in other words, when 
 your laboratory is out of order, the best commercial fertilizers or stable manures will 
 not give the best results ? 
 
 Do you know that heat and air are important agencies in the changes going on in 
 the soil, as they also are in the changes in a barrel of cider or in the yeast in a pan 
 of dough ? 
 
 Does standing water on soil have a detrimental or beneficial effect on the heat and 
 air? Why? 
 
 How can you make the soil laboratory do the best work? 
 
 Name, ; post-office, . 
 
 Exhibit F. 
 Application for //>< mbersnip [Michigan) . 
 
 , 189— . 
 
 I hereby state that my desire is to be enrolled as a member of the Farm Home 
 Reading Circle of the Michigan Agricultural College. 
 < Occupation, . 
 
 Age, ; sex, . 
 
 < ftass or classes selected. . 
 
 Remarks, . 
 
 Name in full. : post-office, : county. ; State. 
 
35 
 
 No membership fee to residents of Michigan. Nonresident fee, $1. 
 If you do not already receive the bulletins issued by the Michigan Experimenl 
 station, and desire to receive them, please till oul the blank below. 
 
 Please place my nafne <>u the bulletin mailing list. 
 Name in full, ; post-office, ; county, ; State, . 
 
 [Si/e of slip, (5 by 4 1 , inches. Janes on the back for filing entries.] 
 
 Exhibit G. 
 
 Postal-curd acknoioledgment. 
 
 Agricultural College, Mich., , 189- 
 
 M- 
 
 Your application for membership in the Farm Home Reading Circle has been 
 received and accepted. You are hereby notified that you have been enrolled as a 
 member, and we shall endeavor to make our future relationship mutually pleasant 
 and profitable. 
 
 Yery respectfully. 
 
 Secretary of the Farm Home Heading Circle. 
 
 Exhibit H. 
 Membership card. 
 
 189—. 
 
 This is to certify that is a member of the Farm Home Reading 
 
 Circle, Michigan Agricultural College, and has completed . 
 
 Signed : 
 
 President of the College. 
 
 Secretary F. H R. < '. 
 
 [Size, 5| by 3 h inches. ] 
 
 Exhibit I. 
 
 Order for books (Michigan) 
 
 189- 
 
 To the Secretary of the Farm Home Reading Circle, Agricultural College, MicJdgan: 
 Inclosed please find for the following books: 
 
 Name in full, ; post-office, ; county, ; State, 
 
 Extra blanks furnished upon application to the secretary. 
 
 Cash must accompany order. 
 
 [Size, 6 by 4^ inches. Space on the back for filing entries.] 
 

 M. 
 
 36 
 
 Exhibit J. 
 
 Portal-card acknowledgment of book order. 
 
 Agricultural College, Mich., , f#y — . 
 
 Yniii' favor inclosing for books is at hand and will receive our prompt 
 
 attention. 
 
 h sometimes happens that we are out of the books.ordered by members of the Farm 
 II <.ni«' Reading Circle. In such cases we order direct from the publishers, and mem- 
 bers do not receive their hooks as quickly as they otherwise would. 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 Secretary Farm Home Reading Circle, Agricultural College, Mich. 
 
 Exhibit K. 
 Michigan diploma. 
 
 STATE OP MICHIGAN, FARM HOME READING CIRCLE DIPLOMA. 
 
 Know all men by these presents: 
 
 That is a member of the Farm Home Reading Circle of the Michigan 
 
 Agricultural College and that he is entitled to this diploma, having completed a 
 c< >iu 'se of reading prescribed by the secretary of the Farm Home Reading Circle under 
 the direction of the State board of agriculture, and satisfactorily sustained the 
 examinations. 
 
 President Michigan Agricultural Collegi 
 
 Secretary Farm Home Reading Circle. 
 Agricultural College, , 189 — . 
 
 [Size, 8 by 10 inches, with ample margin. It has an underprint, in green scroll, 
 " .Michigan Agricultural College."] 
 
UNIV 
 
 ERSITY OF FLORIDA 
 
 3 1262 08927 7726 
 
 II