Tuesday, November 17, 1903.
THE PROGRESSIVE FARMER
II
Some Objections to Agriculture in the
FUDllC ocaooia.
Editor Progressive Farmer, Raleigh,
K. 0.
Dear Sir: I enclose a clipping
from the Normal Instructor, of an
article I furnished it some months
ago, and which I thought you might
care to publish.
While my views are slightly differ
ent from those usually entertained on
this subject, I am a firm believer in
not only the desirability, but also the
necessity of agricultural education.
If you should care to criticize this
paper in any respect, you may feel
perfectly free to do so. If you do
not care to use it, you will' kindly
.return the clipping? - y
Yours very truly,
E. E. MILLER.
Horristown, Tenn.
iluch is being said at present about
the desirability of teaching the fun
damental principles of agriculture in
the rural public school. It is asked,
with much reason, why 4he school
should not assist in preparing- the
pupils for their life work, as well by
teaching them the processes of plant
growth as by teaching them history
or literature. Nature study of -all
kinds is being made much of, and it
is argued that the practical side of
it should not be neglected.
To all this I most cheerfully sub
scribe; but I wish to call attention
to a few thincrs which have not been
emphasized in the current discus
sions, many of which are theoretical
rather than practical.
The first point I wish to make is
that our public schools must not be
made mere schools of primary agri
culture. In the ideal system, agri
culture would be taught in the col
lege, after the pupil had acquired a
sound basis of general culture, just
as law or engineering is taught to
day. Unfortunately, however, very
few of the boys and girls of a coun
try school ever reach college, or even
the high school. It is desirable that
all should know something of the
forces of nature with which they
must deal all their lives; and hence
the demand that this information be
given in the public schools.
But you cannot teach agriculture
to a boy Tvho knows nothing else;
is too intricate and complex a
science for that. So, unless it can
te introduced without lessening the
tune which the average country. stu
dent devotes to reading and writing,
grammar and arithmetic, it had
better not be introduced at all.. These
tiu?s, tile recognized foundations of
education, must be taught first;
the public schools you can hope
an5ay to teach only the most ele
mentary principles of soil formation,
Plant growth, of animal nutrition;
t is, to my mind, a sheer waste
time to cram the pupil with these
tongs until he has learned to read,
o investigate, and to think for him-
v1110 Value of the instruction
ch mar be given is that it will
elp the student to a start in the
of his calling and to be of
Principles rather than facts
anst be emphasized.
In other words,' the pupils in the
public schools will not be taught ag
riculture, strictly speaking; he will
merely be instructed in the funda
mentals of soil physics and botany,
of meterology and animal physi
ology. As he must know grammar
before he can study literature, or how
to write before he can learn book
keeping, so must he know these
things before he can enter the study
of agriculture proper. For these
reasons the rural schools must be ex
pected, not to make farmers, but only
to give possible farmers some idea
of the natural laws which govern
their operations.
Again, if it were possible for the
public schools in the country to be
come schools of agriculture, it would
not be desirable that they should.
Every boy who lives in the country
will hot grow up a farmer; and there
is no reason for cramming the boy
who is bent on becoming a lawyer
or a mechanic with something which
will be of no value to him in his
life's work. Especially is this true
when such a course would mean the
neglect of things which he does need
to learn. It is well, however, that he
should know that, every one who desires-
to be well informed, whether
preacher,, banker trust-promoter, so
ciety-leader, or what not, should know
something of the formation and. com
position of the soil beneath his feet,
of the growth and development of
the plants and animals which clothe
and feed him, and of the relations
all these sustain to each other. No
one who is ignorant of all this should
dare to consider himself well inform
ed. Yet those who have anything
more than a vague idea of these
things are a small part of even the
supposedly educated people. These
things should be taught to every boy
and girl who is able to understand
them, whether country-bred or city-
bred. -
To sum un the foregoing para
graphs : There Js great need of in
struction in the great', fundamental
laws of , nature by which we are all
governed. This instruction should
be given in the school-room; and in
the country.it may.be made to have
a practical bearing on farm life and
work. It should not be given, how
ever, before the pupil is able to un
derstand - it ; and a proper under
standing of it means that the pupil
must be able to investigate and
think for himself. It must not be
so enlarged upon in rural schools as
to interfere with those primary stu
dies which are necessary to any edu
cation at all.
Of more immediate importance
than any of these, is the fact' that,
in the South at least, few rural
schools are prepared to teach these
things at all. ' Three things prevent.
1. Few of the pupils stay in school
long enough, or are so trained as to
be able to profit by them.
2. In few schools is there either the
time or the equipment available
which would be necessary for sue
cessful work. .
3. Very few teachers know, enough
about these things to teach them intelligently.
M SlocoffliiiQiidotl for Euerylhing
But if You Have Liver, Kidney or Bladder Trouble, .
You will Find the Great Remedy Swamp
- . Root, Just what You Need. "
It used to be considered that only urinary
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nearly all diseases have their , beginning in the
disorder of these most important organs. v
Therefore, when your kidneys are weak cr
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If you are sick or" feel badlv." beerin taking-
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Doctors Prescribe Swamp-Root.
I
I
Gentlemen : "I hare prescribed that wonderful
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SHAHrVROOT
KHaey, liter and la3&r
MicnoxaL
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Children lew according to Of.
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Thlarreat pemadr, euiea aB
kid ory, liver, bladder and Urte
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netAMto quit n
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Weak and unhealthy kidneys are responsible
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much suffering with fatal results are sure to
follow. Kidney trouble Jirritates the nerves,
makes you dizzy, restless, sleepless and irritable;
makes you pass water often during the day and
obliges you to get up many times during the
night. Unhealthy 'kidneys cause rheumatism,
gravel, catarrh of the bladder, pain or dull ache
In the back, joints and muscles; makes your
head ache and back ache, causes indigestion,
stomach aud liver trouble, vou gret a sallow,
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you had heart trouble; you may have plenty of ambition, but no strength; get
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The cure for these troubles is Dr. Kilmer's Swamp-Root, the world-famous
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Swamp-Root is the most perfect healer and gentle aid to the kidneys that is
known to medical science.
If there is any doubt in your mind as to your condition, take from your urine
on rising about four ounces, -place it in a glass or bottle and let it stand twenty
four hours. If on examination it is milky or cloudy, if there is a brick-dust set
tling, or if small particles float about in it, your kidneys are in i eed of immediate
attention.
No matter how many doctors you may have tried ro matter how much money
you may have spent on other medicines, you really pwe it tcf yourself to at least
give Swamp-Root a trial. Its staunchest friends i.o-day are those who had almost
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If you are already convinced that Swamp-Root is what you need, you can
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a 0 . - '
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Dr.
remember the name, Swamp-Root,
Kilmer's Swamp-Root, and the address Binghamton, N. Y., on every bottle.
SAMPLE BOTTLE OP SWArlP-ROOT SENT FREE BY MAIL.
-.
SPECIAL NOTE If you have the slightest symptoms of kidney or bladder
troubles, or if there is a trace of it in 3 our family . history, send at once to Dr.
Kilmer & Co , Binghamton, N . Y., who will gladly send you by mail, imraedi
a ely, without cost to you, a sample bottle of Swamp-Root, and a book contain
ing many of the thous nds upon thousands of testimonial letters received from
men and women cured Jn writing, be sure to say that you read this generous
off er in the Raleigh Progressive Farmer.
These are sad fact's; but facts,
nevertheless. I think no one who is
familiar. with our conditions will dis
pute them. I trust that in other
parts of the country the schools are
ready to begin this work at once ; but
with us two things must be done
first : We must make more adequate
provisions for our schools, insure
longer terms, with better equipments
and broader courses of study; and
we must train our teachers.
That these things may soon be
done I eannestly hope. Some prog
ress is being made; but there is yet
much .to do. With the Southern peo
ple the teaching of the elements of
agricultural science in the public
schools is, and can be at present,
only a dream of the future. Yet. in
view of the present interest in edu
cational affairs, I expect to live to
see it become a reality. , '
CALDWELL SCHOOL.
Toe Third Annual Session of Caldwell
School begins September 1, 1903. It is a quiet;
lne rpenslve school, in a healthy locality.
Board and tuition $8.00 a month. Music
S2.50 a month.
For other information, address, -
M A.TTIE J. CALDWELL,
Lemon Springs, Moore County, N. C.
I We promptly obtain U. 8. and Foreign ;
Bend model, ssetch or photo of invention fgr
freererjort on TjatentaDmi
How to Secure'
Paints and
patentability. For free doox, 5
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if I
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