OCR Text |
Show H AGRICULTURE SHOULD BE H TAUGHT IN THE DIS- H TRICT SCHOOLS. H Geo. Gardner. H Written for the Dcscret Farmer. H The majority of the people of H America have for their occupation, HPJH some branch of agriculture, or cm BB ploymcnt that is dependent upon ag- H riculture. Notwithstanding its grcar H importance, it is the only occupation H that laborers take up without prclimi- H nary training. The result of this H great mistake is, poverty, discontent- H ment, labor troubles, and many other H undesirable situations. This condi- H lion is responsible for more trouble H than is generally supposed, because it H includes, 'not only those who arc en H gaged in agricultural pursuits, but H also those who could make a better H living by following omc of them. H Without doubt a great many more H people could make a much more Hj comfortable living by entering this H field; and' it would be possible for , . , most Anyone- to enter it. There are few people so poor that they could not buy a small piece of land. In .fact the government offers free to. every citizen one. mtndrcd and sixtw facrcs of larjd, Many of the statcsj We now selling land at a ycry low price. Thus making it possible for any person, who is able to work, to obtain land. Many of the intelligent agriculturists arc now making a com fortoble living with from one to fivt acres of land. While the wage 6arnci lives poorly on one dollar and hall,, 1 er day, and the unintelligent farmci barely lives with his one hundred and sixty acres of laud, it is certain that there is plenty of land if it were in tclligcntly carcdl for to comfortably support nil the people of America. This fact is clearly shown by an example ex-ample of farming in Salt Lake City. A Oiiwunan 'bought five acres of land, and in five years he had cleared twenty-fiyc thousand dollars from i' besides paying for the land. This is only an example of what could be done by hundreds of other people. The reason why we lidvc'soi many people working for wages is, they have not been taught the science of agriculture. They do not know enough about it to become interested. There is absolutely no investment that is as sure as agriculture, now paying so large dividends. There is no life so full of happiness, so free fromi care and sorrow as the branches of agriculture. agri-culture. There arc enough branches in it to suit almost every honest and intelligent inclination for workk In spite of all this, until the last few years it has been looked upon as the lower class of work, work fit only for the ignorant. Even yet it is considered con-sidered by the majority as work beneath be-neath the dignity of the more intelligent. intelli-gent. For several years it has been seen by the few great men, that pco-iplc pco-iplc should be taught intelligent methods meth-ods of working in the agricultutal pursuits. Magazines and papers were devoted entirely to the work of instructing in-structing the people on the best methods meth-ods at the time known. The government govern-ment took up a line of experiments to determine new methods. The men in the government service sopn found that the average agriculturist was realizing only a small part of the profit that his labor should have 'brought. The government then spenr vast sums of money in distributing seed for tlifi agriculturist,. It also put -up-largc printing press, printed and z in-ailed- tfnthc" farmers .the results of the experiments. This with much ijmqrca.vaJuitEle information was sent, tgcj,jmciklhg it possible for all to'get, t itfc$ of ( heeded f help. , ;' .' ; 1 lju nlis, the pcopMc were "muck ? rafters" who kept on raking the straw and iliuck at their feet, refusing to Ibbk a the devinc light. The books were put on the shelves to mold or in the stove to burn. In the last twenty years there has been enough infor- mation burned and! rot to have made the people of the United States as far in advance of what they arc today, as we arc now ahead of the negro. This was lost to the people because they had not the dcsiic for information. informa-tion. They had not the interest in advancement to read what was given them free. They thought that they could not afford to take the time to read. The American people were in too great haste to get rich. They have spent their lives running after the bag of gold at the foot of the rain-bow, while tnampleing under the wcalth'at thcir"fcct. Had the farmers' spent only part of their time, during the winter months studying the problems prob-lems of agriculture they would have seen the folly of the mad rush after the bag of gold. But they could not be induced to do this; their habits were set, no matter how convincing an argument the government literature litera-ture 'contained, it did not influence them, because they did not read it. To overcome this difficulty the farmers' institutes were stalled. Educated Edu-cated men wicrc sent to all. parts of the 'country' to teach the people. This was one of the greatest influences for reform that the world has yet known. But icvcn this reached only a few that -were in the greatest need of its help. Many were so indifferent as not to attend, and the majprity of those who did attend said, "What can mien who work in laboratories all of the'r lives teach us? "My fa. r was a good farmer and he did not farm that way. Old man Jones was a good farmer, and he did not farm that way." These with many other such statements .showed the impossibility of changing their ideas. Tis true, however, that some learned all that was taught them at the institutes.-, institutes.-, Their success with the scientific methods meth-ods was surprising. Even .this did not convince, those around him . who re- fujscd, to believe what was taught them at the institutes. - . , The secret of all the failures to convince such men is: The ideas they . 'plihg to so tightly were obtained while clnlffrcn. In their minds at that time IliM fathers and '!Ofd man Jones" ' kricv.iall that was to be known about farming. These ideas were left un- disturbed so long, that they became a very part of the men and nothing could ehangc them. j The only way to reform is to teach i correct principles of farming to the g children. These will stay with them as long and as well as do the incorrect incor-rect ideas stay with the men of to-day. to-day. "Train up a child in the. way it should go and it will not depart from it." The child's natural inclination is toward agriculture. A child at pla often plays at horse or gardening, but seldom at school or anything that is taught in the district school. They like agriculture and would' naturally take it up. If this interest was arous cd by instruction, instead of smoth crcd by things they dislike, the child woulfl advance rapidly. It would 'grow as much better in-its natural cilvirpnmcnt as the plants do in their environment. Tropical trees do not grow in a cold' climate. A child docs not make what he cannot. In the district school is the place to teach children agriculture. During that age-the child's habits arc formed. If agriculture is not taught there few will ever learn it, because only a small percent ever go to college. By the time a man goes to college his habits are formed. For this reason only a few ever get to the agricultural agricultur-al course at college. There is no subject, sub-ject, taught in the college or district school, so important as agriculture. It is the basis and foundation of all economic development. Agriculture is the driving wheel of commerce. Let a famine stop th great wheel and its importance will be felt. No t mine will run, because men cannot cat gold. Gold is used only as a K medium of exchange. The products ffi of exchange are produced mostly by M the agriculturists. No mill will run, K because agriculture: ftcds all inills. Mb In fact to stop this wheel would be H to stop every wheel of progress. To Bj make it run faster means to advance K tall others. The only way to make Bj it run faster is to teach the people mu scientific methods in agriculture, Thc . K only way to do this is to teach it in B the, (district schools.,, H |