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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1900)
' * " V' 'Cbe Conservative * SUNSET. White , snow white is the glittering ground Stretching afar in the prnirio hind ; The fierce winds sing o'er the hidden paths That wind whore the lonely woodbinds stand. Cold and grave is the mist of blue Shrouding the hills where they meet the sky ; Beneath the desolate orchard's brown , And bare woven boughs the shadows Ho , Slowly dawning a radiance breaks , Shining through dusk of the somber West Till dazzling sunbeams gather in throngs To follow the day's last hour to rest. Clouds that loitered with shadowing veil , Swept from the sun , draw their folds aside. As if a homo for the weary world Wc-re opened with all its portals wide , Outward , welcoming warm light falls , Gleaming like fireside flashings of gold , To call the desolate children of earth Away from the night-time gloom and cold. MAHY FIIENOII MOHTON. THK COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE. The Morrlll Act. In 1802 an act was passed by Congress , appropriating certain public lands to the various states , the revenue from which should be used as the act reads : "To the endowment of at' least one college where the leading object shall be , with out excluding other scientific and class ical studies , and including military tac tics , to teach such branches of learning pssl SVY L as are related to agriculture and the me chanic arts , in such manner as the legis latures of the state may respectively prescribe , in order to promote the lib eral and practical education of the in dustrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life. " The Agricultural College. In accord with the stipulations of this law , the legislature of Nebraska estab lished the Agricultural College as a part of our State University. The first course of study offered in the college was for the year 1874-75. The object of its establishment was , as expressed in the report of the board of regents : "To offer instruction in Agriculture intended to be both theoretical and practical. The theoretical part includes a careful study of those sciences upon which all correct agriculture must be based. The practical will be imparted by showing how the principles of science may be applied to the art of farming. The de sign is to train up a class of thoughtful , intelligent , observing farmers. " The Original Purpose. It is evident from the above that the college of agriculture was intended to be a training school for farmers ; to give young men from the farms an edu cation that should better qualify them for their vocation and after receiving these educational advantages they should return to the farms and make practical application of the science of bucolic in dustry as taught at the universitythere by giving to the community the benefit of their superior training. This being EffiS the original purpose of the school of ag riculture , have the results justified the early claims made for this character of education ? Was it in practice , as well as theory , a training school for farmers ? Number of Students. The following table will aid in determ ining the practical workings of the agri cultural college for the six years , begin ning in 1874 and ending in 1880 : For the earlier years of the college course , the attendance was fair , but for the later years it materially decreases , and except for the first two calendar years becomes entirely lacking in stu dents for the third and fourth college years. There are only two graduates for the entire six years , neither of whom became farmers. The remaining stu dents either drifted into other courses of study or dropped out of the college en tirely. Few Farmers. The per cent of those who afterward became farmers is so infinitesimal as to be difficult of calculation. It is still more difficult to calculate the per cent of those who were influenced to follow in the footsteps of Oiucinnatus because of their college training , thus fulfilling the destiny the college faculty outlined for them. Instead of "training up a class of thoughtful , intelligent observing farmers , " the school apparently educa ted them away from the farms , thereby accomplishing in fact the opposite of that intended in theory. A Change In Method. It was probably because of these dis appointing results that the course of study at the end of the period mentioned was changed. The agricultural college was grouped as a part of the industrial college which includes all scientific courses. From this time until 1895 , the university catalogue does not contain any record of a special classification of distinctly agricultural students. The course of study was of a general charac ter along scientific lines and did not re late directly to agriculture , but was in tended to impart knowledge of those sci ences upon which agriculture is based. The Result. The total number of students in all departments of the industrial college for this entire period was 509. No record is kept by the university of the occupation of students after leaving college. But from unofficial sources it has been ascer tained that the probable number of farmers manufactured did not exceed ten. Again it would appear that the school had failed of its purpose and did not result , as intended , in material ad vantage to the farmers of the state. It did not directly as was prophesied , give to the agricultural communities the benefit of scientific thought and prac tice. CHUHO of Failure. One of the most potent reasons for the ill-success of this line of education was that the physical conditions were un favorable. Our state was new. Laud was abundant. The soil was virgin and at the same time very prolific. The most wasteful and evtravagant methods were profitable. Intensive farming was unknown , because extensive operations brought larger returns. As scientific methods can be applied effectively only to intensive agriculture there was little opportunity or necessity for the applica tion of science. Hence , to give the farmer information along scientific lines was to give him knowledge he had little or no occasion of applying. The Ne braska farmer is a practical fellow. He wants that which he can use and does not want to but den himself with that he cannot use. Under changed condi tions , however , properly directed efforts might bring forth entirely different results. Too Scientific and Theoretical. Another factor was the character of the instruction offered. The course of study was too long and there was not the close relation between the instruc tion and the work the farmer must do. A thorough course in chemistry is a splendid acquisition to one's mental storehouse , but it is difficult for a farmer to associate the intricacies of abstract chemical science with the work he is doing on the farm. It is not an easy task for him to see how it will be of material advantage to him. A perusal of a catalogue , outlining an agricultural course of study of this character , will not arouse his interest or cause him to look with favor upon the proposition of sending his boy to that school to better equip him for an agricultural vocation. In order to arouse a responsive chord with the farmer it is necessary to show him how the methods taught at school will enable him to more profitably do a certain thing than the way he has been accustomed to do it. In other words , instruction that bears more directly upon the work the farmer is doing is what he stands most in need. The Model Farm Idea. Another mistake of these years and one common elsewhere , was the attempt to maintain a model farm operated on scientific lines for profit. The purpose was to show the farmers of the state just how a farm should be run to make money out of it. It resulted disastrous ly. It was of necessity so. The theor-
