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Show TB3 WOE= OF TBE BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRYr UlilTED STATES DEPb&TMENI OF A G m C U L m , IX IT8 RELITTON TO A~RICOLTURAL. INBTRUCTION m IMnAN scaoom. Susan B. Si normal sche&l, Washington, D. C.-The Indian question of the future is an agisgrioulturake. The pmblem will be how to teach him better methods of agidture, of stock raising, md the utilizin of the natural advant es which he possessea. You who teach in Indian schools shoJd get thoroughly in toux with the entire work of the Depment of Agriculture in order to utilize the rwults of its investigs,tions. .More espe-cis. y should you come in contact with the Bureau of Plant Industry. Its fields of inverr tigation oover the entire question a( crop growing and crop production, studies of h a s a s of crops and the remdvfor the same, the im mvemente of cmps by breeding new plants,etc. Efforts should be made in our educationsf system to bring early to the mind of the child the f ~ c twe h ich will be of value in emphasizing the im ortance and neoessit of agricultural work. There is no better wsy to do this than througg s. well-managed angwell-oonducted system of scbool+en tmining. More and more evident it is becoming, in all lines of ids work, thst publications ere not su5oient to arouse that interest in agricultural advance ment which the necessities of the ti- demand. An active demonstration of the superi-ority of certain crops and certain methods over others is always a striking object lesson. Realizing thst the progress of this work must necessarily be slow fmm the fact that public school teachers have no prsctical training in agrioulture and horticulture, the Bureau is urging the establishment of e l ement a~co urses in these lines in all normal sohools. No set rules can be made for the management of a school garden. It rests with you to iind what is valuable for your awn schml and adapt that to it. An active demonstration of school-g%rden work is in progress now on the grounds of the De artment of Agriculture. The students do the work. By aim le experiments that can be pe$omed in the class mom they are taken along elementary tries in the atudy of common soil, and thek wder-retentive power, the value of cultivation, the use of fertilizem, and methods of seed plant-ing. The cultivation of the habit of accuracy is one of the strong cl~imfso r gardening as an educational faotor. The whole garden has given material for practid arithmetic. Pupils have caloulated the part of an acre they are cultivating, what part of the whole garden each boy has, the cost of fertilking, the amount of fertilier needed to oover the entire area an inch deep, the cost of the fence, the cost of each bay's plat, and the cost to the Department of the entire experi-ment. After a heavy storm the rainfdl to the square inch was gotten fmm the d a i l ~pa per and oalouls,tiou mads of the amount thst fell on each boy's plat and how many times he would have carried the .?-gallon watering ot to put the same amount on. The garden has also been eorrelsted with the English wo$in composition and letter writing. Throughout the country the agricultural movement is widespread. Courses of study are b e y adjusted so that studies formerly theoretical may now he practical in the gardam. At t e Hyamis N6rmal School, hlassschusetts, muoh practical mthmetic is derived from the work. The produoe is sold and the money deposited in bank. AU expenses are paid by oheck, the pupils learning hanking methods firsthand. Business letters me written to seed firm for catalogues and for seed. Drawing, manual trainin , histov, geography, spelling, and reading are wnnected withthe garden wherever possib7e. A noted educator has ssid: "Not trees, shrubs, rasses, and herhs alone do we offer the children in a school gmden, but the loved nature jabor, and home." HOW TO TEACH INDI-UI CHnDREN TO SPEU TH& ENGLISH LANGUAGE. H. J. Hancock, principal teacher, Pawnee Indian School, Okl&oma.-Everyone who has reared ohildrenhows thst they lesrn to spesk a language as they hear it spoken. In teach-ing little Indian people, sssooiats names with the objects represented. Stories told and retold fix themselves in the mind and may be repeated from memory over and over agsin. Catchy little songs are never-failing soureesof pleasure a d in terest, and conversations about fmniliss topics a d the children to acquire unoonseiously an easy use of elementq English. While the ohildren grasp with some readiness the use of the easier forms of our l&nguage, the early rate of progress does not hold when they are alder and are brought to face the real wmplexities of speech. Fesr of ridicule appesrs to he even more stron with the older Indian children than with the whites of l i e age, and is much more droadef than the tesch-er's sharp, re roving tongue. Cl~~9-mowmor k should he designed to lead them largely to verbal as wely as written expression of their thoughts. In spite of the many dSiculties to he overcome, success may &ally be obtained by con-tinued and persistent W, both spoken and written. The teacher will &d many usehl helps from the devices used by other teachers of e erimce in accamplishi the required result, namely, t e a c h i the Indisq child to speak xglish. Rev. Father Mrartln Kenel, superintendent, Agricultural Boarding School, Standing Rack &en~c N. Dak.-Everg human being naturslly ohge to the mother tongue. If, there fore, t e Indian child shall be taught another tongue it is important ththat the heart of the |