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Show 134 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. fiahle pride in knowing how to make and mend their clothing, cook palatable and economical meals, keep their surroundings in sanitary condition, and not to spend all their income. . In some sections the demand of white families for Indian girls who have had domestic training in the schools is far in excess of the supply, and in almost every instance they are reported as rendering excellent service. The facilities and equipment for domestic instruc-tion in many of the schools, especially the reservation schools, are inadequate, and the importance of this branch of the girls' training demands the employment of more instructors who can devote their entire time to the work. AGRICULTURE. In 1907 the Indians of the United States cultivated 227,265 acres of land, and as sooner or later the cultivation of their allotments, care of cattle and farm animals, and a knowledge of kindred pastoral pursuits will determine the prosperity or poverty of many Indian people, modern methods of agriculture are taught wherever prac-ticable in government schools. The pup& learn the adaptab'ility,of certain classes of soil to different crops, the necessity for and when to irrigate, properties and uses of fertilizers, methods of soil treat-ment in preparation for the seed, the necessary steps to he taken in . pawing and harvesting the crops, and what system of crop rota-tion to follow to avoid soil exhaustion. We have urged class-room teachers to keep abreast of the times, and as the women will perform a large share of the work of raising ve etables for home consump-tion, to include gardening as a part 'ko the school curriculum for both boys and girls. The subject is taught in many of the public schools throughout the country, being compulsory in many of the States, and training of this character would seem even more impor-tant for Indians .as their support in many localities will depend largely on their aL1lity to cultivate their allotments or work on farms. School employees have been re uested to impress upon the Indians the necessity of keeping cows, an 1 for more extensive use of milk and butter. J. J. Duncan, day school inspector, Pine Ridge Reservation, S. Dak., says that the reports of visits to Indian homes show that only one cow is milked for every ten persons, and "for lack of milk sometimes babies are fed black, boiled coffee, and if every home on the reservation milked one or two cows there would he less tuhercu-losis." NATIVE INDUSTRIES. Each tribe excels in some branch of the numerous Indian arts and crafts, the Navahos in blanket weaving, the Pueblos in pottery, the Cheyenne and Sioux in their bead and leather work, etc., and, as you have directed, we have made special efforts during the past year to have the teachers revive and perpetuate them through instruction given to school children. The exhibit made at the Cleveland Insti-tute, of blankets, pottery, headwork, drawn work, lace, drawings and paintings of o r i ~ n aaln d characteristic native color schemes and de-signs, exemplified the effort made to develop the natural artistic genius of Indian children. This exhibit unmistakably evidenced the gr,eat good you are accomplishing in encouraging the native indus-tries, and each year shows greater progress, as superintendents he-come more interested and more native teachers are employed. |