Extension Teaching In Horticulture
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Read about Extension Teaching In Horticulture in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Extension Teaching In Horticulture. Extension work is the effort made by an institution of higher learning to carry outside its own walls and directly to the people, any form of helpful educational influence. A state university, or institution that derives financial support from the state, may legitimately be called upon to give instruction to the people who cannot attend its courses, if means are provided for the performance of this office. Such an institution no longer fulfils its complete function when it confines itself to teaching students who come to it and to the investigation of problems within its laboratories. A strong college of arts and science, necessarily the center of the great university of today, may extend its educational ideals and its higher educational functions to the people of the state as well as to the students who reside within it. The professional schools of law, medicine, education, engineering, journalism, agriculture and others (articulated with the college of arts and science, to make up the university) are each investigating the problems of their respective fields and gathering information that may be carried to the people of the state, through organized extension work. More and more the people are coming to depend upon this information as a basis for better enactment, better municipal functions, better sanitation, better regulations as to health, better civic improvement of all phases, and last, but not least, better agriculture, better roads, and a higher plane of country life. Extension work in horticulture is that phase of organized extension activity that has to do with better production, better handling and better marketing of horticultural products and the higher efforts of living to which this work contributes. Horticultural extension is conducted by means of private letters, lectures, publications, correspondence courses, demonstration schools, demonstration experiments, and the like. Private correspondence.—Every fruit-grower, gardener, florist or other horticultural worker may encounter special problems upon which he needs individual advice. The horticultural department in any of our leading colleges of agriculture is called upon to answer thousands of letters of inquiry every year. Each of these inquiries is referred to the member of the horticultural staff best qualified to handle it. Many of these inquiries entail special letters. Some of them may be more fully answered by sending circulars or bulletins. Publications.—Departments of horticulture disseminate much information through bulletins, circulars of information and press notices. These bulletins are the published results of the investigation of special problems by the members of the horticultural staff. Circulars of information are more popular treatises of horticultural subjects of interest in the state, and pertaining to which the department has gathered information of interest. Press notices are usually timely topics or seasonal advice furnished the press of the state to publish at the opportune time for their readers. If an insect or disease appears suddenly and promises to become widespread, due to unusual conditions, it often may be checked by prompt action. Unusual weather conditions may sometimes call for unusual methods of management of plants or of crops. The publication may take the form of an organized reading-course effort without assuming to construct and conduct correspondence courses. Extension lectures.—Hundreds of lectures on horticultural topics are given by members of the horticultural staff, at schools, teachers' meetings, civic improvement societies, commercial club meetings, nurserymen's conventions, canners' associations, fruit- growers' organizations, florists' clubs, and other gatherings. In this way something of the work of the Department may be carried to every organized body in the state which is interested in a phase of horticulture. Surveys.—That the department of horticulture may be of special service to a horticultural center, or special horticultural industry, a careful survey of the horticultural conditions as they exist may be desirable. Such a survey may determine what varieties are proving most profitable, which of the prevailing methods of management are yielding the most satisfactory results, what are the difficult problems that need investigation and what are the reasons for successes or failures. The average result may throw much light upon what is already proving best in the neighborhood. A question that is vexing the average grower may have been answered by the work of the best growers, whose results show the answer to the question. As an example of the plan and possibilities of such surveys may be mentioned the orchard survey of some of the leading apple-growing counties of New York. A measure of the commercial value of spraying is secured by statistical results from sprayed and unsprayed orchards. The commercial value of orchard tillage as compared with orchards growing in sod is shown by the returns from each class of orchard. The best methods of greenhouse construction and management for particular crops may be determined and explained in the same way. Extension schools.—In many states, extension schools of horticulture are held for the purpose of carrying special horticultural instruction to a neighborhood. Such schools often consist of lectures and demonstrations in a subject of immediate interest. For example, just previous to harvesting a fruit crop a school in fruit-packing may be held. The methods and advantages of proper packing are presented by means of lectures. This is followed by practical laboratory periods in which those in attendance learn to do the work of proper packing. In a similar way, pruning, spraying and other phases of fruit-production are being taught in brief periods of one or two days or a week, the time varying with the needs of the community and the character of the subject taught; or situations with vegetable-growers and florists may be met. Correspondence courses.—Some schools teach courses in horticulture by correspondence. Certain subjects are capable of being taught in this way. Outlines for the lessons are mailed to the student. Prescribed reading is required and directions for observations and original work and study of plants are formulated. Examinations usually consist of written reports made by the student, embodying a statement of the results secured by him. These reports usually show whether or not the student has grasped the subject and wherein he may need further suggestions and study. Boys' and girls' clubs.—A movement that is destined to have a very profound influence is the organization of boys' and girls' clubs for the study of subjects relating to horticulture. Often this club work takes the form of contests in gardening or in the production of some special garden crop, such as tomatoes. Organization is best effected through cooperation with the schools or somebody that can direct the work of each local club. Printed sheets are mailed the club members, from time to time, giving instruction in the details of the work and the conditions governing the contest. Prizes are usually awarded at the local contests and sometimes the prize-winners compete in a state contest. Cooperative demonstrations and experiments.—A very efficient means of promoting the productive growth of any horticultural interest is by means of cooperative demonstrations conducted on the grounds of some energetic grower, whose conditions fairly represent the neighborhood. The ground may be leased by the institution or offered by the local grower. Experiments are carefully outlined to test some problem of interest, such as spraying, comparison of methods of pruning or of cultivation or planting, the use of fertilizers, determination of the merits of particular flowers or vegetables, or other question which the community needs to have worked out. A representative of the horticultural staff visits the grounds as often as is necessary to oversee proper conduct of the work and to record the results of the experiment. Whenever results are secured that are of benefit to the growers, a meeting is held for the purpose of explaining and observing these results and demonstrating the methods for the benefit of those who may profit by adopting them. This form of extension affords the means not only of presenting to the grower facts and methods already known, but it also works new problems out for the neighborhood by securing results that are adapted to their special local requirement. It makes the work convincing; the growers themselves have a hand in it and feel that it is their own; they grow into an understanding of it as the work grows; it gives a new pride and a new power in working for superior methods. While this is perhaps the most productive form of extension work, its scope is, of course, necessarily limited by the fact that working force and funds are not available for handling more than a limited number of the pressing problems in a state at one time. General considerations.—Incidentally there are other ways by which extension work may be accomplished. Enough already has been accomplished to show that organized extension work has a large and increasing influence upon the horticulture of a state. Like any other great movement in behalf of human progress, the measure of success of extension work in horticulture depends largely on in proper organization. It offers a multitude of opportunities for work that the world needs to have done. As indicated above, the work is approached in numerous ways. Unless properly organized there is danger of scattered effort, duplication, and failure to follow up results so as to give stability and permanence. It should be a factor in the organized extension work of the entire institution of which it is a part. The question then arises as to whether the work should be undertaken by a separate corps of workers, especially trained for the purpose, and acting under the direction of an extension department head, or whether, since it relates to a special professional field, it should be carried by the officers of the department of horticulture in the college and experiment station. To the writer, the latter seems to be the more rational arrangement. It is no doubt true that if a corps of men do extension work exclusively, with no definitely organized relation to college teaching and experiment station investigation, there will be a tendency to lose touch with higher educational ideals and failure to take to the people the stimulus of productive investigation and the last word in scientific advancement. Undoubtedly there is a tendency, especially on the part of younger men who have the faculty of appealing to the popular audience, to become satisfied with the plaudits of the multitude, and to strive only to enthuse and amuse, unless they are closely connected with college and station work. While one function of extension work may be to inspire and exhort, the day has passed when that alone is sufficient. The commercial horticulturist has reached a plane of development when he needs definite helpful instruction. Attractive letters and lectures are no longer sufficient. He needs, in addition, so far as it is possible to supply it, definite demonstrations of how to do his work according to the most approved methods. The men most closely in touch with strong college teaching and station investigation should be the best fitted to supply this need. Furthermore, the college teacher or investigator equally needs intimate contact with the commercial grower and his problems. His problems are the problems of the teacher and the investigator. The above conclusions do not dispute the fact that an individual may have especial talent and taste for extension work and lack the plodding patience to make a strong investigator. He may largely devote his time to extension if only the organization keeps him closely linked with college and station men. On the other hand, a productive investigator may not best succeed as a popular lecturer and may give most of his time to investigation. His help may be indispensable in solving some of the difficult problems that arise in the field of extension. The organization of the individuals doing college and station work, ought to afford that union of relationship that will enable the director of extension to call the department of horticulture to his aid. The organization within the department should be best able to supply this need by calling upon the individual best fitted to meet the specific demand. J. C. Whitten.
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
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