OUTDOOR WORK FOR GIRLS
In making a study of this subject it became evident that the climate of every Southern State was peculiarly adapted to out-of-door work for women. A little later I had the opportunity of going to Europe and visiting the agricultural college for women at Swanley, England. There I found about forty women from some of the best families of Great Britain. Many of these women were graduates of high schools and colleges. In the morning I saw them in the laboratory and class room studying botany and chemistry and mathematics as applied to agriculture and horticulture. In the afternoon these same women were clad in suitable garments and at work in the field with the hoe or rake, planting vegetable seeds, pruning fruit trees or learning to raise poultry and bees and how to care for the dairy. After I had seen this work and had made a close study of it, I saw all the more clearly what should be done for the coloured girls of the South where there was so large an unemployed proportion of the population. I reasoned that if this kind of hand-training is necessary for a people who have back of them the centuries of English wealth and culture, it is tenfold more needful for a people who are in the condition of my race at the South.
I came home determined to begin the training of a portion of our women at Tuskegee in the outdoor industries. Mrs. Washington, who had made a careful study of the work in England, took charge of the outdoor work at Tuskegee. At first the girls were very timid. They felt ashamed to have any one see them at work in the garden or orchard. The young men and some of the women were inclined to ridicule those who were bold enough to lead off. Not a few became discouraged and stopped. There is nothing harder to overcome than an unreasonable prejudice against an occupation or a race. The more unreasonable it is, the harder it is to conquer. Mrs. Washington made a careful study of the girls and discovered the social leaders of a certain group. With this knowledge in hand she called the leaders together and had several conferences with them and explained in detail just what was desired and what the plans were. These leaders decided that they would be the pioneers in the outdoor work.
Beginning in a very modest way with a few girls, the outdoor work has grown from year to year, until it is now a recognised part of the work of the school, and the idea that this kind of labour is degrading has almost disappeared. In order to give, if possible, a more practical idea of just what is taught the girls, I give the entire course of study. In reading this it should be borne in mind that the theory is not only given, but in each case the girls have the training in actual work. Since the school year opens in the fall, the work naturally begins with the industries relating to the fall and winter. The course of study is:
First Year.—Fall Term.—Dairying.—The home dairy is first taken up, and a detailed knowledge of the following facts taught: Kinds, use and care of utensils, gravity, creaming. A study of stone, wooden, and tin churns, ripening of cream, churning, working and salting butter, preparation and marketing of same. Feeding and care of dairy cows.
Poultry Raising.—A working knowledge is required of the economic value of poultry on the farm, pure and mixed breeds, plain poultry-house construction, making of yards, nests, and runs.
Horticulture.—Instruction is given as to the importance of an orchard and small fruits, varieties best suited, particular locality, selection and preparation of ground, setting, trimming, extermination of borers, lice, etc., special stress being laid upon the quality and quantity of peaches, pears, apples, plums, figs, grapes, and strawberries that should be planted in a home orchard.