public school system con trolled by a State board of education; the de nominational schools and colleges, the private preparatory schools and the several city sys tems constitute the means of education. Edu cational upbnilding has been mariced since 1873 which is the time of the beginning of the three chief agencies vvithin the State: namely: (1) The system of public schools, inaugurated by the State legislature; (2) The establishment of George Peabody College for Teachers by the Peabody Board of Trust, and (3) The founding of Vanderbilt University. The general growth of education has been from the eastern bound ary of the State toward the west. Of the three grand divisions—East, Middle, West — East Tennessee has had the highest and most general development, while Middle Tennessee is second and West Tennessee the lowest.
Public Schools-.—The University of Tennes see is the head of the public school system with all departments located at Knoxville, except the medical and dental colleges which are at Memphis. The department of agriculture main tains, jointly with the United States Depart ment of Agriculture and the State department of agriculture, an extension division which takes to every county experts of every kind needed for farm development. Farm demon stration agents are employed in the counties receiving this service. Support is received from the Morrill Act Fund of 1890; the Nelson Fund, Act of 1907; the Land Grant Fund, Act of 1862; the Hatch Fund, Act of 1887; the Adams Fund, Act of 1906, and from the appro priations of the State legislature—aggregating an annual expenditure of from $350,000 to $400,000. An attendance of 1,000 students is maintained beyond that of the Summer School of the South which annually registers 1,500 at tendance. Control of the university is centered in a board of trustees appointed by the gover nor, one from each Congressional district of the State.
The State board of education has under its direction the normal schools, the high schools and elementary schools through the officers of instruction. This board is appointed by the governor and consists of nine members, with the stipulation that not more than three mem bers shall be from any one grand division of the State. The offices filled by the board are: The State superintendent of public instruction, State high school inspector, presidents of the normal schools, teachers of the normal schools, supervisors of elementary schools, conductors of teachers' institutes and the examiners of teachers' examination papers. Other duties of the board are: Examine teachers under a uniform State law; examine applicants for the position of county superintendent of schools; apportion the school fund as outlined by law; adopt schoolbooks,.both elementary and high
school; outline all courses of study; certificate all teachers, county superintendents and gradu ates of the elementary and high schools, and to issue such regulations as may be needed under legal provisions in the general super vision of the public school system.
The school fund is derived from county levies, which vary in amount, and are collected bv the county trustees. However, one and one half mills on the dollar of assessed property are mandatory for all counties through a State enactment. Also, the general education fund established in 1909 provides that 33 per cent of the gross revenues of the State be expended for school purposes, same to be divided as fol lows: 61 per cent for elementary schools ap portioned to the counties on a per capita basis; 10 per cent for county supervisions, consoli dated schools, industrial work, salaries of county superintendents; 6 per cent to county high schools; 2 per cent to the Cookeville Poly technic Institute; 1 per cent to school libraries; 13 per cent to normal schools; 7 per cent to the State University. A poll tax of $2 sup plements this fund. The aggregate fund is approximately $8,000,000— apportioned by the State Board of Education to a school popu1ation of 780,000 with 12,000 teachers whose average salary is 450 per month for a term of 130 days. Four normal schools are maintained, one of which is for negroes —with an annual total enrolment of 2,500. Seventy-one counties of 96 have county high schools with an enrolment of 12,500.
The Roman Catholic Church maintains 25 parochial schools, with 4,170 pupils, one college for boys with 350 students, five academies for girls with 619 pupils, two orphan asylums with 325 orphans, making a total of 5,464 young ple now under Catholic care out of a Catholic population of 19,000.
Private Schools.— The famous Webb School at Bellbuckle is the pioneer of college prepara tory schools in the territory southwest of the river Ohio. Others of the same type whose special purpose is to train boys for college are Branham and Hughes School at Spring Hill; Morgan School at Fayetteville; Hawkins School, Gallatin; Castle Heights, Lebanon; Battle Ground Academy, Franklin; McTyeire School, McKenzie; McFerrin School, Martin; Massey School, Pulaski; Peoples-Tucker School, Springfield; Montgomery Bell Acad emy, kashville; Duncan School, Nashville; Bowen School, Nashville; Wallace School, Nashville; Baylor School, Chattanooga; Mc Callie School, Chattanooga; Columbia Military Academy; •University School, Memphis; Se wanee Military Academy; Industrial School, Huntingdon.