the question of setting up a system homogeneous and cohérent enough to give a distinct impulse and a definite direction to the development not only of the natural resources of the country but of the natural aptitudes of its people as a whole, and yet remain sufficiently elastic to suit the special

needs and circumstances of different districts. Curiously enough I find that the amount of the Irish Department's endowment appropriated to agricultural education and development during the year 1902-3 was £88,000-practically the same as the "drink money" allocated to local authorities for the same purpose in England. It is for competent English authorities to decide whether so large a sum would not be better utilised if it were administered by a responsible central department, always provided this latter had associated with it a council or board representative of the agricultural community, which would assist in laying down the general lines of policy to be pursued for the whole country.

enjoy similar educational advantages. We have realised that success in farming demands extensive scientific knowledge quite as much as thorough practical training, and the de1888 has been remarkable. velopment in the facilities for instruction since In that year,

it will be remembered, the Government, acting upon the recommendations of Sir. Richard Paget's Departmental Committee, first adopted the policy of giving direct aid to agricultural and dairy schools by specific annual grants. These have slowly but steadily risen from £2,610 in 1889, to £9,764 6s. 1d., including the special grants for experiment and research, for the year 1902-1903. Such a sum appears insignificant when compared with the vast State expenditure upon agricultural education in the United States, Canada, France, Wurtemberg, and Denmark, but it does not include the cost incurred by the Board of Agriculture in the necessary inspection of the institutions aided, nor does it take any account of what is expended by local authorities out of the Residue Grant under the Local Taxation (Customs and Excise) Act, 1890. From this source no less than £88,212 were devoted to various forms of agricultural instruction for the year 1901-1902, as appears from the Returns published by the Board of Agriculture. The following valuable comparative summary of the Returns was prepared by Mr. Oldman, Secretary to the National Associaton for the Promotion of Technical and Secondary Education, and published in the Record* :—

This represents a total outlay by the Government and by local authorities of nearly £100,000 per annum, an amount of which agriculturists have no reason to complain. But two questions immediately suggest themselves. First, can we rely upon a similar expenditure in future? At the date to which the above figures refer, the Education Act of 1902 was not in operation. The appropriation of the "whiskey" money was then restricted to technical instruction. It is now definitely allocated to all branches of higher education, and education committees are called upon to provide out of it, together with a two-penny rate, and in some localities an additional penny, for the maintenance of secondary schools of all types, new secondary schools, university and higher technical training, technical (including agricultural and technological) instruction, scholarships and exhibitions, and the training of teachers. It is obvious that the funds at the disposal of county councils, even when the maximum rate is levied, which it will be extremely difficult to levy in rural districts, are wholly inadequate to the satisfaction of all these obligations, and the interests of agriculture may suffer. Although agricultural education committees have been formed in most counties, it is none the less incumbent upon agriculturists generally to urge their claims, if they are not to be stifled by other equally pressing demands. At the same time the changes effected by the Act of 1902 afford good ground for appealing to the Government, that the Board of Agriculture be entrusted with larger funds for educational purposes.

Secondly, has the money hitherto been expended to the best advantage? Are the results commensurate with the cost? Have the various colleges, schools and classes, succeeded in attracting pupils identified with the land, and likely to be engaged in agricultural pursuits? Have the prejudices of the farmer and his love of routine been overcome? Does the agriculture of the country show appreciable improvement after the efforts of the past fifteen years? That there are peculiar difficulties incidental to agricultural education in every country, I am fully aware, but it is futile to ignore these questions. Upon the answer to them must mainly depend the continuance of local aid on the same scafe as heretofore, and the justification for an appeal for increased assistance from the State. No general answer can, of course, be given: the conditions vary too widely. But we have sufficient data upon which to form a fairly accurate opinion. Where

there has been failure, it does not, by one iota, diminish the value of agricultural education in itself, it rather indicates defective method.

What, then, is the present situation? Every foreigner, visiting England, is at once struck by the absence of anything in the nature of a system. We rightly pride ourselves upon our jealousy of State interference and our preference for private initiative, but there is a point at which this disinclination to accept State guidance becomes a positive evil. To-day, while some counties have elaborated excellent schemes with carefully graduated courses of instruction from the primary school to the most advanced college, in others, large districts, frequently those in which the art of farming has sunk to the lowest ebb, are devoid of any systematic instruction. Spasmodic and ineffectual lectures may occasionally be given, but often the only person to derive any tangible benefit from them is the person paid for delivering them. In fact, it would not be easy to exaggerate the harm done in the past by sending, as pioneers, men with no knowledge of farming beyond that of a text-book, and speaking a language unintelligible to labourers. It will probably take a generation to eradicate the impression thus created, and to win the confidence of village people. Warned by our injudicious employment of itinerant instructors, the Irish Department have resolutely set their face against sanctioning attempts at this branch of agricultural education, until the trained and properly qualified teacher is available. In the words of their last Report, "not only is serious mischief done by bad teaching to those who are subjected to it, but in the districts where it is practised it ends by discrediting and setting back the cause of agricultural education for many years."

THE AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
COMMITTEE.

With the view of introducing some uniformity, and placing unrelated effort upon a more systematic basis, the Agricultural Education. Committee in October, 1901, passed the following resolutions:

1. That, if the Board of Agriculture retain their present educational work, it is essential that there shall be complete co-operation between that Board and the Board of Education on all educational matters specially affecting the agricultural classes.

2. That for purposes of agricultural education the country should be divided into districts, and such inspectors appointed as may be necessary.

3. That groups of counties, not yet affiliated to any

collegiate centre, should be formed, each group being affiliated to some centre.

4. That, after due inquiry, reports should be issued dealing with the most appropriate forms of agricultural education for each county.

5. That permanent Demonstration Stations should be organised in each county or group of counties.

6. That official information bearing upon all matters of agricultural interest, whether agricultural or otherwise, should be distributed to the public free of cost. 7. That to carry out the above objects it is essential that larger funds be placed at the disposal of the Board of Agriculture for agricultural purposes.

8. That the work of the Board of Agriculture might be facilitated by the appointment of a consultative committee on the analogy of those of the Board of Education and of the Department of Agriculture in Ireland.

With this policy, which approximates closely to that obtaining in Ireland and France, the late Mr. Hanbury expressed his general agreement. Effect has been partially given to some of the suggestions, but much remains to be done. No friction or conflict of opinion appears to have arisen between the Boards of Education and Agriculture, and they have loyally co-operated to promote agricultural welfare. It is, however, still urged in influential quarters that the educational functions of the latter should be transferred to the former, as provided by the Board of Education Act, 1899. That a single central authority should be alone responsible for all matters relating to education appears natural, but it is doubtful whether the transfer of duties would operate to the benefit of agriculture. The Board of Education is not popular with the farmer, and proposals emanating from it would always be regarded with suspicion. To create what one may term an adequate agricultural atmosphere within its walls would be a long and tedious process. Litttle fault can be found with the educational work of the Board of Agriculture, so far as the small funds of which it disposes admit, and there is no reason why this work should not be extended so as to meet all the requirements of the case. The fact that the Act of 1902 refers to the Board of Education as the body to be consulted by local authorities in regard to the supply of education of every type presents no obstacle, for it is improbable that that Board would reject any scheme approved by the Board of Agriculture. Their respective duties would in time become clearly defined and recognised. Elsewhere no difficulty has been experienced from having a dual authority. In France, for instance, the Ministries of Agriculture and Public

Instruction have joint charge of the agricultural education of the country. Such agricultural or horticultural instruction as is given in primary and higher primary schools and in the normal (training) schools falls within the sphere of the latter authority, all beyond it within that of the former. The departmental professors of agriculture, whose duties are the general instruction of adults in the service of the Ministry of Agriculture, and teaching in the normal schools, in the service of the Ministry of Public Instruction, receive half their salary from the one ministry, and half from the other. The arrangement works with perfect smoothness.

The inspectorate has been increased, but, if the Board is to be kept in complete touch with local activity, additional inspectors are still needed, and they should be definitely assigned to particular areas.

The tendency of counties to group themselves in affiliation to some collegiate centre, has developed, and steps in this direction have been taken in the south-west of England. Some few counties, however, have no organic connection with any institution for higher education.

Although the advice of the Board has been sought to an increasing extent, it does not appear that the Board has suo motu reported upon, or suggested schemes of instruction appropriate to, the varying circumstances of different counties. Were this work seriously undertaken, it could hardly fail to be of considerable service. There would be no obligation upon any local authority to adopt the suggested scheme, but it would at least afford a definite proposal for discussion. Official experts, familiar with the agricultural characteristics and educational developments of each county, might reasonably be expected to devise a more practicable and effective scheme than those whose experience must necessarily be less extensive.

In Ireland, as early as possible in summer, the Department prepares in outline, a number of schemes which are likely to prove of advantage to the whole country. These schemes are then submitted to the Agricultural Board, and, if this body approve of them and concur in the application thereto of the necessary funds, the schemes are forthwith sent to each of the thirty-three county committees. The committee meet as early as possible in autumn, and, with the assistance of an inspector of the Department, select the schemes which are most appropriate to their county, and arrange details to suit local needs. The schemes, with

an estimate of their cost, are then returned to the department, whose approval is accompanied by a statement of the proportion of the cost which they are prepared to contribute. In the non-congested districts this proportion has hitherto been one half, and in districts partially congested, five-ninths.*

The question of demonstration plots has been actively taken up by the Agricultural Education Association, and their development is only a matter of time. It has become realised that the multiplication of plots for experiment and research, unless with some very special purpose, is a mistake. In Rothamsted, the country has an institution with unique facilities for long-continued research upon identical lines, which is the essential condition for scientific and reliable experiment. What the individual counties need, are fields or plots to illustrate and explain the results of protracted investigation. But, if Rothamsted is to develop its national work in the future, and continue to be the leader of the highest agricultural research, it must receive some national assistance. Being essentially nonlocal, it cannot be aided by any county councils. It supplies the material, however, of the instruction given by every agricultural teacher in the United Kingdom, and apparently its own resources must be supplemented by the State, if they are to be adequate to the increasing demands upon them.

Valuable though the literature issued by the Board is, it is too limited in quantity, and has not yet been made sufficiently accessible. Comparatively few people, whose interest ought to be aroused, care to apply to the Board for it, and the channels through which it is usually distributed, are very circumscribed in their operations. Attractive and popular leaflets upon all phases of agriculture and horticulture should be supplied to every cultivator. If the lethargy of the farmer is to be dissipated, the Board must go to him: he will not go to the Board. The highest importance is attached, by the department at Washington, to its publications, and it is the custom to supply each senator and representative in Congress, with several thousand copies of the farmers bulletins, for distribution among his constituents.

The educational funds disposed of by the Board in 1902-1903 were £995 19s. 3d. in excess of those of the previous year, and grants were made for the first time to the

"Third Annual Report of the Department of Agricul ture, and Technical Instruction for Ireland, 1904," p. 15.

Harper - Adams Agricultural College, the Cheshire Agricultural and Horticultural School at Holmes Chapel, the East Sussex Agricultural College at Uckfield, the Harris Institute at Preston, and the Cumberland-Westmoreland Farm School, as well as to the Somerset County Experimental Farm at Bickenhall. This is satisfactory so far as it goes, but the funds are miserably inadequate. The Board should have enough to treat all counties upon terms of equality or it should have no funds for educational purposes. It is unfair that one district should be in receipt of financial aid which is denied to another. It has to be recognised that with the exception of such private institutions, as the Cirencester and Downton Colleges with their high fees, no college under existing circumstances can be self-supporting. It must depend upon large imperial or local subsidies. The Wye College, for instance, requires £1,000 a year for its ordinary work and some £80 a year for its experiments from the Board in addition to what it receives from the county councils of Kent and Surrey. If those counties which have no college for advanced instruction and are not affiliated to any collegiate contre, are to be put on a level with the rest of the country, the Board must be more generously treated by the Exchequer, for it is improbable that the counties concerned can find the necessary money in view of the enormous demands upon them. Speaking, too, as one of the governing body of Swanley, I feel very strongly that horticultural colleges for women have a right to some assistance from the Board, provided they submit to inspection and satisfy the Board's requirements.

On many grounds it is to be regretted that the suggestion for the appointment of a consultative committee was not adopted. The Board of Education has received conspicuous help from its consultative committee. The Irish department is strengthèned in the task of organisation by its consultative committee of five members, its Agricultural Board of twelve members, and its council of 104 members. These various bodies represent by direct appointment or nomination every agricultural interest in the island, and constitute an invaluable link between the central and the local authorities. The official mind is thus kept in constant touch with the best lay opinion. Similarly in France and Holland, the advisory councils form an integral part of their systems of agricultural education. Isolated correspondents, whatever their personal

qualifications, can never occupy the same position, and they have not the advantage of meeting the elected representatives of other districts in frequent consultation.

THE PRIMARY SCHOOL.

In regard to the future, we must concentrate our efforts upon the "rising generation," and we must begin with the elementary schoolthat is the foundation upon which the whole superstructure has to be built. No one proposes to attempt to teach the art of farming there, even if it were possible, which it is not, nor does anyone propose to lower the standard of instruction. We cannot insist too strongly upon the necessity of giving the labourer or the farmer as wide and as thorough a grounding in general knowledge, as his school days, whatever their length, admit of. Such knowledge is the essential antecedent to all successful technical instruction, whether it relates to the farm, the garden, the workshop, the factory, or the counting-house. In his last report upon the dairying classes in Wiltshire, Professor Lloyd remarked that, "judging from the writing, spelling, and form of expression of the pupils, they have not been of so high a standing in general knowledge, as were the pupils in past years. Greatly as I value technical education, I doubt whether it is of any use to those who do not possess a proper foundation of elementary education, and this has seemed to me to be lacking in many of the pupils of the Dairy School." I notice, too, that in the examination last June for three scholarships at the Dauntsey Agricultural School, an excellent institution, of the four candidates who competed two obtained 56 and 32 marks only, out of a maximum of 350. This points to some radical defect in their previous education, and we cannot be too careful lest, in our efforts to make the instruction more practical, we actually deprive the child of the means of profiting by the later instruction which we are so anxious for him to obtain. Dissatisfaction with a purely bookish curriculum must not cause us to rush into the opposite extreme. Its unreality has been hitherto the great blemish in the education of the village school, it has been a thing apart from the daily life of the children, and has aimed solely at the requirements of the town. What we have to do is to make rural interests the basis of all the instruction, to foster the child's natural inclination to learn about his surroundings, and inspire him with some love for the country. In this way his mind will be less

directed towards urban pursuits, and the cultivation of the land will be regarded with very different feelings. To attain this end, nature-study in the widest sense, taught informally and not as a text-book subject, every form of hand and eye training and cottagegardening are the most effective instruments. Personally I would utilise cottage-gardening, so far as the elementary school is concerned, to supplement the class lessons by illustrating as great a variety of plant life as possible, and not to teach the art of cultivating flowers or vegetables. Its function should in my opinion be purely educational: horticulture in its technical aspect is appropriate to the evening but not to the day school. It is a matter, however, upon which there is not general agreement. The expense of procuring land, tools, and proper equipment within the school is an obstacle to any universal realisation of the ideal curriculum, but this difficulty will disappear, if the Bill, introduced by Mr. Jesse Collings, becomes law, for it provides that 75 per cent. or 50 per cent. of the cost, as the case may be, shall be defrayed by the Board of Education.

In all that relates to rural primary education the outlook is full of promise. Every effort is being made by the Board of Education and the local authorities to improve the schools upon lines acceptable to agriculturists, and we have already several, which are unsupassed in any country. In 1901 Professor Robertson, Commissioner of Agriculture for Canada, when engaged in organising Sir William Macdonald's scheme for rural education in the Dominion, visited England and after inspecting one of the schools, to which I referred him, wrote that he had seen nothing equal to it elsewhere in Europe or the United States. About a year ago the Director of Education in India was in correspondence with me upon the work of his department, and last autumn one of the Indian inspectors was specially commissioned to study our methods with a view to their imitation. The first report upon rural schools in the Central Provinces of India has just been published. I mention these facts because of the unjust habit of decrying the village school upon every possible occasion. It would be invidious to name individual schools, but I may state that the Bunbury School at Tarporley, Cheshire, is the one, which impressed Professor Robertson so much. Its excellence is due to the liberality and personal interest of the late Miss Eleanor Ormerod. Schools which might serve as models for education