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The Ottawa Naturalist [April 



industry, in making for increased profits, and more comfortable 

 living. To this end many agencies have been in operation during 

 the last ten years. First and foremost of these agencies is the 

 Ontario Agricultural College. The speaker here referred at 

 len<yth to the great work this institution was doing not only for 

 the^'farmers' boys and girls, but also for the farmers themselves 

 through the Experimental Union, the Special Short Courses, 

 The Farmers' Institutes, and the other allied associations aided 

 by the Government of Ontario and the Department of Agri- 

 culture at Ottawa. 



The second agency, the speaker said, was the wonderful 

 series of object-lessons carried out by Dr. Jas. W. Robertson, as 

 Commissioner of Agriculture for Canada. These were illustra- 

 tion experiments on a large scale to show the value of the appli- 

 cation of intelligent labour (education) to the agricultural indus- 

 tries. Dr. Robertson's policy in all his efforts to make the farms 

 more productive was simply to break the way for new and vast 

 interests, and then to withdraw in favour of the spirit of self- 

 help that they had aroused and directed. It aimed to help the 

 farmer to make more of himself and of his farm through educa- 

 tion. 



While directing this movement of the application of science, 

 organization and co-operation to farm labour. Dr. Robertson 

 was not forgetful of the boys and girls of the farm. He was 

 planning a kind of training in which the duties and joys of the 

 farm would be emphasized. For example, to show the import- 

 ance of the planting of selected seed in the improvement of crops, 

 and to create an interest in this matter among the boys and girls, 

 he estabhshed a seed grain competition, the results of which are 

 famihar to most persons. In this work he secured the co-opera- 

 tion and financial help of Sir William C. Macdonald. From this 

 time forward these two men have planned and laboured together 

 for the advancement of education. 



The educational work in seed selection formed in reality one 

 phase of the Manual Training Movement organized by Dr. Robert- 

 son and Sir William Macdonald, whereby Manual Training was 

 introduced into the schools of the chief cities and towns of 

 Canada, and its value as an educational subject was recognized 

 both by the educational authorities and by the people. 



Encouraged by the great interest shown in this work, they 

 planned what is now known as the Macdonald Rural Schools 

 Movement. It had a three-fold object: (a) To show the value 

 of consolidation of schools by the establishment of a rural con- 

 solidated school in each of the eastern provinces, well equipped 

 with a compotf^nt <;+''rf for teaching, along with the ordinary 





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