Yoh. VII. Xo. 15/ 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



HI 



AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTION IN 

 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. 



The followiiiLT is the .substance of a speech given 

 by Dr. Francis Watts, C.M.G., F.I.C., at a recent meet- 

 ing held in the Bishop's Seliool Room at Antigua. The 

 speech, which is taken from The Antigua CkurcJunan 

 of April 1908, followed, and was based on a discussion 

 which took place concerning the conditions and difficul- 

 ties of agricultural teaching in the elementai-y schools 

 of the presidency : — 



At the outset of his speech, Di'. W;itts reiiiarkeJ that it 

 appeared to him that a great deal of difKculty arose from too 

 inufh stress being laid on agriculture, and too little upon 

 teaching. What une wanted was to teach general principles 

 which would appeal to and broaden the minds of children, 



■ and not merely to draw attention to the drudgery of agri- 

 cultural operations. One wanted children to be in a position 

 to ap[ireciate the fundamental facts underlying the growth 

 and development of the crops amongst which they worked and 

 on which they lived, and to know something of the soil, the 

 plants, the animals, and other tangible objects by which they 

 were surrounded. 



The garden therefore should become the teacher's labora- 

 tory in Vi'hich he can permit children to elucidate facts for 

 themselves — facts which must have an educational even more 

 than an agricultural bearing. In these gardens, children may 

 conduct small experiments, and may accpiire useful informa- 

 tion about the best kinds of vegetables, food crops, and the 

 like. 



Dealing with the .subject of school gardens, and the 

 interest created in the minds of the children by successful 

 crop growing on these plots, Dr. Watts referred to the success- 

 ful manner in \vhich cotton had been grown as an object- 

 lesson at St. George's School, Nevis. This cotton had Jaeen 

 cultivated and reaped in a systematic manner, samples had 

 been exhibited at the Agricultural Show, and had gained 

 a second prize in open competition. This small crop had been 

 baled, shipped to the British Cotton Growers' Association, and 

 the proceeds returned, the enterprise throughout constituting 

 an object-lesson of the greatest utility. 



The excellent exhibits which had been made at the 

 Antigua Agricultural Show were also mentioned. There were 

 good displays of vegetables A\'hicli had been well grown, well 

 prepared, and tastefully arranged. In addition to vegetaljles, 

 there were good exhibits of decorative and other plants grown 

 in pots. The preparation and ownership of such things as 

 these must exercise a profound influence c>n the mind of the 

 scholar. ' 



From the school gardens, it was pointed out, information 

 can be diffused amongst the parents who .will thus learn to 

 take an interest in the school work, whilej at the same time 

 gaining indirectly useful items of knowlec^e from the lessons 

 taught in the school. As a result some impro\'ement might 

 take place in the gardens of the peasants, and perhaps even the 

 day's work of the labourer might l:ie lirightened and stimulated 

 as the outcome of some thought carried home bv his child from 

 the school. The objection of parents to children working in 

 school gardens has in most instances disappeared, and, as 

 indicated above, it has actually been found that parents are 

 quite capable of taking a strong interest in the work carried 

 on by their children, once they recognize that there is no 

 Httempt to exploit the children's labours either for the benefit 



■ of the school or of the teacher, but that the object of the 

 work is the instruction and benefit of the children themselves. 



A ready means of aiding the removal of this objection lies in 

 the possession, by the childreft of the crops which they them- 

 selves have grown. Where -fat present this objection is 

 apparent, it may be well for:the time to dispen.se with the 

 garden, and to carry on the \iork in boxes and pots. 



Dr. Watts said that, in li^ own experience with teachers, 

 whenever he had come in contact with them he had invariably 

 found that they could soon So woiked up to a pitch of 

 enthusiasm. He alluded in d§tail to his experience with the 

 teachers at Dominica, who afte^ offering some slight difficulties 

 in the first course, became during the second, zealous and keen, 

 so that it was quite ea.sy eventually to carry out a very use- 

 fid course of practical garden ' woi'k. His experience with 

 teachers in Antigua and in St. Kitt's-Nevis had been precisely 

 similar. 



The ."-peaker appreciated the difiiculties in garden work 

 — difiiculties which often were, made greater by placing too 

 much stress on school gardens, and too little on the general 

 teaching of scientific principles. The work should proceed 

 gradually, and school gardens only be resorted to when both 

 teacher and scholar feel the need for carrying into operation 

 the principles which have been brought to their notice in 

 their lessons. A point is soon arrived at when both teacher 

 and scholar are unable to rest satisfied with mere descriiitions, 

 when they want to handle the things themselves, and to put 

 to proof the statements found in books. In this way practi- 

 cal work, first of all in boxes and pots, and finally in school 

 gardens, will be felt to be necessary liy both teacher and 

 taught, and the lesson will bo both i)leasant and permanent in 

 its effects. 



A point to be emphasized in connexion witli scIkjiiI 

 gardens is the nece.s.sity of a good fence, and in many instances 

 it constitutes a good objectdesson to grow a hedge around 

 the garden plot. Such hedges are to be seen at most of the 

 experiment stations, and the Officers-in-charge are always 

 willing to assist the teachers with advice in this connexion. 

 A\'ithout a fence, the garden lacks educational value, for it 

 is liable to be injured by trespassing people and animals, and 

 also lacks that neatness which is so e.ssential in educational 

 matters. 



An adequate water supply is also most desirable, for 

 without this, interesting experiments may be lost through 

 drought, and children may be greatly discouraged by the 

 failure of their efforts. 



Dr. Watts strongly advocated teaching in relation to agri- 

 cultural objects, on the ground that it enabled the teachers to 

 deal with tangible objects and incidents of everyday life, and 

 the children to grasp antl appreciate the real practical bear- 

 ing of the facts brought before them. Such teaching stood 

 in striking contrast to some of the more abstract teaching 

 which necessarily occupied a' place in all schools, and so it 

 afforded valuable mental relief. It encouraged the children 

 to think and to take a rational'interest in things relating to 

 their everyday life, and afforded an opportunity for starting 

 trains of thought and education "vvhich would be continued 

 long after the immediate school work had ceased. Such 

 teaching might and should exercise a profound influence on 

 the lives of scholars, and tend tJo make them better citizens. 



DEPARTMENT NE'WS. 

 The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture returned 

 to Barbados from St. Vincent by the R.M.S. ' Eden," 

 on April 21 last, and left again for an official visit to 

 the Leevvard Islands on the following day, by the 

 C.L.S. ' Dahonie.' Sir Daniel Morris is expected to 

 return to Barbados by the R.M.S. ' Esk ' on May 5. 



