Vol. XIII. No. 312. 



THE AGKICL'LTL'KAL NEWS. 



119 



capacities of those among the educuted agricultural classes 

 who are most likely to return to the liind In other words, 

 it is just possible that, in modelling' the course of instruction 

 here too closely on the lines of European and American 

 acricultural cDlleges, the sons of those who are actively 

 interested in agricnlture have thereby been, to a large extent, 

 shut out. It is a question, thereforr, whether instruction, 

 such as that given in the American liigh schools, the German 

 agricultural schools and the Japanese agricultural middle 

 schools, would not be more suitable for our conditions. 



This would mean the reduction of the more strictly 

 scientific instruction to a minimum with a corresponding 

 increase in practical and •'mpirical in.stiuction. I understand 

 that a change in this direction is desired by those engaged in 

 agricultural education in the Madras Presidency and that 

 proposals have already been sent up for an entire recasting 

 of the curriculum along the lines indicated. 



AVith regard to lower agricultural training in the 

 vernacular, a most interesting e.xpeiiment is under way in 

 Bombay Presidency where, through the energy of Dr. Harold 

 Mann, a vernacular agricultural school was opened at Poona in 

 1910 for boys of thirteen years or over. The course is a two 

 years' one and about half the time is spent in practical work 

 divided up about as follows: — 



1. Conducting work on farm and students' 



plots 9 hours per week. 



2. E.xperiments in connexion with nature 



study 3 ,, ,, ,, 



3. Mensuration, field and building meas- 



urement, levelling 1 hour ,, ,, 



4. Horticulture, including layering, bud- 



ding, grafting, etc. 1 ,, ,, ,, 



5. Milk, care of milk, etc. 1 ,, ,, ,. 



6. Subsidiary work, such as care of 



poultry, etc. 1 ,■ >> » 



The class work consists of arithmetic, reading and 

 writing, geography including physical geography, nature 

 study, village life and sanitation, citizenship and agri- 

 culture. This classroom work is given with special reference 

 to agriculture. Thus, the arithmetic has to do chiefly 

 with money, weights and measures, calculating of values, 

 interest and discount, etc. 



This school is to be moved to Loni where special build- 

 iigs are to be erected for it. A second school of a similar 

 character is to be opened at Devi Hosur, Dharwar District, 

 where the school buildings and lands are being furnished by 

 privHCe persons and the scholarships will be largely supplied 

 by the Lingayat and Reddi communities. 



At the Poona school, where there are about forty 

 students in the two years, no fees are charged and the boys 

 are being fed at Government expense. Thus, although the 

 work done is reported as very satisfactory, it is, according to 

 Mr. Smart, Acting Director of Agriculture, impossible to say 

 whether the school is a practical success or not. 



Mr. Smart further calculates in his Annual Pieport for 

 1911-12,that in the new Loni school the cost to the Government 

 for educating a boy for two years will be Rs. 400. He, therefore, 

 concludes, that 'it is obvious that Government cannot increase 

 largely the number of such schools as the cost would be 

 prohibitive; and the question is whether the number of 

 scholars turned out can ever be sufticiently large to effect an 

 improvement in the agriculture of the Decan.' Mr. Smart 

 anticipates more satisfactory results from the Devi Hosur 

 school as the expense to Government there will be small 

 and the demand for the school is spontaneous. 



In addition to the above, short courses of practical 

 iiistruction are being given in various provinces and presi- 

 dencies in connexion with the experimental farms. In some 

 cases, notably in the Central Provinces, these courses 

 appear to be successful and to be filling a real need. In 

 other cases, they have not been successful. 



In various parts of India attempts are being made to 

 introduce some form of nature study in the curricula of 

 primary and secondary schools, but, as far as I am aware, 

 this work ha.-- been carried on neither for a suflScient length of 

 time nor systematically enough to yield any appreciable results. 

 The same feeling which we find in other parts of the world 

 seems to be growing here in India also that a decided improve- 

 ment could be made in the existing primary and secondary 

 education in rural communities. 



PRIZE-HOLDINGS COMPETITION IN 



JAMAICA. 



The report of the judges on the St. Catherine prize- 

 holdings competition is published in the Journal of the 

 Jainaira A<jricultural Society for February 1914. In this 

 is stated that in spite of the set-back, and in many instances 

 actual loss of crops through dry weather and high winds, 

 the competition was kept in view and determined efforts 

 made to effect on the holdings useful improvements. It is 

 pointed out by the judges that the true value of the prize- 

 holdings competition is not only what it actually accom- 

 plishes but also what it prevents. It is essentially progress- 

 ive in its influence and decidedly antagonistic to all forms- 

 of retrogression. 



The results of the competition under report were 

 distinctly satisfactory and a considerable amount of credit 

 for the good results is due to the work of the agricultural 

 instructors. The general conditions of the permanent 

 and staple crops were well maintained since the last 

 competition, and a great deal of progressive work has 

 been done in the matter of pruning, trenching and 

 manuring. Particularly was this so in the case of coffee 

 and cacao; though in the case of cacao many of the 

 pruning operations lacked neatness and finish. The 

 importance of pruning neatly is emphasized. Rough, jagged 

 cuts only provide additional inroads for pests and disease. 

 It would appear that much of the pruning complained of was 

 done by itinerant pruuers who had been employed by the 

 competitors on what would appear to be false recommendations 

 or at any rate useless recommendations. 



There is still scope for better methods of cultivation 

 in bananas and sugar-cane. While the question of fencing in 

 most of the districts still requires attention, yet considerable 

 improvement has taken place. The general condition of 

 the holdings visited was good, and quite a number were 

 exceptionally neat and tidy, giving evidence that they were 

 so kept all the time. This latter matter of general 

 appearance is a new item for which marks have been 

 awarded in this competition for the first time. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 

 Mr. W. R. Dunlop, Scientific Assistant on the 

 Staff" of the Imperial Department of Agriculture for 

 the West Indies, left Barbados on April 8, by the 

 R.M.S. 'Chignecto^ for an ofRcial visit to St. Vincent 

 and St. Lucia. Mr. Dunlop returns to Barbados oa 

 April 29. 



