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THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Apkil S, 1905.. 



EDUCATIONAL 



Agricultural Schools. 



The following are the reports of the examiner 

 (Mr. L. Lewton-Brain) on the half-yearly examination 

 at the St. Lucia and St. Vincent Agricultural Schools:— 



ST. LI'CIA. 



During the greater part of the time between tlie la.st 

 examination and the iire.sent one, the Officer-in-ebarge, 

 Mr. .1. C. Moore, was absent on leave. The work, liowever, 

 is of about the same standard as at tlie last examination. 

 The chief fault is a lack of powers of observation : these 

 should be cultivated. Two of the seniors have left the 

 School since the last examination; there are no other changes 

 in the senior or junior classes. 



In the senior class one boy has obtained 7.') per cent, of 

 the total marks and two others have obtained more than 

 60 per cent., the others, excej)! Lake, are between .50 and 6U 

 per cent. The Arithmetic papers are very good ; those in 

 Agi-iculture and Geography are also good. The (.'heniistry 

 papers are only moderate, while those in Botany are 

 distinctly poor. I drew attention to this weakness in Botany 

 in uiy report on the last examination and wish now to 

 emphasize my remarks made then. 



Flavien has done better than at the last examinatiou 

 and now conies at the head of the class; Goring is second, he 

 is slightly better in the Chemistry and Botany jiapers than 

 Flavien, but not so good in Agriculture, Arithmetic, and 

 GeocTaphy. Edgar has improved since the last examination. 

 Lake, who was last in June, did not take two of the papers 

 this time, his other papers are still weak. 



In the junior class, Kaveneau has done worse than at 

 the last examination ; the other three boys have done fairly 

 ■well and there is not much difference between them. 



The seven 'new boys' have taken junior pajjers in 

 Dictation, Arithmetic, Geography, and Compo.'-ition. Their 

 work in Dictation and Arithmetic compares fairly favourably 

 with that of the junior class ; in the other two subjects they 

 are not so good. There is not much to choose between them, 

 but Regis seems slightly better than the others. 



ST. VIXCEXT. 



Since the examinatiou in .lune last, seven of the nine 

 senior boys have left the school ; the present senior class 

 consi.'^ts of the two remaining boys of the old class and six 

 promoted from the junior. In the junior class only two boys 

 took papers at the last examination. Between the two 

 examinations, also, the late Resident Master, Mr. C. H. 

 Knowles, B.Sc, left the school, and his place was temporarily 

 filled by Mr. A. .J. Clarke. Under these circumstances it was 

 not to be expected that the same standard of results would 

 be reached as at previous examinations. 



In the senior class the results are distinctly satisfactory, 

 all the boys having obtained over .50 per cent, of the total 

 marks, though only one has obtained 7-5 per cent. The 

 papers in Agriculture are the best among the more important 

 subjects, the Arithmetic and Geography i>apers are also good; 

 the worst i)apers are in Chemistry and Botany, showing 

 a distinct falling off from the standard of the last examina- 

 tion. One fault is a tendency to verbosity, by which some 

 of the boys (in both classes) have lost marks both directly 

 and also indirectly by not giving themselves time to answer 

 the whole of the questions. Trotman, although he has not 

 done quite so well as at the last examination, still maintains 

 his position at the head of the class. Ycakc, who has been 



promoted since the .Tune examination is second and has sent 

 in .some good papers. Ollivierre is at the bottom of the clas.s, 

 having obtained only just over 50 per cent, of the total marks. 

 The results in the junior class are not so good as in the 

 senior ; this class requires more attention. Considering the 

 lent'th of time the boys have been at the .school, however, 

 the results may be considered satisfactory. Henderson is the 

 best with 60 per cent, of the possible marks, and Byron, one 

 of the new admissions, comes next. The papers have been 

 marked leniently. 



Trinidad. 



Tlie following note on the progress of agricultural 

 education in Trinidad is extracted from the Annual 

 Bcpurt on the colony for 1903-4: — 



During the 3-ear under review 180 .schools were examined 

 in agriculture, as against 152 in 1902-3. Of the former 

 number thirty schools obtained the highest award 'very 

 good,' and lOi were classified as 'good.' It has been widely 

 recognized l:y those responsible for elementary education in the 

 colony, not CMily in connexion with the Government, but also 

 in the assisted sch.iols, that the object of the instruction 

 afforded, apart from the widening of the mind and the 

 strengthening of the character of the pupils, should be to fit 

 the children for the practical work of life. Trinidad i.s, and 

 must remain, primarily an agricultural colony, and it would 

 be dejilorable if the effect of an imjiroved system of education 

 were to be to inspire in the rising generation a certain 

 di.sgust with the agricultural pursuits in which the children's 

 parents have been engaged, and a desire to earn a living only 

 by means of clerical employment. That this is a danger 

 cannot be denied, and already the ranks of those seeking 

 work as clerks and the like are much overcrowded. 

 Great importance, therefore, is to be attached to the efforts- 

 which are being made in educational circles in this colony to 

 afford sound, practical instruction to the pupils of the schools on 

 subjects relating to agriculture ; to impress upon the children 

 the dignity and the value of agricultural pursuits ; and to 

 instil into them the fact that it requires trained intelligence, 

 and that of no mean order, if a man is nowadays to become 

 a really .successful tiller of the soil. This is the object of 

 the prizes offered for the exhibitions of agricultural products 

 grown in the gardens attached to the schools ; while the 

 frequent lectures given all over the colony by the staff of 

 agricultural instructors attached to the Botanical Depart- 

 ment, the bi-weekly lectures on agricultural chemistry 

 delivered at the Port-of-Spain Training School by the 

 Go\ernment Laboratory Assistants, the periodical visits of 

 the Assistants of the Botanical Department to the various 

 schools to afford advice and instruction in matters agri- 

 cultural, and the prominence which is now given to this 

 subject in the school life of a large number of pupils are 

 tending, it is hoped, toward the desired end. 



White Pigeon Peas. Reporting on the recent 

 Agricultuial Show at St. Vincent, Mr. W. X. Sands writes : 

 ' Of especial interest were the two exhibits of dried White 

 Pigeon Peas, shown by ifr. .J. E. S. Richards and Miss 

 Huggins. These peas, which come true from seed, and have 

 the appearance of dried English garden peas, are a desirable 

 acqui.-ition, as when cooked they still retain their clear 

 white character, and are a decided improvement on the 

 ordinary variety. This pea is well worthy of extended 

 cultivation, and efforts will be made by the Agricultural 

 Department to make it more generally known.' 



