Vol. IV. No. 82. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



173 



ST. VINCENT AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL. 



The following is a report, dated May 12, 1905, by 

 Mr. L. Lew ton -Brain, B.A., F.L.S., on a visit of inspec- 

 tion of the St. Vincent Agricultural School: — 



I have the honour to submit, herewith, a report on my 

 visit to St. Vincent, from the .3rcl. to the -Jth. instant, for 

 the purpose of inspecting the Agricultural School in that 

 island. 



BOOKS AND RECORDS. 



I examined the books kept by the Resident Master, 

 including the Students' field book (with record of marks), 

 Diary, Admission book, etc. These books all api)ear to be 

 kept well up to date and in good (wder. 



I also examined the books kept liy the pupil.s, with 

 records of their work in class and in the field. Generally 

 speaking, these books are satisfactory, though, naturallj', 

 some of those belonging to the more junior pupils are not so 

 <^lean and neat as the others. Even these, however, show 

 distinct improvement in the later entries. 



I inspected a series of weekly examination papers set 

 by the Resident Master. These are of interest as showing 

 a distinct and steady, though in some cases slow, improve- 

 ment in the work done by the pupils. 



BUILDINGS. 



I went through and inspecteil all the buildings, 

 including the dormitory, school room, clas.? room, tool-shed, 

 store, and lecture room. Cleanliness and good order 

 appeared to bo the rule everywhere. 



The library appeared to be kept in good order, and it 

 is readily accessible to the pupils. !Mr. Patterson however, 

 informed me that the boys do not make as much use of the 

 books as might be desired. The publications of the 

 Department were well in evidence. Bound volumes of the 

 pamphlets, from 1900 to 1903, would be desirable additions. 



CLASS ROOM. 



The supply of chemicals and apjiai'atus is suflicient for 

 present requirements. 



MODEL LESSONS. 



According to your instructions, I requested the 

 Schoolmaster to prepare a geogi-aphy lesson on the Wesft 

 India Islands, their products, means of communication, 

 etc. The lesson was given on the following day. 

 The boys have a marked habit of answering simultaneously 

 which should be eradicated : it will be impossible other- 

 wise to detect and work up the more backward students. 

 The more individual the teaching the better. Again, 

 the master should not stand behind the class while 

 giving a lesson, as in this waj', he would be very apt 

 to lose his grip on the attention of the pupils. The di.scipline 

 was good and the lesson fairly well arranged. 



Mr. Patterson, the Resident Master, also gave a model 

 lesson in my presence ; his subject was the form and 

 general external features of leaves. The lesson was in the 

 form of a practical demonstration : each pu{)il received 

 specimens of the leaves and was made to draw them himself. 

 Lessons such as this are excellent for training the powers of 



observation. The attention and discipline of the boys were 

 both good. 



VIVA VOCE EXAMINATION. 



I questioned the boys thoroughly on different subject.?. 

 The older pupils an.swered intelligently and accurately. The 

 newer boys also answered brightly for the most part, and 

 should do well with further teaching ; one of them, 

 ilcConney, is exceptionally Ijright, and is a very promising 

 pupil. The others are of more average abilities. 



DISCIPLINE. 



Generally, the tone of the school is very good, and 

 'Mr. Patterson appears to have the boys well in hand. The 

 work, both outdoor and indoor, appears to be progressing in 

 a satisfactory manner. 



There are, at present, nineteen boys at the school, of 

 whom two, Yorke and Longheed, will complete their term iu 

 September of this year. 



INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR 

 COLONIAL AGRICULTURE. 



A national exhibition of colonial agriculture will 

 be held in the Jardin Colonial at Nogent-sur-Marne, 

 near Paris, in June and July next, under the patronage 

 of the Minister for the Colonies and Agriculture, 

 at which all the French colonies will be represented. 

 It is suggested by the French Society for Colonial 

 Agriculture, which is organizing the exhibition, that 

 it might be made the occasion of an international 

 assembly devoted to the study of colonial products and 

 their culture, for the furtherance of which the society 

 claims to be the only European scientific society. 



With the view of making the proposal to hold an 

 international assembly as widely known as possible, 

 the Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture has been 

 requested to give publicity to its aim and objects. 

 The programme of subjects to be dealt with corres- 

 ponds exactly with the programme of the exhibition, 

 which is as follows : — 



Class I. Products of the soil. 



Class II. Live stock ; animal products ; useful and 



noxious insects. 



Class III. Forest products. 



Class IV. Agricultural inqjlements and machinery. 



Class V. Products oi colonial industries, including 



sugars, si)irits, starches, oils, gams, 

 rubber, etc., etc. 



Class VI. Human and veterinary hygiene, including 

 filters, mosquito protection.s, serums, etc. 



Class VII. Publications, statistics, etc. 



Class VIII. Fine arts. 



Class IX. French and colonial horticulture. 



Sisal Hemp in Mexico. The exports of fibre 



consisted princijially of henequen and manufactures thereof. 

 The amount of fibre exported in 1903 amounted to 95,700 

 tons, as compared with 85,691 tons in 1902. The 

 manufactures, consisting principally of hammocks and cordage, 

 amounted to 3,211 ton.s, while in 1902 their weight only 

 represented 2,395 tons. Their total value was £3,037,137 

 as compared with £2,946,900 in 1902. Henequen is sent 

 to the United States and Cuba. The manufactures are also 

 exported to the LTnited States, and a very small quantity to 

 Guatemala and Cuba. {Consular Report on Mexico for 

 1903.) 



