IV PRELIMINARY NOTICE. 



li 1. That the compulsory observance of a curriculum should 

 l>e dispensed with, and that any course of study to be indicated 

 should merely be suggestive and for the information of Students. 



" 2. That the rule which at present requires two separate 

 periods of two years each to be devoted to classes and to the farm 

 respectively should be repealed, and that no certificates of at- 

 tendance at either be required. 



"3. That the possession of the required knowledge shall be 

 deemed a sufficient qualification for a Candidate, and that this 

 should be determined solely by examination. That the Exam- 

 ination should be both written and oral ; that the value of the 

 answers should be determined by numbers ; and. that the oral 

 examination should be public. 



" 4. That there should be two Examinations, to be styled re- 

 spectively the Certificate Examination and the Diploma Exam- 

 ination. The first to be open to Candidates not less than eighteen 

 years of age, the second to those who have completed twenty-one 

 year--. 



"5. That to pass the Certificate Examination a Candidate 

 must be acquainted with Farm Accounts, Mensuration, and Sur- 

 veying, and must possess a good knowledge of Practical Agri- 

 culture, and a general acquaintance with the elements of Botany, 

 Chemistry, and Natural History. 



" G. That a Certificate in the following terms, signed by the 

 President or Vice-President of the Council on Education, and by 

 the Secretary, should be granted to Candidates passing this Ex- 

 amination : — ' We hereby certify that A. B. has been examined, 

 and has been found to possess a knowledge of Farm Accounts, 

 Mensuration, and Surveying, a good knowledge of Practical 

 Agriculture, and a general acquaintance with the elements of 

 Botany, Chemistry, and Natural History, and that he is therefore 

 entitled to present himself for the further examination, in terms 

 of the regulations, for the Society's Diploma.' 



" 7. That Candidates who possess this certificate, and have 

 completed their twenty-first year, should receive the diploma, if 

 found, on the final examination, to possess a thorough knowledge 

 of the theory and practice of Agriculture ; of Mechanics and 

 Mensuration ; of the physiology and treatment of Domesticated 

 Animals, and of the applications of Botany, Chemistry, and 

 Natural History to Agriculture. 



" 8. That a sum not exceeding £100 per annum should be 

 placed at the disposal of the examiners to be applied in prizes — 

 the number and amount of which shall be afterwards fixed — to 

 Candidates who pass with distinguished merit, and on a standard 

 exceeding that required for the diploma. 



" The Council and Committee believe that the modifications 

 of the existing system now suggested will tend to popularise and 



