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The Country Gcntlcmaiis Magazine 



AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION IX IRELAND. 



EDUCATION, and more especially, so 

 far as we as agricultural journalists 

 are concerned, the education of young per- 

 sons in rural districts, is engaging so large a 

 share of public attention that it may justly be 

 regarded as one of the leading topics of the 

 day. That it should assume more of a 

 technical character than it has hitherto 

 possessed is generally admitted ; and, with 

 respect to agriculture, it is essential that 

 such should be the case. The education of 

 children in rural districts should have special 

 reference to the future business of their lives, 

 and were this principle carried out it would 

 lead to the best results for all classes engaged 

 in the cultivation of the soil, Avhether as em- 

 ployers or as labourers. The idea of teaching 

 the leading principles of agriculture in ordi- 

 nary schools is by no means new. It was a 

 favourite idea of the late Professor Johnston, 

 Mr Henry Stephens, and other well-known 

 authorities on agricultural practice, and the 

 sciences which bear upon agriculture. As 

 yet, however, education of this kind has not 

 assumed any definite form in Great Britain. 

 The rudiments of agricultural chemistry have 

 been taught in a few schools, but even that 

 step has not been followed up with much 

 spirit or steadiness. 



In Ireland the case is different. For the 

 last thirty years the Irish National Board of 

 Education has maintained an agricultural de- 

 partment, which has now become one of con- 

 siderable importance, but still by far too 

 limited in extent to meet the necessities of 

 the case. It is not our intention to enter into 

 a review of the history of agricultural educa- 

 tion in Ireland, as it would occupy a much 

 greater space than we can afford ; nor indeed 

 is such necessary at present. We shall there- 

 fore confine ourselves to a brief notice of its 

 existing features, as we find those detailed in 

 the last report of the National Board. 



The agricultural department of National 

 Education in Ireland comprises (t) the Albert 



Institution, situated at Glasnevin, ne?r Dub- 

 lin; (2) First-class agricultural schools under 

 the exclusive management of the Commis- 

 sioners ; (3) First-class agricultural schools 

 under local management ; and (4) Ordinary 

 agricultural schools and school gardens. 



The Albert Institution, although placed 

 first on the list, forms the culminating point 

 of the system of education laid down by the 

 Board, the intern pupils, who are taught 

 and boarded free of expense, being selected 

 from amongst those who have passed through 

 a preliminary training at the other school 

 farms. The candidates, who must not be 

 less than seventeen years of age before they 

 are admitted to the Institution, are subjected 

 to a strict examination, on the competitive 

 principle, and the most promising of them 

 are then summoned to Glasnevin, and again 

 tested in various ways. Extern pupils, who 

 pay a moderate fee for their education, are 

 also admitted. The pupils receive a first- 

 class literary education during their stay at 

 the Institution, and they attend lectures on 

 botany, chemistry, and geology, agriculture, 

 and horticulture, along with practical instmc- 

 tion in the two last-named departments. 

 Dr Moore, Curator of the Royal Dublin 

 Society's Botanic Garden, is the stated lecturer 

 onbotany; Dr Sullivan, Professorof Chemistry 

 in the Museum of Irish Industry and the 

 Catholic University, also lectures on chemistry 

 and geology, and the names of these gentle- 

 men sufficiently indicate the kind of teaching 

 provided by the Board in these departments. 



The Albert Institution stands on about 

 179 imperial acres of land, which is appropri- 

 ated in the following manner : — Gardens, 

 shrubberies, &c., occupy 10 a. o r. 22 p. ; a 

 spade labour farm, 5 a. 2 r. 37 p. ; an inter- 

 mediate sized farm, worked by simple appli- 

 ances, as an example for small farmers, 

 occupies 22 a. 3 r. 7 p. ; and the remainder, 

 140 a. o r. 38 p., which is called the large 

 farm, is worked with the aid of a select col- 



