290 KEPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



GERMANY. 



The following statistics are some indication of tlie development of 

 agricultural education in Prussia: From 1881-1907 the total ai)pro- 

 priations for the Berhn High School and the Bonn-Poppelsdorf 

 Academy increased from $59,032 to $107,308, an increase of 81.8 per 

 cent; for the university institutes, from $31,335 to $52,751 (not 

 mcluding salaries of professors), or 68.3 per cent; for the other insti- 

 tutions (including the Kaiser-Willielm's Institute) from $90,367 to 

 $204,441, or 126.2 per cent. 



In the agricultural intermediate schools, of which there are 18, the 

 total attendance from 1880-1908 has more than doubled, but the 

 number of pupils coming from farms has not increased at the same 

 rate. These schools are aided by the State, but are not State schools. 



The lower agricultural mstitutioas give special trainmg to farmers' 

 sons and disseminate a knowledge of the progress of technical agri- 

 culture. They comprise farm and winter schools, the former offering 

 a theoretical or theoretical-practical course of from one and one-half 

 to two years as a preparation for practical farming, while the winter 

 schools are practical schools in continuation of the instruction given 

 at the public and continuation schools. They consist usually of two 

 winter courses of from five to six months each, and are intended for 

 farmers' sons who are employed on farms during the summer months. 

 A comparison of these two classes of school's shows the popularity of 

 the wdnter schools over the farm schools. The number of farm schools 

 decreased from 1875-76 to 1908-9 from 26 to 17, and the number of 

 %vinter schools during the same period increased from 12 to 184. This 

 increase in winter schools over farm schools is due to a large extent 

 to lower expenses, less interference to farm work, etc. Wliile the 

 number of farm schools decreased one-third in the period mentioned, 

 the attendance at the present schools has been doubled, from wldch 

 it w^ould appear that the discontiauance of the smaller practical- 

 theoretical schools has led to a larger attendance at the larger and 

 more purely theoretical farm schools. The average attendance of 

 the 12 winter schools in 1875-76 was 13, while that of the 184 winter 

 schools in 1 908-9 was 39. 



The minister of agriculture decreed that beginidng April 1, 1911, 

 all candidates for appointment as itinerant agricultural mstructors 

 must have satisfactorily completed two semesters of work at a normal 

 training school. A year ago a similar quahfication was required of 

 candidates for teachers of agricultural schools and State-aided farm 

 and winter schools. With the introduction of the training school at 

 the agricultural school at Eldena there are now three of these training 

 schools in Germany. They receive aid from the State toward the 

 payment of teachers' salaries and maintenance. The ministry of 

 agriculture decides as to the efficiency of candidates for appointment. 



