PROGRESS IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 261 



Credit is given to national agricultural societies for good educa- 

 tional work: but it is stated that local societies have given little aid 

 to either agricultural education or research. Greatly increased funds 

 are needed for agricultural education, and these apparently must come 

 mainly from national sources. The committee believes that the board 

 of agriculture should first aid existing and projected institutions to 

 strengthen their starts and improve their general equipment and then 

 assist local authorities to make provision for the agricultural work 

 conducted by them. 



All members of the committee subscribed to the conclusions and 

 recommendations in this report; but one member. J. C. Medd, believes 

 that certain points of vital importance to the ert'ective organization 

 of a national system of agricultural education have been omitted. 

 One defect in the English system which he considers serious is the 

 lack of intermediate schools of agriculture corresponding to ecoles 

 pratiques d'agriculture de France and to some of the agricultural high 

 schools in this country. He believes that no system of instruction is 

 complete which does not provide for the continuous instruction of 

 boys from the age of 14 to 18. Winter schools will not entirely fill 

 this gap. and it can only be filled by the establishment of a few inter- 

 mediate schools with courses extending over two or three years. He 

 calls attention to the fact that the expense of equij^ping and conduct- 

 ing such schools is too great for their universal establishment, but 

 believes that they should be established where conditions are favor- 

 able and where there is likely to be a demand for them. 



I\Ir. Medd further strongly recommends the holding of conferences 

 of representatives from affiliated or associated counties at their re- 

 si:)ective university or college centers for the purpose of coordinating 

 and strengthening their work. "With reference to the literature pub- 

 lished by the board of agriculture and fisheries, he points out that 

 many of the witnesses were unfamiliar with particular reports or 

 leaflets and recommends that all literature issued by the board be 

 distributed free of cost to all agricultural and horticultural colleges 

 and schools, farm institutes, chambers of agriculture, farmers' clubs, 

 and agricultural or horticultural societies. 



The report as a whole indicates that the committee has made an 

 exhaustive and careful study of all the facilities available in England 

 and Wales for promoting technical instruction for itf; youth along 

 agricultural lines, with the single exception of the i)ui)lic elementary 

 schools in rural districts which are under the administration of the 

 board of education. These latter schools are alluded to in ^Ir. Medd's 

 supplementary statement in a paragraph calling attention to the pro- 

 visions made by the board of education to train teachers for them in 

 agricultural subjects. The conclusions of the connnittee show that 

 there is a strong growth of public sentiment in Great Britain in 



