441 



of agriculture. Many of the graduates become officers of the Gov- 

 ernment, teachers in the agricultural scliools, or investigators in the 

 experiment stations. In this clnss are also included three veterinary 

 S(;hools. 



Next below these in grade are the J^colcs Rationales d'AfiricuHure, in 

 which theoretical and practical instruction is combined. The tendency 

 is to make the instruction in these schools more scii'ntific. With these 

 are included the Ecole Xationale cV Horticulture a VerHaillen and the 

 Eeole des Haras au Pin. 



The third class of agricultural schools includes those which are 

 intended to receive the children of farmers who hav«^ finislied their pri- 

 mary education, and to give them theoretical and i)ractical instruction 

 in agriculture under the direction of competent, practical agriculturists. 

 A farm is connected with each school. The pupils, forty or fifty in 

 number, perform all the work necessary to the carrying on of this farm, 

 dividing their time equally between manual labor and their lessons, 

 lectures, and laboratory practice. In many of these schools general 

 agriculture is taught, but some are devoted to special lines, such as 

 viticulture, dairying, or irrigation. Military instruction is also given. 

 Boys enter these schools at the age of 13 years and return to the farm 

 2 or 3 years later comparatively well equipped for the work of life. The 

 expenses of each student for the school year are about $80. The average 

 cost to the Government for the maintenance of such a school is $1,00(» 

 l)er annum. 



In the fourth class are those institutions in which a system of appren- 

 ticeship is employed. In these schools boys carry on the operations of 

 a farm under comjjetent direction for a period of 2 or 3 years, receiving 

 at the same time a certain amount of general and agricultural instruc- 

 tion. The sui^port of the pupils is provided for by the produce of the 

 farm and by appropriations from the Government. On completing the 

 apprenticeship the student receives a small sum of money as compen- 

 sation for his labor. These schools are no longer popular. Their number 

 has fallen from 75 in 1852 to 34 in 1891. 



Since 1879 instruction in the elements of agriculture, horticulture, 

 and natural history has been obligatory in the normal and primary 

 schools. In each department of France a professor of agriculture is 

 appointed, whose duty it is to prepare a course of instruction in agri- 

 culture for the normal school, which shall be suited to the needs of his 

 locality, and to hold farmers' meetings to give instruction in improved 

 agricultural methods. 



Chairs of agriculture have been established in many of the ''lyceums," 

 colleges, and superi(>r primary schools. Especial devel<q)ment in this 

 line has been noticed during the i)ast 2 years. Experimental and model 

 fields, under the direction of the departmental ])rofessors or the directors 

 of experiment stations, have been esta])lished in many places, where 

 farmers can see and judge for themselves of the value of new methods. 



