1010] EDITORIAL. 105 



to practical agriculture, for "we have not yet learnt anything like 

 all the lessons the Rothamsted fields can teach us." 



The esteem and admiration in which this Xestor of the stations 

 has long been held will be further heightened by its war time record. 

 It has added to the debt of the Empire, and has shown anew its in- 

 tensely practical character and its value as a national asset. 



The increased interest in agricultural education and research 

 which has been manifest in the midst of the war and following it 

 has been referred to in previous issues. This has not been confined 

 to the war-stricken countries of Europe, but has extended among 

 others to Australia where, as already mentioned in these pages, an 

 advisory council of science and industry appointed by the Governor 

 General has submitted recommendations which include a program 

 for enlarging investigation in agriculture. And now comes a report 

 from the Department of Agriculture of Victoria dealing with agri- 

 cultural education and agricultural development in America, with 

 applications to that county. 



The report is by Mr. A. E. V. Richardson, agricultural superin- 

 tendent in the Victorian Department of Agriculture, and records the 

 results of a personal study of agricultural institutions in this country 

 and Canada on a six-months' mission. It is a highly intelligent and 

 accurate exposition of the American view of agricultural education 

 and the spirit and motive of agricultural institutions. It is appre- 

 ciative not only of what has been accomplished but of what has been 

 passed through in the process of development. 



Mr. Richardson writes as one who has seen and understands, and 

 who has weighed the results as now exhibited in full light of their 

 evolution. This gives him advantage in making applications to his 

 own country and adds force and conviction to his recommendations. 

 Incidentally the comparisons he makes throw an interesting light on 

 conditions at present prevailing in Victoria, which in many respects 

 parallel in opportunity the situation in this country before our sys- 

 tem for agricultural advancement had been put well under way. 



Special interest naturally centers in the applications of his studies 

 to Victoria. He explains that one great advantage which has come 

 in America is a strong National sentiment toward agricultural edu- 

 cation and agricultural development, which is lacking as yet in his 

 country. He lays very strong emphasis on agricultural education, 

 considered broadly, as an essential basis for development. He says: 

 " The only way to secure a genuine and permanent increase in output 

 from the land is to improve the farming methods of the country and 

 apply the teachings of science to its agricultural production. In 

 other words, the problem of agricultural development resolves itself 

 ultimately into the problem of agricultural education. That is the 

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