2o8 AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



tary facts and essential points should be driven home with force 

 and lucidity until every student has digested them. 



In order to illustrate my point, 1 might give the following as 

 an example. Supposing a certain plant disease is dealt with, 

 then I would suggest that, instead of describing in detail the 

 organism causing it and showing the student what it looks like 

 under the microscope, etc., he should rather be told //; detail 

 about the species and varieties of plants liable to get the disease, 

 the ]:)articular sites and localities as well as the weather conditions 

 favourable and unfavourable to it, the etTects it has on the i)lants 

 attacked and the best times and means known for combatting it. 

 As for identification of the disease. 1 would make him use his 

 organs of sense, particularly his eyes without further aid, except 

 in a few cases where the help of a lens might be called in. 



In other words, I would train him to diagnose macroscopic- 

 ally and not microscopcically. as very few farmers will ever 

 possess, much less use, a microscope. Doubtful cases could 

 always be submitted to (jovernment or otlier experts. 



I do not maintain that many of the things I would like to see 

 taught to the student are omitted at present, but by introducing 

 too much advanced work too little time is left to drive home 

 the more practical aspects of the question until the student has 

 thoroughly grasped the main and essential facts. 



The courses of instruction at these schools should therefore 

 be made a little less ainbltioits, when it will be found that this 

 seeming loss will in reality be a direct gain to the student himself. 

 His training will be more useful and will better serve to j^repare 

 him for his future work on the farm than the present system 

 has been capable of doing. It is thoroiicjhness more than com- 

 pleteness that should be aimed at. The subject matter taught 

 in the various courses should be reduced, whilst the essential 

 matters should be expanded and made clear by constant reference 

 to actual farming practice. 



It must further be borne in mind that a Standard VII boy 

 has no great command of language, and consequently clear and 

 simpte language should be used in lectures to make sure that the 

 whole class can intelligently follow the lecturer. This becomes 

 all the more imperative, where, as at jM'esent ha|)])ens in nearly 

 every case, half the class are taught through the medium of a 

 language not their mother tongue. This will have to be altered 

 soon, as a gross injustice is at present being perpetrated ui)on 

 one section of the community. Had the standard of general 

 education in this case been Matriculation and not Standard \TL 

 matters would not have been quite so bad, although this would not 

 yet make the present practice a just one. 



As far as I can see, the remedy lies in either appointing 

 duplicate lecturers for every subject, or thoroughly bilingual lec- 

 turers who can give their instruction throtigh both official lan- 

 guages. They will then give their lectures in Dutch to that section 



