206 ACiKllULTURAL El)l( ATION IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



into his subject to make it intcrestiiii^- to the pupils and to give 

 them some useful information. 



He should invariably give practical demonstrations to illus- 

 trate his instruction, using live ])lants and animals in preference 

 to photographs or preserved specimens wherever ])ossible. He 

 should further use simple and clear language-, which should be 

 the mother tongue of his pupils, and .always bear in mind the 

 tremendous help the pupil's eye and hand can render him in 

 teaching so eminently practical a subject as agricttlture. 



If the ctu^ricula of otir primary and secondary schools are 

 recast on sotinder edticational lines than are at present followed, 

 sufficient time will be available to devote 3-5 hours per week to 

 the teaching of this most useful stibject. 



In order best to carry otit my j^roj^osals, either of the 

 recommendations made by the " Commission on Elementar}1 

 Education," appointed by the Orange Free State Provincial 

 Authorities in 1914. and printed on pages 6 and 24 of tlieir 

 recently published report, should be adopted. These recom- 

 mendations read as follows : — 



" Further, as soon as practicable, a number of schools of a 

 purely secondary nature should be established at various centres 

 throughout the State, none other than such schools being allowed 

 to do secondary work" ( Majority Re])ort, on p. 6 of the Rei)ort). 

 and " In ptu\suance of what has been already stated with regard to 

 secondary schools and the secondary divisions of primary schools, 

 we tirge that the primary and secondary departments of such 

 schools be entirely separated, each with its own distinct staff" 

 (Minority Report on page 24 of the Rei)ort). 



If this were done, distinct courses in agriculture could be 

 given in the primary and secondary schools respectively to suit the 

 two classes of students concerned. As the above report has a 

 good deal to say about the teaching of agriculture in the priman. 

 and secondary schools. I wish to recommend everyone to read 

 it very careftilly. 



I shall no doubt be asked where we arc to find the teachers 

 capable of giving the above instrtiction. My reply to that is that 

 we have to train them. In our training schools we have to intro- 

 duce the subject of agrictilture as defined above, and make it a 

 compulsory subject for thejnen at least. The instruction should 

 consist of two distinct courses according as it will be needed 

 for teaching in a primary or in a secondary school. Once the 

 two are separated, the correct course can be laid down as a 

 subject in the qualifying examination. 



In the cases of Pretoria and Stellenbosch J would suggest 

 that the stafifs of the ' ew Agricultural Faculties give the necessary 

 instrttction to the students who undergo training for teachers at 

 these centres. In i ase of other training centres special teachers 

 for agriculture should be appointed or other arrangements made. 

 In order to allow the present teachers to qualify in this subject, 

 facilities should be granted to those who wish to take up the 



