Instriicfion to Farmers and Farmers' Sons. 



397 



A criticism of the above figures reveals two interesting- facts. First, 

 the unqualified support given to the subjects of poultry breeding and 

 wool-sorting and sheep breeding, dealt with by Messrs. Hawkins and 

 Haile respectively, and secondly the high place attained by such 

 subjects as chemistry, botany, entomology and vegetable pathology. 



The management of the poultry yard is for the most part left 

 entirely to the farmer's wife, and hardly comes within the idea of the 

 farmer himself as part and parcel of the farm. Mr. Hawkins, however, 

 invested his subject with such a fund of practical information that in the 

 future the poultry iiidustry on the farm will be regarded as something 

 well w^orththe trouble of developing. The number of letters received 

 since the classes closed is evidence enough that a decided stimulus 

 has been given to this branch of farm husbandry. 



Sheep breeding and practical demonstrations in sorting and clas- 

 sing wool made Mr. Haile's lectures of particular interest to those 

 students engaged in grazing pursuits. The advice of the expert was 

 so clear and his method of imparting information so lucid that this 

 subject, which is of supreme importance to Australian farmers, became 

 the centre of interest for the time being. 



It can only be concluded that the subjects of chemistry, botany, 

 entomology a.nd vegetable pathology met with such a response by 

 the students because it was recognised what an important bearing 

 each of them has on successful agriculture. The control that 

 chemistry exercises over the soil manures and matured crops in 

 determining their values for different purposes, came as a revelation 

 to many students, without any previous acquaintance with the subject. 

 The number of students who underwent examinations in these subjects 

 must be most gratifying to the lecturers who handled them so ably, 

 and left the mark of their own enthusiasm on the class in each centime. 



The total percentage of points gained by the class in each centre 

 wa-s : 60'6 at Boort, 56"5 at Warrnambool, 58-9 at Maffra, 62*2 at 

 Shepparton, 60' 1 at Geelong, and 57*G at Kyneton. 



From the tables of results appearing at the end of this article 

 it will be seen that the total percentage of marks gained by each 

 class is very uniform. The total in each case speaks volumes for the 



