Survey of the Work, &c., of Victorian Agricultural Department. 809 



and anyone who does not read it cannot fully appreciate what the 

 Department is doing. There the results of experiments are faithfully 

 recorded, and there is hardly any material in the Journal which is not 

 original, comparatively few papers being copied from other periodi- 

 cals, and these only because of possessing special importance. Let 

 me commend the Journal to you and ask you to subscribe. When 

 officers do good work they are naturally glad to know that an account 

 of that work has been read by those in whose interests it has been 

 undertaken. 



Agricultural Education. 



You are aware that agricultural education has been entrusted to 

 a Council. The form this education has taken has been that of 

 establishing two colleges, one of which, that at Dookie, has been a 

 success both as a college and an experimental farm. I maintain, 

 however, that what is of more immediate service to the agricultural 

 community is the education of the farmers already engaged in farm- 

 ing and their sons who are working with them, rather than the 

 education of prospective farmers. The sous, in many cases, of those 

 not at present engaged in farming may ultimately never take to the 

 business. 



The Department of Agriculture has for years had officers on the 

 staif, whose duty it has been to give single lectures on agricultural 

 subjects to meetings of farmers held under the auspices of agricul- 

 tural societies. This work although useful and interesting cannot be 

 called very educational, as the information given in one lecture does 

 not lead to a better understanding of the next.' To meet this diffi- 

 cnltj' I have had classes of instruction for farmers and farmers' sons, 

 extending over several weeks, held during the last two winters, and 

 this winter the classes are more popular than ever. Seven centres 

 have been selected, namely, Nhill, Warragul, Tatura, Benalla, 

 Wodonga, Rushworth and Wangaratta, and the average attendance 

 will exceed that of former years, possibly 50 students per class. The 

 Department has made no special effort to form classes this season, as 

 the agricultural societies offering to secure the necessary number of 

 students to form classes have been sufficient, and all that could 

 possibly be attended to with the officers available for giving in- 

 struction. This method of instruction has come to stay in Victoria,^ 

 and will extend over the whole of Australia. Enquiries have 

 reached me from other States, and it is only a matter of time 

 before Australian agriculturalists will realise that this is the best 

 method of instruction for the greatest number which can be had at 

 the least sacrifice of time and money. However excellent this system 

 may be, the winter season as a rule is the only time farmers and their 

 sons can devote their days to lectures and study. 



To meet all demands for classes during the winter months the 

 Department would require to maintain for a whole year a staff of 

 lecturers who would work for three or four months only, or depend 

 on picking up suitable men for the work during the winter season. 

 Engaging men specially can be done to a small extent, but if it were 



