Middle-Class Education. 17 



for them to obtain education at a cheap rate, or to find opportuni- 

 ties for meeting together to discuss matters of common interest, 

 or attend lectures, «Scc., for intellectual improvement. 



Some farmers set less store by education, because they see that 

 some highly educated men are unsuccessful in business ; or rather, 

 this affords them a certain excuse for continuing ignorant of book- 

 learning. Undoubtedly both the educated and the uneducated 

 fail at times ; it is not, however, the education which is to blame, 

 but some defect in another quarter, — the want of practical expe- 

 rience, of sufficient capital, of sufficient attention to business, 

 expensive habits, want of knowledge of, or attention to the pecu- 

 liarities of the district. If scientific hobbies are carried to a 

 great extent to the neglect of that which is undoubtedly prac- 

 tical and paying ; if an enthusiastic entomologist should run 

 about catching bees and butterflies half the day, and using the 

 microscope the other half to see that, 



" Bigger flies have little flies 



Upon their backs to bite 'em ; . ■ 



And little flies have lesser flies. 

 And so ad infinitum^''- — ■ 



much greater misfortunes than one fly biting another may ensue, 

 but it is hardly fair to lay them to the charge of education, and 

 especially of a sound general education. 



Upon the whole, whilst admitting the great value of school 

 learning up to a certain age, I am inclined to think that any one 

 intending to become a farmer should learn the practical part upon 

 a farm when sixteen or seventeen, instead of continuing at school 

 or college till twenty-one or twenty-two years of age, even if the ex- 

 pense were of no consideration. What theoretical knowledge may 

 be gained by protracted schooling might be outweighed by loss of 

 practical experience. One might as soon expect to learn to be a 

 practical sailor at school as there to learn practical farming. 

 Education is never of course complete ; both at school and in 

 after life every one must, to a great extent, educate himself. The 

 greater part of schooling consists in learning rules, and getting 

 hold of keys to unlock the stores of knowledge contained in both 

 books and men, for living teachers are more ready directors than 

 dead books. 



An agricultural pupil, whether learning on his father's, or 

 any other farm, should keep a daily journal of every operation 

 which he sees carried out, or even if working elsewhere himself, 

 should get information and carefully note it down — a register 

 of the weather, the quantities of seed sown of various kinds, 

 how the live stock thrive, an estimate of crops, and anything 

 that can be of any likely service afterwards. The keeping of 



VOL. II. — S. S. C 



