REPORT OF THE SOCIETY 61 



another reason to which many assign a large portion of the blame for the low 

 attendance at our colleges, is the higher academic standard now required for 

 ent^'ance to the degiee course. There is no time to discuss this subject at length 

 here, especially as the speaker has already written at some length on this sub- 

 ject in an article which will shortly appear, but it is clear that this is but a minor 

 factor, when we consider that even courses designed especially- for farm boys 

 and not leading to a degree for which no entiance acquirements are demauded 

 have suffered in equal proportion. 



Whatever the reason for this condition may be it has opened our eyes to 

 this important fact, viz., that heretofore our attention has been focussed on 

 those students who are preparing themselves for a degree to the detriment of 

 the great majority who have no opportunity to take such work and who are 

 in need of our practical assistance. The question is now being asked in many 

 quarters. "Why should our province support an expensive institution to train 

 men to leave our farms and, in most cases, our province and often even the 

 Dominion?" The thought is expressed that, while something may be said for 

 reciprocity in brains, we are now suffering from free trade in one direction only. 

 However we may regard this question we must admit that for every students 

 who takes advantage of our courses there are many who do not and cannot do so 

 and most of us will also admit that even the instruction we have been giving 

 in the past, however excellent it may be for the student proceding to a degree, 

 is capable of considerable improvement from the standpoint of the future farmer. 

 It seems to the speaker that, for this class of students, it is in the highest degree 

 important that we encourage him to study his own business in a way that he 

 has never done before and that we actively assist him in solving the problems 

 that he has to meet in his ever}- day life. If we are at all interested in our work 

 we must make some effort to meet the present crisis and, if we know our busi- 

 ness, we must adapt our teaching practices to meet the changing conditions of 

 the day. 



I would not be so presumptous as to venture a solution at the perplexing 

 problem of how and what to teach so that the student can and will use it, but 1 

 want to indicate without too man}- details how the Xova Scotia Agricultiu'al 

 College is attempting to deal with the situation. While it must not be sup- 

 posed for one moment that the same methods will apply to other and different 

 conditions, it is hoped that the discussion of the problems involved will be pro- 

 vocative of thought and that some constructive ideas may be expressed that 

 wall be of value to all concerned. 



Before taking up the specific question of entomological teaching, it will be 

 necessary for me to outline in a broad way the kind of course that we plan to 

 offer for that class of students who intend to make a life work of farming. For 

 several years we have been offering a two year course of the same length as the 

 regular or degree course and with some success, but we have now had enough 

 experience with it to know^ that it does not entirely meet the needs of the case. 



