president's address — ^^SECTION G. 155 



patriotism of their readers, holding up to their admiration a love 

 of country life, and giving instructions in the different operations 

 of an agricultural occupation. It is beginning to be felt even in 

 England that the country boy. instead of learning mythology, 

 history of the fabulous class, sentimental poetry, stories of travel, 

 and other subjects of little personal interest to himself, should be 

 taught the "why" and "wherefore" of all the stages of growth 

 of the different plants ; the composition of the soil and mode of its 

 formation ; the history, uses, and methods of cultivation of the 

 principal plants of his own country ; and the chemistry of the 

 water, soil, and air, which would be his chief assistants in his 

 future calling. He should be instructed in the elements and 

 seasons ; the weeds of the farm ; the animals and poultry ; the 

 vermin and insects; the implements and tools ; the machinery of 

 the farm — all being used in conjunction with other subjects of 

 general instruction that form the basis of a practical education. 



It is felt that the walls of schools in agricultural districts, 

 instead of being adorned with pictures of wild and strange animals, 

 maps of distant and foreign countries, and pictures of manufactures 

 belonging to towns, should have noAv-a-days illustrations showing 

 insects injurious to farm crops and those which are parasitic or 

 predaceous on them; illustrations of the different cereals, showing 

 their periods of growth from the seed to the full ear ; pictures 

 of types of all kinds of domestic animals, farm implements, local 

 grasses and weeds. Plants of all kinds that can be grown in the 

 respective districs are always before the children's eyes, so that 

 the schools in the farming districts have an agricultural flavor 

 about all their teachings. The masters encourage everything con- 

 nected with agricultural pursuits, and the children's ambition is to 

 excel in the special branches of agricultural knowledge, and they 

 consequently know more about manures, the points of a horse, or 

 the construction of a plough than about Latin roots or Euclid's 

 problems. Some of the school boards in England have published 

 a few excellent wall curds illustrating the life history of a few 

 of the insect enemies of farm crops ; also the different stages of 

 growth of a wheat plant from germination to friiition. 



It is felt that the object lessons which are of value as a means 

 of instruction in the primary schools should be made as appropriate 

 as possible for the class of scholars being taught. It would surely 

 be better to give object lessons on the animals reared in the district, 

 and on crops peculiar to it, showing from the objects themselves 

 the lessons to be learned in relation to their uses and mode of 

 growth, rather than to give lessons on a whale, a swordfish, a 

 rhinoceros, a crocodile, a unicorn, an elephant, or a camelopard, 

 as is often done. 



In New South Wales the value of agricultural education has 

 been recognised by the gentlemen at the head of the Department 

 of Public Instruction, and the result was the issuing of an admirable 



