PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION J. 637 



natural foundation. The scheme of work adopted should be ar- 

 ranged to suit the requirements and possibilities of the school dis- 

 trict, and be modelled by the Departmental Supervisor of Agricul- 

 ture and the teacher conjointly. The following are some topics 

 which should occupy a prominent position in any scheme of elemen- 

 tary agriculture : — 



1. The soil — its cultivation, moisture, irrigation, and fertiliza- 



tion. 



2. Plant life — rotation of crops, growth, modes of dissemina- 



tion and eradication of noxious weeds; the cultivation 

 of fodder plants. 



3. Seed testing and selection. 



4. Trees — afforestation; cultivation of native trees and of fruit 



trees. 



5. Animals — their farm value; preservation of native birds and 



of native fauna and flora ; animal garden pests. 



6. Domestic art — the grading, storage, and preservation of 



fruit; milk testing. 



Fundamental truths should be emphasized, modifications noted, 

 and the work made intensely practical. "Vicious farming 

 is an inevitable outcome of ignorance . . . ." 



School gardening is not agriculture. It is an intellectual form 

 of manual work that has all the disciplinary and expressive forces 

 of any other form of manual training practised in our schools, and 

 will give to nature study and manual training a larger purpose and 

 a life-long continuity. It is a healthful occupation, and will tend 

 to cultivate a desire for agricultural pursuits, and be one of the 

 surest correctives of the evils arising from the centralization of 

 population in Australia. 



6. SOME EXPERIMENTS IN MEMORY TRAINING. 



By Wm. Gray, M A ., B.Sc, Principal, Preshyterian Ladies' 

 (Jolleffe, Melbourne. 

 [Abstract.] 

 The professional training of the teacher should secure above all 

 else an attitude of observation of the scholar on the part of the 

 teacher when he comes face to face with the problems of the class- 

 room. Pre-suppositions as to methods, discipline, or methods of 

 instruction should give place to careful noting of results and inter- 

 pretation of successes and failures. The principle underlying dis- 

 cipline and methods of instruction should be built up by the 

 student from notes taken by himself in the practising rooms and 



