AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 555 



tangible being in the impressionable mind of a child depends much 

 on the mental outlook, training and enthusiasm of the teacher. 



Happily there is little cause for doubts as to the capacity, 

 initiative and enthusiasm of our Australian teachers. The response 

 to the call for special training in the work was highly satisfactory. 

 The first Summer School held at the Melbourne University in 1902 

 was attended by 500 teachers, at which nature study formed a 

 prominent feature in the curriculum. 



A Summer School was established at the Hawkesbury College 

 during the mid-summer vacation of 1905, at which 100 public school 

 teachers went into residence for three weeks. The course of training 

 included nature study, elementary science, school gardening, ex- 

 periment work, with opportunities offered of instruction in the 

 orchard, poultry yard, piggery and dairy. So far 600 school 

 teachers, of both sexes, in New South Wales, have availed them- 

 selves of this training at the College, where they were under the 

 direct guidance of a competent staff with a full equipment in each 

 section of the work. 



The effect throughout the country districts is substantially 

 evident. The Department of Public Instruction's curriculum makes 

 full provision for introducing nature study, school gardens, and 

 experiment work in the schools. A travelling instructor is engaged 

 to assist. Furthermore, the Education Department awards ten 

 resident scholarships to students at their Training College in Sydney 

 to complete the com'se of training at the Hawkesbury College for 

 twelve months. This includes theoretical and practical agriculture, 

 nature study, elementary chemistry, botany, zoology, meteorology, 

 geology, with practical work on the farm, orchard, flower and 

 vegetable gardens, school garden, poultry yard, dairy and piggery. 

 This course is designed solely to prepare the teacher to deal with 

 those subjects in an elementary and simple fashion for training 

 childi'en attending the primary schools. Thus the facilities and 

 educational stimulus are provided for checking in a natural way 

 the inflow of country children to the cities. The love for a country 

 life, the farm, and domestic animals is awakened. The child is freed 

 from depressing artificial agencies and develops a taste for a sturdy 

 independent, congenial means of earning his living. 



The introduction of the Rural Camp School by the Education 

 Department provides another effective agency by which our city 

 bred lads secure an opportunity of gaining an acquaintance with 

 country life and its many attractive phases. This establishes a 

 vital connection between the city schools, high schools, farm schools 

 and the college. A perceptible outflow is already in progress to 

 the land from this well thought out scheme. 



Secondary education in agriculture, if wisely initiated and 

 controlled, is bound to spread with as strong a wave of popularity 

 in Australia as it has done in the United States and Canada. In 

 those countries they have learned to think in agriculture and 



