AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 197 



their own personal labor, a great point will be gained ; and 

 the price itself will be an efficient instrument of their improvement. 

 I believe this can be done ; that is, upon an adequate extent of 

 land favorably situated, by an amount of labor which shall not 

 interfere with their intellectual improvement, but, by conducing 

 to their health, and by demonstrating the practical application 

 of the principles and lessons which they are taught, will most 

 efficiently further this improvement, the pupils themselves may 

 be comfortably sustained, and their instruction paid for. The 

 school at Glasnevin certainly has gone far towards establishing 

 this point. If this is too much to be expected, and the fees for 

 instruction are to be paid in money, yet it will be a great 

 object gained, if the labor of the pupils provides for their sub 

 sistence, and pays* a fair rent for the land. 



I subjoin the following extracts from the letters addressed to 

 me by the intelligent manager of the establishment, Mr. Thomas 

 Skilling. 



&quot; I send you copies of my profit and loss account on the 

 transactions of the farm during the last two years, ending the 

 31st March, 1844. The annual accounts and amount for the 

 previous three years, from 1839, are somewhat similar, with this 

 difference, that, notwithstanding the yearly reduction in the price 

 of farm produce during the said time, there have been increased 

 profits, from the increased products of the land, of course from 

 high cultivation and fertility. The profits of last year would 

 have been very considerable indeed, had I not suffered so much 

 by the fatal disease among my cattle. This year I expect to 

 realize a handsome sum, and you will recollect that these profits 

 are exclusive of the keep of my house and family in all kinds of 

 farm produce.&quot; 



&quot; From what you will have seen and heard here, you will 

 perceive that my system aims to show what land is capable of 

 producing, when properly cultivated and managed; the great 

 est quantity of produce from the same quantity and quality of 

 land ; and the greatest amount of profitable human labor, as 

 opposed to horse labor and expensive machinery. This T be 

 lieve to be the system suitable for this, or perhaps any part of 

 the United Kingdom, where we have a numerous population 

 within small bounds, and even this small space of land not one 

 17* 



