CH. V] EDUCATION OF THE PEASANT 175 



almost outside the region of practical politics, and until at 

 least a generation of children has grown up under agricultural 

 teaching influence. 



The children, generally speaking, are sharp, and can be 

 more readily influenced than the adults, and perhaps the best 

 way of affecting the agricultural practice of the country as a 

 whole may in the long run prove to be through the children. 

 Deliberate and well-organised attempts in this direction are 

 now being carried on in Ceylon and the West Indies. The 

 establishment of a system of School Gardens and Nature-study 

 lessons should be productive of good results, and is well worthy 

 of consideration. 



The scheme of School Gardens, as adopted in Ceylon, has 

 two objects in view, the diversification of agriculture in the 

 village by the introduction of "new products" hitherto unknown 

 to the villagers, and the training up of the younger generation 

 in habits of thought and work favourable to agricultural im- 

 provement, making them receptive but also critical towards 

 improved methods, etc. It provides in the villages what are 

 practically small experimental gardens which any villager may 

 see for himself, stocked with the best available kinds of useful 

 and ornamental plants, laid out in as tasteful a manner as 

 possible. Its organisation is simple and inexpensive. 



The teaching of agriculture, as such, in village schools is 

 impracticable and inadvisable, except perhaps in large schools, 

 and to boys of at least twelve years old, and then probably best 

 by aid of peripatetic teachers. The school-master is untrained 

 in this most difficult art, and can hardly hope to do as well as 

 the villagers around him. He thus lays himself open to hostile 

 criticism and ridicule, and the end in view is defeated. 



What can be done, however, is that master and pupils may 

 learn by personal experience, and by personal labour in the 

 garden attached to the school, under the superintendence of a 

 trained Inspector who shall periodically visit the school, how to 

 grow and treat a selection of useful and ornamental plants not 

 yet known or common in the neighbourhood. They do not 

 thus lay themselves open to criticism to such an extent, they 

 learn the general principles of all agricultural work just as well, 



