342 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



lay out and prescribe the courses of study to be pursued in 

 the government schools. Co-operating with these are the 

 agricultural societies, whose ramifications spread into every 

 part of the State. In Prussia alone they number seventeen 

 hundred and ten. A parent society in each of its four 

 Provinces, these subdividing into thirty-seven central ones, 

 and these in turn branching into twelve hundred and seventy- 

 one rural ones, all subordinated to the parent organization, 

 all acknowledging its authority and obedient to its laws. In 

 addition to these are three hundred and seventy-eight inde- 

 pendent ones. These societies are of great practical value 

 — encouraging fairs, granting premiums (the prize bull 

 or stallion being required to stand for a certain length of 

 time for the benefit of the district) , and also turning the money 

 of the State or Province, or their own money, to the support 

 of schools or control stations. The government schools 

 may be divided into four classes, to which a fifth may be 

 added, supported by the agricultural societies, in which 

 instruction is given by lecturers, who travel about from place 

 to place, giving special local information on just such topics 

 as would be of practical benefit to the farmer ; namely, the 

 character of the soil of that particular district, the crops best 

 adapted to it, and the most efiectual methods of securing them. 



The first and highest of these schools are the Agricultural 

 Institutes, twenty-one in number, all, with the exception of 

 three or four, being departments of the universities. Here 

 the highest instruction is given, the course varying from 

 two to three years, according to the object of the pupil, 

 whether to become a farmer, or fit himself to be a teacher. 

 These are designed for gentlemen farmers, their sons or 

 stewards. 



Second. The agricultural schools for the sons of the more 

 wealthy farmers. There are twentij-six of these schools, 

 and they cover a four years' course, their object being, to 

 quote the words of the privy councillor Dlinkelberg, ' ' to 

 educate youth up to seventeen or eighteen years of age, in 

 mathematics, natural sciences and two foreign languages, to 

 such an extent that they can obtain the right to perform 

 their military duties in one year. As these schools are pref- 

 erentially established to procure this right for the sons of 



