Land Problems and National Welfare 



of Belgium, entitled " L'enseignement agricole 

 et ses methodes," which contains a great deal of 

 information as to the methods of agricultural 

 instruction in different countries, and much other 

 suggestive matter. The following extracts may, 

 it is thought, prove serviceable to the Con- 

 ference : — 



" To secure a full and complete education for 

 the boys and girls who elect to live upon the land, 

 it is necessary that they should receive a general 

 instruction which will secure the necessary 

 development of all their faculties as well as 

 specific instruction in agricultural subjects." 



" While the elementary school should remain 

 true to its first duty of giving general instruc- 

 tion, it must develop as far as possible the 

 practical side. If this be not done the resulting 

 education will be theoretic and abstract and not 

 only discouraging to pupils but practically use- 

 less to them in after life.'' 



" It must not for one moment be thought that 

 because we advocate this development of the 

 practical side we wish to see rural elementary 

 schools turned into agricultural schools. This 

 would be essentially wrong, for the same reasons 

 that it would be wrong to transform them into 

 industrial schools. We maintain that our rural 

 schools should have an agricultural atmosphere, 

 not an exaggerated but a carefully thought out 

 and planned agricultural bias, at the same time 



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