36 LAND REFORM 



ficate of proficiency in them should carry with it special 

 advantages.^ 



Under these new conditions numbers of men and 

 women, whose natural tastes and inclinations lean 

 towards country pursuits, would speedily qualify them- 

 selves as teachers in rural schools where the education 

 ofiven would be so interestinsf to themselves and to 

 their pupils. 



There are many who hold it absurd to suppose that 

 agriculture can be taught to young children in elemen- 

 tary schools. But the term agriculture is used here, 

 not in the usual and restricted sense of referring only 

 to the farmer's work of raising corn, cattle, etc. It is 

 used in its real and inclusive sense, as relating also to 

 horticulture and to everything else connected with the 

 cultivation of the soil. 



No one pretends that advanced agriculturists can 

 be turned out of the elementary schools. But what 

 can be done is, in the words of Lord Kelvin, *' to 

 initiate " the children in rural subjects ; and, during 

 the most impressionable age, to form and confirm 

 their taste and love for everything belonging to 

 country life. It is a timely and necessary begin- 

 ning of an education to be continued during later 

 years. 



Those who are old enough can remember at what 

 a very early age children in former times — either by 

 apprenticeships or through the needs of parents — 

 took part in farm work ; and it is astonishing what 



1 Mr. Howard states : " Facilities and assistance are at present needed 

 for rural teachers to attend suitable classes. Even if fees for tuition are 

 merely nominal, the travelling expenses are serious for a teacher with 

 a small salary" (General Reports on Elementary Schools, Cd, 1706, 

 1903). 



