144 THE FUTURE OF OUR AGRICULTURE. 



it began the organisation of domestic and agricultural instruc- 

 tion for women — the attainment of which strikes every 

 foreign visitor as adding so much to the charm of French 

 country life — some twenty-five years before either Germany 

 or Belgium, which are now so prominent under this head. 

 It set hand to this work in 1880, in Brittany, at Kerleon 

 and Coetlogon. The Agricultural Syndicates once estab- 

 lished, the most active Union of the body, that of the 

 Sud-Est, led by such energetic men as MM. Duport, de 

 Fontgalland and Guinand, took the lead in promoting 

 domestic and agricultural instruction for women in private 

 educational establishments, which form of education has 

 been carried very far in all parts of France, other Unions 

 following suit. However, such action of necessity presents 

 a want of uniformity. Later, accordingly, to remedy this 

 defect, both the Societe des AgricuUcv.rs dc France (corre- 

 sponding to our " Royal Agricultural Society ") and the 

 Government took the matter in hand. So now there are 

 in France, by the side of such distinctively " catholic " 

 societies as the Institut Jeanne d'Arc, purely educational 

 women's schools under the supervision of the Syndicats, 

 and such Government-directed Institutions as that of 

 Monastir and a number more (more particularly in the 

 north of the country) and, moreover, a special school for 

 women's school teachers at Avaux in the much tried 

 Ardennes. And there is more coming. For at the instance 

 of many leading statesmen connected with husbandry, 

 including past Ministers of Agriculture, the French Parlia- 

 ment has sanctioned the opening of the " Institut National 

 Agronomique " to women students, on precisely the same 

 terms as to men, and without any limitation as to numbers, 

 from the spring season of 1918 forwards. Women have, 

 in fact, during the war made good their standing in France 

 in matters of Agriculture, by the devoted and generally 

 judicious management of agricultural properties in the ab- 

 sence of their men folk. Without doubt other agricultural 

 educational cstabhshments will be opened in the same way. 

 In fact, France seems thoroughly awake to the educational 

 necessities of the great national calling. " We want a 



