332 EDUCATION 



special grants being made by the Board of Education to the 

 institutions providing such courses. 



III. BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT. 



(1) That the requirements of the Board with regard to pre- 

 mises and equipment for teaching " special subjects " should for 

 the present be relaxed, and that their regulations should recognise 

 the essential difference between town and country schools in. 

 these matters. 



(2) That the equipment should be simple and suited to the 

 circumstances of the district. 



(3) That, wherever possible, when new rural schools are planned. 

 a room should be provided suitable for woodwork, cookery, &c., 

 and that a plot of ground suitable for gardening should be secured. 



In 1910 the Rural Education Conference was established, 

 and Mr. Charles Bathurst and Mr. Christopher Turnor were 

 nominated by the Council as their representatives on this 

 Conference. That body issued eight very useful and instruc- 

 tive reports as follows : 



1. On County Staffs of Instructors in Agricultural Subjects. 



2. On the Qualification of Teachers of Rural Subjects. 



3. A suggested Type of Agricultural School. 



4. The Consolidation of Rural Elementary Schools. 



5. Courses in Agricultural Colleges. 



6. Co-ordination of Agricultural Education. 



7. Manual Instruction in Rural Elementary Schools, and the 

 Individual Examination of Children in Rural Elementary Schools. 



8. Manual Processes in Agriculture. 



In 1914 the Conference was reconstituted and is now known 

 as the Agricultural Education Conference. Lord Barnard 

 was elected as its Chairman, while Mr. Turnor was again 

 nominated by the Central Chamber as their representative 

 and Mr. Bathurst was nominated by the Board of Agri- 

 culture. 



On 20th February, 1911, the Financial Secretary to the 

 Treasury announced that in future there would be a fixed 

 subvention of 1,384,000 per annum for education instead of 

 the fluctuating subsidy known as the Whiskey Money. 

 Although he prophesied that this would mean an advantage, 

 rather than otherwise, to local Education Authorities, some of 

 these stated in a return made to the Central Chamber that 



