Education 103 



The reason for their not doing so is, we believe, due to this 

 being an age of cold reasoning, and lack of initiative com- 

 pared to what prevailed fifty, a hundred, or a hundred and 

 fifty years ago, when men did not look before they leapt; 

 and though their temerity cost some of them their lives, in 

 the aggregate the results exceeded all expectations, and it 

 is to these bold spirits we owe our present-day prosperity 

 and supplies of food and raw materials. To-day those who 

 might go out to plant, not only look where they are going 

 but take a telescope and microscope to examine the soil, 

 and would like to ask the Government or some one to 

 indemnify them against loss if they come to grief. Since 

 it is no use kicking against the pricks, and since people will 

 be cautious and are no longer willing to risk their money, 

 health or lives, we must let them see ahead where their 

 way tends, and how best to get to their destination with 

 the least risk — in fact with none at all. The father wants 

 to know that the son will not "go slack" whilst learning 

 his profession ; and the son, if about to invest his own 

 patrimony, wants to make sure that he is going the right 

 way to work. lioth, therefore, we take it, need agricultural 

 colleges to help them, and until we get the colleges such 

 men will not send their sons, nor go out themselves to 

 plant. Those who wish to train to work under others will 

 form class two, then there will be Government officials and 

 consulting experts, whilst America, France, Belgium, and 

 other countries all promise us students, whose presence 

 we should welcome, for the same as we like to see young 

 Englishmen go to foreign colleges, in the same way we 

 must welcome their sons to ours. Once established, there- 

 fore, no doubt need exist that the colleges, the two or more 

 colleges, will be well patronized, and that the benefits they 

 will confer on the Empire will be immense. 



Those taking part in the discussion included the then 

 Director of Agriculture in Ceylon, who told us what they 

 were doing in that island as regards plans, a site, &c., and 

 then Professor Carmody, at that time Director in Trinidad, 

 who went one better, saying that not only had they plans, 

 site, &c., but had the building ready and waiting for the 

 staff to instruct the students as soon as the money is 

 forthcoming to pay the professors, &c. Referring to the 

 abstract of the paper prepared by our Editor, we are glad 

 to say that the ^/'5oo,ooo spoken of as being necessary to 

 establish a college in Ceylon is now said to be a mistake, 

 it should have been only one-tenth that amount, viz., 

 ;^5o,ooo. On hearing this we rewrote our paper and went 



