PREFACE. 



One of the most hopeful features con- 

 nected with the West Indies is the general 

 movement now taking place in favour of 

 Agricultural teaching. 



The West Indian Colonies are wholly 

 dependent on Agriculture, but hitherto no 

 systematic attempts have been made to teach 

 the Elements of Agriculture in such a manner 

 as to win the intelligence and energies of the 

 rising generation in favour of Agricultural 

 pursuits. 



The first step taken was to train the 

 Teachers already in charge of Schools and 

 qualify them to give the right kind of instruc- 

 tion, in the lower classes by means of object 

 lessons, and in the upper, in close relation 

 with experiments with plants grown in pots, 

 boxes or school plots. '\ he object aimed at, 

 and clearly impressed on the minds of the 

 teachers was not to load the memory with 

 facts, but to train the powers of observation 

 and give the children an intelligent interest in 

 the every-day facts of rural life. It was under- 

 stood that in Elementary schools no attempt 



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