152 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



limited to 6 per cent. Associations may join together in district ex- 

 changes for the purpose of developing and improving the industries 

 of agriculture and horticulture. 



Legislation is being promoted in Manitoba and other provinces 

 to grant rural credit, and the Federal Government is also reported to be 

 giving consideration to a scheme for advancing money at cheap rates 

 to farmers. 



It is questionable whether sufficient attention is being given 

 in any of the above schemes to the importance of limiting the use 

 of cheap money to productive purposes and not permitting the ad- 

 vantage of it to be conferred upon the vendor of real estate. Specu- 

 lation must first be restricted, if any scheme to advance money at a 

 lower rate of interest than is prevalent in the open market is to succeed 

 in achieving the object in view. 



EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC TRAINING 



We have not been slow in Canada in promoting scientific train- 

 ing, and in some cases we seem to have expected too much from it. 

 An experienced man can often succeed where one with a good scien- 

 tific training would fail. In older countries farmers hesitate to place 

 much reliance on theory, because they recognize that skill in culti- 

 vating the land can only be acquired slowly by long experience 

 and often by a process of drudgery which is not congenial to the 

 educated man. A well known English surveyor* says that farm prac- 

 tice in Great Britain has not altered much in the last fifty years, 

 in spite of numerous scientific discoveries, if we omit the advances 

 made in regard to machinery, artificial manure, etc. In defence 

 of the farmer he says the people of the city are too apt to assume that 

 the farmer is very conservative in his ideas and unbusinesslike in his 

 methods. He points out the futility of sending young inexperienced 

 lecturers with plenty of scientific knowledge but no personal experi- 

 ence to teach old experienced farmers about agriculture. A man 

 who acts as a teacher should have practical experience as well as 

 theoretical training. This is a matter which should be borne in 

 mind in connection with technical education. 



But while regard must be paid to the importance of practical 

 experience in farming, there is no question as to the need for more 

 industrial training and education in connection with agriculture 

 and other rural industries. This has been recognized in Canada for 

 many years, and, in 1910, the Federal Government appointed a royal 



* Mr. H. Herbert Smith in The Principles of Landed Estate Management. 



