344 REPORT — 1895. 



We may certainly congratulate ourselves that we have at last a Board 

 of Agriculture, presided over by a Minister having a seat in the Cabinet. 

 The work done by the Board has already been of considerable benefit to 

 the country*. What we desire is that far larger means should be placed at 

 its disposal ; that the scope of its work should be enlarged ; and that, 

 especially, it should acquire a distinctly scientific character, which, as we 

 have already remarked, simply means that the best knowledge of the day 

 should be enlisted in the service of agriculture. We shall feel ashamed, 

 I think, when I mention the sum at present devoted by the Board to the 

 purpose of investigation. The grants made for education and investiga- 

 tion in the year 1894-95 may be svimmarised as follows : — 



Collegiate centres £5,550 



Dairy institutes ....... 950 



Instruction in forestry ...... 250 



Investigations by various associations . . . 650 



7,400 



Thus 650Z. is the whole sum directly devoted by the Board to the 

 purpose of investigation : some portion of the sums contributed to colle- 

 giate centres may, however, be employed for this purpose, as experiments 

 are conducted by some of the colleges thus assisted. 



The 6,750?. distributed by the Board to educational institutions is 

 very wisely allotted to those giving a complete course of instruction. 

 The provision of a full course of training for teachers should always have 

 the first consideration in any educational movement. 



In referring to the present national expenditure on agricultural educa- 

 tion we must not omit the grants made by the Department of Science and 

 Art to science schools and classes teaching the principles of agriculture. 

 The total grant amounted in 1893-94 to the sum of 2,937?. The Depart- 

 ment has 7'ecently attempted to improve the instruction given in these 

 classes. A new syllabus of the subject has been prepared for the use of 

 the teachers, with suggested experiments, and a few necessary diagrams. 

 The Honours examination has also been made much moi'e thorough. 



We next turn to the woi"k done in this country by local authorities. 

 This is a very wide subject, and I can only glance at a few points. We 

 all know that a really large sum of national money has been placed in the 

 hands of the local authorities dui'ing the last few years, which they can 

 use at their discretion for the purposes of technical and secondary educa- 

 tion. The sum thus placed at the disposal of the local authorities in 

 England for the year 1894-95 amounted to about 744,000?., of which 

 about 600,000?. was actually spent on education. The particular educa- 

 tional objects aided vary, of course, very much in different localities, and 

 it is only in the counties that we can expect to find the teaching of 

 agriculture occupying an important place. The annual grant at the 

 disposal of the English counties somewhat exceeds 400,000?. It is very 

 difficult to tell how much of this is devoted to agricultural purposes. In 

 the case of a few counties, as Kent, Bedfordshire, and Berkshire, it 

 would appear from the figures published in the ' Record of Technical 

 and Secondary Education ' ' that about one-third of the total grant is 



' I am indebted to the reports in this valuable periodical for much of the informa- 

 tion here given respecting the agricultural work of County Councils. 



