10 BULLETIN 269, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



aged by women's unions, and. 17 by private individuals and others. The whole 

 maintenance cost amounted to $146,520. 



Germany. — The West German Agricultural Board, after a tour of inspection 

 -of the rural itinerant home economics schools of the region under its jurisdic- 

 tion, reports 1 that the instruction given by these schools is confined very largely 

 to needlework and to cooking, and that instruction even in elementary agricul- 

 ture is given to only a very limited extent. The board deprecates this situation 

 and points out the necessity for teaching agriculture to at least a limited extent 

 in the housekeeping schools, emphasizing the fact that this is particularly neces- 

 sary in the flat sections of west Germany, where the farms are usually small 

 r.nd the wives and daughters have charge of the stable, yard, and garden, as 

 well as the housekeeping, and where an income can be assured only when all of 

 the farm work is done with expert knowledge. The board therefore holds that 

 the housekeeping courses will be more useful if the needlework is limited to 

 mending, darning, and repairing, and to the making of simple linen articles, and 

 the time thus saved devoted to instruction in some of the simpler farm opera- 

 tions. Another argument in favor of such agricultural instruction is that it 

 might tend to create a different attitude toward farm life among the young 

 women of the region who at present show very little interest in agriculture and 

 prefer to marry those engaged in other occupations. 



The insufficient agricultural instruction is thought to be due in many -cases 

 to lack of knowledge of farm life and farm work on the part of the teachers in 

 the schools. It was also found that the teachers were frequently unfamiliar 

 with the household and farming conditions of those taking the courses. It is 

 stated that the plan of giving agricultural instruction in the home economics 

 schools as recommended by the board has been approved by the minister of 

 agriculture and appropriations will be granted to these schools only on condi- 

 tion that this plan is followed. 



Belgium. — Movable housekeeping schools were established ia Belgium 2 in 

 1S90, in which year 13 of these schools were started. Over 6.000 girls have re- 

 ceived diplomas in these schools since their organization. The primary design of 

 the school was to elevate the national daily industry and to teach better methods 

 of utilizing milk and of making butter and cheese. The length of the session 

 is four months, and the schools are moved two or three times a year from 

 one community to another. Courses are now offered in agronomy, zoology, 

 dairying, cheese making, domestic economy, and bookkeeping. 



A movable school is established at the request of the community or an 

 agricultural association. The budget of the school amounts to about $500 for 

 a session of four months. This sum is borne by the State, the Province, and 

 the agricultural societies. The instruction is given without expense to the 

 students. 



The instruction is theoretical and practical. The courses are conducted 

 six days a week. Two hours are devoted to theory and three to practical work. 

 All the pupils are day scholars. The maximum number of pupils admitted to the 

 school does not exceed 20. To be admitted to the school, girls must be 15 years 

 <jf age, must have had good primary instruction, as shown by a certificate, and 

 must be physically able to do the work. 



The teaching personnel is composed of a principal, who has charge of the 

 ■courses in agronomy ; he also attends to the organization of the school. Two 

 female teachers living at the school have charge of the courses in domestic econ- 

 omy, dairying, cheese making, and bookkeeping, and they direct the practical 



iZtschr. Landw. Kammer Schlesien, 18 (1914), No. 8, p. 343. 

 2 Rev. Gen. Agron., n. ser., 9 (1914), No. 2, p. 84. 



